I read this last night in Anam Cara by John O’Donohue. A book that is special to me and has inspired my painting, but I have never actually finished. I have restarted it and intend to finish it this time.
Beannacht
(for Josie)
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the curach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
Friday, June 21, 2002
I am very excited today because I got my passport through the post. Having sent it off on Monday to get my Australian Working Holiday visa and having been told by the website that this took 4-5 weeks, I was worried I had sent something wrong! But NO! I am now the excited owner of an Australian Working Holiday Visa. Amazingly smooth! My passport will go back in the post today enroute to the New Zealand High Commission in London.
It's now definite. No... "If I get my visa" or "I'm hoping to..." Quite exciting really. It helps with the packing up and looking ahead well. But, back to focussing on our video project with the Probation guys tomorrow!!
It's now definite. No... "If I get my visa" or "I'm hoping to..." Quite exciting really. It helps with the packing up and looking ahead well. But, back to focussing on our video project with the Probation guys tomorrow!!
Wednesday, June 19, 2002
Sunny Belfast
I seem to have brought a little of the weather back with me. It's not hot but after a lot of rain the sun has started to shine. It is good to be back. I mean that! I think that because I am working through the leaving process I appreciate the opportunity to see friends more after having had a pre-travel trip away.
I have decided that I am going to enjoy work this summer. The leaving factors are all pull rather than push (there's that GCSE geography). I really love my job and plan to enjoy it for the final few weeks. So a full and hopefully fun summer ahead. I got back to find one of our young people (Dee) has become a dad (at 18). He is very proud! A little (8lb, full head of hair, dimple and his ear!) girl. 'Destiny'. Another one of our young people (Abba) has broken his back! It's always good to be back in touch with the lives of the young people I work with. They can be difficult but I do love them all.
My mind is having to also work towards leaving and travel. There is a lot of sorting to do in the house. (Car boot sale this Saturday as a fundraiser for summer camp so I will take a £5 table and try to get rid of some stuff). I blame it on my artist self that I always have so much stuff. I find it hard to throw things that "I could make something with that!" Even when I know that a lot of it will never get made into whatever greater thing it could become. It is time to invoke the long-distance help of my mum and get ruthless! I also sent off my passport to get my Australian Working Holiday Visa. Once I get that things will feel very much on the move! It does take 4/5 weeks though!
In the meantime I will work, play, laugh and dream on.....
I seem to have brought a little of the weather back with me. It's not hot but after a lot of rain the sun has started to shine. It is good to be back. I mean that! I think that because I am working through the leaving process I appreciate the opportunity to see friends more after having had a pre-travel trip away.
I have decided that I am going to enjoy work this summer. The leaving factors are all pull rather than push (there's that GCSE geography). I really love my job and plan to enjoy it for the final few weeks. So a full and hopefully fun summer ahead. I got back to find one of our young people (Dee) has become a dad (at 18). He is very proud! A little (8lb, full head of hair, dimple and his ear!) girl. 'Destiny'. Another one of our young people (Abba) has broken his back! It's always good to be back in touch with the lives of the young people I work with. They can be difficult but I do love them all.
My mind is having to also work towards leaving and travel. There is a lot of sorting to do in the house. (Car boot sale this Saturday as a fundraiser for summer camp so I will take a £5 table and try to get rid of some stuff). I blame it on my artist self that I always have so much stuff. I find it hard to throw things that "I could make something with that!" Even when I know that a lot of it will never get made into whatever greater thing it could become. It is time to invoke the long-distance help of my mum and get ruthless! I also sent off my passport to get my Australian Working Holiday Visa. Once I get that things will feel very much on the move! It does take 4/5 weeks though!
In the meantime I will work, play, laugh and dream on.....
Friday, June 14, 2002
BRUNEI
My last entry from this trip. I leave this evening to fly back to the UK. It will be an 18 hour trip from Bandar to London. The way out was very spacious. One of those flights where you get to stretch out into the next seat to try and get some awkward, cramped and dried out airplane air sleep, but sleep none the less! I hope for more of the same tonight.
They have purple buses here. One of those little things that excites me. A purple bus!! It costs a dollar for any distance of journey along the line between KB and Seria. I don’t know if it is the same around the rest of the country, but I know I get to the swimming pool for B$1.
Tuesday night there was a fancy dinner in the officers mess for some general whom it was a big deal for them to have apparently. My aunt did NOT want to go. We did however go for a walk along the beach so that we could get to enjoy the good bit which was the Gurkha band playing the pipes and drums. We were apparently spotted skulking in the floodlit bushes, but it was worth it.
I went into school to see Priscilla’s class on Tuesday. The children were very friendly and the girls all tried to sit next to me and were stroking my skin and playing with my hair. I was trying to get them to listen to the story Priscilla was reading to them! They were very sweet though and when I went in to meet Priscilla at the end of school yesterday a couple of them spotted me sitting at the picnic table outside the staff room. I was surrounded by about six little girls. “Hello Mrs. James” (which I had now become), “Your hair is so curly”, “Why were you not here yesterday?”, “See you tomorrow?”…
We were invited to Lal Kumari Guruama’s for a meal on Wednesday evening (one of the Nepali teachers). I had been looking forward to a real dahl bhat but it was even better than that. We had syel roti to start with which is a Nepali bread/donut style thing. Very delicious and I haven’t had it in years. We also had a couple curries and onion bhajies. This was all to start off. We then had the rice and dahl and veg! The meal was finished off with a plate of fresh fruit. We were absolutely stuffed but very happily so! It was good to be in an environment where Nepali was being talked. My Nepali is so rusty! It felt a bit awkward trying to use it, but it will still be there. I look forward to spending some time in Nepal at the end of August and getting it back!
