Hello Mister!!

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So hello from very near Brunei! This will be the 3rd country I visit in 3 weeks! So be warned this blog is likely to be a very long one!
I spent a little bit longer in Kota Kinabalu than planned purely because Luke (who has flown out to join me) spent his first night of travelling wandering aimlessly rather jetlagged around Kula Lumpar alone because he missed his connecting flight whilst I sat alone in the very nice hotel i’d booked us into. It wasn’t really the reunion we had planned but 36 hours later than expected he finally showed up. Once he got over the jet lag we headed off exploring some nearby islands before continuing north to tackle Mount Kinabalu. This is the highest mountain between the Himalayas and Papua New Guinea, its an old volcano and at 4095m its jagged peaks rather dominate the landscape. After the Annapurna circuit I figured it shouldn’t be too difficult and its supposed to be an impressive climb – we set off to tackle it. The only problem is that it is crazily expensive to climb. Technically its a 2 or 3 day climb with a couple of nights spent on the mountainside, you have to buy a permit to climb, hire a guide and get insurance. If you do this over 2 days it costs you around £125 each!!! It may be a good climb but there was no way we were paying that!
We found some cheap accommodation with possibly the loveliest family I have ever met (I think we did stay in their spare room) and signed ourselves up to climb this giant in a day (which they do let you do and is a whole lot cheaper). Sadly though you are tied by timescales and unless you are at certain points at a certain time they make you turn around and come down. This would be ok but you are only allowed to set off at around 7.30am due to the times the office opens.
So 7.30am found us stood at the start of the trail with our guide with only 2 and half hours to reach the first checkpoint, a climb our guide reassuring told us takes most people 4 hours whilst the guidebook said 4-6 hours! There is nothing like a challenge first thing in the morning - I would hardly call it a relaxing morning walk. We headed through the forest first of all but pretty soon the huge steps and hills start and then they just stay with you until basically the top. We didn’t have time to stop and rest so pretty much it was just up, up and up for 2500m over 9km! Somehow we made it only 25 minutes late but the cloud had come over the top and it was starting to drizzle. Our guide checked with the rangers who advised us to turn around and go down but strangely did levae us with the choice of continuing. Well, we had not literally run up the mountain for nothing – we decided to carry on, only hoping the rain did not intensify as if it did a huge impassable river collected over the path and we would be stranded until it reduced (all in the spirit of adventure!)
The next section was pretty interesting. At 3300m the vegetation starts to receed and you get onto bare rock. About 2km further on and you literally are pulling yourself up 70% inclines on ropes. Having come up from 1500m the effects of altitude become quite apparent and it was 2 asthmatic 80 year old snails that slowly inched their way towards the summit. Someone must of been smiling down on us because as we got closer the cloud lifted and the sun came out for periods giving us some amazing views of the mountain. We had to be at the summit according to our timescale at 1pm. We made it at 1.15pm accompanied by the sounds of thunder and some heavy rain having had only one 30 minute rest the whole morning. We were knackered and still had the 9km descent to tackle. Despite the fact the cloud came down at the summit the views along the way were incredible and well worth the crazy effort – we just had to get down!
10 minutes after descending the summit it really started to rain hard and pretty much stayed then for the rest of the afternoon. We were drenched in 2 minutes, the rocks turned to streams and small rivers and it was all we could do to scramble and absail down the rocks as fast as we could to pass the river just in time. By the time we made it back down to the first checkpoint we could hear it roaring away.
People say the descent is the worst part but i’m not sure. Having to run basically up the mountain was difficult but the second half of the decent was awful. Once we got back into the trees again there were no more ropes and absailing but just huge step followed by huge step. We eventually made it back to the start by 6.30pm. We had literally been walking for 11 hours with only two 30 minute rests. We had climbed and then descended 2500m, walked 18km and were sodden to the skin. I also seemed to have lost all control over my legs and had developed a very interesting walking pattern (yes sarah and kay even more than usual!) on my now jelly stumps!
