After that, we made the arduous trek over the border to Malaysia. We took the subway, then a rickety bus which shooed everyone off at the border to go through immigration, border patrol and customs. We could have re-boarded the bus, but opted for a taxi instead since we just needed to make it to the hotel for the night. We flew out to Kota Kinabalu (the capital of Sabah, the northern province in East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo) the next morning. The city itself is rather boring but the thing that impressed me the most about Sabah was the fact that everyone was soooooooo friendly and nice! Guys might have stared at us like they do everywhere, but apart from the old muslim men who looked at me as if I was a whore for wearing shorts, most of them would just smile and say hi, or wave. It was really cool. (Note: I saw many local girls wearing shorts, so it wasn't like it was inappropriate attire.) Plus the men there are taller, beefier and more gorgeous than mainland Malays. I think they might have more Polynesian blood in them. Whatever it is, I like it! How I ended up with a pasty white boy who can't tan is still a mystery to me, haha! ;)
There are a few islands off the coast of the city, but they were just ok. Not nearly as nice as some of the ones in Thailand and Vietnam, but they had beaches and coral and were fun anyway. One day we decided to go white water river rafting! That was an adventure for sure! First we had to take a mini-van out to a po-dunk little town called Beaufort. From there we had to catch a po-dunk, clittety-clack, 30-year-old train into the middle-of-nowhere-jungle where the river was! This train, despite ONLY being 30 years old, might as well have been from the mid-1800's. The tracks themselves were "100 years old and haven't been rebuilt at all!" (And this is meant to instill confidence?) Anyway, it was a steam-engine little thing with no lights, no A/C of course, and hard bench seats. The windows, I noticed, were new and you could open them for a nice sticky tropical breeze. In any event, it was a very rough one and a half hour long butt massage and sauna experience, but very interesting! The country side was gorgeous and I have some footage from the train as well. We passed one house where a mother was attempting to bathe her little girl but she was having none of it! Screaming and crying and hitting her mom away.... I guess kids do the same thing everywhere, huh? It was pretty funny actually. What also amused us to no end was the group of Korean girls that were on the same train. For some reason they thought it'd be a splendid idea to wear clubbing clothes and high heals to go river rafting. The rest of us normal people were wearing appropriate clothing and rolling our eyes at these girls. Not only were they dressed for a night on the town, but they would shriek and squeal at every bump or turn (pretty much the entire friggin' ride). I don't know what they thought "white-water-river-rafting" was exactly, but someone lied to them!
Anyhoo, we finally get off the train in the middle of nowhere jungle and are briefed on the safety procedures and padding technique and then whisked off to our boats with our gorgeous local guides! (Ours were named Andre and something like Julius I think....) Kendra and I were very gung-ho about being in front where all the action was and had these manic perma-grins on our faces the entire time! The front was pretty hard but definitely the most fun. Once we were in the river we had to learn what to do when the boat capsized so he made us all jump out and swim back to the boat. The water was mocha-colored from all the silt, but it was so warm compared the the rivers back home where you need a wet-suit. The only part that sucked was when water got in your eyes -- there was so much silt and crap in the water, it kinda stung. Anyway, it took us about an hour and a half to get down the river and some of the rapids were REALLY big. We had the choice at one point to go down a particularly treacherous part of the river so we could capsize, but one girl who was with us couldn't swim very well and was nervous about it so we didn't do it. Kendra and I were a bit disappointed, but on the last big set of rapids, two big waves were converging and we hit them at just the right spot to launch me out of the boat and into the river! I was in the water before I knew what had happened! Luckily, our hotty guide, Andre, came to the rescue and grabbed me as I went by. Everyone took a hold of my life-jacket and I was back in the boat within seconds. Interestingly enough, Adam, who was in front of me, didn't even notice I had flown out until I was back in the boat again! (Thanks a lot, hun....)
After the rafting, there was a huge buffet lunch with drinks and an opportunity to watch and buy the DVD of everyone going down the river. We didn't get the video but opted for the pictures and a t-shirt. At about this time, some thunderheads rolled in and it started to pour. Now, if you've been to the tropics, you'll understand that when I say "pour" I don't mean a nice steady rain like we get in Seattle.... no, no, no. I mean more of a complete monsoon/shower, if-you-step-out-in-the-rain-you're-soaked-to-the-bone-in-2-seconds-flat kind of "pour". I love it! It's just so dramatic!
