SabahWanda's Blogsite

2007-06-14T09:53:00.000+08:00

Hi all,

I'm writing this from Qantas Lounge at Perth Domestic Airport. I'm actually supposed to be halfway to Darwin by now but thanks to Qantas' policy of overbooking flights I am stuck here. I attempted to book in with plenty of time to spare although it was just under the 45 minutes that Qantas asks for, still I certainly didn't expect to find out that they had given the seat that I had booked 6 months ago to someone else!

This screws up my plans quite nicely as I had planned to join a cousin who lives in Darwin on a tour of the Mindil Beach markets. Tonight was the only chance I would have to do this. Still - always look on the bright side of life n all that so I'm trying to book a scooter tour, or at least hire a scooter for tomorrow so I can have a good look around Darwin.

I'm due to arrive in Darwin at about 7pm tonight so I may well still head down to the markets depending on what time they close up... I will feel a little nervous walking around on my own but hell you only live once right?

Tomorrow night I'm on a sunset dinner cruise so I'll have to include a clothing shop in tomorrows plans somewhere, I'm not sure what the dress code is so I'll have to check on that also.

Saturday I join the camping tour that heads out to Kakadu for 4 nights & then return to Perth on the 21st.

Despite today's setback I'm still very excited. It's funny because I've travelled a bit yet still feel like a kid on their first holiday with every trip. :)

Anyways - gotta go as my tummy is rumbling with the smells drifting from the kitchen area. Ciao, selamat tinghal and all that!

2006-08-26T15:41:00.000+08:00

23rd August 2006 - Brunei Airport

Today is my last day. I woke up at 7am after sleeping very poorly. Last night I started experiencing a very irritated throat which I attribute to the very thick and acrid smoke which smothered Kinarut.

While at breakfast I read a news report of how a group of local school children who were out on an excursion, despite it being school holidays, were swept away by a rip tide at a beach near Rasa Ria around 4:30pm last night. Apparently the parents weren’t even told that the children were going out on an excursion, but instead believed that the children were going to school for extra tuition. I wonder if children here are taught how to swim and to handle situations like rips etc as Australian children are. I don’t know if the beach is as much a part of their lives as it is ours. So far the searchers have found one body and only one survivor.

I am currently at Brunei Darussalam airport waiting for the transfer flight back to Perth which is due to fly out at 1pm. I have a very hoarse voice but am fine if a little sad to be leaving what I now consider to be my home away from home. Already plans are being made to return, probably for the 50th anniversary of Malaysian Independance on 31st August next year. Then again I would love to see Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, China, Peru etc

Selamat Tinggal Sabah. Terima kasih banyak-banyak! Jumpa lagi nanti!

Good bye Sabah. Thankyou very much! See you later!

22 August 2006 - Shangri Lah Rasa Ria Resort

2006-08-26T15:05:00.000+08:00

I'm so excited! I’m going to the Orangutan Sanctuary at Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort today. The trip starts at 10am with a coach ride from another Shangri-La resort – Tanjung Aru Resort to Rasa Ria which is located about an hour’s drive north west of KK.

The coach arrived at Rasa Ria with time to spare so I headed off to the café for an iced Lehmon teh before wandering off to tourist shop where amongst other things they were selling batik artwork on silk and wood. The paintings are done by deaf and mute people who live locally and the selling of the goods provides the people with a source of income. I bought three large batik silks, not just because I liked the idea of giving the disadvantaged people an inocome, but also because the artwork is beautiful and I knew they were exactly what I was looking for to fill the large wall in my dining area.

Having left the artwork in the safe hands of the shop attendant I headed off outside to take a look around. The Rasa Ria grounds are GORGEOUS! They have a pristine beach, Bali styled gardens which offers a quiet place away from the hoards, they also have more traditional garden layouts which are filled with tropical plants, of which the flowering gingers were definitely my favourite. The Orangutan feeding time wasn’t until 2pm so I had some quiet time lying on one of the many seaside lounges relaxing before heading into the sanctuary.

