[Koh Lipe to Langkawi, Malaysia] So after spending the morning killing time and packing up we ended outside the immigration office on Pattaya beach (it’s really just a shack). Our ferry was only at 15:30 – waiting is so boring. The ferry to Langkawi took a couple of hours again on smooth seas. When we boarded I was relived by the aircon (today is insanely hot) but by the end of the ride V and I were close to hypothermic. We couldn’t wait to get out into the sun.

Malaysian immigration was no problem. We got 90 day visas – the only request from the friendly official being that we spend all our money in his country. The ferry terminal joins straight into a fancy shopping mall but most of it was closed (we are now another hour ahead of SA). The Malays have been clever with Langkawi – the entire holiday island is a duty free zone. It’s also massive. More like being in Durban than on an island. Nothing like what we have become used to in Thailand. Outside the mall the ferry ticket office was closed and in place of annoying touts a helpful guy told us where we could find a hotel on our budget. He didn’t try and sell us anything. It was odd. He even told us we could walk there rather than taking a taxi. We took the advice and found a dingy hotel around 2km down the road for £10. We walked past a mosque (yip this Islamic territory), skatepark, playgrounds and the huge Langkawi Eagle (Dad – how about that for a lawn jockey!) Everyone we have interacted with so far have been helpful and pleasant. We like. Tomorrow we’re off to Georgetown (Penang) by ferry – not really interested in spending time on Langkawi’s riviera.

[Pictures: Now that’s a lawn jockey! The Langkawi eagle near the ferry terminal]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Langkawi to George Town, Malaysia] The Putra hotel was an acceptable flea-pit. Pity we had a room on the side of the main road (lucky for silicone earplugs) and the free WiFi didn’t quite reach to our room. Anyway we headed out first thing back to the ferry terminal to get tickets and store our packs. It feels cooler here. Guess it’s the trees and not being on a beach. After getting tickets we asked around for a shop that could develop our underwater photos. Luckily the Langkawi Fair mall down the road had was able to help. We arrived there around 10 and waited 40 minutes for the camera shop to open (late start) and were told it takes and hour for the machine to warm up and another hour to process. How did we ever survive before digital photos?!

With nothing to do but wait we found an open WiFi point to abuse, had a bite to eat (just in time too – V was getting ready to go cannibal on me), and checked out the shops in “the largest mall in Langkawi”. Nothing interesting but we did get some smarties and almost some scotch (pinching pennies now). The photos cost more than a night’s accommodation and are pretty bad but there are one or two cool shots to remember V’s dive course (I’ll try to ‘scan’ and colour correct some shortly).

The ferry ride was again very calm but longer than expected. We arrived in Georgetown around 18:00 under a torrential downpour. We gave up waiting for it to pass and hit the streets looking for lodging without our GPSs – the heavy electrical storm above had us placed in China! The LP guide describes the place as a bigger, busier Luang Prabang (Laos). Well not so far but it was hard to tell in the rain and evening light. We easily identified the ‘Little India’ and ‘China Town’ areas as we walked along.

We found a basic and dismal hostel style room at ‘Love Lane Inn’ on Love lane – no kidding. V liked the description of the place online – I think maybe because they have hamsters on the second floor. We went out for dinner to the Indian area close by. Less like Luang Prabang and more like Chatsworth. Seems Malaysia will be an interesting mix of India, China and everything else. BTW. They drive on the left and have UK standard plug sockets. Do you have a flag ?

We are here for two nights – tomorrow we’ll do some walking to see what there is to see.

[Pictures: Look, another ferry. See, Hamsters – sorry for the bad quality shot. It was dark]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[George Town, Malaysia] With only one full day in George Town we had a few things to get through. Unfortunately it is a Sunday so a lot of places were closed and then added to that a well loved local politician passed away so the town was holding a procession and funeral. We started off wandering the streets around the hostel. Again China Town mixes with Little India on British colonial streets and it’s hard to identify anything truly Malay (whatever that is). After breakfast we headed to the start of the LP guide’s recommended walking route. We started at the Eastern Oriental Hotel. A huge colonial monster from the 1800’s. Apparently the waiters wear shorts and pith helmets (hopefully that’s not all) and it is THE place for a fancy English afternoon tea. Too expensive for our blood so we moved on.

We passed some architecturally boring Christian churches and arrived at the Penang Museum. It was closed due to the funeral. Pity. it is highly rated and we were looking forward to it. We continued on to what looked like the municipal buildings where a huge crowd was gathered for the start of the procession. Quite a turn out. Crowds, police, press, dignitaries, school kids, scouts, ambulance services etc. All in uniform and getting ready to march. He must have been a really cool dude. The police force seem mostly Indian and they appear very proud. Perfect uniforms, shiny motorbikes. Great to see.

We navigated past the gathering and along the Durbanesque waterfront to fort Cornwallis. Not that impressive as far as forts go but it was cool to learn a little about the history of the Island (George Town is on Penang Island). The colonial story sounds interesting and centres around a British naval officer – Francis Light (must remember to look up the full story sometime).

With nothing else to do we then decided to stroll back through India and China and take in the ‘atmosphere’ on the way to do a little shopping at a large mall air conditioned mall. We have to admit that Malaysia seems a little boring so far. Possibly we are not back into ‘travel’ mode yet after all that time on holiday in Thailand. Tomorrow we move on to the Cameron highlands where thankfully it should be cooler and hopefully there will be fewer mozzies. Not sure if it was mozzies, fleas or bed bugs in our room but both V and I are covered in huge itchy welts. Oweee.

[UPDATE: We found an Internet cafe on the way home that boasted 30 times faster (but faster than what they did not specify) and have uploaded photos to date under Thailand (Koh Lipe) and Malaysia or just linked to posts. Have also dropped some pics into the posts that had none and added the video of V with the fish in Thailand (Link). Enjoy]

[Pictures: Posing around fort Cornwallis]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Tanah Rata, Malaysia] So another day on the road for us today, well around five hours of it anyway. Our minibus was more or less on time collecting us from the hostel. Again it is just too easy to get around. We passed over the impressive 13km long bridge onto the mainland and continued on perfect multi lane highways towards the Cameron Highlands. Not sure why but both V and I felt completely exhausted. We dozed on and off for most of the trip. When I did occasionally lift my head and wait for my eyes to focus the scenery was impressive. Some karst topography and then later, as we got onto smaller roads, immense forests and tea plantations.

The tiny towns we passed through looked odd with small clumps of new high-rise apartment blocks alongside loads of fresh fruit and veg vendors, strawberries galore, bakeries and the odd butterfly farm. I suspect that the area is a real tourist trap. It was a place for the colonists to escape the heat of the coast and became a major source of tea. V had seen a note about tea and scones – I swear I could smell them as we pulled in to ‘town’. This place is all about trees, strawberries, tea and scones.

We found a reasonable (£6) room at Kang Travelers Lodge (okay – we didn’t so much ‘find’ it as get dropped outside their door) then popped out for a yummy tea and cake (decided to leave the scones until tomorrow – it will be a treat). The best thing about our hostel, they have hot showers! We haven’t had a hot shower for over a week – it was awesome 🙂

[Pictures: Yip the English were here. V spotted lots of REALLY old land rovers. Can’t believe they are still running]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Tanah Rata, Malaysia] Backpacker package tour today so we were not expecting too much but they got off to a good start arriving to collect us in an awesome little Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer ATV.

This town is just full of cool old 4×4’s (mostly ancient but hard working land rovers) and our ride was obviously ex-military still with rifle mounts, turret hatch and ammo boxes. We were followed out of town by a landy with more tourists in search of the largest flower species in the world (Rafflesia Arnoldi). About 40 minutes out we left the main roads and started an insane climb up what looked like impassable tracks. The recent rain has completely destroyed the dirt roads up into the forests but our driver was keen to give it a try anyway. On the steepest section we all climbed out to give the Puch a fair chance and it eventually made it – what a machine! The Landy didn’t even bother trying. The Austrians won that round without a doubt. Pilling both groups into the Puch we continued on followed by the local guides having no trouble on little 125cc road bikes – it was hilarious.

