So that's it 11 months, 24 countries and a whole host of new friends and experiences later im sat writing my final blog for this trip but hopefully not for ever.
This year has been truly amazing and i owe alot to all those who have helped me and shown extraordinary kindness along the way. I will never forget this and hopefully i can do my part and return the favour at some point.
Last time i wrote i had just arrived in Brunei a place i chose to visit purely through curiosity, to see what the small oil rich kingdom had to offer. The curiosity aspect seemed to be the same for everybody else i met, some having purely come on a day trip from KL. I was unsure of what to expect and to be honest the capital Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB) did disappoint. Together with Rob who i met at the airport we checked into the only affordable hostel and went off to explore. Lonely Planet provides a walking tour map for BSB and so it was 15 minutes after starting we had completed it. The city is tiny and apart from a mosque and a clock there is nothing there. The Sultan may be one of the richest men in the world living in a huge 4000 room palace on the hill above, but this wealth you do not see on the street. The people live comfortably and thats about it, no poor no rich just ok.
To kill a bit of time we took one of the water taxis, locally dubbed 'flying coffins' and used this to cross to the largest stilt village in Asia that sits just off the mainland. It filled an hour and we both agreed that we would leave the next day. That night we chanced upon a local who gave us a tour in his car using his local knowledge and we ended up getting to visit the largest mosque in south east asia. This is really spectacular and kind of worth the visit to Brunei on its own if we had actually been allowed inside. Instead we had to make do with the outside and the beautiful gardens.
Next day i caught a speedboat to Bangar from where i hoped to take the bus back to Malaysia and Kota Kinabalu (KK) in Sabah. The boat trip involved a hair raising hour long ride on a speedboat through the tiny mangrove lined waterways. Arriving in the Bangar i realised within about ten seconds that there was nothing to fill the afternoon so i scrubbed my plan and headed straight back to BSB. That pretty much sums up Brunei and unless your passing through i wouldn't bother.
Deciding to forsake the bus route i instead took a boat to the island of Labuan in malaysia where i spent a few hours before continuing on to KK. This town was hardly much better although Summer Lodge is a really great hostel and their cat was funny as it amused itself by chasing anything that moved including the arrow on the computer screen. My last major activity i had planned was to climb Mt. Kinabalu the highest mountain in South East Asia. Standing at 4095m it towers over the north of Borneo being visible from pretty much everywhere. While the weather remained fine i wanted to get the climb out of the way so i left KK after a day and found a mountain guesthouse just outside of the park. Most people climb halfway in the afternoon spend the night and then get to the top for sunrise and this was my plan as well until i was told it would cost 90 quid to stay at the mountain hut in a 30 person dorm. And this cost is in addition to the climbing permit and the obligatory guide which added another 50 quid. I could not afford this and gutted i was not sure what to do. By chance a ranger said you could always try a day climb but here is the time schedule and if you dont make it fast enough, tough luck.
The day climb was now my only option so i arrived back at the park at 7am to start the climb as i had to be halfway at 10am and at the summit by 1pm. God knows how much paperwork later as well as a bus ride to the gate we finally started climbing at 8am. I am not in the best of shape having done little vigorous exercise and i was increasingly worried when after 15 minutes i was out of breath. I really thought i wasn't going to make it as the guide kept glancing at his watch, and desperate not to fail i refused to stop for any breaks. Anyway at 9.50 we had done 6.5km out of the 8.7km climb. No problems from there on in although my legs were feeling the pace. The altitude had an effect and our pace slowed quite alot but we still managed to summit at 12 having climbed the mountain in four hours as well, in the process catching the only other day climb group who had left at 5am. The mountain is really beautiful with its lush forested lower slopes which give way to bald granite moonscape at the top. Having studied and been fascinated by the mountain at university i have finally fulfilled my ambition to see it for myself. Im so glad i did it although my legs gave out on the way down and hobbling in quite alot of pain i made it back to park headquarters with numerous blisters. Needless to say i couldn't walk the next day and had difficulty for a few days after that.