We went up to Jerudong Park Playground yesterday. It was a thwarted Take 2. We had done up on Tuesday to be told they were closed on Monday and Tuesday. So, we returned yesterday (Thurs) at 3ish to find they didn’t open until 5pm. We went into Bandar, and it was already raining at this stage. The Regalia museum was open until 5pm so we got half an hour in here and saw lots of photos of His Majesty the Sultan, as well as his amazing very golden coronation crown. A cup of coffee and soaking walk through the puddles and pouring rain later, we drove via the palace (unintentionally) to Jerudong. By this stage the lights were on; bright red lit up roller coaster and multi coloured rides of various descriptions could be seen over the fence and through the wet and blurry windscreen. There were about 10 cars there and with Priscilla not even wanting to go on a ride we drove on, through the heavy rain, back to Seria. Not to be!
I have not really got to meet many Bruneians, but that is how life is for my aunt. We meet them in shops and even then many are Chinese and Filipinos. I have met quite a few Nepalis though! Our main time with a local was with David, but even he is Bornean and not Bruneian! The country seems very nice though. There is a not load to do and tourism is purported by expats to be lower because of the no alcohol laws of the country. Many people cross over to Malaysia for a liquid break away. With the prospect of oil running out in about 30 years the sultanate is looking more towards tourism, but it is in its early stages. If anyone does come through Brunei though, get in touch with David and go into the jungle, even for an afternoon! A definite highlight!
My last entry from this trip. I leave this evening to fly back to the UK. It will be an 18 hour trip from Bandar to London. The way out was very spacious. One of those flights where you get to stretch out into the next seat to try and get some awkward, cramped and dried out airplane air sleep, but sleep none the less! I hope for more of the same tonight.
They have purple buses here. One of those little things that excites me. A purple bus!! It costs a dollar for any distance of journey along the line between KB and Seria. I don’t know if it is the same around the rest of the country, but I know I get to the swimming pool for B$1.
Tuesday night there was a fancy dinner in the officers mess for some general whom it was a big deal for them to have apparently. My aunt did NOT want to go. We did however go for a walk along the beach so that we could get to enjoy the good bit which was the Gurkha band playing the pipes and drums. We were apparently spotted skulking in the floodlit bushes, but it was worth it.
I went into school to see Priscilla’s class on Tuesday. The children were very friendly and the girls all tried to sit next to me and were stroking my skin and playing with my hair. I was trying to get them to listen to the story Priscilla was reading to them! They were very sweet though and when I went in to meet Priscilla at the end of school yesterday a couple of them spotted me sitting at the picnic table outside the staff room. I was surrounded by about six little girls. “Hello Mrs. James” (which I had now become), “Your hair is so curly”, “Why were you not here yesterday?”, “See you tomorrow?”…
We were invited to Lal Kumari Guruama’s for a meal on Wednesday evening (one of the Nepali teachers). I had been looking forward to a real dahl bhat but it was even better than that. We had syel roti to start with which is a Nepali bread/donut style thing. Very delicious and I haven’t had it in years. We also had a couple curries and onion bhajies. This was all to start off. We then had the rice and dahl and veg! The meal was finished off with a plate of fresh fruit. We were absolutely stuffed but very happily so! It was good to be in an environment where Nepali was being talked. My Nepali is so rusty! It felt a bit awkward trying to use it, but it will still be there. I look forward to spending some time in Nepal at the end of August and getting it back!
We went up to Jerudong Park Playground yesterday. It was a thwarted Take 2. We had done up on Tuesday to be told they were closed on Monday and Tuesday. So, we returned yesterday (Thurs) at 3ish to find they didn’t open until 5pm. We went into Bandar, and it was already raining at this stage. The Regalia museum was open until 5pm so we got half an hour in here and saw lots of photos of His Majesty the Sultan, as well as his amazing very golden coronation crown. A cup of coffee and soaking walk through the puddles and pouring rain later, we drove via the palace (unintentionally) to Jerudong. By this stage the lights were on; bright red lit up roller coaster and multi coloured rides of various descriptions could be seen over the fence and through the wet and blurry windscreen. There were about 10 cars there and with Priscilla not even wanting to go on a ride we drove on, through the heavy rain, back to Seria. Not to be!
I have not really got to meet many Bruneians, but that is how life is for my aunt. We meet them in shops and even then many are Chinese and Filipinos. I have met quite a few Nepalis though! Our main time with a local was with David, but even he is Bornean and not Bruneian! The country seems very nice though. There is a not load to do and tourism is purported by expats to be lower because of the no alcohol laws of the country. Many people cross over to Malaysia for a liquid break away. With the prospect of oil running out in about 30 years the sultanate is looking more towards tourism, but it is in its early stages. If anyone does come through Brunei though, get in touch with David and go into the jungle, even for an afternoon! A definite highlight!