The two (total) hour hike in the forest was reasonably easy but sweaty. No bugs or leeches either but the kids along with us still call it ‘trekking’. The flower I have to admit was a little disappointing. They open for around 10 days so I guess you are lucky if you catch one that has just blossomed (a loose definition for such an ugly, smelly ‘flower’). In any event it was good to see.

Next we moved on to a local ‘village’ with a few bamboo huts for a blowpipe demonstration. The village is in the process of upgrading – backaktors at work with stone and concrete so it was hardly authentic. After they had given the kids a go with the hand made blowpipe (at a range of 3m) I got one of the guys to demonstrate from around 25m. Very impressive hitting an A4 sized target. You can see the traditional techniques and form are still practiced although I doubt they use them for hunting – easier to pop down to the local store.

After a typical Indian curry at a local canteen we headed out to one of the many tea plantations. Our guide informed us that this one was over 80 years old and owned by a Scottish family. Every possible square metre has been cultivated – up and down the valleys and hillsides. It was picturesque and we learn a few new things about our favorite hot drink with the visit and a tour around the factory. Better than that was the chance to have tea and scones at the beautiful (and very popular) cafe overlooking the vast plantation. The tea was excellent and the scones were missing the clotted cream but I think it’s fair to bring England even for the day.

Final Score: Austria 1, England 1

Our final destination was a ride up to a viewpoint at 6666ft on one of the higher hills in the area. It was windy and chilly on the exposed tower so after snapping a few shots we got down quickly and headed off for a short walk into ‘the Mossy Forrest’. An unusual spot straight out of a fantasy novel with thick cloud adding to the atmosphere. Our guide pointed out the differences between the high and low altitude forests along with obvious blankets of moss and unusual ‘Pitcher’ plants. Because of the cold we finished up in the forest pretty quickly and our guide threw in an extra stop on the way home at a strawberry farm to make up the time. The cafe and shop were packed with just about every strawberry product imaginable. The milkshake was amazing. Seems the English did a good job out here.

Tomorrow we head for Kuala Lumpur. V’s been feeling the cold a bit but I’m not really looking forward to being all sticky again. I suppose it is Asia!

[Pictures: What a Machine. More flop than flower. Tea and scones :)]

Short clip of our Pinzgauer tackling a steep section

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia] Almost nothing noteworthy about today. We left the Cameron highlands today early this morning. The minivan was not full but was packing a few giggling and annoying girls who were getting pretty drunk last night. Seems we have found a way to stop the annoying giggles… Put them in a minivan and drive too fast on very windy roads for an hour. To be fair V also felt terrible after half an hour. It was a rough, but at least quiet, ride. Have to mention the freeway signs. In SA when there are roadworks there is normally (okay occasionally) a guy waving a flag around as a warning. In the UK it’s a flashing sign or something. In Malaysia it’s a mannequin dressed in hi-vis with a motorized arm waving a warning flag. Too cool 🙂

As we neared the city I was able to spot the Petronas towers. They look incredible but we’ll save them for tomorrow. We were deposited in China Town and set about the task of finding accommodation. So far in Malaysia we have not have a room with an external window (windows usually open onto an internal corridor) and today’s selection was no different. We settled on Monkee Inn. It’s really a hostel not an inn. Shared bathrooms and office type partition walls but it felt clean and acceptable. This seems to be the ‘budget’ standard in Malaysia.

When V finally woke up from her afternoon slumber we took a stroll down the street to find some dinner. Almost caved for a KFC but we found a Nandos !! just a little further down the road and could not resist the temptation. It was a bit of a splurge but we reckon we deserved it. I’m now well stuffed and ready for some sightseeing.

[Pictures: Nandos KL – we could hardly believe it – African tunes and all]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia] Not much to do in this big city but shop and since we can’t really do that we decided to get on a city tour bus. V got stuck reading until 2am and I didn’t sleep that well (still nursing over 40 bed bug bites from that infested hole on love lane) so it was a groggy start to the day. The bus was impressive with audio commentary and free WiFi faster than our hotel. Starting with the best intentions we got off at an early stop, The Royal Palace – we should have done some research. It’s not very impressive from the fence and access is not allowed. The only thing to do is take photos of/with the guards at the gate. The system of monarchy is odd here – a democratic monarchy? Nine of the states here have sultans and every 5 years they take turns to be the king of the country.

Back on the bus for a short hop around the impressive central station (with cool looking monorail) and through the ‘Little India’ shopping district got us to the National Museum. The pre-historic and colonial sections were the most was interesting to us and as far as museums go it was compact. Near the entrance some guys were selling test drives on a Segway. Two laps around the museum for RM20 – it was tempting, maybe next time.

By the time we got back on the bus it was nearly lunch time so we decided to skip some sites (they looked boring anyway) and head straight for the highlight of the day – the Petronas towers. It took a while to get there and we opted to grab a bite in the monster mall attached to the towers before heading on up. Truly European (especially the prices). Yikes! We walked into a big disappointment in the towers. Turns out they only allow 900 people a day to go up and no more tickets were available. Totally gutted we tried to make the most of it by taking some pics from the fountains out front. It is an amazing sight to see all that stainless steel. A beautiful piece of engineering.

A circuit on the tour bus takes around 3 hours with no stops so we decided to get back on and ride it all the way around back to The towers to see it in the evening then jump on the last bus home. We used the short photo stops to snap shots of the sites along the route – Independence Square and the KL Comm Tower amongst others. Nothing really grabbed our attention enough to get off the bus and explore, especially when it started raining, and after fighting our way through traffic we got back to the towers around 7pm (4 hours later). Without WiFi on the bus we would have gone nuts but that wasn’t the only entertainment. The audio guide was not working so the ticket collector was doubling as a tour guide. His accent and ad-lib commentary were hilarious. The elongated ‘Terima Kasih’ (thank you) at the end of every announcement was classic.

We watched and photographed the towers as night fell and the floodlights warmed up changing the light from sunset oranges to halogen whites reflecting off the stainless steel. We were joined by a couple dozen other tourists around the fountains. It was beautiful to see.

The traffic around KLCC seemed gridlocked and after wasting 10 minutes waiting for a bus that had little chance of arriving we decided to hike it back to the hotel. It was a good call. We were moving much faster on foot than the traffic and thanks to our phones and GPS we didn’t have a problem finding our way home through the concrete maize of KL (even managed to stumble across a Dunkin Donuts on the ~3km walk). It was a long day confirming that big cities are still not our scene. Gimme mountains, caves, seas and rivers please.

[Pictures: Petronas day and night]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia] KL is too expensive! Today we had planned to either go on a forest canopy tour not far outside the city or catch the fireflies at Kuala Selangor (about 90 minutes away on the coast) but both options were just too much for us at this point. We ended up spending the day in and around the hostel. We’ve been plotting and planning the Borneo section of the trip – looks like we have ample (or too much) time and will probably throw in the a trip to the caves at Mulu. Other than that it was a chilled out day surfing the interwebs, sorting out a few chores (phew.. Reception found our washing) and catching up.

At lunch I went (V followed reluctantly) in search of a GPS point :gps:(GPS)::3.141592::101.697929:gps: nearby that would put me as close as possible to the northern latitude of Pi (N3.141592). See what happens when we have nothing to do 🙂

I walked up and down the street for half an hour but the buildings were not helping the accuracy of the reading. It would have been better in the middle of the road but motorists have no respect for scientific experiments. I know I walked over Pi a few times and eventually called it close enough. We took a stroll through the Chinese market and successfully haggled (we thought so anyway) the price on a pair of ‘Fakeleys’ for me to replace my broken sunnies. On the way back to the hostel we grabbed some bananas, a loaf of bread and jars of peanut butter and jam – our first ‘normal’ lunch in 7 months! It was an awesome feast.