With only five days left and two weeks until im back at work i decided to fork out for a three day safari of the Kinabatangan river. A suitably exotic name and place to go and spot wild orangutans. Before the boat left I visited Sepilok the world famous rehab centre for the Orangutans but it was pretty rubbish and we saw one ape that had been forced out so as not to disappoint the crowd. That afternoon 8 of us took a boat upriver to Uncle Tans jungle camp. The place is set in the middle of the jungle and came highly recommended. There i spent two nights being attacked by millions of mosquitos and trying to avoid the enormous spiders that kept somehow getting inside my mosquito net. Despite this i had a really great time and my tour group were interesting people and a good laugh. We managed to see the wild Orangutans which was a real highlight, as well as gibbons, hornbills, macaques, leaf monkeys and crocodiles to name but a few. Most of Sabah is now one big oil palm plantation and very little forest remains as is the case on the river as the trees are probably only three or four deep along the banks. It is shocking to see but as the wildlife has nowhere else to go its easy to spot. I guess everything has an upside.
With two days left of my trip and not really enough time to do anything else i spent two nights in Sandakan with a father and daughter from Oklahoma who i met at the camp. The city is pleasant enough and yesterday I visited the really moving war memorial park which commemorates the thousands of POW's who died in awful conditions at the hands of the Japanese. The only other attraction of note in town is the house of the famous American author Agnes Keith which is located on the hill overlooking the bay next to of all things an english tea room, complete with scones, cream and even a croquet field. A pleasant hour was spent chowing down on the excellent chocolate cake and tea.
And thats as they say is a wrap. I now sit and wait for my flight which is in 6 hours and 15 hours after that i will be back in England. Plenty of time then to plan my next trip!!!
Sunday 20 February 2011
Saturday 12 February 2011
Finding Paradise
Wow wow wow what can you say. I am 24 and i have found what many people dont find in their entire lifetime. Paradise. I have looked forward to the Togians for so long and it didnt disappoint utterly incredible.
12 hours after leaving Gorontalo on the ferry we arrived in the ramshackle port of Wakkai. Not a good start by any means. From there the four of us travelling together hired out a canoe to take us the three hours to Malenge island. We had been recommended this by a guy on Bunakan and it was immense. As we rounded the final corner we were confronted with the whitest beach i have ever seen, on which were situated five bungalows surrounded by palm trees. So so happy at this point and more was to come. The resort was on a peninsula at the back of which was a blue lagoon perfect for pre/post dinner or all day swimming sessions. As if this isnt enough i hear you say the island is covered in jungle and is inhabited by many animals all of which you can hear and often see from the lagoon while you swim. Too good to be true especially as it was 7 quid a night including 3 meals a day.
On the opposite side of the beach was a very picturesque floating village with a 1km long stilt bridge that at sunset made for a stunning panorama. Unfortunately my camera is knackered so no photos will be forthcoming. But it will live in my memory for ever.
Five days i spent on Malenge, snorkelling the coral reef, trekking, relaxing in my hammock under the palms and generally enjoying life and the few weeks i have left. It was really great travelling there with the guys from Bunakan as we got on well and there was some good banter over a few beers. There is nothing quite like relaxing with a cool beer just watching the world go by, although the spiders were plate sized and cockroaches/ foot long millipedes abounded.
Unfortunately as all things do my time on malenge came to an end. The Togians have been largely preserved due to there isolation and so it was that there is only three ferries a week from Wakkai. I skipped the first one as i was enjoying myself too much trading this for no days in Makassar. This was a good idea but it meant i would have a mission on for the next few days. The morning of departure arrives and when we ask for the canoe back to wakkai we are told in the matter of fact way indonesians have 'no canoe waves too big'. On further questioning we are told the ferry has sunk and 8 people in a canoe have died in the past day. Exactly what you want to be told when considering chancing it. If i cant leave the island soon i could well run out of visa time which will be expensive. Eventually Rudi the owner finds some people from the village who are willing to take a chance for which they demand a high price. The togian island people only use small outrigger canoes and they cannot go out in even small waves, two hours later two guys turn up in a huge dugout with no outriggers. Saying our prayers we agreed to it as there was little other choice. At least on wakkai we would make the ferry if another one came.