The experience started with a briefing on what the group, about 50 in number, could and couldn’t do after which we were showed a five minute section of a video which described the Orangutan and it’s habits in the wild. Then we were off! We were lead along a fairly steep forested track to the viewing platforms which were perhaps a ten minute walk away. Once there the keeper placed fruit food on a feeding platform which at it’s closes was probably about 200m away from the viewing platform. Once the food was distributed we were soon joined by two older juvenile Orangutans who climbed down the trees virtually above our heads. Once these two were seated a younger juvenile climbed tentatively down a tree RIGHT above my head.

Initially the two older Orangutans wouldn’t let the younger eat but kept chasing it off whenever he/she approached but after about 10 minutes & lots of daring moves the younger was allowed to grab food but only while remaining off the platform. Once the little one had had it’s fill it was off climbing saplings & swaying on ropes occasionally returning to the food to grab another bite to eat before heading off to play some more.

While this was going on the other two looked like they were having a siesta on the feeding platform with one lounging on it’s back while the other just sat there looking around at the strange creatures looking at it. I felt very sad leaving the sanctuary, it was certainly a very emotional experience for me coming face to face with a creature that is so incredibly close in DNA to humans. The keepers appear to be correct when they say that the Orangutans resemble human children who are around six years old in both personality and intelligence.

After about half an hour it was time for us to head back to the resort. After grabbing my paintings & sitting down enjoying the music provided by two men playing local music on local instruments the coach arrived to ferry us back into KK.

I managed to sit next to a very interesting woman on the way back. She was another Australian woman who was well traveled and was more than happy to relate her experiences of Sabah to me. We talked the whole way back about Sabah’s social and environmental issues, issues at home etc etc etc Needless to say the time passed very quickly. Too quickly perhaps.

I decided to disembark at Wisma Merdeka as I wanted to hunt down a Sabah pin for my backpack to go with the Brunei pin that was already there. I didn’t have any luck unfortunately.

21st August 2006 - KK and Horse Riding

2006-08-26T14:34:00.000+08:00

7:30am - I am feeling a little better than yesterday but am trying to organize a trip for tomorrow to one of the Orangutan sanctuaries and to go horse riding. It’s my last day tomorrow so I have to do something!

8.24pm – Well that was a fun day! The Langkah tour guide kindly offered me a lift into KK airport so I could change a traveler’s cheque. He then invited me to have lunch with himself, his wife & young child. I felt it was a very kind offer & told him as much, but by this time I was feeling very under the weather!

Instead I briefly walked around Wisma Merdeka, a shopping mall with some good shops aimed at selling local crafts such as drums, masks, batik materials etc it was a very brief outing & I was soon walking back to the bus stop to catch a bas mini back to Langkah with a cute Orangutan toy and a batik sarong. Fortunately the driver was a woman this time & her driving was much smoother. :)

When I returned back to the hotel I felt like I had to organize something for that night since I had less than 36 hours left in the country. I had heard about a nearby horse riding school which took people out on rides through the country side or along the beach & so decided to settle for a late afternoon ride along the beach as this seemed tame enough. I organized this with the help of the hotel’s reception & also organized a trip to the Shangri Lah Rasa Ria’s Orangutan Sanctuary the next day.

The ride was so nice! The tide was out so the beach was littered with rocks and a little rubbish, but this provided us, myself and Dale a Queensland expat who has been in Sabah for 37 years, with a smooth path for 2kms along the beach and then 1km or so out to a nearby island.

The lovely riding school horse, the scenery & the cooler temperature all resulted in me feeling very relaxed and even a little better.

When we returned to the school Dale invited me in for a cup of tea with herself and a woman who is looking after the place while Dale heads back to Australia for six months. Sitting down with a cup of tea with these two was VERY nice. They were both very down to earth, probably what you call ‘Salt of the earth’, and we had a good talk and laugh about everything and nothing for about an hour before it was time for me to head back to Langkah.

