Three days after taking off on our boat adventure, we arrived at the Komodo National Park, and began our mission of " Hunting Komodo Dragons by Camera". We would eventually visit both of their island habitats - Komodo Island and Rinca Island, on which we were told live approximately 2,400 dragons - but Komodo Island, the larger of the two, was our first hike. We were also told they may be difficult to spot at this time of year, because it is just the end of the rainy season and the vegetation is thick and lush. We opted for the longest hike route, and began our two hour hike at 8 in the morning, wondering when and if we would be lucky enough to spot any dragons, as our park guides informed us that there were ... read more

Thirty six hours after arriving in Bali, Indonesia, we are on a boat taking us to the northwest coast of Lombok, arriving at the resort area of Senggigi, which we are told is the only developed resort area on the island of Lombok. Unlike its neighbour island Bali, Lombok is just beginning to develop its tourism industry. In fact, Lombok is often described as Bali's shy but beautiful sister. We are here in Senggigi not so much because we are into resorts, but rather because this is where the boat lands when you arrive, so we thought we would stay a day or two and check it out before moving on. Once we got off the boat, we found a very pleasant taxi driver to show us a few accommodation options, and ended up lucking out ... read more

When you arrive at a new destination, you subconsciously begin to look for what idiosyncrasies or pleasant surprises this new location has to offer. For example, you may be greeted in your hotel room by towel arrangements that resemble flowers - with the actual flower incorporated into the design as its bud, or maybe sculpted birds, or perhaps elephants. I have been trying to reproduce the elephants for weeks now, but somehow they don't quite look like the ones we had waiting for us on our beds when we arrived at one particular hotel. We are now staying on the Tip of Borneo, at a resort called "Tommy's Place". Back in Canada, I live next door to my best friend named - you guessed it - Tommy. Every time I pass the hotel sign, I cannot ... read more

After four days of rustic living in the Kinebatagan Nature Lodge, jungle trekking and warding off leeches, mosquitoes, millipedes, snakes, spiders, and a bunch of other potential stuff that bites, it was quite an indulgence for us to take a ride on the refurbished North Borneo Rail steam engine train. The train ride was a taste of decadence and a flashback in time to the British Colonial era. All staff were costumed in early century era clothing, nostalgic music was playing, and whistles were blown as the conductor yelled out "All Aboard!" when we left the station. Each passenger received a passport for the four hour journey, which was stamped by the train conductor as we approached each of the train's five districts. Throughout the journey passengers were seated in fan-cooled dining cars, and waited on ... read more

The seven hour bus ride from Kota Kinabulu to Sandakan in bus seats definitely designed for the smaller Asian body type, not large and leggy foreigners like us, may not have been that much of a treat, but arriving at our sweet hotel with a sea view to die for certainly was, as you never really know what you are gonna get until you get there. The irony is that this delightful room, with breakfast included, was only $45 a night, nicer but less expensive than most hotels we have stayed in so far on this trip. In addition to the spectacular view of the South China Sea from our hotel window, we also enjoyed an evening dragon dance in the nearby town square. But pretty as it was, Sandakan was merely our point of departure ... read more