Nov 12, 2012 - Kota Kinabalu

Our week in Sabah (Borneo) was great - hot, sticky, wet and very busy, but great. Based ourselves in Kota Kinabalu, the capital. Essentially Borneo seems to be one giant hilly jungle with towns on the coast and little villages scattered inland. There is a big tourist trade running people out to the many islands for snorkeling but we simply ran out of time. Lovely to be able to eat as much noodle soup and rice dishes as we want with hundreds of street stalls and slightly manky eateries. Funny how you forget the little annoyances of Asia...

Oct 2, 2012 - Mini Van to Tawau Border Town---continue text

Minivan to Tawau for ferry to Indonesia/Kalimantan Borneo. Many, many Malaysian men smoke, constantly! Even in minibuses/vans! I read that Malaysia is the only country in the world where the number of cigarettes per capita is INCREASING! The ferry left at 1 pm. We read in the LP it was supposed to go at 9 am so we were up at 5:30 to get to Tawau ferry terminal in time after a 2 hour minibus ride. Once there we discovered it wasn't leaving til noon

Oct 1, 2012 - Day Trip Snorkeling - Mabul Is.

Wiki Info Mabul Is Wiki Info Kapalai Is Snorkeling off Mabul Isl - Lobster Wall and Panglima Reef plus Kapalai Isl. House Reef. All were great - seeing at least 6 green turtles, some really huge, a couple of them came back to within 5' of us to have a second look! Lots of great coral (hard and soft) and reef fish, first time I've seen a coronett fish eat a small schooling fish in a cloud of same so thick you could hardly see anything else. All in all, a wonderful time wiht enthusiastic guides/helpers who were everywhere seeing to...

Sep 30, 2012 - Semporna

Sipidan Inn Wiki Info Semporna We were told to be at the bus stop by 7:30am and the bus - coming from Sandakan lvg at 7am - would stop for us at the junction. Since we cared not to be all sweaty (night before we walked the 2 km back to B & B and got totally soaked in sweat) we arranged a taxi which got us to the stop by 7:25. First one bus right at 7:30 - not ours, then 10 minutes later another which stopped but looked at our ticket and said 'Back' pointing towards town, a hopeful sigh. At 8 another bus stopped and kid said 'No, not us'...

Sep 29, 2012 - Sepilok

Sepilok B & B Wiki Travel Sepilokl Left 6am to drop off Andrea at airport on our way to Sepilok and Orang Rehab Center. A real disappointment!! For all the hype, at feeding time the keepers brought out a young male who proceeded to have sex with every (3) female and dominate the feeding platform entirely! This was totally uninteresting after the first 5 minutes unlike our experience in Kuching where all the Orangs came from the surrounding rain forest of their own free will (not at the end of a rope like the young male in this case)....

Sep 27, 2012 - Sukau**************

Greenview B & B B & B Site Tells it Best Took 7am bus to Sungai/Sukau and B&B... Lots of travelers and fellow working on RiLeaf Project, Rene' de Vlieger, Dutch student working on his Phd. was very informative and anxious to share his ideas and what he has learned during the 10 weeks he'd been working here. Project is sponsored by WWF and financed by Nestle. Others here: Fellow from Tajikistan/Kazakhstan now in Dresden, Germany since 1989; a couple from Germany and another from Holland - she is Polish, he works for Shell. six others are...

Sep 26, 2012 - Day Trip to Mt. Kinabalu

Wiki Info Kinabalu Natl Park "It is in moments of decision that your destiny is shaped." Books About Optimism by Tony Robbins Our day trip to this fine place was great but unfortunately, my record via photos is lost. Much nicer here hiking than jungle hike in Bako! Andrea is a great hiking friend - never complaining even tho she didn't bring good footwear (flip flops!). None of us anticipated the cool temps, but out of the wind in the forest it wasn't too bad, tho rain did cool us down considerably. Easy travel to/from by local bus.

Sep 24, 2012 - Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (Thru Brunei)

9/24 Left via bus at 8am... An interesting phenomenon happens while traveling, especially for a long time via slower transport (not air). It becomes increasingly difficult to see things new/different. Everything seems like ordinary or common after awhile. In some ways this is true (same/similar crops, etc) but lots of times I forget that what I'm seeing is new/different - I fail to recognize it because in this place/time it is ordinary - type of housing on stilts, temples w/ bright colors, peaked roofs, dogs roaming in packs or not but...

Mar 11, 2012 - Turtle Island

11th March Now back in delightful Sandikan (!) having spent yesterday on Turtle Island which was fantastic. We left for the 40km boat trip in poring rain and it was still raining when we got to an idyllic white sand beach. Not to be deterred I said that we should go swimming before lunch as we would get wet anyway. Into the nice warm sea we went and were just going back to get changed before lunch. 'where's the key Dave'? 'ah it was in my pocket' he sheepishly replies. Of course it isn't now so we go back to reception and they don't have...

Mar 9, 2012 - More Jungle tales

9th March Had a really amazing day yesterday when we visited the Orang utans at Sepilok. We were a bit sceptical at first and nearly didn't come because we didn't want to see them in a zoo like situation again. The ones here have the choice to come in for feeding time or not and we have heard reports of people perhaps seeing a mum and baby but not much else. We were really thrilled then to see 7 including 2 babies which was fabulous. They were a joy to watch and it was interesting to see how they interacted with one another. At one point a...

Mar 7, 2012 - In the jungle

5th March Wow what a day. Woke up tis morning and decided to try to get on a jungle adventure trip as Sandakan didn't look as place where you wanted to spend very much time. We rang the office at 8.30 and yes there were places and we could be picked up at 11.30. So here we are at Nature Lodge Kinabatangan where its all go. Checking in then whisk off on the river cruise where we were amazed to see wild Orang-utan and Pygmy elephants amongst the usual fare of crocodile, Probiscus monkeys and Mackcacks. How amazing is that?? The Orang-utan...

Mar 4, 2012 - Borneo

20th February Yesterday we hired yet another motorbike ( I have even truly frustrated by the lack of push bikes!) and went along the coast to the next bay. The thing is this is a beutiful coast line but there is absolutely no planning so it's getting spoilt in the same way as Spain with huge condo blocks springing up everywhere. They seem to be aimed at the Russian/European market but are not cheap, around £350000 for a beach side apartment. We did find a nice patch of sand though and enjoyed being with the local families who were all...