Phuket About It!

In Phuket I stayed at Patong. Another beach side resort area with plenty of nightlife and water sports available. I got a good deal on a room, then went to get my first cheese and ham toastie from the 7-eleven, it felt good to be back in Thailand. My thai chicken green curry was the highlight of my day, no little philippine portions here. The following day Becci and Ellie arrived and we had a chill day since they were both shattered from there journey from Bali. Other than taking a big walk about the beach and eating some great food, I bought a bunch of dvd's for real cheap. There wasn't much appeal in Patong so we wasted no time in moving onwards to Ko Phi Phi. With the '04 boxing day tsunami, all of the places on the west andaman coast now have evacuation areas. The map to the evacuation area in Patong was very confusing. At one junction you have the choice of two different routes, not ideal for the indecisive.

Philippines Summary

Days travelled - 14 days (2 weeks)

Distance travelled - Approx. 906 km (563 miles)

Hours travelled - 41 hours (1 day, 17 hours)

Destinations - 7

Top 3

3 - Bohol - after Boracay, I would say this is the 2nd biggest tourist destination in the Philippines. Plenty to see plenty to do.

2 - Puerto Galera - the northmost island of the visayas. Clouded by Boracays reputation, this beachside resort is fantastic for chilling, snorkelling and having some fun nights out too.

1 - Siquijor - I wasn't even going to go here when I first planned my itinarary, but I'm so glad I did. Even though I spent only 1 day here this really small island has everything. Beaches, jungles to explore, caves, waterfalls and some lovely people to top it off. Watch out for witches though.

Final Advice
At first I was a little dubious of the Philippines, since everyone was saying 'be very carefull' and 'its very danegerous'. I managed to survive the fortnight without any problems and I had an awesome time there. Asia is bad for people pointing, staring and laughing at you, but the Philippines took the piss a little. It was constant, wherever I went. Maybe moreso since I was alone. That was my biggest downfall with the country, so not a biggie.
I loved the food, many pork dishes, but also beef and chicken to go round. The countries transportation services were excellent in my opinion, and even if you do miss the final boat or bus, they let you hang in the terminals over night.

The big cities of manila and cebu are whack compared to the rural islands between them. Don't waste your time there.

Cebu to Manila to Clark to KL to Phuket to Patong

I only spent a day in Cebu down to the earlier confusion with my flights. I was flying back to Manila for my outbound flight back to Kuala Lumpur, but I had earlier realised that there are 2 airports in Manila. The only problem being is that the other airport is located 3 hours away from Manila, and it would be a very close call to make the flight. I rescheduled my flight for a day earlier back to Manila.

It wasnt that much of a problem since Cebu had little to see, and it was the most expensive place I had visited in the Phillipines so far. I did visit the Magellans cross monument which was planted by Portugese and Spanish explorers 491 years ago, by orders of Ferdinand Magellan and I took a little peek at the Fort San Pedro....... both were fairly uninteresting.

Back in Manila, I arrived at around 11pm, and I was to soon find out that I had missed the final bus of the day to Clark International airport. Which meant that I had to spend the night in the bus station, it was lovely as you can imagine. The following day was spent in transit, first a three hour ride to Clark, then a 3 hour flight to KL, followed by a 4 hour wait in the airport for a 1 hour flight up to Phuket. From the Phuket airport I decided to continue down to Patong, which is the typical tourist destination for many brits making there way over to Thailand.

Tarsiers, Chocolate Hills and a Big Ass Snake

My first day on the bike took me down to Luboc, where the tourist center was located and I found out a few places that had to be visited. I went straight for the Tarsier Sanctuary to start with. Costing 40php (with guide) I was shown the location of these tiny mammals hiding away in trees of the sanctuary. They are ugly little things. Closer to a Gremlin than anything, with eyes nearly as big as their heads. They don't move much in the day, so I was able to get some really great pictures of them close up. The guide told me that the babies are a small as a half a mans thumb, and some were due to be born next week. They are very close to extinction supposedly. It was only a short stop, but a worth while one. Next, I took a horrible dirt road to the town of Albuquerque. To visit their number one attraction, Prony. Prony is a 26ft python, and the biggest one in captivity. She had just finished her meal for the day when I arrived. A whole pig. You could see the huge lump in her body. It really was an insanely big snake, and I'm sure it would be able to eat an adult with ease. Had to get my close up pic with her though, it'd be rude not too.

I tried to visit another cave that was nearby but couldn't find it. The locals were clueless too so I moved on. Next up was my main reason for visiting Bohol and the islands number 1 tourist attraction, the Chocolate Hills. From a lookout point (fairly close to my hotel) you could see these mounded hills spread out for miles. There are around 1000 of them in Bohol and they were formed from dead coral settling on the oceans surface and then the hills had raised gradually over hundred of years causing this remarkable geographic sight. They are called the Chocolate Hills because of the brown colour they turn from the dead coral. They were great for the most of 5 minutes, then my ADD kicked in and I had to roll on. The scenery was lovely around this area from the Chocolate Hills dotted about everywhere.