A completely relaxing and lazy day. More of the same tomorrow I suspect (hope).

[Pictures: Close enough 0.00001 ? And yes… the sign sums it up]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Kota Kinabalu, Malaysian Borneo] Today saw the end of a very, very long leg of our journey. 7 months of traveling over land and sea by boats, trains and buses has passed. I almost feel sad about it, having crossed from the UK to Kuala Lumpur without a flight (okay we cheated once from Lhasa to Kunming but only because we did not want to repeat the train ride). The original plan was to keep going south through Indonesia but this morning we grabbed a taxi to KLIA and boarded a plane for Kota Kinabalu. So no crossing the Equator on foot and I was looking forward to that. Maybe next time.

We have to admit that Asia Air was brilliant (besides incredibly cheap eg: KL to London one way £170 if booked 1 month in advance). We landed on time in KK just ahead of a brewing thunderstorm. The runway is very near the sea so from our viewpoint it looked like we were about to experience an emergency water landing. We found good (if expensive) accommodation at Kinabalu Backpackers Lodge near the ‘city centre’ and headed out to find food and our bearings. We are here for a full day tomorrow and will be gearing up (that means shopping) before heading out to mount Kinabalu. We make our summit attempt on the 9th but are both feeling so lazy at the moment, better rest up for the climb, I think we’ll have an afternoon nap 🙂

[Pictures: I’ll update the gallery very soon. Maybe even tonight]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Kota Kinabalu, Malaysian Borneo] The name ‘Kota Kinabalu’ conjures up images of an amazingly picturesque Bornian city surrounded by mountains, jungles and blue seas. Well it isn’t. The city is dull. We decided to have a look around the city and take in the provincial museum, waterfront and local market with a stop at one of the many malls to get supplies for mount Kinabalu. It was thankfully overcast but still very humid as we set out on our walk. The 3km+ walk out to the museum was along very busy roads – I have no idea what all these people do for work in this little city but they seem to spend a lot of time driving.

The museum looks like it was built in the 80’s with the architecture inspired by the Atari logo. It is currently being renovated so a large portion was closed off. In our opinion even the reduced entry fee (RM 8) is too expensive for what you get. After that disappointment we took a few snaps of the funky looking mosque across the road and headed back towards the waterfront. More of a concrete fishing harbor than a waterfront we walked along it passing the local markets as it started to drizzle. There was a row of old pedal driven Singer sewing machines towards the end of the market manned by tailors hard at work.

We found an excellent little ‘Italian’ spot for lunch – carbing up for Kinabalu on pasta. We obligingly commented in their guest book. Nandos in KL did the same thing the other day and for our ‘address’ I put the blog address. How cool is Nandos Malaysia – they took the time to find the relevant post on our blog and leave a comment.

I reckon we walked around 10km. I don’t think it really counts as ‘training’ for the mountain. 10km on streets at sea level doesn’t compare to 18km round trip from 1500m to 4095m. Tomorrow we head up into the mountains. I only hope it stops raining.

[Pictures: The funky mosque]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Kinabalu Park, Malaysian Borneo] So the start of our Mount Kinabalu epic today began with a long wait at the bus depot just down the street from the hostel. Same story as usual, our minibus driver was waiting for more passengers but he gave up after an hour – I don’t think the pouring rain was helping. As we set off I noticed the first ‘There, I fixed it’ (thereifixedit.failblog.org) moment of the day. The aging driver had ingeniously rigged a set of rods and axles from his seat through the van to the sliding door so that he could manually open and close it – very cool.

We headed out of town and up into the jungle. Not much to see through the heavy rain but the roads were good and the traffic light. Not long out of town we spotted another, but possibly not so brilliant, fix. Some workmen were on top of a building but their ladder was not long enough to reach from the ground. They had placed the ladder on top of a fully extended forklift to reach the roof. My but we are smart animals 🙂

Around 2 hours later V spotted the sign for our hostel on the side of the main road and the driver kindly deposited us at the intersection in the rain. We knew we would need to walk a bit to the hostel (Kinabalu Mountain Lodge) but it was longer than we had expected and definitely more than the 1km advertised.

The place looked tranquil and surrounded by pretty gardens. We were greeted by two labradorish puppies and a sign stating ‘Please remove and bring your shoes inside or our puppies will chew and hide them’ – we complied. The place was dead quiet. No one else there besides the three friendly staff members + two dogs and two cats. Nothing to do, no restaurants or shops nearby and the rain was making the place very chilly (no help being up at 1500m either). We had to dig into our hiking snack supplies while waiting for dinner and found entertainment in a leech that V had attracted. Instead of pulling it off she decided to see how big it would get if we just left it alone. We got bored after 10 minutes and scraped the little sucker off. Full and obviously satisfied (possibly drunk) it just lay there on the floor so V relocated it to the garden. Maybe we should get a pet leech one day.

We have stripped our gear to a minimum for the hike up to the hostel at Laban Rata tomorrow. Just our cold/wet weather gear and a change of undies. The next two days should be fun and challenging… if it stops raining!

[Pictures: Kinabalu Mountain lodge – hmm… Maybe this was a mistake]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Kinabalu Park, Malaysian Borneo] Eish, the hostel was a bit of a disaster last night. We froze with the beach-towel blankets and didn’t get much sleep. After a hot shower and big breakfast we headed out to Kinabalu park. A brisk 2km+ walk got us to the gate where, after the peace and quiet of the past 12 hours, we were confronted by hoards of hikers from Auzzie school girls to locals of all ages. The weather was looking great – blue skies and the mountain peeped out from behind the clouds for a few minutes. We registered quickly and got cool personalized ID tags to identify our bodies if required, arranged a guide (mandatory) and grabbed a ride to Timpohon gate where the trail starts at 1866m.

After signing in we paused at the race results board inside the gate. There is an annual race from the gate to the summit and back. Last years winning time was 2:40:41 – it was going to take us two days! We set of with our ‘guide’ following. To be honest we barely saw him. Seems guides on Kinabalu are hit or miss. Ours was a miss. We did well at the beginning covering the first km in 20 minutes, the second in 30 minutes and the third (half way) in 35 minutes. The trail is excellent. A well built track with an insane number of stairs (cut into the rock, set in concrete or constructed with wood) winds it’s way up past civilized shelters and toilets at every km. There were a lot of people heading up for the day and we were near the front of the hoard as we negotiated the increasingly steep section up to the Layang-Layang shelter (2072m).

At Layang (just short of 4km) we stopped for our packed lunch which was provided as part of the fee. It was brilliant and well thought out – just what we needed and the cheeky squirrels around the shelter obviously agree. Up to the shelter the views had been mostly of dense rain forest. We had kept our heads down and plodded on up through the moss covered trees. Beyond Layang the path turned to a hard sand and large rocks and the trees shrank to shrubs and grasses somewhat reminiscent of the berg. The trail became incredibly steep with endless huge steps.

We were both feeling exhausted and watching the porters carrying huge loads of supplies past us wasn’t helping. The last 500m was crazy. It is so frustrating since you know that 500m on flat ground will take at the very most 7 minutes to walk but up here it takes 30! V is amazing (aka stubborn) in these situations. She starts counting steps. Usually 150 but down to 50 between rests when the going gets tough. She sticks to it with grim determination and will stop at 150 steps even if there is shade or a rest bench at 155 steps – got to love her for that.

After 4.5 hours (precisely the estimated average time for the hike) we hobbled into Laban Rata rest house (3273m) and checked in to our dorm room. We were one of the first groups to arrive. Quite chuffed at our performance – not too bad for us. Before having a chance to cool down we decided to hit the showers. We knew that there was a problem at LR and that there was no hot water or heating. It was insanely cold as the screams from the shower stalls indicated. The rest of the afternoon was spent taking photos, waiting for dinner and hanging around in the dining area. The rain started up but seemed to come in waves as hikers arrived at the door saturated to varying degrees.