It has to be one of the most physically challenging things I have ever done. It makes running half a marathon and the Annupurna circuit look like a walk in the park but we were lucky with the weather and the views of the mountain at the top were stunning and unlike anything else I have ever seen. I could however not walk properly for 5 days afterwards!
From Mount Kinabalu we limped our way north in search of Orangutans and paid a visit to the very famous Sepilok rehab centre. This is centre everyone has heard of and its nice if not very touristy. We saw a few Oranguatans within the reserve there but the best part of the day was when I spotted one hanging around the welcoming sign. Completely free to wander we had a great time with it before sadly we attracted a few more tourists and as a result some of the rangers who removed it! From Sandakan we had heard about a great sounding island south off the coast of Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) and so we decided to head south and cross into Kalimantan.
This required a visa so we spent a day hanging out at the Indonesian Consulate in Tawau. We were told there would be no problems but at 14.45 (it shuts at 15.00) there was no sign of our visas. 5 minutes before supposed closing time and we were called in to see the boss. Sat in the consulate generals office whilst he dealt with a few locals we wondered what we had done, was there a problem, would we not be allowed in. Eventually we were called over. It soon became apparent there was no problem I think maybe they do not get too many foreign applicants at the consulate and the opportunity to practise some English was too great. Luke thinks there was some alterior motive but i’m quite sure that “So Mr Lucas do you have white bears in your country?” is not a standard issue question for visa applicants. He was bored and maybe Polish travellers are rare in Tawau! Anyway 10 minutes of chatting about the climate and fauna of Poland and we left the consulate complete with 2 Indonesian visa and the e-mail address of the consulate general!
We should of seen this as a sign of things to come in Indonesia. It has to be one of the friendliest but most frustrating countries I have visited. In reality I think this may just be Kalimantan – it is after all well off the tourist route and because of this just does not have a tourist infrastructure. In the 2 weeks we spent there we saw only 7 other foreigners and all of those were on Derawan Island.
Derawan Island is a little island off the coast of north eastern Indonesian Borneo. It has no roads, electricity only at night, only one village and the number of green turtles that live there possibly outnumber the quantity of villagers. With barely any tourists, completely deserted palm lined beaches and being tiny (we walked round it slowly in 40 minute) its absolutely beautiful. This was the island we went to visit and it was well worth the 3 day journey to get there. We stayed with a lovely family we met at the boat pier in a little wooden stilted bungalow over the water and were woken in the morning by the sounds of turtles gasping for air. Having breakfast on our little balcony we had 2 literally swimming right by us.
We spent a good few days on the island. Luke went snorkelling and swimming with turtles I stood up to my knees in the shallows, snorkel on looking at coral and fish!! In the evening we watched turtles come up onto the beach to lay their eggs – its a beautiful place you could probably stay for ages.
We had to leave sometime though and so sadly headed back to the mainland on probably the scariest speedboat ride of my life with the aim of heading south and circum navigating Borneo. At least that was the plan (either that or flying across it). The problem with Kalimantan is that they just don’t really have any tourists. As a result no one really knows how to get around and certainly no one speaks any English. Well maybe I am too harsh – they do speak English its just they only know 4 words.
I’ll give you an example of a typical 2 minute walk down any street in Kalimantan.
Local1: Hello Mister
Luke: Hello
Local 2 (to me): Hello Mister (many of them have yet to learn the difference between mister and mrs, either that or my transvestite levels have reached new heights!)
Me: Hello
Local 3: Hello Mister
Luke: hello
Local 4: Good morning (it was 8pm and dark!)
Luke : Morning
Local 5: I love you
Luke: I love you too
Local 3 again: hello mister
As you can imagine walking anywhere in Kalimantan is a tedious if not amusing affair.
