Pai, Thailand 28th November 2008

Arrived in Pai this afternoon after a really windy route across the mountains. Luckily, we remembered to take our travel sickness pills and felt fine, unlike some of the other passengers in our bus.
Pai is quite nice and feels very hippyish. Had a nightmare trying to find rooms as everywhere was full and we thought we were going to have to make do with somewhere really expensive but just as I was about to give up I took a chance on a place along the main road and luckily they had a room for 150B.
After dark the whole main street turns into a market with loads of local handicrafts and tribal goods and food vendors. After a wander round we just found a table at a bar and watched everyone wandering down the street.
It’s pretty cold here (jeans and jumpers minimum) and we saw lots of travellers completely unprepared for the drop in temperature and amazingly, loads of Thai tourists are here (they actually outnumber the westerners) and they also seem very unprepared for the cold. Some have managed to find themselves big winter coats but none of them seem to have thought about their feet and they’re all wearing socks with their flipflops.

Chang Mai, Thailand 26th November 2008

After a few more days just hanging around (nothing to do with Daves mega hangover obviously) we finally got off our backsides and went to the zoo!

It was pretty good with lots of animals and a small aquarium. A nice afternoon out.

Chang Mai, Thailand 22nd November 2008

Arrived in Chang Mai a couple of days ago. It's quite pretty here and very chilled out compared to Bangkok.

We have also found a great little cafe called Cafe Be Bee which does brilliant fry ups and bangers and mash. Heaven.

This morning we did the Gibbon Experience which doesn't actually have anything to do with Gibbons. It's a high wire canopy walkway and zipwire ride through the tree tops. And it's brilliant! Some of the zip wires went really fast and our instructors where really good fun.

We all wore harnesses which were pretty tight - see Davids face in the photo. We also had a little V shaped piece of wood which was our brake. If that didn't work (or you missed the cable) then the instructor would catch you at the other end.

Or you could use the break that David used - and hit the tree full on. Hilarious. he he he

On the way back we stopped at Lumpong Falls which was very pretty.

Bangkok, Thailand 16th November 2008

Arrived back in Bangkok a few days ago and are just hanging around waiting for our 30 day Laos visas to come back.

It's still as mad as ever here.

Ubud, Bali 9th November 2008

Finally feeling better after my bout of Bali Belly we went to see the Kedak dance which I've been wanting to see since we got here.

This is that dance/ceremony where the men sit round in a circle chanting and waving their arms. Doesn't sound like much but it is really effective. Well recommended to anyone going to Bali.

Ubud, Bali 6th November 2008

Amazingly, we did actually manage to get up on time to make the trip to the volcano. After a short stop for breakfast of coffee and soggy banana pancake we began our hike up the big hill.

We started climbing at about 3.15am and after about half an hour the hike got really hard, made more difficult by the fact that it was pitch black and the path was full of volcanic rocks that shifted under your feet when you least expected it. I didn't think I was going to make it to the top during the last 20 minutes but I persivered (mainly so that David couldn't give me any grief later) and made it to the top just in time for sunrise.

And what a sunrise. It was beautiful.

We had a great breakfast (number 2 of the day) of boiled eggs cooked in the volcanic steam (slightly sulphuric) and bread and tea. (The eggs repeated on me all the way back down)

After breakfast and a bit of a rest we had a trip down into the crater to see (and feel) the steam vents and looked into the next crater of the volcano that erupted in 2000 and then walked back down again. I had very wobbly legs by the time we got down to the bottom.

On a less nicer note when I got to the bottom I had to make a mad dash to the loo and had to clench the old buttocks all the way back to Ubud and spent the rest of the day making friends with our toilet. Nice.

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia 4th November 2008

After another day doing nothing in Labuan Bajo (nothing to do) we got our prop plane (don't like even though they sound like something from an Indianna Jones film) back to Bali.

Ubud is very pretty but full of new age types doing yoda and tantric this and that. Loads of great craft shops but they're all out of our price range.

Have booked ourselves a trip up the volcano to see the sunrise but have to get up at 2am!

Labuan Bajo, Flores, Indonesia 1st November 2008

Everyone has once again gone their separate ways. We are now in Flores. Today we went on a boat ride to Rinca, home of the Komodo Dragon (Komodo Island doesn’t have the monopoly you know). We saw about 10 Komodos and they are Massive. They really do look like dinosaurs. We even saw one in her nest (interesting fact, Komodos dig several nests to fool preditors) (other interesting fact, the young hatchlings live in the trees because otherwise their mummies eat them).