Trying to stay awake we chatted to a pleasant Auzzie chap until at long last dinner was ready (around 17h00). It was excellent. Simple, good comfort food. We ate our fill and polished off mugs of tea before heading to bed around 19h00. Tomorrow we make our push for the summit – hey, it’s hard core for us 🙂

[Pictures: Stairs and more stairs. Laban Rata, the promised land]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Kinabalu Park, Malaysian Borneo] Even with being exhausted we didn’t get much sleep – apparently some hikers only arrived at 10pm and people were up making a racket and getting ready from 1am. We joined the ‘supper’ queue at 2am and gobbled down some chow (the French toast was gone by the time we got there but I survived) in anticipation of the energy requirement for the morning (or whatever 2am is).

Freezing cold water on our faces, a red bull and a purple pill got us out the door before anyone else at 2:30. Our ‘guide’ continued his useless streak. He did not have a headlamp and did not contribute to the hike at all. In contrast, our Auzzie companion from last night had his guide pointing out flora and fauna all day.

The trail was pitch black. No moon or stars meant the first 700m of rocky steps was tricky to negotiate by the dim light of our little headlamps. We started out with full cold weather gear but within 15 minutes had stripped down, the stars came out for a bit and we were confident it was going to be an awesome morning. With 2km to go the trail starts to head up rock faces and you have to haul yourself up on the fixed ropes. Our improvised sock-gloves were soaking within seconds but the we were still feeling strong. It is an odd feeling climbing by headlamp. You have no idea if there is a huge drop just a few meters or a small slip away – thankfully it is easy to follow the fixed ropes – even on the flatter sections.

After flashing our passes at the last checkpoint we started the last leg up steep and smooth undulating rock faces. We kept a slow steady pace and were doing well until we came around the summit ridge and were pelted with rain and icy winds. The last half hour to the summit was horrid. Stumbling around in the dark on uneven ground obscured by raindrops racing across our headlamp beams. Our ‘guide’ hid in a gully while V and I scrambled for the summit (4:50am, 4095.2m, :gps:GPS::6.083333::116.55:gps:). We were ellated to have made it and impressed that we had met the challenge. But we were also a little disappointed. There were no views in the pitch dark and driving rain. Freezing conditions (and blue fingers) meant we could only snap a couple of shots before bolting back down. If we had tried to huddle in a gully and wait till sunrise, we would have been hypothermic.

Down was more difficult – slipping and stumbling occasionally on wet rock. Behind the summit ridge the conditions improved as we passed other groups heading up. By the time we got back down to the checkpoint we were able to make out some of the formations in the changing light. I was feeling annoyed at our guide – he knew our pace and could have recommended that we leave LR at 3:30 putting us on the summit at dawn (we still would not have seen a sunrise due to the cloud cover but at least we would have seen the summit).

By the time we got back to LR at 7am we had defrosted, dried out and were well aware that going down all those steps was going to hurt – A LOT! Breakfast was excellent and since we were one of the first groups back I got my French toast. We reckon that at least half of the people who hiked up yesterday chickened out of going all the way up – the weather didn’t help.

The Summit is only half way

After giving our legs a little rest we hit the trail around 9 aiming to be back at the gate by 13h00. Going down was less aerobic (obviously) but required far more concentration to prevent a tumble. It wasn’t long before it felt like our knees were turning to jelly. The weather held out until the last km when it started to drizzle and when we finally reached the gate it started to bucket down. The round trip took a total of 12.5 hours of walking. Quite an epic that was almost over.

After a bland lunch at the restaurant near park HQ we had the task of the 2km+ walk back to the hostel. It wasn’t going to be fun with the rain which was now torrential. We tried a taxi, but the price was ridiculous so we sucked it up and started off with aching legs. By the time we reached the hostel we were soaked through – good thing we have two days in KK to dry out and let our jelly legs set.

Overall it was great experience and I’m sure when we look back at it we will forget the dissapointmet at the summit and the pain of the descent remebering only the thrill of having made it.

[Pictures: Breakfast at 2am WT??’Glorious’ summit photo LOL. Down and Dead!]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[KK, Malaysian Borneo] Kinabalu mountain lodge was a little warmer last night but to be honest we were so tired it really did not matter. After a quick breakfast we packed up and headed out with very sore legs and packs loaded with dirty, damp washing (probably heavier with all that water too).

The two friendly pooches from the hostel accompanied us along the road as far as their territory allowed before bolting for home. We only had to wait a few minutes before a ‘private taxi’ (fancy people carrier) pulled up to offer us a lift. He was asking RM20pp (£4) but we knew the minibuses were RM15 so we waved him on. He stopped just ahead of us, jumped out and renegotiated to our price – as long as we didn’t mention the price to the other passengers on board – excellent. The ride back to KK was quick and uneventful with a police checkpoint being the only excitement.

Back in KK the weather was great. Positively hot. I hung our soaking shoes out of the hostel window on some cord to dry and we headed out in search of a laundromat. Finding one was a little frustrating – as you would expect in a first world city not geared for backpackers. We found one that wanted 3 days to do washing! Fortunately there was another one round the corner that would have it ready by tomorrow. Anyway, with the chores and lunch (good and reasonable at a ‘Thai’ restaurant) out of the way we headed back to the hostel to plug into the net and let the pain drain from our legs. Watching V going up and down the stairs at the hostel would be more funny if I wasn’t also in agony 🙂

The hostel has reasonably speedy Internet access and I have figured out how to download torrents to my iPhone – so we’ll have plenty of entertainment while we are recovering. We don’t expect to leave the 2nd floor of the hostel tomorrow unless hunger pains outweigh the agony of descending the stairs.

[Pictures: Our escorts and back in the city – love this building]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Mulu, Malaysian Borneo] Another flight today… We miss going overland, flying just feels like cheating. This time our destination is the National Park at Mulu which is deep in the jungle. Kota Kinabalu airport, besides being architecturally cool, must rank highly on ‘sleepinginairports.com’ – padded chairs without armrests, aircon not too cold, 24hr Mikkie D’s, the most awesome salt water aquarium at the fishmonger !?, immaculate loos and free WiFi. Pity we only got to spend an hour there. Our flight was with MasWings (another branch of Air Malaysia) on board a fair sized turbo-prop with a 20 minute stop at Miri. At every airport we had to go through immigration and collect more stamps even though we were just changing provinces.

From the air the runway at Mulu looks like a bald patch ripped from the jungle and nestled between gigantic limestone karsts. Somewhat like landing in the Amazon but at least the runway was tarred. After collecting our packs from the lone baggage handler we grabbed a shuttle to the park entrance and checked in. The place is very well presented (most looks brand new) and seems well run with a large variety of guided activities. We booked tours of the showcaves for tomorrow and headed to the hostel. Spacious with 17 odd beds scattered around the hall, it was full with travelers. We pushed two beds together – not PC in a dorm I’m sure, but we are the ranking ballies. The doors are open with no locks and the place is clean, but still expensive for what it is. We have got three full days here. Time to go sweat in the jungle again and see lots of bugs and trees.

[Pictures: Mulu Airport – pretty cool]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Mulu, Malaysian Borneo] What a fantastic nights sleep. Now we’re ready to take on some serious caves. Today’s mission was the well trodden show caves in the area. After breakfast we headed out by boat to the ‘Wind’ and ‘Clearwater’ caves about 30 minutes north east of HQ. The sun was out but it was pleasantly cool on the river.

First up was the Wind cave. The trails are an impressive mixture of wood and steel walkways leading up the side of a mountain to the cave entrance. The caves are also very well arranged. Lighting controlled by motion sensors, well built walkways and perspex protection for some of the more delicate formations. Despite all that the cave was not very impressive. Very small a little variety of formations left us hoping for better at Clearwater cave.