Wednesday, June 12, 2002
Saturday 8th – Wednesday 12th (Fri 14th) June
Negara Brunei Darussalam – BRUNEI ‘The Abode of Peace’
Bandar Seri Begawan is the small capital of Brunei. I’m sure it extends beyond what we saw but when trying to follow directions off a map of the capital we kept missing our turn because what looked like a reasonable distance was actually hardly any distance at all. There are a couple of main streets in the centre, which lead down to the waterfront. From here you can get into the afore-mentioned ‘flying coffins’, the taxi boats that race around the narrow watery alleyways of Kampung Ayer, the water village. There is a beautiful white and golden mosque, ‘The Omar Ali Suifddien Mosque’ in the central part of Bandar just by the water. It is according to my guidebook at the heart of the city and the sultanates Muslim faith. Apparently it was completed in 1958 at a cost of US$5 million. There are some shops and the ‘Regalia’ museum that I didn’t get to see but not a lot more in the centre.
We came back to Brunei early Saturday evening and made it to the Empire Hotel just in time to be served English Afternoon Tea. Priscilla and I shared one. It costs B$15 (about six quid-ish) and is very reasonable, especially for where you are. The Empire Hotel is what the Sultan’s younger brother is in disgrace over (or that and his drinking and womanising and general squandering of wealth). It is a six star hotel; huge, grand, opulent and yet absolutely amazing. It isn’t too much because it’s not tacky as it’s the real thing! The three tiered afternoon tea came with real silver. There are about five restaurants a couple of which are outside by the pool which spreads like a mini lake with coves and islands, just a few metres from the real beach and the ocean. Inside there are the best big windows – big doesn’t actually describe them. We arrived just in time to see the sun setting through them. The different levels go down three lots of escalators to the ground floor with open plan space all around. From the ground floor there is open space up to the ceiling the height of about three tall three-storey houses. One of the sides is all window. That’s the kind of big windows I mean! It can be kind of hard to know what to think about a place like that. It’s OTT, exorbitant, way too elitist, exclusive, extravagant and yet it’s also quite spectacular. Ah well, with rooms starting at B$500 for a deluxe room and going up to B$30,000 (about 12,000 pounds!) for the Emperor Suite (yes per night!!) I don’t think I will ever have to make a moral decision about whether I should stay there or not!
My aunt lives between Seria and Kuala Belait in the south of Brunei. The houses here were mostly built by Shell who still have a large presence here in this oil rich sultanate. As such it has a kind of strange feeling to how it is set out. It is very much like a planned suburb of neatly laid out houses. The houses fit the impression of a military camp in the way they are laid out. They are nice houses though and there is some variety in different areas (the officers and big bods have bigger houses!). Unlike the large built on stilts Bruneian houses we have seen in other parts of the country these are mostly more compact bungalows. I haven’t got a real feel for the community here but the military has a strange culture. It’s all about rank and position, not necessarily who you’d get on with. Even within the ex-pat civilians in the community it seems like a hard and not very constructive environment to have to live in.
My aunt lives in a nice wee flat in a block of flats. She is about one minute from the beach. Unfortunately you can’t swim here as there are jellyfish which if you are stung by one you will die in three minutes. Not really a good idea to risk i! Fortunately there is a pool nearby and the beach is a great place for a walk to watch the sun go down.
Sunset is incredible. It inspires words like stunning, amazing, big & beautiful and yet these flounder in trying to describe what its actually like: the burning orange, the reds and pinks, the blue and green and streaks of yellow; the red hot clouds reflecting the vanished orb of the sun and the smaller blue-black silhouetted clouds giving texture and form to the sunset. The scene conjures up images of kingdoms, myths and epic stories and yet there seems to be a simplicity in the midst of it all that can be missed. Sitting on a plastic bag on the damp sand with the waves breaking a fluid rhythm and the wind carrying a warm breeze I feel surrounded by the unfolding drama of the sky. It seems to be the bigger part of the world and everything else feels small below. An excellent way to savour the end of a day.
Negara Brunei Darussalam – BRUNEI ‘The Abode of Peace’
Bandar Seri Begawan is the small capital of Brunei. I’m sure it extends beyond what we saw but when trying to follow directions off a map of the capital we kept missing our turn because what looked like a reasonable distance was actually hardly any distance at all. There are a couple of main streets in the centre, which lead down to the waterfront. From here you can get into the afore-mentioned ‘flying coffins’, the taxi boats that race around the narrow watery alleyways of Kampung Ayer, the water village. There is a beautiful white and golden mosque, ‘The Omar Ali Suifddien Mosque’ in the central part of Bandar just by the water. It is according to my guidebook at the heart of the city and the sultanates Muslim faith. Apparently it was completed in 1958 at a cost of US$5 million. There are some shops and the ‘Regalia’ museum that I didn’t get to see but not a lot more in the centre.
We came back to Brunei early Saturday evening and made it to the Empire Hotel just in time to be served English Afternoon Tea. Priscilla and I shared one. It costs B$15 (about six quid-ish) and is very reasonable, especially for where you are. The Empire Hotel is what the Sultan’s younger brother is in disgrace over (or that and his drinking and womanising and general squandering of wealth). It is a six star hotel; huge, grand, opulent and yet absolutely amazing. It isn’t too much because it’s not tacky as it’s the real thing! The three tiered afternoon tea came with real silver. There are about five restaurants a couple of which are outside by the pool which spreads like a mini lake with coves and islands, just a few metres from the real beach and the ocean. Inside there are the best big windows – big doesn’t actually describe them. We arrived just in time to see the sun setting through them. The different levels go down three lots of escalators to the ground floor with open plan space all around. From the ground floor there is open space up to the ceiling the height of about three tall three-storey houses. One of the sides is all window. That’s the kind of big windows I mean! It can be kind of hard to know what to think about a place like that. It’s OTT, exorbitant, way too elitist, exclusive, extravagant and yet it’s also quite spectacular. Ah well, with rooms starting at B$500 for a deluxe room and going up to B$30,000 (about 12,000 pounds!) for the Emperor Suite (yes per night!!) I don’t think I will ever have to make a moral decision about whether I should stay there or not!