Scarily, our guide told us that we won’t outrun them on short distances but not to worry because ‘he has a stick’.

We then went snorkelling and saw two massive 10’ Manta Rays. They are really impressive and move really fast but I think I got a good photo (hope). The currents are really strong here though (which is why the Mantas like the area). There were even whirlpools in the middle of the sea, it looked a bit freaky, like something off an old B movie.

All in all a good day. Made even better since we’ve found some motion sickness pills that work a treat. (Apparently, that time on Gili Air was sea sickness not a hangover).

Kuta, Bali, Indonesia 26th October 2008

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy 40th birthday, dear David........

After sleeping off his night before we all trooped down to Waterbom, the best (and only) water park in Kuta. And it was bloody brilliant! They had some amazing rides, I screamed like a girl for most of the day (I’m sure David screamed a few times, although he rigorously denies this).

We all had a fantastic day out. Afterwards we all went back to the German restaurant for dinner, then everyone went on to a club. David stumbled back at 7am so I’ve left him sleeping off another night before.

p.s. Water parks are great hangover cures (apparently).

p.p.s David is in a good mood again because after looking through is other bag he found his G-Star shorts. That’s right, the ones that he ‘definitely’ put in the laundry, the ones they ‘definitely’ lost! Admittedly, he is feeling a bit guilty and made me promise not to tell anyone. I said I ‘definitely’ won’t tell.

Kuta, Bali, Indonesia 25th October 2008

Spent yesterday chilling out on the beach watching the surfers. Had some lovely Meat (a rarity for a traveller) at a German restaurant. David has now decided that’s where he wants to go for his birthday.

Today, I left David behind and went shopping with Rachel and Helen with my birthday money and got myself a few lovely little items thanks very much.

Everyone has gone out to get very drunk for Davids birthday (which isn’t until tomorrow). David is in a bad mood because he put his favourite G-Star shorts in for washing and they’ve lost them. David got very cross with the woman in the laundrette because she just shrugged her shoulders when he told her. I had to physically manhandle him from the shop. He’s not a happy man.

Lombok, Indonesia 22nd October 2008

After a few more days just lazing around on Gili Air, we got the boat over to Singiggi on Lombok. It’s a very pretty town but really expensive. It’s about twice the price of Bali for just about everything here, which explains why it’s almost empty.

We had a funny moment when we got off the boat from Gili Air. We were all travelling with different bus companies so Sven and Adam got straight on the first bus they came to and we were sent half way down the road with our big rucksacks moaning about the heat. We had to wait in a restaurant so we decided to have breakfast and a drink. After about 45 minutes they came and got us and made us walk back down the road to the bus that Sven and Adam had been waiting on in the heat for 45 minutes, whilst being hassled by loads of kids selling crap. When they heard that we’d had breakfast they were gutted (we thought it was funny anyway).

Gili Air, Indonesia 20th October 2008

Yesterday, after a day on the beach we all had drinks for Marks birthday which went on quite late (or early), then this morning, Helen, Adam, David and I went snorkelling (Rachel and Mark didn’t make it – too hungover).

We saw loads of massive turtles and about a squillion lovely little fish. It was a really good day (although David did get quite seasick/hungoversick and had to lie down for 20 minutes as soon as we hit dry land which I found quite amusing ).

Gili Air, Indonesia 19th October 2008

Not long after arriving in Bali I got the news I had been dreading, my lovely Nanny had died. After a tearful call home, I booked onto the first flight I could get and went home. I’m glad I did, we had a beautiful service for Nan and it was also really lovely to see everyone again after 10 months away.

Poor David was stuck in Bali for a whole week by himself (everyone say ‘ahhh’).

When I got back to Bali, Helen from KK had also arrived which was really nice. We booked tickets to Gili Air for the next day and got the ferry and bus over to the island. Rachel and Mark from KK were already here so the gang is back together again.

Gili Air is lovely, just how you imagine a little desert island to be. Just a few huts and small houses and a few little restaurants on the beach. Loads of snorkelling to be had and relaxing to do.

Kuta, Bali, Indonesia 8th October 2008

Finally! Arrived in Bali to torrential rain in the middle of the night but we are here at last!