After a brief rest we climbed the 200 steps up to the Clearwater cave entrance (a nice reminder that our legs are still sore from Kinabalu). Our guide pointed out some interesting rocks near the entrance that have ‘grown’ towards the sunlight (well the bacteria grows toward the light eventually leaving rock behind). The cave was smaller than expected but had some beautiful stalactites, stalagmites and columns. The endless and sometimes stretched paradolia got a little tiresome. Our guide indicated where the ‘adventure caving’ sections split off the marked trails and head along underground rivers for 6+ hours. Now that looks like fun!

Back at camp we had lunch and I promptly nodded off into a deep sleep. We are sleeping incredibly well here – the humidity and heat is something like ‘Durban fever’ I guess. V got us up and going in time for the afternoon expedition to the ‘Deer’ and ‘Langs’ caves. An hour long walk through the jungle (albeit on immaculate pressure cleaned raised walkways) got us to Langs cave. Our group consisted of a loud (that’s redundant) American couple and a local Malay couple. The Malay guy was interesting – seems he was on the crew of the first ‘Survivor’ and has worked with Nat Geo, Animal Planet etc. V and I just listened as we strolled along. A tree along the path provided some entertainment rattling when the leaves were tugged (well the excited ants and not witchcraft was resposible).

Near the entrance to Langs cave we came across some tiny worms that generate threads like spider webs to catch prey (straight out of Planet Earth) but otherwise it was another typical Mulu cave. Deer cave is well known in the area. It is more of a massive tunnel than a cave. Up to 200m wide and 150m high it’s home to an estimated 3 million bats plus an awful lot of guano. Our camera battery died as we entered the cave and I’ll blame the incredibly strong ammonia smell for letting me forget that the spare was in the daypack! We took a 1 km walk around the cavern. It was impressively vast. The bat colonies appear as massive black patches high up on the cave roof – just don’t look up with your mouth open. Back outside the cave we joined some more tourists at a viewing platform to wait for the bats’ daily exodus. Unfortunately the rain started and we only saw a few streams leave the cave. Apparently when they exit en mass it is a sight to see – maybe tomorrow.

We have to admit that the caves here aren’t what we expected. They may claim to be ‘the largest cave system in the world by volume’ and have ‘the largest chamber’ but they pale in comparison to the beauty of the caves outside Anshun, China. Malaysia has been pretty disappointing (and expensive) so far – we have struggled to get excited about the places. It could be that we are just tired but I suspect that we have become accustomed to having something amazing to do every day. It’s just not the case here. So we are actually getting bored and frustrated – having a fixed exit date is also not helping. The plan for tomorrow was to hit the adventure caves for some real hard-core fun and excitement but turns out they need to be booked weeks (or months) in advance and the next scheduled departure is after we leave. Seems crazy to have all these activities listed for the park but all the adventure caves are not available (not because they are popular, but due to shortage of guides) and the ‘Canopy Walk’ is being repaired. What a waste of time and money! Good thing we have some movies to watch for the next couple of days. Our hopes for Malaysia now rest solely on the diving at Sipidan. Roll on New Zealand and the freedom of the open road!

[Pictures: Some cool stalacmites in Wind Cave. Cool tree. Sim at the entrance to Deer cave just as the batteries went flat – Will upload V’s iPhone shots to the gallery soon]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Mulu, Malaysian Borneo] We have been prisoners in the jungle for what feels like weeks. Extraction is set for 15:20 (Zulu) tomorrow but in the mean while we are just trying to stay alive. I almost lost V to boredom yesterday – it’s the most vicious killer here.

Seriously. This is the first time on our journey that we have been stuck. Unable to move on. Restricted by a plane ticket. It’s not a great feeling and we could not have chosen a worse spot to end up marooned. We watched ‘Groundhog Day’ last night. Being here is something like that!

Yesterday it poured almost all day and with no adventure cave options we just lounged around in the dorm exhausting our podcasts, movies and books. In the afternoon a very friendly and pleasant English guy arrived. On checking in he had asked to do some adventure caving and had been put on a tour for the next day. Apparently there were still two spaces free – we went to sleep hopeful that we would get on the excursion in the morning. No such luck. We were told again that it was full and settled reluctantly for a canopy tour. The story with the adventure caves has ruined our time here and it’s all down to the staff’s complete disorganization and lack of interest.

What can we say about the canopy tour? Well it cost 4 slices of chocolate cake and ice-cream each and we spotted more ‘wildlife’ sitting on the hostel porch for 30 minutes than on the tour. Our guide did point out a few trees, not the names or any other information, just the fact that they were trees. Similarly a flower (singular), some birds and the odd skink. Mulu National Park is not impressing us – we would have been far happier with the cake.

James (our entertaining and talented English roommate) showed us some photos and told some stories about the diving in Sipidan. It looks unbelievable and we are really excited about getting there. We just need to go past the orange atangs and spend a few more days in the jungle (oh boy).

So our recommendations for anyone coming to Mulu National Park:
– Book tours and accommodation VERY early and keep checking in with them. Every afternoon the staff were in the hostel trying to fathom why there were not as many beds available as there should have been. The facilities are great (a lot has been spent) but the organization is a total disaster.
– Do the Pinnacles hike. At least it will get you away from the HQ for 3 days. It was unfortunately too expensive for us.
– Do the adventure caves and Deer cave. The rest is pretty dull.
– 3 nights is more than enough.

Malaysia… Truly disappointing (so far…)

[Pictures: oooo. Canopy ‘tour’. Ziplines are much better]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

Our flight was only at 15:30 so we had most of the day to kill before leaving the park. We spent it lounging around in the cafeteria. A very old local tribesman arrived to collect supplies from the kitchen stores. Traditionally and practically dressed he also carried a serious looking machete. He shouldered a massive load in a hand-woven reed pack and headed off into the jungle – tough looking guy!

We eventually decided to walk to the airport. Only about 1.5km – still enough to break a sweat in these hot and humid conditions. There really is nothing here besides the national park. It’s a chilled out spot where the control tower guys hang their washing out the windows and the x-ray and metal detectors aren’t even manned. We had another few hours to wait at the airport – it was painfully boring. The plane ride was uneventful (always a good thing) and we were once again thankful for the Milo and muffins.

We are back at Kinabalu backpackers for two nights. If they had a membership programme we would be at ‘gold’ level already. After a full day here in civilization we’re heading back into the jungle!

[Pictures: Hefty load there old dude]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

Six hours of bus travel for us today to get to Uncle Tan’s operations base camp near Sepilok. We grabbed a taxi to the long distance bus station outside KK with the intention of getting a bus around 10am. Before we could get out of the cab touts had seized our luggage and were arranging our seats on the next bus. Normally that would have annoyed us but in a Malaysia it’s not an issue.

Having slept less than 3 hours last night most of the bus journey was a slumbering blur to me. I did wake long enough realize that the road was very windy as we passed Mount Kinabalu. The views of Kinabalu were spectacular. Perfect weather exposing the black peaks. We were really unlucky with our ascent.

Six hours later we were deposited at an intersection on the main road from KK to Semporna. A short (sign says 150m, but Malaysian distances are always optimistic) walk down the road got us to Uncle Tan’s. The place was pretty deserted and of a reasonable standard (WiFi, Aircon but not hot shower – go figure!). It’s our first experience with ‘all meals included’ accommodation in Malaysia so we were not sure what to expect. Dinner was good and basic. Tomorrow we go back into the jungle.

[Pictures: No pc to upload. Will add later]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

This morning we joined the other guests (a couple of very young and very Australian girls and a French chap) for the outing to the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary a couple of kilometers down the road. We love the idea behind the place. They rehabilitate and care for Orangs in need and then re-introduce them to the wild. Going as far as teaching the babies to climb and tempting them further and further into the jungle with feeding platforms. They don’t want them returning to the sanctuary and it appears to be a truly noble endeavor.