My aunt lives between Seria and Kuala Belait in the south of Brunei. The houses here were mostly built by Shell who still have a large presence here in this oil rich sultanate. As such it has a kind of strange feeling to how it is set out. It is very much like a planned suburb of neatly laid out houses. The houses fit the impression of a military camp in the way they are laid out. They are nice houses though and there is some variety in different areas (the officers and big bods have bigger houses!). Unlike the large built on stilts Bruneian houses we have seen in other parts of the country these are mostly more compact bungalows. I haven’t got a real feel for the community here but the military has a strange culture. It’s all about rank and position, not necessarily who you’d get on with. Even within the ex-pat civilians in the community it seems like a hard and not very constructive environment to have to live in.
My aunt lives in a nice wee flat in a block of flats. She is about one minute from the beach. Unfortunately you can’t swim here as there are jellyfish which if you are stung by one you will die in three minutes. Not really a good idea to risk i! Fortunately there is a pool nearby and the beach is a great place for a walk to watch the sun go down.
Sunset is incredible. It inspires words like stunning, amazing, big & beautiful and yet these flounder in trying to describe what its actually like: the burning orange, the reds and pinks, the blue and green and streaks of yellow; the red hot clouds reflecting the vanished orb of the sun and the smaller blue-black silhouetted clouds giving texture and form to the sunset. The scene conjures up images of kingdoms, myths and epic stories and yet there seems to be a simplicity in the midst of it all that can be missed. Sitting on a plastic bag on the damp sand with the waves breaking a fluid rhythm and the wind carrying a warm breeze I feel surrounded by the unfolding drama of the sky. It seems to be the bigger part of the world and everything else feels small below. An excellent way to savour the end of a day.
Tuesday 4th – Saturday 8th June
Kota Kinabalu, SABAH (The Land Beneath the Wind), Malaysia
Monday and Tuesday
After a relaxed afternoon and a morning around Bandar Seri Begawan we got to the airport in good time for our flight. After 45 minutes sitting on the runway waiting for a missing passenger his luggage was found and removed from the flight. Twenty minutes later we arrived in Kota Kinabalu (KK) in Sabah (Malaysia).
We had the first night booked in a hotel where we ended up staying for our four nights in KK. It was called the Promenade Hotel. Not the sort of place I will be staying when I go travelling but very nice. Not just a generic nice hotel, but it had that wee touch above. At about eleven pounds a night the hotel was not exorbitant either!!! The staff were very friendly and we had an extra-friendly doorman who was dressed in a shiny green outfit with a headscarf that looked liked a fancily folded napkin. He kept us up to date on all the World Cup scores after finding out that we were supporting Ireland.
On Wednesday we wandered along through the Filipino, food and fish markets by the harbour on our way to the buses. We found where the local buses congregated under a row of trees opposite the GPO. Trees become so much more important when you are in heat. There is a welcome drop of temperature in the shade they bless with. We went out to Sabah State museum. A fifteen minute and 50 sen (10p) bus ride away. The museum is set in lovely gardens full of examples of rainforest vegetation and with examples of traditional houses built out of bamboo around a little lake. The exhibition centre housed a variety of sections including a history Sabah; an ethnography section that included skulls from headhunter tribes; traditional artefacts including household items as well as weapons and musical instruments; traditional costumes and a small section of traditional and contemporary art.
Mobile phones are everywhere here. It is slightly bizarre to hear the same ringtones as at home. I have found myself hearing a text message coming through and though knowing I am not using my phone here still registering a trigger in my brain that the sound sets off. A kid was sat at the museum canteen playing with ringtones for over an hour. Some things transcend national boundaries.
We returned to the hotel to discover the swimming pool, sauna and jacuzzi.
Thursday morning our guide collected us at 7.30am. We were expecting a minibus and a group but it was to be just Patrick (our guide) and us in a car. It made for a very flexible and relaxed trip. Despite his name he has no Irish roots, just Chinese and native Sabah heritage. He turned out to be a great guide. He was very informative, chatty, patient and accommodating. Once he realised that I wanted to stop for a few photos he even started stopping at various places and saying “Photograph Jayne?”
We stopped at a suspension bridge, a local vegetable market village and several vantage points for a good unclouded view of Mount Kinabalu on our way to Poring Springs. All of these places are within the vast 750 square kilometres of Kinabalu National Park. We called into a conservation area where the milk Patrick had got us to buy was used to call Suzie and Vera down to visit us. They are two young orangutans. We could hear them swinging through the trees to come and see us and get their milk and fruit. After finishing hers Suzie reached out and was pulling my hand wanting to play! It was great.
At Poring Springs I went up to the canopy walk. You climb a hill through rainforest to get to the canopy walkway which is a secure but swinging one plank wide walkway through trees in the canopy of the rainforest (surprisingly enough!). A great place for a view over the top of the rainforest. After getting very sticky on the canopy walk it was a welcome relief to get into the Japanese style thermal baths of Poring Springs to cool off and freshen up. The sulphurous hot spring is piped to individual wee baths/pools where you can sit and soak.