Surabaya, Java, Indonesia 7th October 2008

Our flights to Bali didn’t go quite as planned. Firstly, we got a message from the travel agents that our 10pm onward flight from Surabaya to Bali was cancelled and put back for 24 hours until the next night. This we can deal with but then the cheeky blighters tried to tell me that I had to pay 600,000rph for the privilege. Ha, they thought I was just a dumb tourist but I soon put them right!
Anyway when we got to the airport to get the flight to Surabaya they then told us that that flight was cancelled as well and that we would need to fly via Balikpapan and wait there until 8.25pm to get another onward flight to Surabaya. I was pretty annoyed with them by now so I did something naughty and told a lie (gasp) and said that we had an onward flight that night (well we did when we first booked it!) so after a bit of exaggeration on my part and a lot of huffing and puffing on their part, they eventually booked us on to another airline at their cost and got us on an earlier flight to Surabaya. I must try that more often!
We are staying in Chinatown tonight but there’s not much choice of hotel as everything seems very seedy here unless you pay top wack. We have also noticed that all the cab drivers here are lying thieves. Davids answer to them is to make slashing motions across his forehead which is what the locals do here. We are not sure exactly what it means but we think it’s sort of a jokey way of saying you’re a little bit crazy.

Tarakan, Kalimantan, Indonesia 7th October 2008

Managed to get on the very full ferry which was actually just a little boat with loads of people and a million bags on it. Arrived in Tarakan, which is much like Nunukan but a bit bigger. Found a real flea bitten dive of a hotel but it’s only for one night so that’s ok for us. But joy of joys, there is a KFC! Have already had a feast.

Have bitten the bullet and decided that we are already fed up of trying to negotiate Indonesia by ferry as it’s actually quite expensive and the service is pretty crap and so have booked ourselves a flight to Bali for tomorrow. Unfortunately we don’t arrive until 11.30 at night so need to phone and book ourselves a room. It definitely feels as if Indonesia means a return to hard core travelling. Already we have noticed that everyone from the shops to the taxis to the ferry touts are all trying to fleece us. Oh well. Let’s hope that the islands prove to be a little more friendly.

They obviously don’t get many tourists coming through this way as we get stared at big time every time we go out and we even had a man point his finger at us and say ‘white man’ to his child.

Nunukan, Kalimantan, Indonesia 4th October 2008

Finally arrived in Indonesia after a long, long journey. We got a night bus from KK to Tawau (on the Malaysian side of Borneo) (so no sleep) and arrived at 5am. Went to the ferry terminal and got a ticket to Nunukan (on the Indonesian side of Borneo). We were told that the boat left at 7.30am. This then changed to 9.30, 10.30, 11.00 and finally 11.30. It actually left at 12.45pm! Is this a sign of things to come in Indonesia?

Arrived here to find that you couldn’t get a ferry to Tarakan because they are full so stayed the night here in one of the three hotels here! Tried to get a ticket this morning at 7am and were told that it was full (but not if we paid an extra 130r!) Called their bluff and booked a correctly priced ticket on tomorrows boat so we are now stuck in this town (with no restaurants or cafes anywhere) for another night, but don’t really get stressed about these things anymore and just go with the flow.

Kota Kinabalu, Borneo 1st October 2008

Went to the water park today with the bowling gang (minus Bastien). It was pretty small with only 4 slides but being in the water when it’s so hot was lovely. We had a lovely day and lots of laughs.

Strangely, they played 70’s Country and Western music over the tannoy all day and sadly, I knew all the words! The ticket for the park states that it is Sabah's PREMIER water park - for this read Sabah's ONLY water park!

Tonight is our last night as we have finally managed to get a bus ticket out of here.

Kota Kinabalu, Borneo 27th September 2008

We are doomed to stay in KK! Ramadan is about to end and the week after it finishes is like a public holiday. Loads of businesses close and everyone goes on holiday. This means that all the buses and ferries and flights are all booked up and everyone is stuck here. It looks like we’ll have to wait until at least the 2nd before we can get the bus to Tawau to get the ferry. We are not the only ones though. Lucy’s is full of travellers who are stuck here waiting to get out.
We went bowling tonight with Mark, Rachel (British), Ricky (Kiwi), Bastien (French), Helen (Irish) and had a great laugh (I actually won a game!!)

Kota Kinabalu, Borneo 26th September 2008

This morning we walked to the Wetland Reserve just outside town. It was a bit of a let down. We only saw one wild bird (a great egret), millions of crabs, a few lizards and a dead parrot fish! Still, it was a nice trip out anyway.

