Borneo - Part 3
Hello again
I'm going to try to fit my entire second week into this post, so as to not bore everyone too much. I feel like I have written a fair bit on this trip, but everything has just been so interesting.
After the mountain we spent 2 nights in an Eco-lodge close to Poring hotsprings. With the exception of a cockroach the size of my hand which I had to kill the first night, the place was ok.
While there we went to poring hotsprings, which is a bit of a misleading name. I suppose there were hotsprings there at one time, but now it's just bathtubs which you can soak in and one small roped off section of natural hot springs. While most of us did take a hot bath to soak our aching muscles, the more interesting part was the activities around the baths and pools (which were overridden with children who are on school holiday). There was a nice canopy walk, as well as a waterfall where thousands of tiny little fish gave us all a free fish pedicure.
The highlight of the day for me, however, was seeing a giant flower. I know how that sounds, but it was surprisingly awesome. After lunch, we had the option of paying 20 ringgit ($6) to go see this flower. It's called a Rafflesia and is native to Borneo. It takes 1.5 years for a single Rafflesia to form underground and then a full year for it to bloom. When it does, it only stays in bloom for 3-7 days before dying. Furthermore only 10% of Rafflesia actually bloom and no one has ever successfully planted one. We were quite luckily to see one in bloom as they are so rare. Throughout Borneo, there are random patches of land where they grow, but no one knows why or how. They are technically called a flower, but their growing properties are like a fungus. Apparently the odor they emit (periodically) is so foul that anyone in the area will be seriously offended. Scientists still have no idea what their use is and why they form. Interesting stuff, for a flower.
I mentioned soaking our aching muscles in the hot baths. Everyone was seriously hurting after our hike for a good 3 days. It was pretty hilarious. All 11 of us would rock up at a restaurant or attraction barely able to walk; hobbling down stairs like geriatrics. We were a pretty decrepit group for a few days. For me, it was my calves which were killing me. I had the most painful massage of my life 2 days after the hike which really seemed to help.
The next day we headed back to KK where we went to an Orangutan sanctuary for baby and young orangutans. Orangutans are the most solitary breed of primates as as such, the mother will separate from the young at just 2 years old. With poaching, habitat destruction and people keeping them as pets these young orangutans have no chance and have become a critically endangered species. This sanctuary I visited rehabs the young orangutans. When they are old enough, there are moved to a large facility in the east (which we were supposed to visit but couldn't because of the terrorists) before being released back into the wild when ready. There were 4 orangutans at the sanctuary I was at - all either confiscated as pets or found abandoned in palm oil clearings. Only 2 made an appearance while we were there, but it was pretty special. They got so close (only a few feet away) and were swinging all over the place. Often they would almost pose for photos and had an ability to keep us all entertained (I think they understood our laughter). It was a nice experience.
Back in KK after a week in the jungle and I enjoyed all the simple luxuries; a hot shower, Pizza Hut, a massage and a bottle of pretty average Sav Blanc. The wine here is abysmal (good thing Borneo wasn't high on your list mom!!). I paid a lot for a bottle of imported NZ Sav Blanc and it was just ok. Much better than the other shit I have had, but still not great.
While in KK we also visited a "cultural village" and did a day trip snorkeling to one of the nearby islands. The cultural village was ok. It was well done for what it was, but it's not actually an old village, it's a recreation of 5 different tribal houses. There were some interesting bits seeing the houses, and at one point we got to have a small shot of the traditional rice liquor. The snorkeling was also ok. There were LOTS of jelly fish so that really put me off. There were some nice fish, but nothing like in Australia.
For our last night in KK, we went for a night out. For dinner we did sushi, which was actually pretty good. Surprisingly there were about 4 people in the group who had never had sushi! They were great though being quite adventurous and trying all sorts of weird things. After we went to karaoke where we all sang.
I am not really a big fan of the food here. It's a lot of seafood and a lot of rice and noodles. Very Chinese inspired - which isn't really my thing. They don't really use chopsticks though - its mostly forks. However no knives. You are always given a fork and spoon, even for things that require cutting. Very odd.
We left KK for good the next days and headed down the coast a bit. We were scheduled in to do a river/wildlife cruise but I got sick. Very sick. Bad food or contaminated water I guess. It started slowly, and I thought I would be ok, but by the time we got to the river I was in extreme discomfort. I tried to go on the boat with everyone, but it only lasted about 15 minutes before I had to go back to shore. I did get to see some proboscis monkeys though, which were the main reason for the cruise. They are native to Borneo and can only be found here.
Unfortunately the illness didn't pass quickly and I'm still a bit sick 4 days later. It sucks being sick on holidays but at least it was at the end while we were relaxing a bit more. It would have been horrible if it had happened while climbing the mountain.
We spent the last few days of the trip on survivor island - where they shot the original season of survivor. It was tropical paradise. I don't know what those survivors were complaining about - it was so nice! The highlight was going to a mud volcano at the top of the mountain. I think there might have been one of the challenges on the show in the volcano. It is exactly what it sounds like - a volcano filled with mud. Thick, gooey mud. In some places it was like quicksand. We came out looking like a lost tribe.
So that's it. Overall, its been an awesome trip and i'm glad I did something a bit different. I'm at the airport now, excited to get home to normal food, less humidity and a doctor.