I only had one mission to complete the following day and that was to visit the town of Danao where an adventure park is located. It took about 2 hours drive by bike to get there and half the journey was over another rocky road (my arse hates me so much from all this abuse). I paid the 700php fee and waited in line for my turn on 'The Plunge'. This was a giant canyon swing (the biggest in Philippines) with a 70ft free-fall drop to set you off. I opted for the scarier head first position whilst being strapped in. Then made my way to the end of the platform (dun dun duh) I got lowered down (upside down) then waited for the 3,2,1 countdown. Bombs away! It was great value for what is was. Plus, a lovely couple recorded the swing for me, so I can relive the memory. Definately recommended. I had to zip back to Carmen to drop off the bike and collect my things (not forgetting my certificate of achievement for completing the plunge). I rode the bus to Tabigon for 50php, with some very interesting characters. I should add that this was a roof top bus ride. The guys up there with me were singing some great songs in both Philipino and English. I was very entertained and so I had to give them a shocking attempt at singing wonderwall. They loved it surprisingly. I got to the port at 4pm and unbelievably a boat left at 4.15! What a turn around in luck from my first boating trip in the Philippines. I paid the 100php, and boarded my final boat trip in the Phillies to go to the 'queen of the south' city of Cebu.

Photo Link: http://www3.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=6333747011/a=2264773011_2264773011/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Witchcraft and Sacrifices in Spooky Siquijor

I only wanted to stay one day in Siquijor so that I would have more time in the bigger island of Bohol. I was shocked to find out from the lady at my guesthouse that boats only go to Bohol twice a week and she didn't know the times! Had to get this confirmed before I did anything. On my way to the port I passed a guy on a motorbike who offered to hire me his bike for the day for 400 pesos, I got it for 300. Then he took me to the port and just by complete chance a boat left later in the day around 7pm, so that would work out perfect for me. I got straight off on the motorbike to find the tourist office and claim my free map, woohoo.




From there I headed to the Cantabon cave. Some woman tried charging me the 'mandatory' fee for a guide, 500 pesos, I declined and went off to spelunk on my ones. The cave was sealed with an iron gate, but was easily lifted up. I headed into the darkness for ten meters or so with my camera as my light but realised it wouldn't be good enough this time. I went back to the village and managed to hire a torch for 50 pesos. Back at the cave I made my way through the narrow tunnel which led out to a big opening with a pool that had formed at the base of the cave. I turned off the torch for kicks and it was complete darkness, just the sound of dripping water from the stalactites. Then I thought of the rumors of witches on the island and got scared and had to leave immediately. Got absolutely covered in sludge and mud in the process and looked a picture when I made it out.

My next stop was the Cambuhagay falls on the opposite side of the island. I would have to drive over the highest point of the island in order to get there. On the ride, out of nowhere, a storm broke out and I was far from any shelter. On the climb up the hill my bike completely cut out and refused to start again, I guess from the incline, the petrol couldn't make its way into the engine. It was pretty hilarious being stuck there, trying to kick start the damn thing, too bad not one person witnessed my misfortune. After I got going again I stuck out the rain, and by the time it passed I was saturated. A drowned rat was understatement. It didn't take long for the clouds to clear and the sun to get things dry once more.




On the way down the hill I had to stop to see what a crowd of people wearing McDonalds hats were doing to a cow laid out in the middle of a garden. They were shaving all the hair off of the cow and had 2 giant pots bubbling away next to it. The machetes were out and things were going to get pretty messy soon enough. I would have loved to kick around and got some beef stew but I had limited time to spare, poor cow. The waterfalls were nothing special in comparison to what Ive witnessed on the trip but they were worth the peek.



My final stop took me to Salagdoong Beach. Here they had some slides and platforms to jump into the sea from. I was going to give them a miss, but with more time than I thought I had, I couldn't resist getting wet again. A few jumps from the high platform was enough for me. I couldn't believe how shallow the water was. My feet hit the ground on each jump, good job the seaweed made it a soft landing. Took a casual cruise back to Larena, arriving back just in time to set off yet again for the ferry to end the day.

Siquijor Photo Link:
http://www3.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=6288460011/a=2264773011_2264773011/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Boracay and the Negros

From Puerto Galera to Boracay things went pretty smooth. Had an early start to fit all the travel in, in one day. The ferry over the islands was too sweet for me. There were bunk beds all over the boat to sleep on, and it was so relaxing. Really needed that extra few hours kip.