Kota Kinabalu, Borneo 24th September 2008

We are still in KK. We are staying at Lucy’s Homestay which is really homely and cosy. We have spent the last few days trying to sort out our Indonesian visas. In order to get a visa you have to show an onward ticket out of the country. This is quite hard when you are planning to leave by boat. In the end we’ve had to bite the bullet and get a plane ticket from Sumatra to Singapore (luckily it was cheap) and have finally got our 60 day visa for Indonesia.

Kota Kinabalu, Borneo 21st September 2008

Just got back from camping on Sapi Island. It was really good.

We went snorkelling which was great although the coral here has been really damaged (mainly by stupid tourists who stand on it!). Saw loads of great fish though including puffer fish and rainbow fish. When all the other tourists had left on the last boat we built a campfire (the gas bottle we bought for our stove was the wrong type) and cooked our dinner and snuggled into our tent.

They have massive monitor lizards here (4-5’) and you could hear then rummaging on the beach. We were also visited by a family of wild pigs who came to see what the tourists had left them to eat.

In the morning we had the whole place to ourselves until about 9.30am so we snorkelled all alone which was lovely.

We were planning to stay for another night but it rained on the second morning and we discovered that our tent was about as waterproof as toilet paper so came back early.

Sorry, as we weren't sure about security on the island we didn't take our camera so don't have any pictures. We both looked really beautiful the whole time though (as you do when you've been camping).

Kota Kinabalu, Borneo 18th September 2008

After a goodbye dinner with Sally and Matteo (strangely, at a Lebanese restaurant!) we spent a night on a bus to Miri, then flew to KK. I quite like it here. We are planning to camp on Sapi Island so have spent the day trying to find a camping stove and sleeping bags.

Semenggoh, Borneo 8th Sept 2008

Today we went to the Semenggoh Wildlife Park where they rehabilitate Orangutans and release them back into the reserve.

The animals are free to roam around in the forest and are just left to do what they want. Twice a day they put out food because some of the orangutans that were in captivity can't always find enough food for themselves so they come to the feeding platform to fill up.

We saw 2 babies with their mothers and also had one female walk just 3 feet from us. I could have stayed and watched them all day but they had things to do and went off after lunch to do their thing.

Sri Aman, Borneo 14th Sept 2008

This is our last day here at the long house so we went with Kibie and Anna to their rice field to do some planting. It was really easy. You just get a long stick which you bang into the ground to make holes. You then drop a small amount of rice into the hole, lightly cover with a little earth and voila! Rice. Well, it's slightly harder than than as it's really hot, the stick gives you blisters after about 5 minutes and you have to squat down on your haunches to plant the rice so after 5 minutes your thighs are screaming for mercy. We did plant a whole basket of rice though. Very satisfying to know that in 6 months Kibie and his family will be eating the rice that we planted.

We have had a fantastic time here at the longhouse. The Iban people are so warm and welcoming and make you feel at home so quickly. Kibie made a real effort to show us the surrounding jungle and how they live here. I hope to come back soon.

Mind you, after learning how much Kibie received of the money that we paid to the Borneo B&B for the trip we were really shocked. He got less than a third of the money and yet was the one who made all the effort and had all the expense.

If anyone wants to do a trip to the longhouse just call Kibie direct on 014-8846173 and book it direct with him. Then all you have to do is get on the Sri Aman bus and ask the driver to let you off at Panggil Angkong. That way Kibie gets his full share and you save a packet.

Sri Aman, Borneo 13th Sept 2008

After a great nights sleep the four of us went on another trek through the jungle with Kibie and his friend Rock. This time it was much longer and far harder than yesterdays trek. Lots of walking along rivers, climbing up steep tracks and even climbing down a waterfall using vines! It was really hot, wet and hard going but fantastic.

Just like yesterday, Kibie and Rock collected leaves and shoots in their baskets as we walked. I have no idea how they spotted most of them but there were definately some that they must really like because they went to great lengths to get some particular ones.

We even stopped at Rocks little farm clearing to pick a fresh pineapple for dinner. Kibie cooked it with chilli which sounds mad but tasted really good.

It was a fantastic day. By the end of our trek I had even forgotten to worry about spiders and snakes (well, for the time being).

