Tag Archives: Borneo

…and back into Malaysia again

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I stopped out to watch us batter Manchester United and really scupper the start of their season. And then updated the Ubuntu installation on my laptop. And talked to one of the café staff for half an hour. As a result, I got to bed around 2:30am with a 6:00 rise. Whoops.

As ever, though, I did wake before my alarm went off and gathered my things. All I had to pack was my toothbrush and toothpaste. I’d done everythign else the night before to ensure I didn’t wake my roomies. I’m nice like that.

It was only a quick walk to the bus stop where Mel and John were already waiting. Our bus was delayed slightly, but took off like a rally car once we were on board. The “you are going too fast” beeper in the driver’s cabin must have needed new batteries by the time we got to the ferry terminal.

The ticket was $15 and there’s also a $1 departure tax you pay a few metres further on so do be prepared with that extra buck for when you’re leaving the country!

The boat we got onto, the Seri Anna, was nice enough and spacious with TV screens – like a more comfortable ocean-going version of the river boats. With only 45 minutes or so of travel, it’s surprising they bothered putting a film on but they did anyway. Not that it mattered. I conke dout and awoke as we were approaching the ferry terminal at Pulau Labuan.

Our ferry back to the mainland and Kota Kinabalu wasn’t until 13:00 so we had some time to kill. My travel buddies headed for the war cemetery – from the photos, very similar to the one in Kanchanaburi – and I walked to the museum. Quite small and quite nice. They’ve even changed some of the signs, correcting inaccuracies. It’s predominantly about the history, geology and geography of the island. It’s had quite a history, being owned and run by various different parties before becoming the second Federal State of Malaysia – the status it currently holds.

I still had a little time, so walked out to the Marine Sports complex. This isn’t too hard to find – continue past the museum till you reach a sports field. Cross or walk round this and you’ll join another road with a huge bright red “fire water tank”. Go down this road about 100m and it’s on the right.

My reason for walking here was predominantly to see the marine museum it holds. Again, quite a small one but very nice with plenty of tanks with some interesting sea creatures inside. There’s a ton of information and more details on the four wrecks off the coasts, all of which are diveable. However, I don’t believe anyone runs trips to them at present, though this might have changed.

As the sun beat down, I walked back towards the ferry terminal only pausing for a large Pepsi at KFC (new landmass, new KFC…) where I couldn’t get the free wifi to work. If I had, you’d be reading this minutes after I typed it! Instead, I’m just about to pack up and walk over the road to the ferry terminal and collect my rucksack from left luggage.

More later…

OK, now it’s later (that was quick, wasn’t it?). The ferry journey from the island to the mainland was almost three hours, but fairly smooth. We were inflicted with the first Fantastic Four film and the second recent Zorro one. I’m rather glad I was tired as I just slept with the sounds of Disturbed and Dragonforce ringing in my ears.

Arriving in Kota Kinabalu meant that I was in another state of Malaysia – Sabah. This is the touristy one, and by all reports is busy at the moment. We did see a fair few tourists (obvious Europeans) kicking about, but it didn’t seem that hectic, in all honesty.

A short walk brought us to the Tropicana Lodge where I’d made a booking. Vincent, the owner/landlord/whatever was in a bit of a state as he’d been out on a night boat and had barely slept since returning. Regardless, he answered all my questions and started on sorting me out a dive class while I ditched my kit and met J & M for a beer downstairs.

From there we made our way over to Little Italy for a pizza/pasta fest. Expensive, but great food. A point to note in KK (and possibly all of Sabah) is the incredibly irritating “all prices subject to 10% service charge and 5% government tax” notice, usually dropped on a sign somewhere, or the bottom of one page of a menu. If all prices are subject to it, then why not just list it as part of the published price the way we do VAT in the UK? America, also take note with your flipping sales tax. If I see a price sticker saying “Snickers 40c” I expect to pay 40c at the check-out. Not 40c plus whatever your state’s sales tax is. Get it together, people.