Terima kasih
I'm going to try to fit my entire second week into this post, so as to not bore everyone too much. I feel like I have written a fair bit on this trip, but everything has just been so interesting.
After the mountain we spent 2 nights in an Eco-lodge close to Poring hotsprings. With the exception of a cockroach the size of my hand which I had to kill the first night, the place was ok.
While there we went to poring hotsprings, which is a bit of a misleading name. I suppose there were hotsprings there at one time, but now it's just bathtubs which you can soak in and one small roped off section of natural hot springs. While most of us did take a hot bath to soak our aching muscles, the more interesting part was the activities around the baths and pools (which were overridden with children who are on school holiday). There was a nice canopy walk, as well as a waterfall where thousands of tiny little fish gave us all a free fish pedicure.
The highlight of the day for me, however, was seeing a giant flower. I know how that sounds, but it was surprisingly awesome. After lunch, we had the option of paying 20 ringgit ($6) to go see this flower. It's called a Rafflesia and is native to Borneo. It takes 1.5 years for a single Rafflesia to form underground and then a full year for it to bloom. When it does, it only stays in bloom for 3-7 days before dying. Furthermore only 10% of Rafflesia actually bloom and no one has ever successfully planted one. We were quite luckily to see one in bloom as they are so rare. Throughout Borneo, there are random patches of land where they grow, but no one knows why or how. They are technically called a flower, but their growing properties are like a fungus. Apparently the odor they emit (periodically) is so foul that anyone in the area will be seriously offended. Scientists still have no idea what their use is and why they form. Interesting stuff, for a flower.
I mentioned soaking our aching muscles in the hot baths. Everyone was seriously hurting after our hike for a good 3 days. It was pretty hilarious. All 11 of us would rock up at a restaurant or attraction barely able to walk; hobbling down stairs like geriatrics. We were a pretty decrepit group for a few days. For me, it was my calves which were killing me. I had the most painful massage of my life 2 days after the hike which really seemed to help.
The next day we headed back to KK where we went to an Orangutan sanctuary for baby and young orangutans. Orangutans are the most solitary breed of primates as as such, the mother will separate from the young at just 2 years old. With poaching, habitat destruction and people keeping them as pets these young orangutans have no chance and have become a critically endangered species. This sanctuary I visited rehabs the young orangutans. When they are old enough, there are moved to a large facility in the east (which we were supposed to visit but couldn't because of the terrorists) before being released back into the wild when ready. There were 4 orangutans at the sanctuary I was at - all either confiscated as pets or found abandoned in palm oil clearings. Only 2 made an appearance while we were there, but it was pretty special. They got so close (only a few feet away) and were swinging all over the place. Often they would almost pose for photos and had an ability to keep us all entertained (I think they understood our laughter). It was a nice experience.
Back in KK after a week in the jungle and I enjoyed all the simple luxuries; a hot shower, Pizza Hut, a massage and a bottle of pretty average Sav Blanc. The wine here is abysmal (good thing Borneo wasn't high on your list mom!!). I paid a lot for a bottle of imported NZ Sav Blanc and it was just ok. Much better than the other shit I have had, but still not great.
While in KK we also visited a "cultural village" and did a day trip snorkeling to one of the nearby islands. The cultural village was ok. It was well done for what it was, but it's not actually an old village, it's a recreation of 5 different tribal houses. There were some interesting bits seeing the houses, and at one point we got to have a small shot of the traditional rice liquor. The snorkeling was also ok. There were LOTS of jelly fish so that really put me off. There were some nice fish, but nothing like in Australia.
For our last night in KK, we went for a night out. For dinner we did sushi, which was actually pretty good. Surprisingly there were about 4 people in the group who had never had sushi! They were great though being quite adventurous and trying all sorts of weird things. After we went to karaoke where we all sang.
I am not really a big fan of the food here. It's a lot of seafood and a lot of rice and noodles. Very Chinese inspired - which isn't really my thing. They don't really use chopsticks though - its mostly forks. However no knives. You are always given a fork and spoon, even for things that require cutting. Very odd.
We left KK for good the next days and headed down the coast a bit. We were scheduled in to do a river/wildlife cruise but I got sick. Very sick. Bad food or contaminated water I guess. It started slowly, and I thought I would be ok, but by the time we got to the river I was in extreme discomfort. I tried to go on the boat with everyone, but it only lasted about 15 minutes before I had to go back to shore. I did get to see some proboscis monkeys though, which were the main reason for the cruise. They are native to Borneo and can only be found here.
Unfortunately the illness didn't pass quickly and I'm still a bit sick 4 days later. It sucks being sick on holidays but at least it was at the end while we were relaxing a bit more. It would have been horrible if it had happened while climbing the mountain.
We spent the last few days of the trip on survivor island - where they shot the original season of survivor. It was tropical paradise. I don't know what those survivors were complaining about - it was so nice! The highlight was going to a mud volcano at the top of the mountain. I think there might have been one of the challenges on the show in the volcano. It is exactly what it sounds like - a volcano filled with mud. Thick, gooey mud. In some places it was like quicksand. We came out looking like a lost tribe.
So that's it. Overall, its been an awesome trip and i'm glad I did something a bit different. I'm at the airport now, excited to get home to normal food, less humidity and a doctor.
Terima kasih
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