Up at 6:00. Repack and breakfast at a different location where there was a baby grand that I was able to play for about 10 minutes. I really miss the piano. Before we boarded the bus, the resort staff sang us a farewell song and posed with us for photos. They really are a tremendous group. 45-minute drive back to and through Kota Kinbalu and on to the airport. We got a glimpse of the slopes of Mt. Kinbalu in the distance but the rest of the mountain was shrouded in mist. This is the highest mountain in SE Asia,  BTW. Took over an hour to get through airport stuff and then we had to sit on the plane  for another 30 minutes. Very hot. 2 hour flight to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. We ... read more

Up at 7:30. After breakfast at the hotel, we walk to the Nature Centre on the resort grounds for our group's 9:30 appointment. After an introductory video about the Malaysian rain forest, its endangered species and how this Nature Centre is helping, we followed a narrow, winding path up into the rain forest.  The prolific vegetation is astonishing; verdant and lush, trees and vines intertwined with abundant undergrowth. The humidity actually increases here. There is a constant undulating drone from invisible cicadas. At a viewing station, we met a young orangutan male, one of four orangutans who live in this protected area. We marvel at his incredible ability to negotiate the forest from ground to canopy. Orangutans have a remarkable resemblance to humans in their behavior and physiognomy, even though their body structure is quite different. We then ... read more

Today we leave Japan for Malaysia. Up at 7:30. The routine we're now well used to: repack, breakfast, check out. We walk to the airport and endure baggage check, customs and security. It's been raining all night and it's very humid, and we are soon dripping. On the positive side, we get to bypass the lineup for security because we have our own plane. But it still takes nearly two hours before we're on board. Five hour flight to Kota Kinbalu, Malaysia on the island of Borneo.   Stepping out of the plane in a downpour we are hit by the incredible humidity. We Ottawans are used to humidity but the moisture content of the air here is on a different scale. When we clear customs, we are greeted by beautiful Malaysian girls handing out bead ... read more

Fantastic buffet breakfast at the hotel, combining Western food (eggs, bacon, toast, etc.) with Japanese (noodles, sushi, various tofu, rice, etc.), as well as fruit. Met in the lobby and boarded the tour bus. The airport is an artificial island, so first we crossed an impressive bridge/causeway to the mainland, then on to Osaka downtown.  Osaka is a big city of 2.5 million, the 3rd largest in Japan, very crowded and lots of traffic. However, everything is incredibly orderly and calm despite the frenetic activity. The cleanliness of the city is amazing. Even the highways look like they're swept daily. The transportation system operates on several vertical levels, with highways and trains whizzing above and below and sometimes even underground. Elaborate parabolic shaped sound barriers minimize the noise.  The signage is very clear, usually with English ... read more

Up at 6:30. Repacked and had a quick breakfast (slightly less pandemonium) and off on our bus to the airport.  Endured the long wait to clear customs in the opposite direction, about one and a half hours total for our group. And we're off to Osaka, Japan, at this point not knowing how and if we will get to China. Five hours later, here we are in Japan. The airport is magnificent: huge, very modern and impeccably clean. Apparently, the entire airport is on a man-made island   It takes us a good two hours to get from the plane, through customs, where we are photographed and electronically fingerprinted, and to the hotel, which is attached to the airport. The hotel is also ultramodern and luxurious. Airport and hotel staff are bubbly and polite, bowing whenever ... read more