Becky and Chewys great escape

So Uncle Joe had said bring your swimming stuff, so made sure we had that and then a toothbrush and that was us ready! Confused, he asked us aren't you going to take a change of clothes etc, obviously forgetting, that we are well used to having no belongings and coping quite well without them. We quickly stopped at Dunkin Doughnuts for Ice Coffee and half of Portugal was sitting in there!! We chatted and listened to music whilst Uncle Joe puffed away on his Malborough Lights and we took in the scenery on the hour journey to Aunt Lindas. Strange how there are just these huge motorways in the middle of nowhere and then there are maybe two oR three houses stuck out there too. Arriving at Linda's was weird, not just because I was ... read more

So you arrive at Raratonga and you are greated by singing and Ukele players and then covered in the most amazing flower garlands which smell fanatstic. This was where we met the people whose house we would be staying in whilst on the island. They really are larger than life, happy carefree people who treated us really well. It was a bit of a weird set up as we didn't know that anyone would actually be staying at the house whilst we were there. There was one brother with his wife and two kids and a baby, which to be fair we were not extactic about!! The kids were really noisy and kept trying to get into our room but apart from that it was cool. The family own the bakery on the Island and so ... read more

So when we left Borneo we flew the short journey from Kuching to Singapore, as usual we had managed to find a fantastic price for cheap flights with Air Asia! Chiangi, Singapore Airport has got to be one of Dan's favourite places on Earth!! He absolutely loves the place. This might have something to do with the fact its usually pretty quiet when we pass through, there are free cinemas, its spotlessly clean and a shower is a pleasure there, you can grab a massage chair, a spa bed, or a completely reclining bed to sleep on and you can get great healthy Chinese food to eat instead of the ususal crap on offer. We were strapped for cash as usual and could stretch to a couple of steamed chicken buns and the asked for hot ... read more

What can we do that is a treat and soemthing a bit different a cheap at the same time? After wondering around the non-tourist part of town we finally found Tribal Remedies , a spa where traditional tribal methods are used to make you look and feel fabulous. The special offer of half price on The Fish Spa was intriuging to say the least. Tempted and a little bit daunted we went for it. We were lead into a very softly lit room, with neon tanks filled with fish of all sizes. There was dark wood decking surrounding this and little plump cushsion arranged arounf the tanks. We were instructed to wash our feet with water first and then to choose a tank and sit back and relax. How can you be soooooooooooooo scared of a ... read more

So after hearing the horror stories that the park had no drinking water and showers and that it was smelly, we were happy to be going to Bako for a day trip. Up nice and early again , because everything goes early in Kuching, we leave our accommadation with Lydia, our English buddy from the Seahare accommadation. We are first to arrive for the 7.30am bus and its was busy, and 45 mins later, we arrive at Bako National Park. Already a queue , we pay to get in, and are shown to a boat man(Mohammed), who takes you on a fanatastic speed boat ride for 25 mins. It was an amazing trip, stunning scenery, calm waters surrounded by forest , jungle and mountains in the background, the only way to reach Bako is by boat. ... read more

Its a bit strange to get off the bus in the middle of nowhere and find that there is someone waiting for you, but that's what happened when we got to Sri Anan. Within minutes we were chatting with 'Auntie' and stuffing ourselves with Chinese stir fry. We popped to the local jungle market and we were shown all types of jungle produce that people grow and then bring to town to sell. Most of the tribespeople there were Iban, but in the town itself it was a mix of Chinese, Iban and a few Indians, but not many Malay, which meant the place felt quite different and also without any obvious mosques on the skyline it looked quite different too. After bargaining for food and getting some parts on her car fixed we travelled with ... read more