We then had to re-board the rickety contraption that brought us out there, so we ran to the platform and jumped on the train only to be told to get off again because the train had to turn around....?? In any event, I was standing on the platform with a miniscule umbrella, which was pretty much useless, when 3 of the most gorgeous guides came running over and wanted to get under my umbrella as well. No argument from me, muahahahaha! :) That was nice!
A couple days later we decided to rent a car and drive to another city in Sabah called Sandakan. Had we had more time, I would have liked to stay there since there's a lot more to do around there. Anyway, we were preparing ourselves for the possibility that the car would be 4WD and stick shift. In that case, only Kendra and I would be able to drive since neither of the 2 Brits, Josy and Marc, could drive stick (Marc didn't even have a license and Josy had just gotten hers!), and Adam wasn't comfortable with stick either. However, we lucked out and it was automatic. We still had to drive on the left side, but at least we had 3 drivers to make the supposed 6 hour journey. Keng ended up driving the whole way there since it was "just like home!" in New Zealand and she was really comfortable. And I'm soooooooooo glad she did! on our last leg of the trip that actually took us around 8-9 hours, it got dark.... and then started to "pour". And on those roads there are no street lights and since we were driving through a huge palm oil plantation all the roads were riddled with pot-holes from all the big trucks. Luckily, the truck we were following wasn't going unbearably slow so we decided to follow him all the way to the city. It's a good thing we did, too, because there were definitely a couple times we would have gotten lost had he not been there! Once we reached the city we searched for a hotel and on the 5th try we finally found some rooms in a ratty-yet-clean establishment above a curry shop and across from some bars. Outside, though, we saw some of the biggest rats I've ever seen in my entire life. One that was squished on the road was the size of a small cat! Didn't phase me much and I was actually more fascinated than anything, but Kendra and Josy were totally grossed out so we stepped over it and went to the hotel to sleep....
The next morning we headed to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center for the morning feeding at 10am. We saw a film beforehand about the project and it brought tears to my eyes. Basically, the center was set up because the wild population of orangutans is declining due to deforestation etc. They'll take in babies who have been orphaned, adults who have been caught and sold to circuses or zoos and mistreated, or others who have been trapped and kept as pets illegally by locals. The point is to rehabilitate them to be able to live in the wild again. Many of the babies who were orphaned didn't have their mothers to teach them all the essential skills, so the handlers have to help them. The feeding we were watching was a platform in the jungle where a handler would go and set out bananas and such. Those orangutans who were living in the jungle but still not quite ready or able to find food for themselves (or maybe they were just lazy and couldn't be bothered?) came to eat there. They were soooooooo beautiful and fun to watch!! I got quite a bit of videotape of them as well. I was thinking what a wonderful and fulfilling job that must be. Sad that there's a need for a rehabilitation center, but I'm glad they have one. Some of the orangutans take 5-8 years to finally move out to the forest and some never do, but others move out quickly and never come back. It seems like it'd be a bittersweet experience to raise these apes who are so eerily similar to humans and then have to let them go after a few years -- not unlike being a parent of some sorts. Anyway, that was definitely my favorite part of the trip :).
Interesting tidbit: The word "orangutan" is actually two words: orang - which means man/person, and hutan - which means forest. So "orangutan" literally means "man of the forest". Cool, huh? (This is in the Malay language.)
I was able to drive for a couple hours on the way back to Kota Kinabalu which was an interesting experience. Driving on the left made me feel 16 all over again and I had a tendency to hug the shoulder, especially when huge tour buses, semis and trucks would rumble by.... eek! I made it, however, and by the end was much more comfortable driving on the left. Adam drove the rest of the time and was also very good.
I'll leave the rest for Part 3 since my fingers are cramping and my eyes are getting fuzzy. (And so I have something to do tomorrow.... hehe.)
Friday, March 30, 2007
Singapore and Borneo -- Part 1
We just got back on Sunday after about 10 days in SE Asia. Yes, we keep going back, but that's because we have such wonderful experiences every time we go. We started off by flying China Eastern Airlines -- kind of a rinky-dink airline service that we picked because it was cheap. Well, it was cheap, we found out, because it scrimps on all the amenities such as music and movies and such. We got food, but it was nothing to write home about (but still a step up from some American airlines!).