We had a delicious curry lunch and then headed to the Mount Kinabalu Park entrance where the 100 climbers permitted on the mountain each day start the two day climb of Mount Kinabalu. We were happy to just see and photograph the highest peak in South East Asia. At 4101m it is half the height of Mount Everest. Here we were taken on a half hour tour around a plant conservation/research garden. Some of the plants were used in traditional medicine and we saw a few of the 1500 varieties of wild orchid (one that can fetch US$1000 and one the size of a pin head). My favourites I think were the pitcher plants. I like their form. The largest ones of these can hold up to three litres.
It rained on our way back and Mount Kinabalu was surrounded in swirling wreaths of cloud. We saw a great storm over KK as the car climbed back down the road that had taken us up into the park.
The same wee band as every night were playing in the hotel bar with an oriental flavoured rendition of western hits from the 60s with a couple Corrs songs mixed in.
Friday we got a boat to Sapi Island, one of the five islands in the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park. We had a very relaxing day lying on the beach and snorkelling in the sea. I haven’t done a lot of snorkelling but this was the best I’ve ever done. There was a lot of interesting coral but it was the fish that were really amazing. A beautiful one that was pink and green and blue whose colours would be gaudy anywhere else; stripy black and white ones; shiny blue ones and black and white ones with a big yellow strip and a floaty fin. Just out past the coral there were shoals of fish that were all around. It felt like I was inside one of those paperweights with the snow shaken up and sparkling all around me.
It was amusing to watch the tour groups of Japanese tourists who were really enjoying the snorkelling but looking rather humorous for they all kept their life jackets on. This not only meant that there were all these matching little jackets and bodies floating around in the sea, but they kept them on while walking around the beach too. It was the matching bags or hats or something phenomenon of tour operators!
There were also some monkeys on the beach. The interest or novelty factor soon turned to nuisance. They stole my biscuits while I was away and poor Priscilla was trying to scare them off. They were in a gang of about 12 and quite aggressive and were not scared of any of the tourists. When a couple of the local guys came along though they backed off very quickly. Fascinating.
It rained on our way back to the mainland. It’s not a very long trip but they managed to run out of petrol. There we were. Adrift in the South China Sea! A passing boat let them siphon some fuel to get us back to shore.
We returned to Jothy’s Banana Leaf restaurant and had a delicious curry served on a banana leaf.
Saturday was taken up with shopping a little in the markets. Little knick knacks for pressies as well as the requisite little treat for yourself! We then spent our last couple hours at the swimming pool before heading to the airport.
Kota Kinabalu, SABAH (The Land Beneath the Wind), Malaysia
Monday and Tuesday
After a relaxed afternoon and a morning around Bandar Seri Begawan we got to the airport in good time for our flight. After 45 minutes sitting on the runway waiting for a missing passenger his luggage was found and removed from the flight. Twenty minutes later we arrived in Kota Kinabalu (KK) in Sabah (Malaysia).
We had the first night booked in a hotel where we ended up staying for our four nights in KK. It was called the Promenade Hotel. Not the sort of place I will be staying when I go travelling but very nice. Not just a generic nice hotel, but it had that wee touch above. At about eleven pounds a night the hotel was not exorbitant either!!! The staff were very friendly and we had an extra-friendly doorman who was dressed in a shiny green outfit with a headscarf that looked liked a fancily folded napkin. He kept us up to date on all the World Cup scores after finding out that we were supporting Ireland.
On Wednesday we wandered along through the Filipino, food and fish markets by the harbour on our way to the buses. We found where the local buses congregated under a row of trees opposite the GPO. Trees become so much more important when you are in heat. There is a welcome drop of temperature in the shade they bless with. We went out to Sabah State museum. A fifteen minute and 50 sen (10p) bus ride away. The museum is set in lovely gardens full of examples of rainforest vegetation and with examples of traditional houses built out of bamboo around a little lake. The exhibition centre housed a variety of sections including a history Sabah; an ethnography section that included skulls from headhunter tribes; traditional artefacts including household items as well as weapons and musical instruments; traditional costumes and a small section of traditional and contemporary art.
Mobile phones are everywhere here. It is slightly bizarre to hear the same ringtones as at home. I have found myself hearing a text message coming through and though knowing I am not using my phone here still registering a trigger in my brain that the sound sets off. A kid was sat at the museum canteen playing with ringtones for over an hour. Some things transcend national boundaries.
We returned to the hotel to discover the swimming pool, sauna and jacuzzi.
Thursday morning our guide collected us at 7.30am. We were expecting a minibus and a group but it was to be just Patrick (our guide) and us in a car. It made for a very flexible and relaxed trip. Despite his name he has no Irish roots, just Chinese and native Sabah heritage. He turned out to be a great guide. He was very informative, chatty, patient and accommodating. Once he realised that I wanted to stop for a few photos he even started stopping at various places and saying “Photograph Jayne?”
We stopped at a suspension bridge, a local vegetable market village and several vantage points for a good unclouded view of Mount Kinabalu on our way to Poring Springs. All of these places are within the vast 750 square kilometres of Kinabalu National Park. We called into a conservation area where the milk Patrick had got us to buy was used to call Suzie and Vera down to visit us. They are two young orangutans. We could hear them swinging through the trees to come and see us and get their milk and fruit. After finishing hers Suzie reached out and was pulling my hand wanting to play! It was great.