I have feared for my life a few times on this trip, sitting on top of a truck which is leaning over a ravine, near misses driving through vietnam and now i have a canoe ride through a rough open ocean, with waves breaking over the sides and the indonsians bailing frantically all the while trying to position ourselves so we dont capsize. I think i may have said more prayers than most people do in a lifetime. To make matters worse we had to go the long way round trying to stay in the lee of islands as much as possible. I take my hat off to those boat guys as 5 hours and some severe nerves and sunburn later we arrived to Wakkai. Never have i been so grateful for land and cared so little about missing the ferry we had put so much effort into trying to make.
Now i was really pushed for time especially as i had intended to spend 5 days in Tanah Toraja and now that would be cut to two at the most. With little other option we headed out to the nearest island Kadidiri for two days where i tried to forget the impending travel nightmares and relax in the luxury resort. Thought id splash out a little as work is looming just around the corner.
Two days later the ferry arrives (having not sunk, indonesia is definately the king of rumours) and we make it to Ampana where the bus fun begins. Sulawesi is just mountains and forest with tiny tiny winding little roads. I set off from Ampana with a Dutch couple from the ferry as well as Nacho from Malenge. Six hours later and nearing midnight we arrive in Tentena having decided not to stop in Poso where some unfortunates were beheaded not so long ago. Next day involved probably the worst travelling day of the year, 11 hours on the bus got us into Podolo a horrible little town approaching 9pm. Twice we nearly went down a ravine having overshot hairpins as well as negotiating a narrow muddy section where the road had been taken away in a landslide. In Podolo we tried for two hours to find someone to drive us to Rantepao and after giving up all hope some decidedly dodgy guys who i think may have robbed the car offered to drive us. Still with an hour or so to go and at 1am in the middle of the jungle in the pitch black they stop and get out. Honestly we all feared the worst and being told to hand over everything we had wasnt far from my mind. Fortunately it didnt happen and five minutes later they reappeared and it was time for a driver change. Nachos face was amazing as he turns to see a kid who was maybe 14 at a push get behind the wheel. It was bordering on ridiculous as the kid started driving sitting well forward with his face pressed against the glass at around 10mph. I couldnt stop laughing as knackered beyond belief we roll into Rantepao at 2am. So so glad that we had reserved rooms and after hammering on the door for 10 minutes we were let in.
Tanah Toraja is famous for its people who are animist and maintain much of their traditions. The most famous and my reason for visiting was the funerals these guys have. Most ceremonies go on for three or four days and each one involves something different. We managed to get invited to day one of a funeral and turned up to witness alot of people milling around chatting, not really doing much apart from killing a few pigs. There was lots of piggy screeching and not much else so we left to visit a few of the wooden villages with there unique boat shaped houses covered in crazy carvings. You may think its a bit wierd going to funerals but these things cost a fortune and many times the person is dead for three or four years before the family can afford to bury them. During this time the body is left in a coffin in the living room. Crazy stuff. The cause of the expense is the Buffalo sacrifice. Each buffalo can cost thousands of pounds probably a few years wages for an indonesian, and it is believed that a minimum of five are required to be slaughtered to carry the deceased to heavan. So day two we rent bikes ride back to the village and go to the buffalo sacrifice. I half expected to pass out but it was strangely fascinating and a surreal experience. Watching buffalo being led into the ring surrounded by maybe a hundred people, seeing their throats cut with blood going everywhere accompanied by the wailing family of the deceased in a small wooden village in the forest in sulawesi was amazing. A real cultural overload. Something i feel priveledged to have witnessed before it eithers stops or is entirely ruined by hoards of package tourists.
Not having time to go to the third day where a procession transports the body from the village to its final resting place in a cave, i rode out to a couple of caves with coffins already in situ. I spent a few hours crawling around with a tiny flashlight looking at the coffins both old and new within the cave systems. Some of the coffins were so old they had rotted away partially exposing the deceaseds bones within, but also the people carve a likeness from wood which is placed inside or outside the cave. These are incredibly realistic especially in bad light and are liable to cause a fright when stumbled upon. If you look up photos on the internet you will see it seems more like a filmset from Indiana Jones than a real life place.