The morning was overcast and muggy as we sat waiting on the causeway near to one of the feeding platforms with at least 50 other tourists. Various types and sizes of macaque (the equivalent of vervet monkeys) started arriving stirring up a bit of noise and mischief. Precisely on time two men climbed onto the feeding platform with two large buckets of bananas. The macaques were frantic but the guys were having none of it, continuously chasing them away. It didn’t take long for an Orang to come cruising in along the cables. A mom with her baby buried in hair under her arm. They are amazingly cool animals with those big arms. Beautiful to watch swinging along. Mom politely took 3 bunches of bananas (one in each foot and one in her mouth) and headed off to a nearby platform to enjoy breakfast. A cheeky macaque managed to steal a few bananas from her but she seemed content. She ate and then just as gracefully swung onto another cable back into the jungle. Unfortunately that was that. No more Orangs arrived so I guess the sanctuary is doing it’s job very well.

After lunch and a chance to hammock out for an hour or so before we bundled into a minivan with three others for the transfer to the jungle camp. An hour and a half in the van and another chilly hour on an open boat heading upriver and we arrived at Tan’s camp. Not bad at all. Not as snazzy as Mulu National Park but the staff seem more jacked (and their website is cool too www.uncletan.com) Guess that’s the difference between government and private. The overcast weather that had been threatening all day thankfully didn’t amount to much – just a few drops as we headed out after dinner for our night river safari. We didn’t spot much. Typical… Some baby crocs thinking about having a go at a large Night Heron, some owls and a lot of sleeping Macques. Something we didn’t know – monkeys can sleep on branches because of their tails but apes (like the Orangs) have to build a nest. Anyway we got back to our hut around 11 – it was a long, hot and humid day. Tomorrow we have a morning safari, so up at 6am. Yay.

[Pictures: Huts + water = mozzies… Yikes! We’ll upload more pics as soon as we can]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Kinabatagan, Malaysian Borneo] 6am is not a good time of the day for us but V was up in a beat and off to the ablutions (no showers btw) some 400m away – not fun in the middle of the night I can assure you. A quick cup of tea and we hit the river. These river safaris are the best and most comfortable way to see the jungle in our opinion.

As we headed down stream the sun started to chase the clouds away. We didn’t see much for some time – mostly birds (Kingfisher and Fish Eagle) and more macaques. The jungle here is not primary rain forest and is dotted with the evil palm oil plantations (but we like marge a lot) but most leave corridors connecting the pockets of jungle – I assume they supply the animals with maps. Sightings improved dramatically: a troupe of Gibbons, some Proboscis monkeys and three Orang Utangs. The gibbons are the coolest of the lot in our opinion. Such amazingly long arms and impeccable skills. One was showing off swinging around the trees with one arm. The Orangs were off in the distance perched on their nest high in a leafy tree. We were lucky to see them – a youngster, a mother and her baby (that was only visible after zooming in on the photos). The Proboscis sighting wasn’t too good. Hope we get a closer look at the ‘Dutchmen’ later on.

Back at camp we munched a large breakfast around the swam of bees that were desperately trying to reclaim the honey on our pancakes. Our little group is pleasant and chilled. A Frenchman and a French-Dutch couple. Joep (the Dutchman) used the ‘off’ time to school everyone, including the staff, in table tennis. The guy is a master. Our next activity was a jungle walk. Knowing what to expect we were not looking forward to it. Jungle walks mean muddy shoes, mozzies, sweat and sightings of plants and insects. The walk lived up to expectations but the guide was knowledgeable and interesting – we even learnt a few things in between swatting mozzies (the mozzies here are so viscous that they even go for V).

An afternoon snooze with a table tennis ‘World Jungle Championship’ going on in the background and we were keen on getting going on the evening boat safari. We did get to see the Proboscis Monkeys up a little closer but not much else and in the fading light photography was useless. The flying foxes however, were impressive. Thousands of them heading off overhead to feed. With a wingspan of up to a meter they are the largest flying mammal. The ride back to camp was interesting – speeding along the river in the dark – lucky the moon was out!

After dinner we were scheduled to go on a night jungle walk around 9. With the rain setting in and weighing the chances of seeing something interesting with the discomfort level, V and I decided to opt out and headed to bed early. Good call I think. The others came back drenched after spotting one frog and a bird sleeping with it’s head under it’s wing 🙂

[Pictures: Will Upload]

Some Flying Foxes and a lot of boring clips from the river safaris

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Sepilok, Malaysian Borneo] Here it is in writing – V has promised that we never have to go to another rain forest again… EVER! Unless of course it’s a 5 star lodge with air-conditioned trails and our own personal assistant to follow us around swatting mozzies. In fairness, this has been by far the best jungle experience we have ever had and can highly recommend Uncle Tan’s. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable (this makes the biggest difference compared to Mulu), accommodation basic but good and the food more varied than expected. River safaris are also, in our opinion, the only way to see a rain forest (okay… zip-lines are cool too… combining them would be awesome).

This mornings 6am River safari was good too. V spotted an Orang swinging majestically along before disappearing in the leaves and we got to watch some Silver Leaf (with wicked hairstyles) and Red Leaf monkeys launching from tree to tree. Also got up close to a 3m croc on the way back to the jetty – swimming here would be a bad idea!

After the transfer back to civilization V and I spent the rest of the afternoon at the ops base camp soaking up the Internet and abusing the shower. It still seems nuts to us that our room here has aircon but the showers are cold water only. Oh well. When in Sepilok…

[Pictures: The PC’s at ops base are locked up tight. Won’t even let you connect a USB stick – so no pics yet]

UPDATE
Sylvie was kind enough to upload and provide a link to the photos they took at Uncle Tans. You can view them by clicking here

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] A short walk from Uncle Tan’s to the main road got us on the next passing bus headed for Semporna. The hostel had booked seats on a bus but it wasn’t necessary. A mind numbing action movie got us through the first couple of hours of the 5 hour trip. At least they supplied water and a nibble on the way – it was an easy and relatively comfortable trip.

We arrived in Semporna around 1 and after spending a minute dismissing scuba centre touts V led us off to find ‘Uncle Chang’s dive centre’ (yip, Malaysia is full of uncles). Semporna is tiny, more of a village than a town, and the Google map pin wasn’t very precise but thankfully the people in Malaysia are friendly and kind. A security guy at a store left post and walked (without asking for or expecting money) us the 800m through town and across some piers to Uncle Chang’s. How decent is that? The staff at the UC office, a small spot compared to the flash looking Scuba Junkie outfit, were brilliant. Sing Sing (the lady we booked through) arrived just after us. She had been at the bus station looking for us but we just missed her. We had to go back into town to get cash and supplies so Sing Sing offered us a lift. Once again the jewels of Malaysia are it’s people.

We loaded up with an obscene amount of munchies and supplies having been warned that the inclusive food would be bland. The transfer to Mabul in the small dive boat took around an hour. A little longer than usual due to the low tide making it tricky to get through the sand banks. Once past the obstacles the driver floored it on the choppy seas giving the 6 of us in the back quite a ride. We were pleasantly surprised with Uncle Chang’s when we arrived. A long-house built on stilts out in the crystal clear water. We were expecting a grotty mattress on the floor and a shared bathroom but got a double room with bathroom, actual furnishings and beautiful views. More than acceptable for us even if there is a nasty smell at peak loo times.

Eight full days here in this paradise should be great. Just look at the Google images of Mabul or Sipadan and you’ll see what I mean. We’ve booked diving around Mabul on 24th and 28th and Sipadan for Newton-mas and again on the 27th with the possibility of a night dive (cash permitting). I suspect we are not going to want to leave.

[Pictures: Uncle Chang’s Long House and deck on Mabul]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] Our first dives here are tomorrow so today was a chance to relax and enjoy the place. It’s been a ridiculously chilled out day.