When we got back lots of the men were gathering for a cock fight which is really popular here. David and Matteo went to watch a couple of bouts (Sally and I chickened out, pardon the pun) but they said it was a bit gory so I'm glad I didn't go. The old men also gather to play poker which I think is a daily event here. Lots of betting going on.

After dinner (again, another fantastic meal from Anna) we started playing Uno but some of the drunk locals came to check out the foreigners and spent the night talking, singing and generally being drunk. It was quite amusing. Especially when Johnny (Kibies cousin) tried to get into bed with David and Matteo (here the boys and girls share with each other). Sally and I were in hysterics watching the boys trying to get rid of him without breaking some unknown cultural taboo. We could just hear 'oh no no no no no'!

Sri Aman, Borneo 12th Sept 2008

We are now staying in an Iban Longhouse with a local family. There are four of us. David and me plus Matteo (Italian) and Sally (British but living in Oz). The family we are staying with are really nice and have made us feel really welcome. They are Kibie, his wife Anna and their daughter Bunga (flower) who is very cute.





David and Matteo are rather hungover today as we all went out last night and the boys got on the rice wine until about 3am. Not ideal if you are heading out into the jungle! We did this after lunch so that we could find some wild vegetables for dinner. Kibie pulled up bamboo shoots which he peeled down to the inner section which is the tasty bit. He also gathered loads of leaves which he said were good to eat. When we got back Kibies father made up some parcels of rice wrapped in banana leaf and put them into bamboo tubes to steam over the fire. We had this and our vegetables from the forest for dinner and it was delicious. Anna is a great cook.





We are a bit of a novelty with the family children. The extended family all live in the longhouse, each having a section of their own so the children all play together. They love having their photos taken and then looking at the results on screen. The trouble is that they instantly pose as soon as they see the camera come out so it's hard to get an action shot.

Kibies sister was weaving a new mat for her house so we watched for a while.
She was really fast and very neat. Obviously well practiced.

After dark we went down to the little river in the forest to catch crabs by torchlight. Kibie had laid some bait and just walked along the river picking them up. We caught 27! They were all pretty small but I didn't complain when I got them in my soup for dinner!

After dinner we all sat around and played Uno until the early hours which was really good fun. Who needs a TV?

Bako National Park, Borneo 6th Sept 2008

After a few days in Kuching we have decided to spent a night at Bako Nationa Park. It's about a 1 hour bus ride outside Kuching followed by a 30 minute boat ride to the park.

On arrival we were greeted by screeching aggresive macaques barring our way along the path. Not a good greeting.

The park is beautiful though with wooden chalets and dorms dotted in among the trees.

We decided to take the 5km circuitous route which is supposed to take about 3 hours. It was a great walk although it was pretty arduous. The ground is covered in tree roots so you spend most of your time looking down so that you don't break your neck. This means that you probably miss quite a lot of wildlife up in the trees! We did get to see a pretty big monitor lizard, loads of birds, butterflys (as big as my hand), loads of great plants, including two kinds of carnivorous ones and also the famed proboscis monkeys (they are the good looking ones with big round noses).

The walk was really good although we all came back looking the worse for wear! We hoped to have a nice hearty dinner at the canteen (the only place to eat on the island) but the food was incredibly bad (beetles in the noodles and hair in the spinach) so we had to settle for a packet of biscuits.

After dinner it rained for quite a while which meant that when it stopped there were lots of frogs etc to see. We were lucky enough to have a frog, snake and lizard enthusiast in the dorm with us and after dark we all went out with torches to see what we could find. It was really good fun and we saw lots of frogs and even a big spider (I was not so impressed with this).

The next morning we headed back to Kuching and a decent breakfast!

Melaka, Malaysia 4th September 2008

Arrived in Melaka a couple of days ago. It's really nice here. We are staying in Chinatown which is really nice. You can walk along the river here which is really pretty. We've already seen 3 massive iguanas by the river.

Last night the owner of our guesthouse took us to Capitol Satay restaurant for dinner which was delicious. They put a big pot of satay in the middle of the table over a burner and you cook whatever you want in it. Really tasty. People were queueing outside to get in the whole time we were there. I now know why. Yum.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st September 2008

Went to see the Petronas Towers but they were closed. Just our luck. We did take some great photos though. They looked amazing. Very shiny!

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 31st August 2008

Arrived in KL to discover that today is Merdeka or National Day. They had a big parade in Merdeka Square with a flypass of jets and helicopters. Pretty good timing again!