That night i had to take the nightbus to Makassar which turned from 8-9 hours into 14 hours sat on a bus, uncomfortable with no sleep due to the road condition as well as the two locals behind me who insisted on throwing up for the entire journey. The rain in several places had washed out a good few kms of road causing a huge traffic jam with nobody around to take charge. Just what you need. Tired and dishevelled i went straight to the airport to kill 7 hours before flying to KL. Then KL i had 10 hours to kill overnight before flight to Brunei early the next morning. No sleep two nights in a row as everybody sleeping in the airport got kicked out for two hours while they cleaned and then there was too much noise even in the darkest corner i could find. The comfy seat of the air asia plane was just the ticket and i just wish it could have been a longer flight to grab a little more shuteye!!
On Borneo now in Sabah but as this is quite a long one i will do the past few days at a later date....
12 hours after leaving Gorontalo on the ferry we arrived in the ramshackle port of Wakkai. Not a good start by any means. From there the four of us travelling together hired out a canoe to take us the three hours to Malenge island. We had been recommended this by a guy on Bunakan and it was immense. As we rounded the final corner we were confronted with the whitest beach i have ever seen, on which were situated five bungalows surrounded by palm trees. So so happy at this point and more was to come. The resort was on a peninsula at the back of which was a blue lagoon perfect for pre/post dinner or all day swimming sessions. As if this isnt enough i hear you say the island is covered in jungle and is inhabited by many animals all of which you can hear and often see from the lagoon while you swim. Too good to be true especially as it was 7 quid a night including 3 meals a day.
On the opposite side of the beach was a very picturesque floating village with a 1km long stilt bridge that at sunset made for a stunning panorama. Unfortunately my camera is knackered so no photos will be forthcoming. But it will live in my memory for ever.
Five days i spent on Malenge, snorkelling the coral reef, trekking, relaxing in my hammock under the palms and generally enjoying life and the few weeks i have left. It was really great travelling there with the guys from Bunakan as we got on well and there was some good banter over a few beers. There is nothing quite like relaxing with a cool beer just watching the world go by, although the spiders were plate sized and cockroaches/ foot long millipedes abounded.
Unfortunately as all things do my time on malenge came to an end. The Togians have been largely preserved due to there isolation and so it was that there is only three ferries a week from Wakkai. I skipped the first one as i was enjoying myself too much trading this for no days in Makassar. This was a good idea but it meant i would have a mission on for the next few days. The morning of departure arrives and when we ask for the canoe back to wakkai we are told in the matter of fact way indonesians have 'no canoe waves too big'. On further questioning we are told the ferry has sunk and 8 people in a canoe have died in the past day. Exactly what you want to be told when considering chancing it. If i cant leave the island soon i could well run out of visa time which will be expensive. Eventually Rudi the owner finds some people from the village who are willing to take a chance for which they demand a high price. The togian island people only use small outrigger canoes and they cannot go out in even small waves, two hours later two guys turn up in a huge dugout with no outriggers. Saying our prayers we agreed to it as there was little other choice. At least on wakkai we would make the ferry if another one came.
I have feared for my life a few times on this trip, sitting on top of a truck which is leaning over a ravine, near misses driving through vietnam and now i have a canoe ride through a rough open ocean, with waves breaking over the sides and the indonsians bailing frantically all the while trying to position ourselves so we dont capsize. I think i may have said more prayers than most people do in a lifetime. To make matters worse we had to go the long way round trying to stay in the lee of islands as much as possible. I take my hat off to those boat guys as 5 hours and some severe nerves and sunburn later we arrived to Wakkai. Never have i been so grateful for land and cared so little about missing the ferry we had put so much effort into trying to make.
Now i was really pushed for time especially as i had intended to spend 5 days in Tanah Toraja and now that would be cut to two at the most. With little other option we headed out to the nearest island Kadidiri for two days where i tried to forget the impending travel nightmares and relax in the luxury resort. Thought id splash out a little as work is looming just around the corner.