Anyhoo, the meal was good if expensive. Melissa was tired, so John and I had one more beer before heading back (they’re travelling elsewhere in the morning) and I latched onto a German couple who were walking to the night market. We prowled the identikit stalls (wallets, sunglasses, cheap jewellery… repeat ad infinitum) then gave up and walked to an open air bar for a beer. Two large bottles of Tiger for MR21… plus the aforementioned tax and service. Good grief.

It seems I’ll be doing all my diving from Semporna. Apparently it’s cheaper and I can get a Rescue Diver package any time I want. So that means cutting my stay here short and doing the climb of Kinabalu in a couple of weeks, perhaps after I’ve achieved Dive Master. Plans are fluid as always, but I’ll keep you up to date!

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Around BSB

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Last night I found a 24 hour café with free wi-fi. Needless to say, I staggered away at a silly time (1:30) after the first half of the Sunderland v Liverpool game. As alcohol sales are illegal here, I had a nice pot of lemon tea while I surfed and shouted at the telly.

I didn’t sleep in this morning, though. My roomies were quiet, but I tend to wake at 8:00-ish anyway, so got up and ran a few errands. A nearby supermarket provided a nice healthy fruit breakfast for a little over a pound and I picked up some blank CDs to ship backups of my photos home. The nice man in the shop threw in some keyrings as a present when I told him I was in Brunei on holiday!

After eating, I walked to the bus station where I bumped into John and Mel, the Aus/NZ couple. Again. I swear they’re following me around. We all waited for the number 39 bus to the museum together. When it arrived, minor chaos ensued.

Bizarrely, Bruneian people wait patiently for things like buses. And when they arrive, they all dive at the door at once. A rather burly man forced his way in front of us, blocking us with his arm. But I’ll let him off as he pushed people back so two older men could get on first. He then nodded at us three tourists to board after them. There’s obviously some system we’re not aware of. The other rule seems to be that every passenger must be seated as nobody else was allowed on board once the seats were filled.

A dollar got us to the museum – remember to shout or bang on the ceiling to announce that you want off as there are no bells on these buses. As with most everything in Brunei, the museum’s free to get in and it’s pretty good. There are sections on natural history, Islamic art, oil & gas, ASEAN, culture, Brunei’s history and the recovery of a wreck found a few years ago. All the displays are informative, though the English can be slightly ropey. For instance, “i.e.” instead of “e.g.” when giving a platypus as an example of a monotreme. I mean, *tut*. There are two monotremes (OK, so five of you class each of the four echidna species as separate), so it’s definitely “for example” not “that is”. Alright, that was a very anal example of the “bad” English – most of the signs are perfectly fine.

We spent maybe ninety minutes checking out the exhibits… and the really smelly loo which isn’t anywhere near the standard of the rest of the building. Apparently there’s another museum nearby, but we were somewhat museum’d out and opted to walk up the road to the bus stop.

Before we could get there, a car horn beeped and a local pulled over. “BSB? Hop in!”. Mind, when your fuel is 17.5p per litre, you can afford to give people a lift. Reportedly, this kind of behaviour is very common in Brunei. People just want to help out and they do like to meet tourists. Despite their best efforts, they don’t seem to get too many (although we also bumped into the French couple who arrived at the bus station as we were waiting for the 39!). I guess most people come to Borneo for diving in the well-known areas such as Sipadan.

Our chauffeur turned out to be a security guard, an especially easy job in Brunei as there’s virtually no crime. As he put it, he locks the door then goes to sleep for the night. And he doesn’t pay tax on his income as there is none in Brunei. No income tax, no sales tax, no… whatever insane taxes we’re dreaming up at home now.

I separated from my colonial buds when we got back, though I’ll likely catch them on the early bus to the ferry tomorrow morning. I chose to go local for lunch and picked out Jollibee, a Bruneian (I think) fast food place. Well, I’ve never seen one outside of Brunei so I guess it’s local food. The chicken pita wrap I had was passable, though a little small. On a whim, I popped into an amusement arcade for half an hour as well. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but will someone please tell me when combat games started to require four or six buttons as well as the joystick? Crime Fighter and Yie Ar Kung Fu were always fine with just the three.