We had a layover in Shanghai this time (thank god it wasn't Beijing) and I swear they keep the airport at 10C/50F so that no one will stay there for too long. The place was FREEZING! Not only that, but the benches themselves were metal and had holes in them, so screw trying to build up some body heat. We tried to get something to eat but only found one restaurant with venues in various places and very over-priced food. We were kinda confused by this and figured there had to be another restaurant somewhere but at the time just couldn't be bothered to look any farther. So, of course, after we order our extravagantly priced food, what do we see but a bunch of Chinese ladies coming in with KFC to-go bags! They sit down at a table and start chomping away! Damn.... not speaking Chinese can be a real pain sometimes, especially when you're running around the airport like a chicken with your head cut off trying to figure out where to go and which bloody form to fill out next -- we felt like little blind, deaf and dumb gerbils in a maze. Craziness.
One interesting thing about China is the fact that when you arrive there, even if it's only a layover, you need to go through customs and immigration to enter the country, only to exit again before your flight. So now I have Chinese stamps in my passport even though I never left the airport -- schweet!
After we arrived in Singapore we were finally able to relax a little. Adam and I went and bought a video camera which has proved to be a fantastic purchase! I think it cost us around $300, but the thing I like the best is the anti-shake feature. Usually when you zoom in, even the slightest movement of your hand will make it look like there was an earthquake while you were filming. Buuuuut, with the anti-shake feature I was able to zoom in super close and get some great footage that is just minimally shaky! Anyway, Singapore was probably the most beautiful city I've ever seen! Instead of bulldozing the nature flat to cover it all with concrete like Japan did, they decided to incorporate it, more or less, into the city. Despite seeing skyscrapers and concrete and cars everywhere, you also see loads of tropical trees and flowers everywhere. It's really cool. The people all seem really nice too and they can all speak English (such a plus!!!!). The rainbow of faces is astonishing as well. Coming from such a homogenous culture where all we see are Japanese faces, it was quite a shock. You saw Chinese, Malay, Indian, some Africans, some whiteys -- pretty much the whole spectrum. I also saw many faces of mixed origin and that was really interesting. I have to say the mixes are usually much more beautiful! I think I was drooling the entire 10 days at the sheer volume of eye-candy!
While we were walking around and getting to know the subway system intimately, we decided we wanted to do something kinda crazy and go reverse-bungee-jumping. It's basically a bench where 3 people can sit and get strapped in, that gets flung into the air like a slingshot! It was pretty wild and we have a DVD of that as well :) I was VERY impressed that Adam agreed to go since he and heights don't go together so well. He took off his glasses, which I think in the end was better for him -- if you can't actually see how far up you are, there's nothing to be afraid of! And instead of screaming like a little girl he ended up cackling like a mad-man.... it was kinda creepy (but I suppose more manly -- maybe that was what he was going for?). I LOVED it!
We went to Little India at one point to get some tasty curry but then realized after we sat down at the restaurant that not one white person was being served. Several other white tourist couples were in there and none of them had food, some had drinks. It donned on us that we were being shunned and ignored when a Japanese couple walked in and were served within 10 seconds. Anyway, after a few more minutes of uncomfortable waiting we just left and went somewhere else. That really sucked. Also, we noticed toward the end how Big-Brotherish Singapore is. In the subways you'd see signs like: No food or drink in the Subways -- $1,000 fine; or NO SMOKING -- $5,000 fine. If you looked up you would see cameras EVERYWHERE! I'm not talking about just a couple per room, but all over the place -- 2-3 feet apart! They must have footage of us from every single angle imaginable.... and probably not very flattering. Spitting is illegal and I assume this is because mainland Chinese tend to spit everywhere (this is true). Chewing gum is also illegal because one guy decided it'd be funny to stick his used gum on a subway train door. Well, the doors got stuck and the train was late. I guess that's a big enough deal there to outlaw chewing gum...?
We had a layover in Shanghai this time (thank god it wasn't Beijing) and I swear they keep the airport at 10C/50F so that no one will stay there for too long. The place was FREEZING! Not only that, but the benches themselves were metal and had holes in them, so screw trying to build up some body heat. We tried to get something to eat but only found one restaurant with venues in various places and very over-priced food. We were kinda confused by this and figured there had to be another restaurant somewhere but at the time just couldn't be bothered to look any farther. So, of course, after we order our extravagantly priced food, what do we see but a bunch of Chinese ladies coming in with KFC to-go bags! They sit down at a table and start chomping away! Damn.... not speaking Chinese can be a real pain sometimes, especially when you're running around the airport like a chicken with your head cut off trying to figure out where to go and which bloody form to fill out next -- we felt like little blind, deaf and dumb gerbils in a maze. Craziness.
One interesting thing about China is the fact that when you arrive there, even if it's only a layover, you need to go through customs and immigration to enter the country, only to exit again before your flight. So now I have Chinese stamps in my passport even though I never left the airport -- schweet!