At Poring Springs I went up to the canopy walk. You climb a hill through rainforest to get to the canopy walkway which is a secure but swinging one plank wide walkway through trees in the canopy of the rainforest (surprisingly enough!). A great place for a view over the top of the rainforest. After getting very sticky on the canopy walk it was a welcome relief to get into the Japanese style thermal baths of Poring Springs to cool off and freshen up. The sulphurous hot spring is piped to individual wee baths/pools where you can sit and soak.
We had a delicious curry lunch and then headed to the Mount Kinabalu Park entrance where the 100 climbers permitted on the mountain each day start the two day climb of Mount Kinabalu. We were happy to just see and photograph the highest peak in South East Asia. At 4101m it is half the height of Mount Everest. Here we were taken on a half hour tour around a plant conservation/research garden. Some of the plants were used in traditional medicine and we saw a few of the 1500 varieties of wild orchid (one that can fetch US$1000 and one the size of a pin head). My favourites I think were the pitcher plants. I like their form. The largest ones of these can hold up to three litres.
It rained on our way back and Mount Kinabalu was surrounded in swirling wreaths of cloud. We saw a great storm over KK as the car climbed back down the road that had taken us up into the park.
The same wee band as every night were playing in the hotel bar with an oriental flavoured rendition of western hits from the 60s with a couple Corrs songs mixed in.
Friday we got a boat to Sapi Island, one of the five islands in the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park. We had a very relaxing day lying on the beach and snorkelling in the sea. I haven’t done a lot of snorkelling but this was the best I’ve ever done. There was a lot of interesting coral but it was the fish that were really amazing. A beautiful one that was pink and green and blue whose colours would be gaudy anywhere else; stripy black and white ones; shiny blue ones and black and white ones with a big yellow strip and a floaty fin. Just out past the coral there were shoals of fish that were all around. It felt like I was inside one of those paperweights with the snow shaken up and sparkling all around me.
It was amusing to watch the tour groups of Japanese tourists who were really enjoying the snorkelling but looking rather humorous for they all kept their life jackets on. This not only meant that there were all these matching little jackets and bodies floating around in the sea, but they kept them on while walking around the beach too. It was the matching bags or hats or something phenomenon of tour operators!
There were also some monkeys on the beach. The interest or novelty factor soon turned to nuisance. They stole my biscuits while I was away and poor Priscilla was trying to scare them off. They were in a gang of about 12 and quite aggressive and were not scared of any of the tourists. When a couple of the local guys came along though they backed off very quickly. Fascinating.
It rained on our way back to the mainland. It’s not a very long trip but they managed to run out of petrol. There we were. Adrift in the South China Sea! A passing boat let them siphon some fuel to get us back to shore.
We returned to Jothy’s Banana Leaf restaurant and had a delicious curry served on a banana leaf.
Saturday was taken up with shopping a little in the markets. Little knick knacks for pressies as well as the requisite little treat for yourself! We then spent our last couple hours at the swimming pool before heading to the airport.
Monday, June 10, 2002
Sun 2nd June
“What is the difference between exploring and being lost?” (Dan Eldon)
from journal entry:
‘Sitting – one of three people out in the jungle tonight. 26,000ha of rainforest – primary and secondary rainforest of seven different types; peat swamp forest, mangrove swamp forest, fresh water swamp forest, mixed dipterocarp forest (dipterocarp meaning a 2-winged seed), beach forest, heath forest and montane forest.
I’m sitting here by candlelight, sometimes using a torch to brighten the page. In so doing creating a cocoon of light that separates me from the vibrant darkness of the rainforest night. I prefer the more porous membrane of the candlelight.
It has been an amazing day. Our campsite is a wonderful location. We are about forty minutes walk from the car, which is parked on the side of an unsurfaced road which in places requires 4WD to make it up the loose surfaces and water routed holes of the red earth roads.
The site is a shelter of wooden trunks covered by plastic sheeting. Below are wooden branch slatted tables and benches and a wee set up kitchen area. There is enough seating space for the scientist and university student research teams who this place is mainly set up for. David (our guide) is the only company allowed to bring people in to this part of the jungle and tourists are brought in in small groups. There are a couple 2/3 person tents set up.
Down below is a small flowing river with a couple benches at this side made of branches. You sit and look up at a tranquil green scene of classic ‘geography lesson’ rainforest layers. I went skinny-dipping. It seemed somehow wrong not to. I was nibbled by fish the first time. We later fed the fish with bits of bread. They all came up to the surface and pulled bits off the larger pieces of bread while gobbling up the smaller ones.
‘Tarzan Dave’ or ‘Crazy Dave’ as he says he is often called has been a great guide. Interesting, very chatty, full of stories and as well as knowing the jungle very well hew conveys his love of it. His passion for the jungle and for the conservation of its wildlife is infectious. He is involved in all sorts of conservation projects from orangutans to turtles. He has grown up in Borneo and his knowledge is mostly self taught / learnt from the jungle having left school at the age of 12.
Being here makes me think of ‘Desert Solitaire’ (by Edward Abbey). Though a completely different environment, yet the state of ‘wilderness’, the experience and love of a natural environment in its natural state, somehow connects across habitats. A special feeling. A fragile moment. A wealth. A treasure.
The incredibly noisy silence. There is constant noise but apart from the occasional plane overhead and our voices, silent of ‘man-made’ noise clutter.
The quote for today was definitely, “What is the difference between exploring and being lost?” David did and didn’t know where we were. He tracks animals and enjoys exploring new ways. Wandering up steep slopes exclaiming about how busy this road was. A great person to go exploring in the jungle with because you completely trust him. He knows how to read the signs.
