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Published: January 26th 2006
Before I start, Afsan, one of my fellow Mount Kinabalu climbers has also added some really great photos, so feel free to take a look, especially of the one of me completely wrapped in warm clothing on the summit.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=y3whyk9.14lf6kah&Uy=mjlfr7&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Ux=0
I always seem to have trouble with buses and airports. In Belize, I got on a bus passing the airport junction and was told "next junction." "Airport?" "Yes, yes, next junction." Then on arrival at said junction - "Airport?" "Ah, you want airport. Last junction." And so proceeded to get off and was fortunate enough to hitch my way back in time. Getting to KK's airport was thus a déjà-vu experience - boarding the bus that said 'Airport", I asked the driver if the bus was going to terminal 1. "Yes, terminal 1, yes," was the reply. "Are you sure?" (not wanting to repeat the mistake). "Yes, yes, terminal 1 ok." Relieved, we head off.....and arrive at Terminal 2. Gahh!! Any subsequent communication, both in English and bad Malay with the bus driver now only consisted of a waving hand shooing me away. Lovely. Ah well, I got a nice hour's tour of the suburbs of KK before arriving back in the centre to try again, time ticking away. Apparently, a new terminal opened last year and is causing lots of confusion. After a wild goose chase of false directions from taxi drivers and bus ticketers, and two small, extra journeys on mini-vans while the drivers helped me out, I finally got to the right terminal with under an hour to spare - plenty of time. Although I could've got a taxi as a last resort and I knew I'd be fine, I still nearly cried with joy on seeing the check in desk - I'm a big woos.
I've really enjoyed my time in Sabah - I've met some really great and unique characters, seen lots of wonderful things and contact with locals has been nothing but friendly and humourous. It's the little things that add amusement to the cultural experience - buses decorated with pompoms with kareoke videos playing, flocks of men standing in shopping centre walkways watching films through tv-shop windows, and the smell of Durian (a fruit that smells so bad it's banned on Singapore trains, for example) and fresh fish wafting through the open-air markets and eateries.
After I last wrote, I did a day trip out to Palau Sipidan, one of the world's best dive spots I've been told, where I did 2 dives, both of which were superb. Briefly, the first was appropriately called 'Turtle Cave' since you dive to the entrance of a large, dark, gloomy cave where turtles (and humans) have got lost and died inside, leaving lovely tombed remains to those who dare to map and venture into it. We regarded ourselves with some intelligence to not do this. The second dive, 'The Hanging Gardens' was even better, with a wonderful array of colourful coral everywhere, along a wall and on an upper plateau, full of intricate networks and very beautiful. We also saw lots of 1m-wide turtles and a shark, which I've forgotton the name of, so let's call him Bill. Best dive I've done so far.
Getting an overnight bus back to KK involved little sleep and lots of watching of said kareoke videos and snippets of King Kong, and listening to the intracacies of Malaysian snoring patterns, and was followed by 2 final days in KK just doing some shopping and faffing about. I also reached my 100th day 'on the road' while back in KK, so treated myself to a celebratory drink that cost as much as a dorm bed. Hard to think I've been travelling for this long already - it's gone by so quickly. but lots more to go just yet.
As for now for example, I'm in Manila, capital of the Philippines, and with a population of over 10million, by far the biggest city I've ventured into so far . It occurred to me yesterday how much I enjoy the unexpectedness of the travelling lifestyle when I made a decision on how to get from airport to hostel - boring option a)Get an coupon-taxi all the way, or fun-option b)find a more difficult, cheaper route in. Naturally, I chose the latter, fancying an adventure. So with rucksack in hand, I made my way out of the airport, flagged a taxi down to take me to the monorail (after nearly crashing a dozen times), that took me further into the chaos, which I then smothered myself in for the final walk to the hostel. Lots more fun and throwing myself into the thick of it, a great way to get the feel of a new city.