After we arrived in Singapore we were finally able to relax a little. Adam and I went and bought a video camera which has proved to be a fantastic purchase! I think it cost us around $300, but the thing I like the best is the anti-shake feature. Usually when you zoom in, even the slightest movement of your hand will make it look like there was an earthquake while you were filming. Buuuuut, with the anti-shake feature I was able to zoom in super close and get some great footage that is just minimally shaky! Anyway, Singapore was probably the most beautiful city I've ever seen! Instead of bulldozing the nature flat to cover it all with concrete like Japan did, they decided to incorporate it, more or less, into the city. Despite seeing skyscrapers and concrete and cars everywhere, you also see loads of tropical trees and flowers everywhere. It's really cool. The people all seem really nice too and they can all speak English (such a plus!!!!). The rainbow of faces is astonishing as well. Coming from such a homogenous culture where all we see are Japanese faces, it was quite a shock. You saw Chinese, Malay, Indian, some Africans, some whiteys -- pretty much the whole spectrum. I also saw many faces of mixed origin and that was really interesting. I have to say the mixes are usually much more beautiful! I think I was drooling the entire 10 days at the sheer volume of eye-candy!
While we were walking around and getting to know the subway system intimately, we decided we wanted to do something kinda crazy and go reverse-bungee-jumping. It's basically a bench where 3 people can sit and get strapped in, that gets flung into the air like a slingshot! It was pretty wild and we have a DVD of that as well :) I was VERY impressed that Adam agreed to go since he and heights don't go together so well. He took off his glasses, which I think in the end was better for him -- if you can't actually see how far up you are, there's nothing to be afraid of! And instead of screaming like a little girl he ended up cackling like a mad-man.... it was kinda creepy (but I suppose more manly -- maybe that was what he was going for?). I LOVED it!
We went to Little India at one point to get some tasty curry but then realized after we sat down at the restaurant that not one white person was being served. Several other white tourist couples were in there and none of them had food, some had drinks. It donned on us that we were being shunned and ignored when a Japanese couple walked in and were served within 10 seconds. Anyway, after a few more minutes of uncomfortable waiting we just left and went somewhere else. That really sucked. Also, we noticed toward the end how Big-Brotherish Singapore is. In the subways you'd see signs like: No food or drink in the Subways -- $1,000 fine; or NO SMOKING -- $5,000 fine. If you looked up you would see cameras EVERYWHERE! I'm not talking about just a couple per room, but all over the place -- 2-3 feet apart! They must have footage of us from every single angle imaginable.... and probably not very flattering. Spitting is illegal and I assume this is because mainland Chinese tend to spit everywhere (this is true). Chewing gum is also illegal because one guy decided it'd be funny to stick his used gum on a subway train door. Well, the doors got stuck and the train was late. I guess that's a big enough deal there to outlaw chewing gum...?
Thursday, March 15, 2007
In need of a break!!
And I bet you're all wondering: "From what? You don't do ANYTHING all day... why in the world do you need a break?"
Well.... not doing anything can actually be really tiring, as lame as that sounds. I need a break from doing nothing so that I can actually do something.... quite the opposite of most cases. Adam and I and a couple friends (Josy and her bloke, Marc, from England, and Kendra from New Zealand) are heading to Singapore tomorrow and then to Malaysian Borneo (state of Sabah) on Sunday morning. We're going on vacation not to relax, but to stimulate ourselves so we don't go completely batshit crazy in the next month to come. And, well honestly, do we REALLY need an excuse to take a vacation??? I think not! Plus, who wouldn't want to pounce on the opportunity to go to one of the most beautiful places in the world, trek through the jungle, snorkel and lay in the sun, and play with orangutans?
Anyway, while we're in Singapore I hope to find a really good deal on a video camera so that we can actually film our time there instead of just taking pics. Pictures are nice, but a video would be so much better. No worries, I'll have my camera as well. One of these days I need to get a new one, though. Since receiving it for Christmas in '03, it's seen its fair share of use and abuse and is getting a little crotchety (me dropping it at regular intervals probably didn't help either... oops!).
This past week, Aaron and Helen came back to Japan for their spring break so it was really cool to see them again! I don't think I realized how much I missed Aaron until he got here. Then it was like we'd never been apart. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a really long time... actually I take that back. Christmas wasn't so far long ago, which was the last time I saw him and we talked and talked and talked and laughed until I almost peed my pants. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to spend with either of them so that really sucks, but at least we got to see them!