At Boracay, the hard job of finding suitable accommodation for a good price for the next few days was my 1st task. I walked to the main beach from the port and straight away found a lady offering a nice place with kitchen, fridge, tv and private bathroom for 400 php. As great as it was, I was looking for cheaper, so I thought to check my options before committing. On my way down to the beach I bumped into Bert, a local businessman who owned a hotel. I told him I was willing to pay about 300php a night and he said he could sort me out. Turns out, he takes me all the way back to the first place I went to, and gave me 300 php a night, a great great bargain. Thanks Bert. Since were on the subject of Bert, whats with the Philipinos and all these old school names? I have met a Harold, Arnold, Bernard and my favorite, Gilbert.

I made the most of my television set that day, doing nothing, except a quick run of the island, its only spans about 10km, so it was easy to get to know. I kind of did the same amount of sod all the following day, getting my feast on at an all you can eat buffet was the highlight. I once again ate more than I could eat, but refused to waste since they charged extra, had to squeeze it all down. It was the best buffet of my life, with multiple stews and curries and sushi and desserts, and of course rice (fried or standard).




As my previous time in Boracay was spent lounging around I convinced myself to make the effort to go to Ariels point on Panay island, around 30/40km from Boracay. I had seen a poster advertising that they have cliff jumping there so I was eager to test it out. Since the daily tour had departed without me (costing 1200php) I forced myself to make my own way there. That turned out to be one helluva mission. First I had to cross over to Panay by boat (saying I was Boracay resident in order to skip the terminal fees), then hop on a taxi bike over to the far coast, where we had to go over some of the most disgraceful excuses for roads I have ever seen. The taxi bike thought Ariels point was where he dropped me off, but unfortunately, it wasn't. I walked for about a kilometer down the coast, still not finding the place. Here I got another local boat the rest of the way finally reaching my goal. I had to pay 400php for the entrance fee, but sweet taled the owner into giving me a complimentary lift back with the group, score. Ariels point was built on the cliffside with a bar and restaurant at the top, and with loads of staircases winding their way around the cliffs leading to different jump points at different heights.

I wasted no time getting involved with the free falling, and it was so worth the effort made to get there. I had a great time. On the way back to Boracay, I was given some free drinks and got to know the group, turns out they had planned a night out and asked me to join them. It turned out to be great fun, especially since we met Carlo and his friend, who looked after us all night. Boracay was full of Korean and Japanese tourists whilst I was there, and so was the bar we were in. Whilst dancing, a man asked if I would dance with what seemed to be his girlfriend, I agreed, then noticed that a line had formed and Japanese couples were queing up to get in on the dance, I felt like an amusement ride? Very strange people them Japs.




So yes, success in Boracay. Next stop for me was Bacolod, another 6 hour bus journey, followed by 2 hours on a boat. Again no problems with the boat schedule, no sleeping in the terminal or anything at least. I got to Bacolod pretty late so went direct to sleeps. My plan in the Negros Island was to visit and possibly climb Mt. Kanlaon, another active volcano. I went to a tourist office to research the trip and it ended up being another complete rip-off to go hiking, so I gave it miss. Instead, my backup plan was to visit Siquijor Island (pronounced Siquihor) where there is supposedly witchcraft and magic healers living there. Sounded fun. So yet another 7 hour bus journey and an hours boat ride got me there. Beautiful journey though. Except for our quick search down of the bus from some army guys, I think they were looking for the Negros.

Boracay and Negros Photo Link:
http://www3.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=6258564011/a=2264773011_2264773011/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Well Needed Rest in Puerto Galera

So I woke up in the ferry terminal at around 5.45 with a crooked back and felt disgusting (still wearing the same clothes I left Malaysia in, plus I climbed a volcano, and now slept on the floor of a ferry terminal, still smelled pretty good though). I grabbed a coffee from the 7-11 downstairs and headed for my boat across to Puerto Galera.

I slept on the hour and a half trip across the water and felt a lot better on the other side on the island of Mindoro. I got a jeepney (the cheaper travel option in the Philippines) 3km to Sabang beach (tourist beach) which cost 20 pesos, or 35p.......bloody brilliant. Sabang beach had all your typical beach tourist attractions, loads of bars and restaurants, a hand full of dive shops and a range of hotels. Only one thing was missing, the tourists. With it being the low season in the Philippines at this time there were hardly any westerners about anywhere. It was great for me, since everywhere offered discounted accomodation, food and diving rates. Too perfect. I randomly met a lady who's niece owned the hostel I was searching for and she took me to the door. I got a brilliant rate for a lovely ensuite room with a TV, double bed, and a great balcony view over the sea. About 5 quid a night. It was still really early but I resisted going to bed, I didnt want to mess up my sleep pattern anymore. So I grabbed some of the local speciality of pork abodo (too good) and a mango shake! Since there in season here, another high point of my day!

