Paul and Rita's World Tour 2005 - Malaysia

    


  

Photos

Pitcher Plant
Cocktail Time at Batang Ai Resort
River transport in Kuchin
Kuchin - City of cats
The one that got away!
Moth (we think!)
Fish in sea (good plaice for them!)


31/3/05 Arrival in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo
today we flew to Borneo - My thoughts of the philippines.....Cockerel( they love cock fighting), basket ball(they love the sport and courts are everywhere), pawn shops (like England in the forties and fifties), no tonic, but gin is so cheap - how crazy. The great adobo - any kind of meat braised in soya based gravy- delicious. Exceptionally kind and friendly people.

Travelling to the airport from our guest house, checking in the bikes, flying, unwrapping bikes and cycling into the city and finding a hotel takes literally all day.

We cycled the 16km to the airport stopping for only one last beer in the blistering heat in Cebu. apparently Cebu is always the hottest part of the island. at the airport we bagged our bikes washed up in the rest rooms, then checked in. We had excellent meal on this flight which is malaysia airlines, 3 large prawns and mayo salad appetizer, followed by chicken curry with rice and okra, sweetcorn curd desert. A distinct lack of alcohol or any other liquid refreshment for that fact we put the former down to the fact of Malaysia being a strong Muslim country.

On arrival in Kota Kinabalu ( what a wonderful name almost as interesting as Bukino Faso and almost as intriguing as Lake Titicaca) I checked out several hotels in the budget category of which there are a glut, but found none prepared to barter and the best I could get rand at 56.25 ringgits or 4.50 each currently.
Giant cockroaches assisted us withour baggage and a proter carried my bike to our room, hoping for a tip obviously, however, neither Paul or I had small change as Atm at airport dispensed only large notes.
Quickly out on the town after check in, it is great to see so many muslim women out socializing. Landing at Kota kinabalu you would wonder if those wild men of Borneo still exist, but I am in the past, this is a very modern and exciting place.

1/4/05 Kota Kinabalu

2/4/05 - 4/4/05 Mount Kinabalu National Park

5/4/05 - Travel to Brunei

6/4/05 - Bandar Seri Bagawan, Brunei

7/4/05 - Leave Brunei, travel to Bintulu in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

8/4/05 - Travel to Bangtan Ai Resort

9/4/05 - 12/4/05 Bangtan Ai Resort

13/4/05 - Kuchin

14/4/05 - Kuchin to Singapore