We made a hide-out from a few fan ferns and sat for about an hour on a hillside. It was incredibly peaceful. We saw a blue-beaked bee eating bird and a couple of Gigantic Forest Ants, as well as the ever present mosquitos, though we could hear a grey/silver leaf monkey a little ways off.
I feel full of information and experiences. I look around more and can start to hear more of the sounds of the animals.
A record of what we saw and heard:
We saw tracks / evidence of…lesser mouse deer; wild boar; porcupine;bear; orangutan.
We heard…grey/silver leaf monkey; hornbill; Borneo gibbon; clouded leopard; orangutan; red leaf monkey.
We saw…gigantic forest ants; thick thumbed pipistrelle (bamboo bat); black scorpion (v. dangerous); a type of leaf frogs mating; fire flies of different colours; a rare and very poisonous long legged centipede.
also saw…termite mounds (3 types); lots of bugs and insects; purple wild banana (no fruit); a yellow delinia – the national flower; a few types of liana (a creeper/climber of which there are over 300 varieties); pitcher plants.
There are over 100 species of snakes, 85% of which are not venomous. There are over 560 species of birds. There are over 80 species of rattan found in Brunei (2 are endemic – only found here) and there are 140 species of palme. (See why my head’s full?!)
I didn’t sleep a lot – not quite sure why. There was a mosie in the tent and it was noisy too. If you are going to have a night awake though – what a wonderful place to have it. The sheer size of the jungle is amazing and inspiring. It’s not permitted and would be dangerous as well as scary to be here by yourself, but it’s also somewhere that inspires me to want to sit alone…and just listen. I’d like to get some of the earthy, noisy stillness inside my head. There is truth here, and wonder. It feels almost tangible but still eludes me. Yet I feel blessed.
“What is the difference between exploring and being lost?” (Dan Eldon)
from journal entry:
‘Sitting – one of three people out in the jungle tonight. 26,000ha of rainforest – primary and secondary rainforest of seven different types; peat swamp forest, mangrove swamp forest, fresh water swamp forest, mixed dipterocarp forest (dipterocarp meaning a 2-winged seed), beach forest, heath forest and montane forest.
I’m sitting here by candlelight, sometimes using a torch to brighten the page. In so doing creating a cocoon of light that separates me from the vibrant darkness of the rainforest night. I prefer the more porous membrane of the candlelight.
It has been an amazing day. Our campsite is a wonderful location. We are about forty minutes walk from the car, which is parked on the side of an unsurfaced road which in places requires 4WD to make it up the loose surfaces and water routed holes of the red earth roads.
The site is a shelter of wooden trunks covered by plastic sheeting. Below are wooden branch slatted tables and benches and a wee set up kitchen area. There is enough seating space for the scientist and university student research teams who this place is mainly set up for. David (our guide) is the only company allowed to bring people in to this part of the jungle and tourists are brought in in small groups. There are a couple 2/3 person tents set up.
Down below is a small flowing river with a couple benches at this side made of branches. You sit and look up at a tranquil green scene of classic ‘geography lesson’ rainforest layers. I went skinny-dipping. It seemed somehow wrong not to. I was nibbled by fish the first time. We later fed the fish with bits of bread. They all came up to the surface and pulled bits off the larger pieces of bread while gobbling up the smaller ones.
‘Tarzan Dave’ or ‘Crazy Dave’ as he says he is often called has been a great guide. Interesting, very chatty, full of stories and as well as knowing the jungle very well hew conveys his love of it. His passion for the jungle and for the conservation of its wildlife is infectious. He is involved in all sorts of conservation projects from orangutans to turtles. He has grown up in Borneo and his knowledge is mostly self taught / learnt from the jungle having left school at the age of 12.
Being here makes me think of ‘Desert Solitaire’ (by Edward Abbey). Though a completely different environment, yet the state of ‘wilderness’, the experience and love of a natural environment in its natural state, somehow connects across habitats. A special feeling. A fragile moment. A wealth. A treasure.
The incredibly noisy silence. There is constant noise but apart from the occasional plane overhead and our voices, silent of ‘man-made’ noise clutter.
The quote for today was definitely, “What is the difference between exploring and being lost?” David did and didn’t know where we were. He tracks animals and enjoys exploring new ways. Wandering up steep slopes exclaiming about how busy this road was. A great person to go exploring in the jungle with because you completely trust him. He knows how to read the signs.
We made a hide-out from a few fan ferns and sat for about an hour on a hillside. It was incredibly peaceful. We saw a blue-beaked bee eating bird and a couple of Gigantic Forest Ants, as well as the ever present mosquitos, though we could hear a grey/silver leaf monkey a little ways off.
I feel full of information and experiences. I look around more and can start to hear more of the sounds of the animals.
A record of what we saw and heard:
We saw tracks / evidence of…lesser mouse deer; wild boar; porcupine;bear; orangutan.
We heard…grey/silver leaf monkey; hornbill; Borneo gibbon; clouded leopard; orangutan; red leaf monkey.
We saw…gigantic forest ants; thick thumbed pipistrelle (bamboo bat); black scorpion (v. dangerous); a type of leaf frogs mating; fire flies of different colours; a rare and very poisonous long legged centipede.
also saw…termite mounds (3 types); lots of bugs and insects; purple wild banana (no fruit); a yellow delinia – the national flower; a few types of liana (a creeper/climber of which there are over 300 varieties); pitcher plants.
