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Assorted observations from Borneo

Tropical Winter, Mon, 28 Aug 17
Simon in Asia, Malaysia

People are generally wonderful, really helpful and lovely. And in a genuine kind of way, not the ‘customer service’ kind of way. It’s also amazing how well pretty much everybody knows English. This, plus what I heard from various backpackers, …

Preparing for the long night

Tropical Winter, Mon, 28 Aug 17
Simon at a City, Museum, Park in Asia, Malaysia

The last morning in Borneo. I will miss these nights, warmer than most summer days in Edinburgh… I had a lazy morning, took my time to have tea and breakfast, chat with the hostel owner and a couple guests, laugh …

Deader reef

Tropical Winter, Sat, 26 Aug 17
Simon at a City, Sea in Asia, Malaysia

Despite the noise from the street, I slept really well today. The earplugs work wonders. Plus the dorm room I booked ended up being a single, as nobody else booked the other beds. The night was a bit colder though, …

Pungent

Tropical Winter, Fri, 25 Aug 17
Simon at a City, Sea in Asia, Malaysia

How good to have a real pillow, not a smelly backpack! The Pinnacles trip took its toll though, I woke up at 6am and that was it, no more sleep. I stayed in bed a bit longer, slowly packed, and …

The rain roulette

Tropical Winter, Thu, 24 Aug 17
Simon at a Jungle, UNESCO site in Asia, Malaysia

We got up early again and left Camp 5 by 6:40. On the way to the boat we found an otter on the riverbank – it was checking out something that died there recently but was mostly eaten by now, …

Still alive

Tropical Winter, Wed, 23 Aug 17
Simon at a Jungle, Mountain, River, UNESCO site in Asia, Malaysia

5:30 – we wake up and get ready for the trek. 6:40 – we set off to the Pinnacles. 7:10 – we have made 500 metres, I’m swimming in sweat, wondering if I had enough for breakfast. Judith and Eugenia …

Up the river

Tropical Winter, Tue, 22 Aug 17
Simon at a Cave, Jungle, River, UNESCO site in Asia, Malaysia

Good night again, despite the fact that many more people checked in to the dorm yesterday! Thank you, gecko night watch! I got up reasonably early to pack before leaving for the three day trek to the Pinnacles. I left …

The bats of the Garden of Eden

Tropical Winter, Mon, 21 Aug 17
Simon at a Cave, Jungle, UNESCO site in Asia, Malaysia

Surprisingly good sleep for a dorm room! Nobody snored, the fans kept us cool, and the earplugs did their job. Maybe it’s the friendly geckos, at night they did get off the walls and were roaming everywhere, keeping peace and …

First cave

Tropical Winter, Mon, 21 Aug 17
Simon at a Cave, Jungle in Asia, Malaysia

I couldn’t sleep last night. Too hot, too cold, need to pee, and worst of all, my stomach is still feeling a bit funny, except that now my sleepy brain started to spin all sorts of stories about it – …

Going solo: ready now

Tropical Winter, Sun, 20 Aug 17
Simon at a Transit in Asia, Malaysia

I managed to catch a couple of hours sleep at the Denpasar airport, lying at a vaguely comfortable cafe sofa. Around 5am I got up, all loopy, got through the check-in, managed to catch some internet to discuss some AirBnB …