Back Packing

Our transit through Thailand and Kuala Lumpur to Borneo was tiresome but a typical adventure. We landed in Tawan on the east coast of malaysian Borneo in the semi-autonomous province of Sabah before hitching a ride to our first destination of Semporna, jump off point to the world famous dive site of Sipadan. We spent 5 days here diving and relaxing. Being one of the world's best dive sites, the island of Sipadan is rightly well protected and no one is allowed to stay on the island. The army and police protect the area due to it's natural importance and also for the reasons of protection against no gooders. Only a few years ago several dozen tourists were held ransom on the island by crazed bandits. The government only allow a maximum of 120 visitors on to the island per day, which really means 120 tourists wishing to dive or snorkel. For this reason it is advisable to book your trip to Sipadan well ahead, a week should suffice. Not leave it to chance and hope for a cancellation like we did. The God's were in our favour and we managed to fill in for 3 people who cancelled (thanks guys). Sipadan did not fail to disappoint. The island is perched upon a sandy bank not more than a few hundred metres wide, drenched with lush trees. What makes the island special is its underwater position. Only metres off it's pure white sandy beaches the waters suddenly drop to around 600 metres deep, housing some exotic marine life. Barracuda Point was our first and last dive site of the day. Famed for its large school of giant barracuda in a massive tornado like formation, which some lucky divers have been at the eye of. The site also boasts a school of 200 or so hammerhead sharks. Unfortunately during both our dives we did not see either of these schools. But the site was no disappointment. From entering the water and venturing down "the drop off" (a gap in the wall leading down to the deep depths of the ocean) the water was littered with amazing marine creatures. I lost count of the number of turtles, white tip reef sharks, schools of jacks, giant trevallys, tunas, giant puffer fish, maori wrasse and the list goes on. Our second dive was at South Point but as I sent my log book home I really have no idea what we saw there, nevertheless I'm sure it was a great dive. The town of Semporna really has nothing to offer apart from being the base of most people visiting Sipadan. The streets are grubby, there's no beach and it really isn't set up for tourists. But like all of Malaysian Borneo, the people truly are spectacular. I was shocked to find such down to earth smiley happy welcoming people. the Malaysians speak flawless English, don't attempt to rip you off and are always so welcoming. Of course I don't mean the Malaysians in big cities like KL. I really was shocked by the people. I do not have a bad word to say about them. There are alot less tourists in Borneo than anywhere else I have been in SE Asia, which may add to the fact we were treated like rockstars. We adopted a Nickleback song for our Borneo travels "I Wanna Be A Rockstar" because that is how they made us feel. From Semporna we headed in to the heart of Borneo to the jungle and stayed at a place called Uncle Tans. One thing about Borneo, although the people were amazing I was frustrated with the activities. Malaysia is a rich country so travelling here was pretty expensive, in fact I spent around 44 pounds a day with all activities included. The government love to tax everyone for going anywhere. Everywhere is a park with a park entrance fee and a handful of other fees. So in order to see the real Borneo, the one we all imagine, dirt roads or no roads in the jungle with a handful of dull scientist discovering new species every week you have to pay through your nose and probably sell your arse in the process. There was a lot to offer in the activities but during our 2 & half week stay we were limited to diving, a jungle stay and climbing a huge mountain oh & drinking with the locals. The jungle camp was a great experience, with trekking and boating down the Junggi Kinabatangan river. The river is pretty unique as it does have a lot of wildlife in a short area, apparently. I say apparently as we did not see as much as we would have liked. This is due to the logging and agriculture around it, causing the wildlife to flee towards the last remaining sanctuary around their former homes. We did catch a glimpse of a lot of different wildlife including spiders (huntsman), different varieties of frogs, a scorpion, many different birds (hornbills, eagles, owls, kingfishers, huge centipedes, a tarantula (actually a new species only discovered last year), wild pigs, huge monitor lizards, pythons, lots of varieties of monkeys and two wild orang-utans, which was special as there are only two places in the world where you can see them in the wild. We arrived in to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Malaysian Borneo and the capital of the Malaysian province of Sabah. Like any well experienced traveller will