V has been reading for most of it either in the hammock or in bed and I’ve been writing posts or fidgeting with our stuff and doing chores (apparently I can’t sit still for more than 5 minutes). We managed to haul ourselves to the food tables for meals but other than that didn’t do anything until late this afternoon.

We decided to go for a walk around the island. It’s probably smaller than one square kilometer with resorts all the way around it. On the far side are some fancier resorts (very fancy in fact) but what stands out most is the converted oil rig that has been plonked just offshore as a make-shift dive resort. We wandered around the ‘coastline’ as much as possible but there are a lot of fences and ‘private’ areas. Our side of island is definitely the poor cousin but we like it. Some of the resorts are huge – I can’t imagine having to fight over 50 people for dinner.

The inner part of the island was a bit of a shock. It’s a maze where the locals live and the first thing you notice is that there are way too many people in such a small space. The vast majority seem to be kids. It’s really nothing more than a shanty town but walking through everyone is friendly and most didn’t give us a second look. One of the missions of the day was to find a WiFi access point but we had no luck (that’s why nothing has been posted for ages).

After dinner V was watching the water from our deck and spotted amongst the hoards of fish and star fish, lots of pipe fish, a cuttlefish and a huge turtle. What a place. We can’t wait to get In the water tomorrow.

[Pictures: V multi-tasking, chilling and reading at the same time. The oil rig resort – got to stay there one day]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] Apparently (I had my earplugs in) there was a huge storm during the night that had V a little worried. At high tide and with a little choppy sea the water almost touches the deck so a storm or tsunami and we’re in some trouble. When we got up it was still drizzling incessantly so we decided to postpone our diving to another day (we have the time). I spoke to the staff and to Uncle Chang about it and was told it was not a problem but you do get the sense that nobody really knows what is going on. So our first dives here will now be at Sipadan – and the weather better be good because we can’t change the permit dates!

We spent the entire day relaxing around the ‘resort’, enjoying the cooler weather and watching the preparations for the evening festivities. The extra chairs and live band suggested it was going to be epic. As evening approached the weather cleared giving us a great sunset. We were joined by UC’s office staff and some others for what I guess was their company Xmas party. The kitchen staff pulled out all the stops for Xmas dinner. Instead of the usual (and by now extremely dull) three bowls with rice, chicken and fish we got an assortment including salad, turkey! even a choice of desert. It was a real feast.

From the sound of Uncle Chang’s speeches it seems that he is heavily involved in charities and does a lot of work for orphans. He’s genuinely proud of his ‘kids’ accomplishments boasting about their performance in football and basketball. It was heartwarming. The band cranked it up – ‘it’ being vaguely familiar and badly rendered covers – but it is their second language. The staff joined in as the guests looked on with grins and Uncle Chang went around distributing cool drinks to the kids and bottles of 80 proof rum to the staff and guests. Not sure what to do with ours we had a little rum and coke but it’s not really to our taste. No problem there – one of the boatmen emptied our bottle into his mug and with a big smile bid us ‘Merry Christmas’.

Sitting on our piece of porch we had more visitors in the neon lit water. A monster turtle cruised by. Beautiful creatures. Although our room is the closest to the common area the band did not play on too late. I think after a day of diving most people are just too tired for all-nighters. It was a pleasant evening but we are missing our friends and families, we’ll have to make friends with some fish tomorrow 🙂

[Pictures: Another shot from around the island. The fancy resort on the other side. Beautiful]

The staff and kids at Uncle Chang’s enjoying their xmas party

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] or ‘Merry Christmas’ if you prefer. No better gift than to go diving at Sipadan.

Lucky the weather was great for our first dives here. We were up early for breakfast and to sort out our gear. Uncle Chang’s is a ‘budget’ operator and you can see it in the equipment – well I guess as long as it works. V had a bit of fun finding a wet-suit amongst the manky selection. She was adamant that she should be in a small sized one and after trying (and failing) to persuade a few to fit she was left with raw knuckles. Who knew that wet-suits could be so dangerous 🙂 We loaded up and proceeded to test our gear before setting off. The first tank I tried didn’t have an o’ring and was half empty but there were plenty of spares.

The ride out to the island was reasonably fast thanks to the mostly calm seas and we were both nervous about getting back in the water after a month off. The group consisted of a couple Asian guys and fun bunch of poms who decided to dive with their Santa hats. We pulled in to dock at the pier to register for the day (only 120 divers per day are permitted). It is a stunning spot. A tiny idyllic island surrounded by clear waters housing only a small army base. Years ago a group of Philipino terrorists took a bunch of tourists hostage on the island and since then the resorts have been removed and replaced with a military outpost. The upside is that the marine environment is thriving.

Our first dive site was ‘Mid Reef’. V was particularly nervous – having never done a back-roll entry before wasn’t helping. From the reef around 10m we cruised out over the edge of the wall – a 600m drop to the ocean floor below and a lot of big creatures with sharp teeth – scary as! The dive went along the reef wall at around 20m. It was beautiful with a slow current moving us along the teeming coral. To be honest we were just getting the hang of everything again so not much stuck in our memories (besides a mid sized school of barracuda in the distance) and all to soon the dive was over and we were heading back to the island for a tea break.

After tea we headed for ‘Barracuda Point’. As we were kitting up there was a loud pop and the hiss of air from V’s regs. One of the hoses had popped off. Yikes. That would have been fun underwater. Barracuda Point was excellent with some big (for us) white tip sharks and loads of oblivious turtles amongst the countless other fish.

Back to the island for lunch and then back in the water but this time just a few meters from the jetty and another 500m+ drop off. Undersea pinnacles and huge overhangs made it feel like something out of ‘The Abyss’. Our guide led us into the mouth of ‘Turtle Tomb’. A dramatic cave system where some poor turtles get lost and end up dying. It was eerie looking out from the dark. The rest of the dive was along the reef wall popping up onto the reef amongst a huge school of Jackfish.

Quite a day. An amazing location with great visibility and hardly any current to speak of. Sensory overload trying to take as much in as possible including the odd undersea Christmas carol thanks to the poms. Good thing there is more to come!

[Pictures: Around Sipadan. WOW]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] Another beautiful sunny day. Another day at the office for Coco, our Spanish dive master. Because we had changed the earlier dive day there was some confusion so we were not sure we would be diving until the last minute. Things seem a little disorganized here, but as long as you’re patient it all kinda works out. Today was two dives on the local reef around Mabul and another on Kapala island around 15 minutes away. Unfortunately the visibility was not very good and after the experience of Sipadan yesterday the sea felt barren.

The dives were more about little critters hiding under rocks and some odd shaped bottom dwellers – the kind of stuff that we are not used to looking at. Things like the wacky crocodile fish, frog fish and leaf fish had us staring confused at random lumps until Coco outlined them for us. Divers seem to cherish spotting these guys but being new to it all we are still just looking for the big or colourful. There was some more familiar sea-life – blue spotted ray, moreys, sand rays (name?) and even a really long banded sea snake cruising the sandy bottom.

A VERY different experience but we are looking forward to getting back out to Sipadan tomorrow to search for some big stuff.

Seems we’re just writing about the dives. That’s pretty much all we have been doing. The food here hasn’t been too bad but we are looking forward to a meal without rice sometime. There are a couple of manky looking kittens that live here. They are friendly and get very excited when you fuss them and feed them and one of them really seems to like my lap.

[Pictures: Nothing on the phone. Will have to upload]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] Three more dives at Sipadan today, and they were unbelievable! Perfect weather again as we skimmed out over the glassy sea to the island. This time we were joined by a pleasant Dutch guy and his Canadian girlfriend and a bunch of Chinese divers. Jeroen (the Dutch guy) had a very snazzy camera setup. A Canon SLR with a macro lens and a monster strobe – V almost had to wipe the drool off my lip 🙂 Since today was going to be our last day at Sipadan I tried to rent a camera. Real pity that none were available (or people were too disorganized) – it was an epic day.