Sabah seems to draw people such as these two to it. This attitude seems fairly common amongst the locals as well. Sabah may be an Islamic state, but there’s none of the intolerance & suspicion of outsiders that westerners think goes hand in hand with the faith. Still, obviously the visitor needs to respect the beliefs and values of the locals, much as a visitor visiting another’s home.

Selamat malam!

20 August 2006 - Langkah Syabas Beach Resort

2006-08-26T14:31:00.000+08:00

I am feeling like I've got the flu. Have spent the day sleeping and reading while drinking loads of red cordial and popping throat lollies & panadol like they're going out of fashion

19 August 2006 - Garama River Lodge

2006-08-26T11:50:00.000+08:00

At breakfast this morning I met a young couple from Sydney. After speaking with them a little they invited me to join them in a tour they were doing later in the day to Garama River Lodge. Garama offer tours into the wetlands around the lodge where Proboscis Monkeys and other smaller monkeys live.

Rather than sitting around the resort all morning I decided to take another life changing foray into KK in the hope of picking up a local drum or guitar, only to find the mall I wanted to enter was closed. I wasn’t sure of what time it would open & so wandered around the city centre, heading towards the waterfront where food markets (pasars) were in full swing and boats were coming and going. While walking in front of some shops on the waterfront I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of an Australian restaurant that will soon open. There wasn’t any indication of what would be on offer to give the Malaysian people an impression of what Australian food is like. Hopefully they’ll offer things like Morton Bay Bugs, Crayfish and Marron… I guess time will tell.

Leaving KK with a new pair of sandals and some t-shirts I headed back to Langkah for a quick swim & lunch before the tour bus arrived at 2pm. Despite concerns about the coach and whether it would be air conditioned, the coach was in good shape and very comfortable. Just as well as the drive to the lodge took two hours over some fairly rough roads. I got the giggles as I completely left the seat on a few occasions.

We arrived at our destination and were lead on a ten to fifteen minute walk along a raised platform through a wooded swamp. At the end of the walk was the lodge proper, a group of four Balinese styled pergolas which had roofs of woven reeds. All of the pergolas were completely open, except for the one containing the toilets (tandas). We were seated under one of the pergolas and offered tea, coffee and some finger food while waiting for the boats to arrive.

Not too long later the boats, long thin flat bottomed with outboards, arrived and we were split up so there were about ten people in each boat. I was placed in a boat with a Japanese family & we were off. It couldn’t have been a good day for the Proboscis Monkey as we couldn’t find many at all. We did spot a troupe, or a harem considering the troupe consisted of one male and LOTS of females! This particular group was situated in a tree that was about 300m from the riverbank and with the sun behind them all we could see were the profiles.

Further on we encountered a couple of other varieties of monkey, a monitor lizard, water buffalo and a small crocodile. And then… as we were heading back we encountered a small group of Proboscis Monkeys closer to the riverbank. Despite the lush growth we managed to watch the monkeys for a little while before heading back towards the Lodge. As it was late in the day we were dropped off at a jetty for a 20 minute walk back towards the base where there was a light dinner waiting for us.

We were about to head back to the coach but the tour guide came over & told us to walk back to the end of the jetty where had earlier entered the boats & across the river the trees were lit up like Christmas trees thanks to a large swarm of Fireflies. It was beautiful!

Tired but happy we headed back to the coach for the trip back to Langkah.

18 August 2006 - Kota Kinabalu

2006-08-25T10:07:00.000+08:00

I woke up this morning with seriously itchy feet, figuratively speaking. So after a light breakfast and with a copy of a street map of in my hand I headed into KK. I felt like being adventurous & had come here wanting to find out a little about the local people & so decided that taking my life into my own hands by trying out the Bas Mini, the transport system the locals use, seemed like a good idea. The bas mini was certainly a life changing experience! They drive FAST in Sabah. Also the mini buses are constantly stopping for passengers, which lead to some fairly hairy situations. Especially when there are two or more of these things trying to pick up the same passengers! Still, it was a lot of fun & the locals seem to be appreciative of tourists experiencing a little of their way of life.