Not only is this the limit of English spoken (our Indonesian as a result has improved) but no one really knows how to get anywhere. Our guidebook specifically said there was a bus from Berau to Samarinda. Returning to Berau the taxi driver even took us to something that resembled a bus station where we were told the bus was full and to some back at 2pm the next day. Come 1pm the next afternoon though no one could tell us where the said bus station was or in fact if there is a bus. The hotel receptionist said there was no bus, she even telephoned the bus station that confirmed there is no bus, we walk in the direct of yesterdays bus station only to be directed by everyone to the main bus terminus 3km away although they do of course then also mention there is however no bus to Samrinda any longer! In 36 degree heat with sweat pouring into your eyes its kind of frustrating!
Anyway it was in the middle of this wonderful lack of progress on buses that we met Ros a Indonesian student from Java who was studying English. Keen to help us she ended up taking us back to her house. From there in a bizarre twist if the day we ended up staying at her house for the night, joining her and her friend for a run – yes why not we are after all only a few degrees off the equator and meeting half her classmates. Talking to them I was amazed (and slightly worried) to discover for some of them we were the first European people they had ever met! We had a great day with them all and its always a treat to be taken into some local peoples homes. Her whole family was lovely and I do honestly believe Indonesian people are amongst the friendliest and most hospitable I have ever met.
Anyway it seemed like circumnavigating Borneo was a little beyond us (and may provoke Luke to Murder). Unless we had endless time, patience and money (it seems to involve chartering speedboats and taxis) we would not see much of Kalimantan. So as Ros had organised us a car back towards Malaysia we decided to accept it as a sign and taking some brilliant memories of Kalimantan with us retrace our steps back to Malaysia. Its always tough going backwards but I think it was probably for the best. Without your own transport Kalimantan is tough going.
So we made it back to Tarakan on the border and had to stay overnight again before getting a boat the next morning to Malaysia. We turned up at the ferry port the next morning at 7am to get the 8am boat to Malaysia. Everything was shut and there was no sign of anyone. We had checked with the hotel staff who had confirmed the time of the boat – where was everyone? After a bit of searching and many a terrible Hello mister conversation with a few locals I eventually found out that customs opened at 9am and the boat left at 10am. The morning that followed is a typical morning trying to get anywhere in Kalimantan:
We arrived at the customs office at the ferry port to buy a ticket only to be told you couldn’t buy a ticket at the port you had instead to go to a small travel office 3km away the other side of town to get one. So we jumped in a taxi, get to random office, buy ticket, arrive back at port for 8.45am, immigration opens at 9am apparently. Sit in waiting room for a while still no sign of life. Eventually someone tells us to go round to customs to wait. Walk past Lactation room (not sure what happens there!) to customs only to find no one is there. Sit in empty immigration room its 9.10am. 9.15am immigration office starts to get very smoky as someone has lit a fire somewhere. 9.20am immigration office now very smoky – we have to go outside, still no sign of life. 9.25am work out the fire is actually coming from piles of rubbish under the wooden boardwalk – no one seems bothered, still no sign of life. 9.35am immigration officer finally turns up and stamps us out, wind has changed direction so less smoky but fire still going. 9.45am manage to get on boat via a few feats of acrobatics as have to climb over and through a few boats with backpack on. 10.05am boat still in harbour, aircon on full blast so have all my clothes on. 10.30am boat still not moving – think 10am may have been wrong. 11.10am – boat finally leaves harbour!!
So we are now back in Malaysia and via a night bus and another boat have made it to another island very near the border with Brunei. Its nice to be back in the easy world of Malaysia although its still just as difficult being a vegetarian – i am currently a vegetarian who is living on chicken stock!!! But part of me does miss the craziness of Indonesia.
Today we hired scooters and drove around the island. As Luke banned me from driving him around we ended up with one each but had a great day Amanda, Beatrice, me and Luke (don’t ask about the names) poodling around the lack of tourist sites this island offers. Tomorrow we head to Brunei for a few days before we continue on to Sarawak.
From there who knows but i’ll keep you posted. I hope your all ok
Huge love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Photos

Mount kinabalu
some of the rope climbing!

the summit
i decided against the one of us looking like drowned, exhausted rats!