Blogs from Malaysia, Asia - page 7

On our final evening we went to a fabulous vegetarian restaurant, the best I’ve ever eaten at, and it was just round the corner from our hotel. It‘s called the Mori Vegetarian Tea House. We were unfashionably early at 6pm but a tour group and a family arrived just after us. The food was sensational, sweet and sour jackfruit, mushroom satay, olive fried rice and drinks cost £6.50 each. It’s quite stark inside, not full of atmosphere but the food is to die for. They close at 9, so you have to be there by 8.15 at the latest. Then we walked down to the quay for the boat trip, 25 ringgits including a bottle of water in a carrying bag and a cute (not) keyring. We thought ho hum, this will be a bit boring ... read more

The last few days of our Borneo holiday we wanted to spend on Pulau Mantanani, an island 45 minutes off the west coast of Borneo. Our guides dropped us off at Rampayam Jetty north of the town of Kota Belud, and from there we caught a boat to the island. It was only a 45-minute trip, but it was a hell of a ride. There were a lot of waves, and our captain was keen on racing the boat through them, so more often than not the boat would jump off one wave and hit the bottom of a wave valley hard. I tried to sit as upright as possible in order to prevent my discs from any damage. Luckily neither Mizzi nor I got seasick. But the staff passed plastic bags to several passengers who ... read more

On Friday morning we set off for a three-day, two-night tour in the jungle around Mount Kinabalu. The mountain is, with an altitude of over 4,000 metres, the tallest mountain in Borneo. It is surrounded by jungle, and one can take various tours. Amongst them is a two-day tour up the mountain. On day two, one can watch the sunrise from the peak of the mountain. However, Mizzi and I had deliberately decided against it. We both did not feel in the physical condition for it. Moreover, we were more in the mode of relaxing and exploring than in the mood for challenge. Thus, we had booked a tour that would take us camping at the foot of the mighty mountain, with a few easier hikes included. We left our hostel in Kota Kinabalu early, dropped ... read more

We arrived back from Libaran Island at around 9.30 in the morning, walked back to our car that we had parked in a parking garage in the nearby shopping mall, and headed off towards Sukau. We were got g to spend two nights in a lodge by the river Kinabatangan to see the wildlife in the area: different types of monkeys, birds, maybe even pygmy elephants or a clouded leopard. The distance is only around 100 km, but due to the road having only two lanes and being under construction in some parts it took us over 2.5 hours to get to Sukau, also partly due to heavy rain showers. The last part of the road had a lot of big potholes, but we made it to our destination alright. We parked the car next to ... read more

After finishing my last blog and peering round my dark and dank mozzie-infested digs, killer spray in hand, I decided this was ridiculous and went to the main block to see if I could move. Luckily there were new reception staff. They showed me a room on the second floor looking over the road (but it’s quiet here after 11, so not much road noise) and it was fabulous, huge bed, nice bathroom, usb points next to the bed, bright and cheerful. I said I’d move, inwardly crying at the thought of packing and unpacking again, but for 5 nights it was worth it and I could do it straight away rather than wait until the morning. They tried to charge me an extra 150 ringgits, but I said no, that was the type of room ... read more