Two days later the ferry arrives (having not sunk, indonesia is definately the king of rumours) and we make it to Ampana where the bus fun begins. Sulawesi is just mountains and forest with tiny tiny winding little roads. I set off from Ampana with a Dutch couple from the ferry as well as Nacho from Malenge. Six hours later and nearing midnight we arrive in Tentena having decided not to stop in Poso where some unfortunates were beheaded not so long ago. Next day involved probably the worst travelling day of the year, 11 hours on the bus got us into Podolo a horrible little town approaching 9pm. Twice we nearly went down a ravine having overshot hairpins as well as negotiating a narrow muddy section where the road had been taken away in a landslide. In Podolo we tried for two hours to find someone to drive us to Rantepao and after giving up all hope some decidedly dodgy guys who i think may have robbed the car offered to drive us. Still with an hour or so to go and at 1am in the middle of the jungle in the pitch black they stop and get out. Honestly we all feared the worst and being told to hand over everything we had wasnt far from my mind. Fortunately it didnt happen and five minutes later they reappeared and it was time for a driver change. Nachos face was amazing as he turns to see a kid who was maybe 14 at a push get behind the wheel. It was bordering on ridiculous as the kid started driving sitting well forward with his face pressed against the glass at around 10mph. I couldnt stop laughing as knackered beyond belief we roll into Rantepao at 2am. So so glad that we had reserved rooms and after hammering on the door for 10 minutes we were let in.
Tanah Toraja is famous for its people who are animist and maintain much of their traditions. The most famous and my reason for visiting was the funerals these guys have. Most ceremonies go on for three or four days and each one involves something different. We managed to get invited to day one of a funeral and turned up to witness alot of people milling around chatting, not really doing much apart from killing a few pigs. There was lots of piggy screeching and not much else so we left to visit a few of the wooden villages with there unique boat shaped houses covered in crazy carvings. You may think its a bit wierd going to funerals but these things cost a fortune and many times the person is dead for three or four years before the family can afford to bury them. During this time the body is left in a coffin in the living room. Crazy stuff. The cause of the expense is the Buffalo sacrifice. Each buffalo can cost thousands of pounds probably a few years wages for an indonesian, and it is believed that a minimum of five are required to be slaughtered to carry the deceased to heavan. So day two we rent bikes ride back to the village and go to the buffalo sacrifice. I half expected to pass out but it was strangely fascinating and a surreal experience. Watching buffalo being led into the ring surrounded by maybe a hundred people, seeing their throats cut with blood going everywhere accompanied by the wailing family of the deceased in a small wooden village in the forest in sulawesi was amazing. A real cultural overload. Something i feel priveledged to have witnessed before it eithers stops or is entirely ruined by hoards of package tourists.
Not having time to go to the third day where a procession transports the body from the village to its final resting place in a cave, i rode out to a couple of caves with coffins already in situ. I spent a few hours crawling around with a tiny flashlight looking at the coffins both old and new within the cave systems. Some of the coffins were so old they had rotted away partially exposing the deceaseds bones within, but also the people carve a likeness from wood which is placed inside or outside the cave. These are incredibly realistic especially in bad light and are liable to cause a fright when stumbled upon. If you look up photos on the internet you will see it seems more like a filmset from Indiana Jones than a real life place.
That night i had to take the nightbus to Makassar which turned from 8-9 hours into 14 hours sat on a bus, uncomfortable with no sleep due to the road condition as well as the two locals behind me who insisted on throwing up for the entire journey. The rain in several places had washed out a good few kms of road causing a huge traffic jam with nobody around to take charge. Just what you need. Tired and dishevelled i went straight to the airport to kill 7 hours before flying to KL. Then KL i had 10 hours to kill overnight before flight to Brunei early the next morning. No sleep two nights in a row as everybody sleeping in the airport got kicked out for two hours while they cleaned and then there was too much noise even in the darkest corner i could find. The comfy seat of the air asia plane was just the ticket and i just wish it could have been a longer flight to grab a little more shuteye!!
On Borneo now in Sabah but as this is quite a long one i will do the past few days at a later date....
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