There are over 100 species of snakes, 85% of which are not venomous. There are over 560 species of birds. There are over 80 species of rattan found in Brunei (2 are endemic – only found here) and there are 140 species of palme. (See why my head’s full?!)
I didn’t sleep a lot – not quite sure why. There was a mosie in the tent and it was noisy too. If you are going to have a night awake though – what a wonderful place to have it. The sheer size of the jungle is amazing and inspiring. It’s not permitted and would be dangerous as well as scary to be here by yourself, but it’s also somewhere that inspires me to want to sit alone…and just listen. I’d like to get some of the earthy, noisy stillness inside my head. There is truth here, and wonder. It feels almost tangible but still eludes me. Yet I feel blessed.
Monday, June 03, 2002
Hopefully I will sort out just posting this once!!
I am in Brunei. Don't worry if you don't know exactly where that is - I had to look it up in my lovely big atlas too when I found out I was coming here. Brunei is on the island of Borneo, occupying the north western part. The larger parts are made up of Malaysian Sabah and Sarawak and Indonesian Kalimantan. There is a lovely view as you fly into the airport in Bandar Seri Begawan (not just because you've been on a 16 hour flight!). The blue ocean is fringed by a sliver of white coast and then immediately the verdant green forest spreads for miles. There were then some houses, all white and well spaced out with mostly red roofs initially and then a great variety; brown, green, white and even a beautiful deep blue.
It was good to see my aunt Priscilla. We spent the first night in the Terrace Hotel. A very pleasant if somewhat generic of all mid-range niceish hotels around the world. Comfortable, clean, but not very interesting.
Our first activity was to walk down to the waterfront and get a 'flying coffin' (taxi boat) for a tour out around the water village. Renowned as the largest villlage on stilts in SE Asia it is listed as a 'must see' and certainly was worth seeing. We got the wee boat guy to take us up beyond the village to the start of the jungle. Trees growing right out of the water. Some of the palms had leaves coming straight out of the water, others were more sculptural and had roots in fantastic shapes growing above the water level and supporting the twisted trunks of the trees. We wanted to go up the start of one of the tributaries but he wouldn't take us because he said there were crocodiles. Fair enough I suppose or else a good excuse we weren't about to test. On the way back we filled up at a Shell petrol station on the edge of an island in the centre of the lake. It was funny to see boats queued up to get fuel. The 'drivers' put the fuel in themselves and paid by putting the money in a little plastic bucket lowered down by the pump attendants.
We got left off at one of the jetties and went for a wander around the wooden walkways that connect all the homes on the water village. Apparently you can walk for about 5 kilometres. I could well believe it. We met some really friendly people and I took a roll and a half of film, though the light was a bit dull as a rain storm was approaching. I hope some of them turn out well!
As it was Priscilla's birthday we went to a lovely pizza restaurant where the pizzas were absolutely yummy. Hand rolled thin and crispy with fresh basil leaves sprinkled over the top!! We had a really early night (we were getting ready for bed and looked at the time and it was 7.30pm!!!). My excuse was a long flight and potential 'jet lag'. Any way the next day we had to be up early for our overnight trip into the jungle!!
I am in Brunei. Don't worry if you don't know exactly where that is - I had to look it up in my lovely big atlas too when I found out I was coming here. Brunei is on the island of Borneo, occupying the north western part. The larger parts are made up of Malaysian Sabah and Sarawak and Indonesian Kalimantan. There is a lovely view as you fly into the airport in Bandar Seri Begawan (not just because you've been on a 16 hour flight!). The blue ocean is fringed by a sliver of white coast and then immediately the verdant green forest spreads for miles. There were then some houses, all white and well spaced out with mostly red roofs initially and then a great variety; brown, green, white and even a beautiful deep blue.
It was good to see my aunt Priscilla. We spent the first night in the Terrace Hotel. A very pleasant if somewhat generic of all mid-range niceish hotels around the world. Comfortable, clean, but not very interesting.
Our first activity was to walk down to the waterfront and get a 'flying coffin' (taxi boat) for a tour out around the water village. Renowned as the largest villlage on stilts in SE Asia it is listed as a 'must see' and certainly was worth seeing. We got the wee boat guy to take us up beyond the village to the start of the jungle. Trees growing right out of the water. Some of the palms had leaves coming straight out of the water, others were more sculptural and had roots in fantastic shapes growing above the water level and supporting the twisted trunks of the trees. We wanted to go up the start of one of the tributaries but he wouldn't take us because he said there were crocodiles. Fair enough I suppose or else a good excuse we weren't about to test. On the way back we filled up at a Shell petrol station on the edge of an island in the centre of the lake. It was funny to see boats queued up to get fuel. The 'drivers' put the fuel in themselves and paid by putting the money in a little plastic bucket lowered down by the pump attendants.
We got left off at one of the jetties and went for a wander around the wooden walkways that connect all the homes on the water village. Apparently you can walk for about 5 kilometres. I could well believe it. We met some really friendly people and I took a roll and a half of film, though the light was a bit dull as a rain storm was approaching. I hope some of them turn out well!
As it was Priscilla's birthday we went to a lovely pizza restaurant where the pizzas were absolutely yummy. Hand rolled thin and crispy with fresh basil leaves sprinkled over the top!! We had a really early night (we were getting ready for bed and looked at the time and it was 7.30pm!!!). My excuse was a long flight and potential 'jet lag'. Any way the next day we had to be up early for our overnight trip into the jungle!!
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