Blogs from Sabah, Malaysia, Asia - page 132

On my way to Semporna I discover that I've missed the only bus from Sandakan for the day. So I have to go via Lahad Datu..no worries. Meet this guy who is going to Danum Valley, he seems enthusiastic and knowledgeable so next thing I know Im off to Danum valley after we get to Lahad Datu - 30RM a night is within my budget for two nights (the bus only goes Mon, Wed,Fri)..except when we're well underway I discover that it's going to cost me 60RM/night!! I am not at all impressed and of course Im stuck with the decision. It also looks like I have a lonely traveller trying to attach himself to me like a hungry leech..... No-one to blame but me, I should have asked more questions...make the best of it.. Get ... read more

Got the bus to batu 15 for the guest house.This would've been fine except for the fact that the bus dropped me a mile and a half away from my intended stop at batu 14 leaving me to walk up the road in sweaty heat with my pack after a bumpy six hour journey. Ah but there's more about a half hour after I settle in the guest house owner subjects me to a 45 minute whinge regarding previous guests that had complained about her ripping them off for a river cruise (450RM each via her versus the actual 95RM/night walk in off the "street" price earning herself a whopping commission of some 100%!!). It's at this point that I'm thinking perhaps Sabah is becoming a royal pain in the arse to "relax" in - what ... read more

My legs hurt...thought my knees were going to be shot from the climb down but instead it's my calves and quads. On the way down we passed local "porters" carrying up to 45kg on their backs up the mountain - old ladies and old men included. The calves on some of them would've put a bodybuilde to shame..now I know why. Our guide told us that many of these "porters" did this every single day. When I walk it looks as though I need to change my underwear. Went to the state mosque to take a few shots at sunset. However, I think the city mosque will be nicer, as its surrounded by a water feature (which is why they call it the "floating" mosque - a misnomer as it's not really floa...oh shut up!!). Off ... read more

Up at 6:30am after around 3 and a half hours sleep - this was not a good idea as I find out later. No breakfast - also a bad idea. About halfway to the overnight stop at Laban Rata I'm utterly f#$^*d through lack of sleep and get two really bad bouts of the runs - the first time I have plenty of warning and get to a toilet...however the second time there's no warning and I have to charge off into the bush noting some amazing specimens of the giant pitcher plants that grow up here as I go. Just before I relieve myself I'm praying that there's not some exotic insect, snake or whatever around to take a bite of my arse - there wasn't. By the time I reached my room I felt ... read more

Gate 1 Don Muang Bangkok (no I know it says Im in Sabah) 4:30pm. Someone decided to hurl animals from the sky as there are cats, dogs, elephants and assorted creatures bouncing off the tarmac to the sound of sharp crashing thunder accompanied with brilliant flashes of lightning.The runway approx 200m away is barely visible in the tropical downpour that's squatting over the airport.I'm watching aircraft taking off and landing trailing huge plumes of water and thinking that perhaps we're going to be delayed (I'm hoping so!) and we are, by about one hour. At the same time Im thinking about my girlfriend who's in Europe for a month and also the silly things that I miss about her - things like the floppy hats she wears and the way she walks with her pinkies out. ... read more