Once I reached KK, minus a few years off my life, I wandered around while drinking my way through about four litres of water. It's certainly hot & humid here! I think the temperature was about 30 degrees Celsius, but someone said the humidity was around 90%! There aren't as many beggars or hawkers here as I would have thought. Of what few beggars there are most are missing a limb or two. The few hawkers aren't obvious with stalls showing their wares. The ones that I came across wanted me to follow them so they could show me the VCDs, jewelry etc they had for sale. No thank you!

My initial impression of KK is that it's a filthy & smelly place, but wandering around I found it more interesting than offensive. Certainly the mostly open & friendly people make the place worth visiting. I was stopped numerous times by people wanting to find out where I came from I met more than a few who had family living in Perth or Adelaide. Fortunately no one took exception to me being an Aussie, infact Australians still seem to be liked here. Speaking a little Malaysian & making an effort to respect the local values helps also. It's amazing the broad smiles and obvious appreciation that results from even a faulty attempt at "Halo. Apa kabar? Di mana..." "Hello. how are you? Where is...". Actually the faulty attempts get a better reaction than the correct ones. I caused a few people to laugh & offer a correction to me... I think I actually asked for a fish to cut bread at one point!

The shopping in Sabah is good, although not what we're used to. The malls are probably more like our markets. I even dared to enter a local supermarket in the hope of buying some bits I needed. It wasn't easy, but certainly fun & I eventually found what I needed with the help of some kind & patient staff.

Having had enough of the heat I headed back to the resort, again on the bas mini - for a swim, a light lunch of Slipper Lobster in a beconaise sauce closely followed by a nice cold beer. The waiter seemed unsure but impressed when I asked for the beer :) After lunch I decided to take it easy & borrowed a book from the extensive library at Langkah.

Even thought it's an Islamic state, Sabah isn't as strict as some. It's possible to purchase alcohol & there are plenty of bars & even at least one nightclub that I saw in KK.

17 August 2006 Post 2 - Langkah Syabas Beach Resort

2006-08-24T21:38:00.000+08:00

Langkah Syabas Beach Resort - Wow! What an adventure! The airplane arrived at Sabah airport at around 9.30pm and I made my way through the baggage pickup and customs to find no welcoming faces waiting to whisk me off to the resort. OK...

After waiting out the front of the terminal checking all of the signs being held by hotel representatives for other travelers for about half an hour I decided to try my luck with calling the hotel to arrange pickup. Unfortunately the payphone didn't like my Telstra phone card & I had no coinage in the local currency. Right...

Next step - I wandered over to the taxi rank & tried to utilise what little bahasa Malayu I had managed to learn before coming on holiday to tell the taxi driver where I wanted to know. Unfortunately neither of us knew much of the other's language. Still we managed to converse somehow and after he queried another driver about the route to the resort and he managed to explain that I would need to purchase a coupon we were off. Despite the obvious language barrier it was an interesting ride with both of us making attempts to speak using a combination of poor attempts at the other's language & hand gestures. Well that was fun!

I am now sitting very comfortably on my bed in my little chalet which is basic but cosy & comfortable. It's fitted out almost exclusively in a dark timber & perhaps it's only down point is that there isn't a desk & chair. The confusion over the lack of a pick up has been cleared up, apparently they were told that I would be arriving earlier in the day. The night staff were very helpful & organised some rotti bakar (toast) and jam for me as the kitchen had been closed for several hours before I headed off to the chalet.

It's now 12am on the dot & I am starting to finally wind down. Sleep is definitely on the way. What's going to happen tomorrow? Who knows but with the way this holiday has gone so far it's going to be an adventure!

By the way - the hotel has two resident dogs! Not to mention the three ponies of various sizes and the four sheep all left to wander around the property at will with no restraint bar a basic rope tether around their neck that trails along the ground behind them.

This is Lucky, a beautiful & playful girl.

