From our final destination in The Philippines it took 36 hours, a
motorbike, a boat, a min-van, 2 buses, a plane and a taxi before we
arrived in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysian Borneo.
Our time on the 3rd
largest island in the World was frustrating at times. Small budgets and a
tight timescale forced us to bypass 'must do' Bornean activities like
climb Mount Kinabalu - South East Asia's highest peak, and dive the
protected marine life in Sipidan which is hailed as one of the Worlds
dive spot spectaculars.
Nevertheless, using Kota Kinabalu (KK) as
our base we spent just over a week exploring the Northern state of
Sabah - finding day trips, cultural markets and a rough and ready brush
with nature expected from a pace like Borneo. First task was securing a
mode of transport. Buses on Borneo are slow, hot, not that cheap and
very spontaneous to their drivers mood. We hired, for £15 a day, a
vehicle that certainly would not be legal for the British roads but had
an abundance of Malaysian character.
A six hour journey East of
KK is Sepilok. Put on the map due to its successful rehabilitation
centre for orphaned orangutans, visiting one of man's closest relative
is a highlight of Borneo and could not be missed. We stayed in a basic,
eco friendly lodge 5km from Sipalay, set in the midst of thick jungle,
buzzing with the sounds of wildlife, it was just the kind of place I had
pictured in my head before arriving on Borneo.
Seeing monkeys on
riverbanks, socialising in trees or getting in the way of the roads is
common place in a lot of South East Asia but seeing an animal with such
human like features (Orangutans share over 95% of our DNA) is spine
tingling. I smelt an expanse of dried bananas, foisty leaves and matted
hair as a 90kg male slouched by on the beams of the feeding area. Tens
of people gawped open mouthed and I'm sure I was no different. The
Orangutan was less than three feet away but you would not dare to make
contact - he was huge and very much in charge! It was a wonderful
experience to see such intriguing animals up close and great to know
that places like Sepilok are making a heavily positive impact on their
futures.
The island of Mamutic is only 15 minutes by boat from
KK's Western shore and after our experience with the Orangutans it
helped to keep our love for nature burning brightly. Creating one of my
lasting memories of any travelling I have done to date, we spent a night
in our best accommodation yet. The tent cost £2 and the spot of sand we
pitched it on was complimentary. With only the moon, stars and our
expertly made camp fire for light we sipped rum from the bottle and
traded stories with a Malaysian tour guide named Arthur. We concluded
that he had a pretty enviable job.
From Sabah we used two boats
to reach Bander Seri Bagawan, Brunei. In search of our inner sultan the
countries capitol was a good host. Home to the outrageously wealthy and
lavish Royal family that rule there the people of Brunei adore their
Sultans and are proud of their reputation for luxury and expense.
Although we weren't in the market for either, Brunei is an obvious stop
off between the two Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak.
From
bustling street markets to elegant and regal looking Mosques, South East
Asia's largest water village, an abandoned theme park and, a
staggeringly ludicrous $1.2 Billion hotel, we were never bored and often
in awe of the Bruneian culture - the rich and the poor.
Sarawak
was the location of our biggest and best physical adventures, oozing the
characteristics of Borneo we craved. First came the exploration of Niah
Caves - some of the biggest open to mankind. Staggeringly vast in both
size and an eary, extraterrestrial feel it is not hard to let your
imagination run wild, especially in the wake of 40,000 year old
paintings that mark so many of the inner walls.
In our last few
days, our final image of Borneo was mustered up of thick jungle. Four
hours of sweating, stumbling and at some points climbing through dense
vegetation was hard work but justly rewarding. Our efforts no doubt
amplified the beauty of the beach we designated the half-way point.
Either way it felt like real Borneo and was a fitting way to reflect on
our experiences in this part of the World. We had made the most of it
and been surprised a number of times with what you can do on a budget.
Indonesia
was upon us. 30 days to cover 2000km, dive into a new culture, grasp a
bit more local lingo, endure a few bone crunching bus journeys and see
what the World's fourth most populated country has to offer.
Our
first 10 days were spent scattered between Bali and The Gili Island's.
Bali appears to be to Australians what Ibiza is to young European's. Its
loud, fast, busy....and fun. Gili is less of a party scene but still
offers up ample opportunity to let your hair down and not remember much
in the morning. Being fresh out of University and craving a social fling
after Borneo, we did what students do best and sampled the local brews.
Besides
from recharging on beaches and fending off hordes of tit-tat sellers (I
couldn't resist a rather authentic looking blow pipe!), Bali is much
more than a party island. Ubud is the epicentre of everything Balinese.
Slow paced, the smell of burning incense caresess your nostrils and the
rigor of daily life is constant all around. Here, as well as monkeys
using us as climbing frames, touring coffee plantations and wandering
through impossibly green rice terraces, we were guests at a traditional
Balinese dance performance. The passion, skill and beauty displayed was
inspiring and seeing the pride in their faces at the obvious levels of
enjoyment the crowd possessed was a pleasure.
The final note in
this episode of my travels comes from Java - a region West of Bali and
Indonesia's most populated. It is in Eastern Java that Mount Bromo is
found - a steaming crater found in the desolate 'sea of sands' that
brings locals and travellers alike to stare in awe at its beauty. We
rose at 4am in time for sunrise and the pilgrimage to the top of a
viewing platform in the dark and waited. When 5.32am came around all
expectations were blown out of the water. It is difficult to imagine
many views of such stunning and powerful natural beauty rivaling what we
saw. The crater's of both Bromo and Semeru belched out clouds of
sulphurous smoke into the air and the Jurassic looking scene held the
attention of everyone watching until, seemingly unnoticed, night had
become day.
As we move further into Java our experiences of 'real' Indonesia appear
to be intensifying. Currently in Solo, this evening we dinned on satay
snake, drinking the blood and all - they say it makes you strong! I
don't think it will be making the menu at The Fauconberg anytime soon
but they cook up a mean dish out here.