We signed in and immediately descended to around 20m at ‘South Point’. It was a stunning dive. Tonnes of immaculate coral stretching up the reef wall. 30m+ visibility meant you could gaze up the wall and see white tip sharks and turtles circling above. We spotted countless creatures as our small group cruised along with the gentle current. The tea break had everyone itching to get back in the water – who needs tea when the conditions are that perfect?

Next we headed to ‘Mid Reef’ and our deepest dive to date, leveling off at 26.2m. Another perfect dive with more sharks, and a small school of Barracuda. Notable where a huge school of Batfish and a monster Giant Grouper at the end of the dive. The coral at Mid Reef is our favorite at the moment. Absolutely beyond stunning and loaded with critters. One of the Chinese divers in our group wasn’t watching the dive leader or his computer and ended up needing a 26 minute safety stop to avoid decompression sickness. Apparently Chinese and Korean divers are notorious for doing silly things and buying expensive gear they can’t use – he was reading his computer incorrectly! That stunt put an end to his diving for the day. Very silly and dangerous.

For lunch back on the island we had a cool visitor. A 2m long monitor lizard patrolling around the platform and devouring the chicken bones people were tossing his way. He eventually strolled up onto the platform giving everyone something to take photos of. A little entertainment to help pass the time between dives more quickly was welcome. We all just wanted to get back in.

The best, as it should do, came last. Another dive at ‘Barracuda Point’ with lots of turtles (one almost swam into V), and our good friends the white tip sharks. We also spotted a big (very big for us) Grey reef shark passing below us. They just look like a shark. Bullet sharped and ominous. Built to kill. The site isn’t called ‘Barracuda Point’ for nothing. Near the end of the dive we were swarmed by a enormous wall of huge (1m+) barracuda. They snaked their way around our group a few times. A solid mass of fish just meters away. You could feel the water moving with them. It was awesome! I’ll be happy if diving doesn’t get better than today, but apparently it can.

Back at Uncle Chang’s we had a chance to chat to Jeroen and look at his photos from the day. The guy has got serious skills with a camera and vast dive experience – sounds like he has been diving everywhere. We learnt tonnes about the beautiful small stuff that is his passion. While we were all looking for sharks and turtles Jeroen was up close and photographing amazing little creatures. Tomorrow we know what to look for so we have decided that V will try spot the small stuff and I’ll keep an eye on the big ones. Hehe. Seems she drew the short straw.

[Pictures: Military Aircraft and boats patrolling around Sipadan and another shot of paradise]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi

[Mabul, Malaysian Borneo] Back on the local reefs around Mabul today so we were not expecting much but at least we had some idea of what to look for when it comes to the small stuff. Our DM for the day, Coco, was joined by a larger than life local lady named Rebbecca. She was so full of excitement about everything – her mood was infectious. We dropped off onto the ‘Lobster Wall’ site. The visibility was excellent and V immediately set about spotting the little things – a really cool baby morey (bright yellow), an orange and black flatworm some pipe-fish and the odd Nudibranch. Rebbecca twanged on her tank for us to come check out a pinkish sea fan. It took some pointing but we eventually saw what had gotten her so excited. A tiny (10mm long) Pygmy Seahorse on the fan. Coco was ecstatic. Apparently these guys are very rare and delicate. Even Jeroen, who has seen everything, has these guys on his list to photograph. We must have been lugging some golden horseshoes instead of weights!

Our next dive was back out at Kapala. Rebbecca led us this time down to a set of ‘houses’ (artificial reef) where we came across the biggest morey we have seen so far and cute little polka-dot yellow box-fish. Odd creature. Honestly looks like it has swallowed a rubic’s cube. From the houses we descended down and came up on a large fishing boat wreck. It was awesome. Felt like the opening scene of ‘Titanic’ as we came up and over the bow. Our dive profile meant we couldn’t stay long around the wreck. Rebbecca was on top of her computer making sure we were okay. On the way to shallower water Rebbecca pointed out a tiny Orang Utan Crab. We got the first sign for ‘crab’ but when she started making monkey arm movements we were lost.

The third dive was also good but not as memorable. We did see a large cuttlefish and V got caught out trying to adjust from macro to micro – she was looking for something tiny while I was pointing at a massive Scorpion Fish right under her nose.

Back at UC’s we spent a good hour scrubbing the jungle mud off our shoes – I hope the Australian customs guys appreciate it. Not much else to do but chill out and relax on the deck again. In the evening we heard that two Sipadan permits had become available for tomorrow. It didn’t take much for us to throw our budget even further out of the window and take up the offer. Resistance is futile 🙂

[Pictures: Check out the shots linked in the gallery including the stuff that Jeroen took]

– Posted from my iPhone via 3G

[Semporna, Malaysian Borneo] Our departure from the island was scheduled for 4pm so we were expecting a boring day on the deck but luckily there was a boat going when we got up. That led to a mad rush to get our gear together, copy photos from Jeroen and say our goodbyes to everyone before speeding off towards the mainland.

Uncle Chang’s was brilliant and high above our expectations (from what we had read online). We have a few notes/observations for anyone going there.
– Take snacks, fruit, cereal and long life milk. There is NOTHING to buy on the island and the food at UC’s, although good, does get boring if you are there for more than 3 days.
– The rooms were basic but good. We had no issues with the exception of the occasional sewerage smell.
– The staff, although not all English speaking, were always helpful and accommodating (reception staff in Semporna were brilliant) but you HAVE to ask for things – nothing just gets done automatically.
– The gear was old but worked fine and any issues were resolved quickly. Maybe take your own wet-suit – they were a bit manky.
– Things do seem a little disorganized (who is diving with who and where and when etc) The key is ask questions. Once on the boats everything was smooth sailing.
– Uncle Chang seems like a decent chap but is a little tough to warm up unless you are an experienced diver spending a lot of cash with them (He seems to have favorites).
– The view from the long-house is stunning and the new units under construction look like they will raise the bar substantially.
– We would recommend Uncle Chang’s but would not mind trying another operator next time we are there (just to compare).

Back in Semporna we checked into the Dragon Inn (AC and HOT showers – yes please !) and headed into town for food. I could not resist a burger at the Scuba Junkie restaurant after two solid weeks of chicken and rice. It tasted great but by evening I was regretting the decision. Tomorrow we start our 36 hour long mission to get to New Zealand !

[Pictures: V strolling down to the Dragon Inn – larney looking]

– Posted from my iPhone via 3G

[Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia] We can hardly believe it, more than 240 days on the road and tomorrow is a whole new year. Today started at 7:30 leaving Semporna by taxi. The airport transfer took around an hour and by the time we got to the boarding gates I was going downhill fast. 3 hours later we arrived in KL. The low cost airline terminal was packed but V was able to find us a spot to sit for the day. With 8 hours to kill and feeling like death warmed up I sat in agony as V made sure I was watered, fed and medicated to the gills. Typical now that we have to spend so much time traveling I go and munch a bad burger and get the worst food poisoning I have ever experienced. Scuba Junkie… You suck !

Our flight departed KL on time at 21h45. We were expecting the worst for a long-haul Air Asia flight but it was fine (not for me). You have to pay for food and drink and there is no in-flight entertainment. Not that it mattered – I swallowed pills to keep me comatose as much as possible. Spending New Years at 30 000ft is suppose to be a little more fun than this !

Nearing midnight (KL time) the chief steward announced “I have no idea where we are at the moment so we’ll count down to the New Year on KL time”. “Just as long as the pilot knows where we are !” I thought. The countdown was a little lame. V and I shared the moment, snapped a photo and then I dove back under my sleeping mask.

[Pictures: “Happy” New Year at 30 000ft. I just want a bed]

– Posted from my iPhone via 3G