So, I'm sitting at work without an ounce of inspiration to write beyond the feeling of obligation to keep this thing going and keep everyone in the loop. Not that I mind keeping people up-to-date with what's going on with me, but there really hasn't been much of anything besides the humdrum of life to write about. Sorry to be so honest, but hopefully after we come back I'll have plenty to write about and will be sure to post pics! I've now brought my headphones to work so I can listen to music via YouTube and Google videos.... I've also spent a couple hours today watching and listening to interviews by Barack Obama. After having read his book and now seeing the interviews with him, I'm even more convinced that he would be an excellent president. He's articulate, very intelligent, open-minded, realistic and most importantly: he's REAL! He's human. He's not a puppet or someone put into power by his daddy or his daddy's money. He speaks more than one language (having lived in Indonesia as a child and learning their language: Bahasa I'm pretty sure), and he's lived in a different country. Not only a different country, but a predominantly Muslim country. He went to both Muslim and Christian schools while he was there as well. I think this is really important if we're to improve our image abroad. I think it's also important because he'd have an easier time empathizing with other countries. Anyway, bottom line is: Barack kicks ass and if he becomes president it would do a world of good for our country, its people and its reputation. Oh and I agree with a lot of his perspectives... he's pro-choice, supports gay marriage and doesn't believe that he should be forcing his religious values on others (hooray!) -- that's not what a secular president (or any other politician) is supposed to do.
Anyway, I'm signing out now. Will be posting later with pictures from Borneo!!!!
Well.... not doing anything can actually be really tiring, as lame as that sounds. I need a break from doing nothing so that I can actually do something.... quite the opposite of most cases. Adam and I and a couple friends (Josy and her bloke, Marc, from England, and Kendra from New Zealand) are heading to Singapore tomorrow and then to Malaysian Borneo (state of Sabah) on Sunday morning. We're going on vacation not to relax, but to stimulate ourselves so we don't go completely batshit crazy in the next month to come. And, well honestly, do we REALLY need an excuse to take a vacation??? I think not! Plus, who wouldn't want to pounce on the opportunity to go to one of the most beautiful places in the world, trek through the jungle, snorkel and lay in the sun, and play with orangutans?
Anyway, while we're in Singapore I hope to find a really good deal on a video camera so that we can actually film our time there instead of just taking pics. Pictures are nice, but a video would be so much better. No worries, I'll have my camera as well. One of these days I need to get a new one, though. Since receiving it for Christmas in '03, it's seen its fair share of use and abuse and is getting a little crotchety (me dropping it at regular intervals probably didn't help either... oops!).
This past week, Aaron and Helen came back to Japan for their spring break so it was really cool to see them again! I don't think I realized how much I missed Aaron until he got here. Then it was like we'd never been apart. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a really long time... actually I take that back. Christmas wasn't so far long ago, which was the last time I saw him and we talked and talked and talked and laughed until I almost peed my pants. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to spend with either of them so that really sucks, but at least we got to see them!
So, I'm sitting at work without an ounce of inspiration to write beyond the feeling of obligation to keep this thing going and keep everyone in the loop. Not that I mind keeping people up-to-date with what's going on with me, but there really hasn't been much of anything besides the humdrum of life to write about. Sorry to be so honest, but hopefully after we come back I'll have plenty to write about and will be sure to post pics! I've now brought my headphones to work so I can listen to music via YouTube and Google videos.... I've also spent a couple hours today watching and listening to interviews by Barack Obama. After having read his book and now seeing the interviews with him, I'm even more convinced that he would be an excellent president. He's articulate, very intelligent, open-minded, realistic and most importantly: he's REAL! He's human. He's not a puppet or someone put into power by his daddy or his daddy's money. He speaks more than one language (having lived in Indonesia as a child and learning their language: Bahasa I'm pretty sure), and he's lived in a different country. Not only a different country, but a predominantly Muslim country. He went to both Muslim and Christian schools while he was there as well. I think this is really important if we're to improve our image abroad. I think it's also important because he'd have an easier time empathizing with other countries. Anyway, bottom line is: Barack kicks ass and if he becomes president it would do a world of good for our country, its people and its reputation. Oh and I agree with a lot of his perspectives... he's pro-choice, supports gay marriage and doesn't believe that he should be forcing his religious values on others (hooray!) -- that's not what a secular president (or any other politician) is supposed to do.
Anyway, I'm signing out now. Will be posting later with pictures from Borneo!!!!
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