And once again I show my age.

Postcards have been written and will be posted shortly. Tonight’s plan is to chill out then head back to the same café to watch us getting embarassed by ManUre. Just because I’m on the opposite side of the world is no excuse to miss watching us taking a drubbing.

So my brief visit to Brunei comes to an end. It’s been cool, but the one thing that needs improved here is the public transport. It’s often easy to get somewhere, but as the buses all stop at 6pm getting back again can be a problem. Alternatively, give free cars to tourists! BSB itself is a nice enough city, but it’s quite small and everything apart from a handful of a handful of attractions are too far out to walk to.

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A well-earned day of chill

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It wasn’t actually chilly, but I didn’t do much. An early rise to watch some telly, read a few comics and then out into the streets to check out the bus schedule for Brunei. Anthony and I grabbed a McDonald’s for lunch then went to watch Wall-e which was superb. The cinema wasn’t much cop, and they ended the film as the credits rolled so I know I’ve missed something as all the PIXAR releases have “crazy credits”.

I called Daniel, the couchsurfer who couldn’t host me as he’s moving house. Unfortunately, he already had plans for this evening so wasn’t able to meet up but if I do come back this way then I’ll definitely look him up again.

Lucky for Anthony, as we got back to the hostel the French couple were in reception booking a trip to the caves for the next day. This meant it wouldn’t cost him anywhere near as much to go as he’d originally been looking at going by himself. It seems they’ll be a day behind me as I trail through BSB to KK, so I may meet up with them again.

I’m definitely glad I booked ahead for KK as it’s the school holidays as of today. As a result, same as back home, flight prices are up and accommodation is at a premium.

No plans for tonight, now, other than some food and getting online. A shame none of the wifi signals near the hostel are strong enough to connect to! And right now I have small kittens taking it in turns to try and pierce my power cable with sharp little kitten teeth.

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And on to Miri

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A day half-full of travel was ahead of us, and we woke early on. I’m grateful to have a body that can control certain functions and I managed to empty my duodenum rather effectively. After 2 days with nothing but rather scary squat toilets, my bottom came into contact with a proper (western) loo and the bomb bay doors opened. Veritable relief.

Daniel’s deaf relative was outside to collect our hats and ensure we got onto the right 4×4. We shared ours with a couple of locals, an English guy, a Kiwi and an Aussie (the latter a couple).

This is a bumpy ride – more like what you’d expect up in Cambodia. The roads aren’t too bad, and in places smooth and surfaced, but for the majority they’re gravel tracks. The 4x4s provided are pretty new and in very good condition, so pretty safe. Our driver was also good, but his choice of music not so – “Romantic Ballads of the ’80s” seemed to be the theme.

Three or so hours later we reached the road junction and hopped out. The car actually continued on to Bintulu where other passengers hopefully awaited him for the return leg. For our section, the asking price was MR60 per person.

There were plenty of food stalls around the junction so we grabbed some snacks and drinks as we waited for the public bus which arrived in good time. MR15 to the driver got us seats to Miri, except for the English chap who hopped out early on to head elsewhere.

At Miri, we had fun with the taxis. The bus station is a scant 4km from the town centre, but all the taxis refused to use their meter. The first driver was after MR5 per person, but we were told that was too much. By someone who tried to charge is MR4 each.

We waited a whort while for a bus before asking a third taxi driver. One person: MR15. Two people: MR15. Three people: MR15. Four people: MR25. And there were four of us. We’d have been better being screwed by the earlier guy. And I’m sure it’s illegal for them to refuse to use the meter.

Anthony and I checked into the Highland which seemed a pretty good place, though not the cheapest in town. All the double rooms were taken, so our Antipodean friends walked off to find alternative accommodation.

I got talking to a German guy and the Dutch man I’d met on the bus to the orangutan sanctuary who’d flown to Kota Kinabalu and then doubled back. Small world.