advise, the best way to gain a feeling of a new destination is to trawl the streets at dark sucking in the culture in search of a great night destination to converse with locals and build night long friendships while sipping on amber nectar. Kota Kinabalu was no let down for our alcohol craved bodies. Maybe not a nightspot listed on any blue red or any other coloured list out there for Asia's top spots but the people knew how to party. Malaysian Borneo is a very unique place and for me what makes a place is mainly the people. We truly felt like rockstars in KK, everywhere we went people would smile, wave and speak kind words of friendship. No one wanted to force sell you anything just to say hello and welcome you to their country. We did have some great nights in KK. We saw two live bands one from the Philippines and one from Malaysia, who were without a doubt the best band I have ever seen play live. If, god willing, one day I do wish to end my single life I would love to have one band, N'twine, play at my wedding, the party would be rocking. They dance and sing through the crowd, everyone loses their egos and just dances and sings along. That is one thing I have noticed about Asia, mostly people don't have egos, they are who they are. They let go of any preconceptions or ideas people may have of them and just be. Something maybe we could learn from. Mount Kinabalu or Gunung Kinabalu in Malay, located in Kinabalu National Park stands at 4,095 metres and is the fourth largest mountain in SE Asia. Despite the writings on the reverse of a postcard I bought stating it to be one of the easiest mountains in the world to climb, it is not. You could say I have climbed a few mountains, okay no ice climbing but I have trekked a large amount of mountains but I would say that pound for pound this was the hardest as it is relentless. We went from sea level 0800 hours to the park office 1785 metres 1010 hours to our lodge 3225 metres at 1404 hours. Now any experienced mountaineer will know that this is a lot of altitude to be doing in such a short time. The path is relentless and steep, there are no flat sections, it is literally like climbing stairs for hours straight. But there is no need for any mountaineering equipment and it can be done in just over 24 hours so i guess in that respect it is easier than others. We rested at the lodge for a few hours rest and sleep before commencing to the summit at 0300 hours and reaching it just in time for sunrise at 0530 hours. Guided by our head torches this was the most enjoyable part of the trek. It was a little like a gypsy caravan, gazing down the mountain in the dark light you could make out hundreds of torches of our fellow weary climbers as they gripped on to the worn ropes attached to the steep granite face. The downward section of the trek was by far the most arduous and demanding on the body. My knees were ready to crack and Bob and Dylan both were suffering from wearing their 1 Euro rubber shoes which they had bought for the jungle trip. They lasted the ascent without any hassle but the descent was showing to take its toll on their feet. Dylan in particular was finding it hard to move. The crazy thing is, the guides which take you up here wear these shoes day in day out with no problems. But I guess when you've climbed the same mountain over 1,000 times it's like walking to the bathroom. With joy we reached the park office again mid afternoon. Victorious and proud of our achievement, well that is until we wandered past the chart showing the world record times for ascending and descending the mountain. The current record being 2 hours and 39 minutes...this really does beg belief how anyone can run 21 kms up to 4,095 metres and back down again in such a time. Aching and sleepy we headed back to KK and celebrated the ascent with a beer or two and then were trapped in a local bar as locals drenched us with Johnnie Walker black label and refused we leave but instead dance with the girls they kept bringing over for use, unbelievable. Another night as a KK rockstar. Sadly our time in Borneo had come to an end and it was time to head to Indonesia, specifically the island of Bali. When I initially decided to travel the world and planned my trip and destinations, I wanted to be in Australia by August. But once you enter Asia and throw yourself towards the culture and experience it has to offer, it becomes impossible to leave. For me Asia is like a drug and this is my habit. People ask where I will be for Christmas and what is next on my list but now I feel like I should be unbounded, have no plan and just be, live everyday is it comes. Why restrict ourselves to plans and goals, why live by preconceived ideas of society and culture how people expect you to live and act? Why not just be. I thought never again would I encounter such welcoming loving people as those found in Malaysia and crazy as it is, they are Muslim. But then I entered the world of the Hindu culture found on this tiny island of Indonesia and my love for Asia increased ten fold.