The Philippines is a hard country to describe in a few words - 83 million people cover the islands, and this number is expanding by another 1.5million every year, 90%!o(MISSING)f them Christian. The cities house the really rich at one end, and the really poor trying to make a living at the other. However, away from the cities, the old South-American systen prevails of big estate owners and rival gangs supported by local politicians controlling the peasant-like farmers. As one friend mentioned to me, the poverty can appear quite depressing to the traveller. Finally, even further away from the cities, subsistence tribal communities live. A diverse range of lifestyles in one country. Corruption still plays a part in Filipino politics - but on the flipside, education is the new big thing, the Peso is strengthening and the people are really coming into their own internationally in theatre, film and music. Physically, the Philippines is a diver's paradise, despite the popularity of dynamite fishing and the 'missing' funds from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. With more islands than you could shake a snorkle at (if I visited one a day, I would be over 40 before I was through), many covered in volcanic landscapes, jungles or rice terraces, the term 'natural beauty' takes on a diverse range of meanings here. However, give me a break guys, I've yet to experience any of this myself, having only just arrived. 😊
As for Manila, I must admit to have been feeling a little nervous visiting a new city on this scale, but to tell you the truth, I'm loving it. The place is so chaotic it's fantastic. There's not a dull moment; every single place I look something is happening. The roads are constantly full, but not of boring cars, no no, but interesting tricycles called 'Dave' or 'Grace' and even more interesting public transport vehicles called 'Jeepneys'. Each one is eccentrically unique, with names such as 'Daffy', 'Playboy', 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. 'Happy Hour' and 'Blitzkreig 1', covered in neon lights, and paintings of comic-book characters, rainbows or superstituous symbology - a sight to behold I assure you.
There are street vendors on every corner selling everything from cigarettes to corn on the cob, from strawberries to belts. Yes, that's right - beautiful fresh strawberries for 30p that I couldn't say no to and tasted so good. Ok, so a couple were mouldy, but who's grumbling? The rich array of accessible food here is great. Money changers kept coming up to me (seriously, they're obsessed - I counted over 100 money changer boutiques in just 5 minutes of walking), there are constant beepings and music from the jeepneys, people bargaining and the hissing of food being cooked. It's been great just to walk around amidst the chaos, in my sandals, risking my life crossing roads and getting my feet wet, taking it all in.
Last night, I visited a cool local joint called 'The Hobbit House' run by dwarfs. But it's not as seedy as it sounds, and was a good place to sink a couple of local beers (for US$1 I may add), listening to some live music such as Streets of London, John Denver and the Animals, and a couple of requests from me of Gordon Lightfoot and Neil Young. A really tranquil end to a crazy day, if you ignore the half-dozen requests I got from GRO's (Guest Relation Officers) otherwise known as prostitutes on the walk back to my hostel. 70%!o(MISSING)f tourists to the Philippines are lone males, and it's not hard to see why, with mixed 'couples' everywhere. I'd like to think, as a lone male traveller myself, that I'm one of the exceptions to the rule.
Today, I'm just going to do some more exploring, visiting Intramuros, a spacious Spanish colonial district of the old walled city, maybe a museum, and a smart, huge (50mx50m) relief map of the Philippines in Rizal Park. And tonight I get an overnight bus to Baguio in North Luzon - Luzon being the island Manila is on, to spend a week exploring the temperature agricultural region before heading back to Manila to fly to Cebu City in central Philippines. Simple as that. But that journey is for the next blog in a week's time. Bye bye for now, Simon x
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Willy
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deja vu
last year,Helen and I emerged from the midst of a huge tropical storm,soaked through the skin,covered in mud and penniless,at the wrong terminal in kota kinabalu.Those fucking bus drivers! Fortunately we too made it with seconds to spare to terminal 2 and I made a promise then that i would always check my terminal before the flight. (by the way the airport terminals are practically next to each other,we just ran over the brow of the hill?) and yet, less than 6 months later,back in kinabalu,that horrible sinking feeling hit me,as i stood in the wrong terminal building for the second time,with the 'interesting' addition of my entire family. somethings in life are as inevitable as the sunrise. my neverending capacity for idiocy being one example.