We’d hardly eaten all day and I’d found out that a KFC was just round the corner. With free wi-fi. An Anthony-and-I-shaped dust cloud remained in the hostel as we rushed off for “breakfast”. I did manage to catch a few of you online, and got some emails replied to.

The hostel has two cats… and 4 kittens. They’re barely 6 weeks old and they’re playful as can be. Which is great until they sneak into the dorm and it taked two people to get them out again. Cute as kitty-shaped buttons with fur on, the biggest problem is stopping playing with them so that you actually leave the place.

At 20:00 we met the Aus/NZ contingent at the Bavarian Café which has an excellent menu, great food and superb service. It’s expensive for Borneo, but on the quality side of things it’s hard not to recommend it.

Despite eating half a Chicken Feast earlier, I managed to squash down a beef burger (which was very good) before we walkd round to find a bar for a few bevvies.

The Aussies had an early start the next day, so departed early, while Anthony and I had a few more beers and watched Venus Williams “crash out” of the Wimbledon tennis. Well, important players always crash out, don’t they?

* may contain traces of lie

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Jungle trek

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After a breakfast of noodles and biscuits, we waved goodbye to our hosts (after little Cecelia fell down coming out of her back door and had to be consoled by her mother). We’d lost a little sleep as the heavens had opened sometime in the middle of the night, and hammered down on the metal roof. Still, we were looking forward to our jungle trek today.

Once more, we went via Daniel’s Corner to swap stuff over and meet the man himself. We hooked up with our guides, jumped into a boat and crossed the river. This wasn’t to be so long a trek as yesterday, and the weather was cooler. However, still not anywhere near “cold” and certainly humid. The area we walked through was jungle, but some bright spark some years ago had decided to put down a concrete path for sections of the walk.

This may seem like a good idea, but concrete plus time plus water equals vegetation and a ridiculously slippery surface. I can only assume it was sponsored by a local clinic that specialises in wrist fractures, back injuries and scrapes. If you ever do the trek, avoid the concrete where possible – our guide helped us wherever he could.

Roughly two hours later (and with only Chrystelle managing to put bum to ground at any point), we walked into a small village where we met some more locals. I confess I can’t recall the tribe these folk were from – they could have been Kayan again – but the children were definitely more shy. I don’t think they see anywhere near so many tourists.

The French pair had once more brough pencils and books, and a t-shirt for the man of the house. After a suggestion from Daniel, we’d taken about 20 packets of instant noodles. Some of these were served to us as lunch while the kids scribbled in their new books.

One thing that caught my attention there was the size of the family cat. Certainly the healthiest moggy I’ve seen in Malaysia. I swear it must have eaten other cats. It was also one of the friendlist I’ve met, collapsing and writhing with pleasure as soon as you tickled his chin.

After letting our lunch settle, we said our goodbyes and began the walk back to the boat. Jean managed to collapse in a much more impressive fashion than his girlfriend at one stage. Otherwise we made it back relatively unscathed, but dripping sweat and stinking somewhat horribly.

Daniel served us another meal at the Corner as we grabbed more swimwear, then we were driven down to a small lake for another plunge.

Finally, back to Daniel’s where he presented Anthony and I with small carved minature rice mills. I’ll need to get mine into the post home soon as I’m heading to Oz at some point and they won’t let me take it in!

Back at the hotel, my socks (worn for both days) flew bin-wards and I dived into the shower armed with a huge bottle of shower gel. It was soooooo good to feel clean again!

A great two days, with a great group. Challenging without being exhausting. I’d not say it’s spectacular scenery, but the satisfaction of being able to say I trecked through the jungles of Borneo has definitely made it worthwhile. That and drawing spacemen for a bunch of pre-schoolers.

Daniel invited us round to his place later in the evening where he forced us – held us down and put funnels in our mouths* – to drink some very delicious rice wine. He then told us how to make it ourselves. Bad marketing, frankly.

As expected, rain poured down as we were considering heading home. Daniel provided us with a couple of large straw hats to keep some parts of us dry as we sprinted back to the Belaga Hotel.

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