17 August 2006 Post 1 - Perth to Brunei Airport

2006-08-24T21:19:00.000+08:00

6.50pm - Arrived at about 6.15pm. Borneo is on the same timeline as Perth. Fortunately! Had a very smooth flight, except for the last leg over Borneo itself, but even that wasn't too bad. The in-flight entertainment was only entertaining in that it either didn't work or else froze while playing the program. Still, the flight was comfortable & the attendants polite & friendly.

It's actually fortunate that the thing DID break down when it did as I looked out of the window just in time to see the peaks of a couple of volcanic mountains slipping away below. I assume these were located on Bali. It was an awesome sight!

The passenger seated next to me was good value too as he related stories to me told by others at conferences he had attended. The people gave eye witness accounts of historic events such as the forming of the SAS etc Just before we embarked he encouraged me to look up the Australian American Association.

I'm now at the Brunei Darussalam International Airport & am resting in the public seating area for my transit flight in about two hours. I spent some time looking around the airport but although transit travelers are reasonably well catered for it's a good thing that they offer tours of the capital - Bandar Seri Begawan. Unfortunately my three hour stopover just wasn't enough.

Two Days To Go

2006-08-14T13:11:00.000+08:00

I'm so excited. Two days to go! Packing is just about done, with only a few last minute goodies to throw in. I think I've got everything I'll need & more.

Unfortunately I've only got about 3 hours to explore Brunei, so I don't think I'll be seeing much, but I'm still hoping to take a quick tour around. If not I suppose I could always buy a postcard!

As if I'm not excited enough I found out today that there will be a music festival on while I'm visiting Sabah! I've been a world music nut for years now & so am completely excited about this opportunity. I'm hoping to purchase a couple of instruments while in the country - a local guitar and hopefully a decent dumbek. I know the dumbek is a Middle Eastern drum, but I hear that belly dancing is fairly popular in both Brunei & Sabah so I may be lucky. The annual sales will also be on this month so I'm expecting to spend at least a day wandering around the shops. I might have to make that my activity for the first day there as I'm sure I'll be jetlagged despite Sabah being almost on the same timeline as Perth.

I've been exploring what some others say about Sabah & although a lot of it is negative, I'm still determined to enjoy the experience no matter what!

I guess this'll be it for a while as I doubt I'm going to have time to blog before I leave & am still considering whether I should take my laptop with me.

Selamat jalan!

Two Weeks & Two Days to Go!

2006-08-02T15:50:00.000+08:00

Selamat datang! (Welcome!) Nama saya Wanda (My name is Wanda) & I'll be your friendly jet setter blogger for this ride to Sabah, Malaysia & back. It's been around 7 years since my last holiday. I'm so excited concentrating on work is impossible, sleep patterns have gone all awry & my stomach & heart are doing back flips!

The trip starts from Perth, Western Australia, on the 17th of August care of Royal Brunei Airlines. There will be an 3 hour stopover in Brunei, during which I hope to explore a little of the city, before continuing onto Sabah where I'll be spending 7 days there staying at the Langkah Syabas Beach Resort which is south of the capitol city of Kota Kinabalu. Activities will include snorkeling around one of the islands near the city, visiting the Orangutan & Green Turtle sanctuaries, doing a short trek or two on the paths around Mt. Kinabalu, visiting a tribe of horsemen to the east, horse riding at sunset along the beach, the wildlife park in the south-east as well as taking a train trip up the west of the island. Are there any suggestions of how I can do all of this in six days?

I've just realised this Monday past that it's only two weeks, not three as originally thought, until the big day! Needless to say the packing has been started as I think of things I'll need. Of course I'll be repacking, it goes without saying, but hopefully I'll be less-likely to forget anything this way. My intention is to not take too much but instead buy t-shirts etc once I arrive as clothing is supposed to be cheap there.

Two digital cameras will be joining me on the trip - a Canon (3mp 4x optical zoom) & a Olympus (4mp 10x optical/digital zoom) however I'll possibly have to wait until I return to Perth before adding the happy snaps to this site as I really don't want to waste the little time I have there sitting behind a computer!

Selamat tinggal (goodbye) for now, until a day closer to my departure & I have something worthwhile to say other than the over-excited drivel here! :)