For the rest of the day I basically lounged around at Small Laguna beach, tanning, reading and sleeping. After updating all of the blog, I headed back for an early night, sneaking a bit of television in before going to sleep. It felt good.

The following day whilst eating breakfast I met a bloke called Manny who wanted me to come on a fishing trip with him. After much negotiation I managed to settle at 500 pesos for two hours fishing. Good to say he started at 1500. We planned to meet early the following day. I hired a mountain bike (pretty decent GT at that) for 50 pesos an hour, and did a long days cycling. I first off went to Tamaraw falls about 20km from town, where I had some sweet banana with some sweet old ladies. I had a quick dip (in the falls) then moved on to find white beach, which was about 10km from Sabang. The cycling was made really difficult because of the intense heat so I had to play some Prodigy on my i-pod for motivational purposes. It did the trick. White beach was a beautiful beach with perfect sand and sea. I took another dive into the water here to cool off before heading back to town. When I arrived back I was c ompletely drenched in sweat, and after taking the bike back and only paying 200 pesos for 5 hours (shuffle) I walked the streets topless and got some very confused looks. Why is this boy so wet? I know the post title says that I rested, but come on, its me.

Got up at 5 before 6 the next day for my fishing trip with Manny. At first I thought the bastard had stood me up, but he showed up about twenty-past with some lame excuse . Anyways, from there we took his boat over to a calm quayside area where a few other fishing boats were doing their thing. Manny ditched me and left me in the hands of his brother, who could speak reasonably good English I guess. This was not the typical fishing trip your thinking of by the way, this was Philipino/South East-Asia style fishing.......no floats, no nets and not even a god damn rod! We used some little bamboo pieces with fishing wire wrapped around them, a metal screw tied to the end for use of a sinker, and what looked like a broken paperclip for the hook, it was so funny to witness. It was a great experience to be fair too. We used some chopped up fish for bait and went at it. The were hundreds of fish down below, I know this since the water was clear enough to see them. After several failed attempts at hooking one of em, and them making away with my bait, we switched areas to try again. I was just as pathetic in this new location but my teacher (I forget his name?) was a PRO! He kept pulling out fish after fish and I just felt bad for wasting the bait, it was really hard work and takes great skills, I was very impressed. Dad, I think you should use this style of fishing in future on your Sundays, maybe I can teach you when I get home :)

Teacher kept asking me to go snorkeling after fishing to see some gigantic clams in the water, I wasnt too fussed at first, but gave in to his consistency. It was worth it. The water was beautiful and clear and it helped wake my ass up a little too, dont forget it was still about 8am at this point. You know, me and mornings, its like John Burrell and Marmite, they don't go.

After snorkeling, we headed over to Manny's crib where his darling wife grilled the fish we caught (well, teacher caught). Served with rice of course, and it was delicious. I dont know if it was the greatest breakfast option, but made a good early lunch.

I got taken back to Sabang beach, watched some little kids do backflips off of a boat, then got my daily mango milkshake intake, yummy. I had a long day ahead and virtually no plans. I freestyled a route over to a lighthouse about 2km from Sabang, where I found an awesome secluded beach, completely deserted. I took this opportunity to tan the booty (no lie) and get a bit of reading done. The bathing came to an abrupt end when a boat full of divers pulled into the bay. I dont think I have ever moved so fast in my life, tore my bloody sarong aswell. Ughh!

On my way home whilst grabbing a cheap bite to eat, I was approached by a semi drunk dude (who was really nice by the way) who wanted me to join him and his cousins for some day time Philipino Tequila drinking, who could resist an offer like that? Not me. I went round to his cousins place and had a few shots of the vile liquor, whilst getting the usual 221 questions about my life and my travels. I was molly coddled by the first guy to take a motorbike taxi back to Sabang, since he said 'I' was drunk and it could be dangerous. It was 4 in the afternoon and the only people I passed were school kids on their ways home. I had my slingshot ready. Just in case.

Puerto Galera Photo Link:

http://www3.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=6132188011/a=2264773011_2264773011/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Luzon Typhoon & Volcano

It was very unusual heading out for the airport without Maj in my company. He has made his way back to Thailand to improve on his Thai boxing training as he wants to begin fighting when we get home. We have arranged to meet in Ko Phi Phi in Thailand at the beginning of August. So until then your stuck with ME!

I made the decision to continue traveling alone to the Philippines. I had no problems with my flight to Manila and met a lovely woman on the plane who insisted I call her 'Atay', which means older sister in Philipino. Starting a little family already. The bus to Manila took an extra 2 hours than normal (4 total) because of the horrible traffic in the center. After finding the local youth hostel I went for a bite and a quick blast on the net. My trip to the 7-11 showed me that security in this country is serious as the guard had a gun on his belt. At banks and other establishments some guards are at the doors with double barreled shotguns! Another intimidating thing about the Philippines are the unlimited number of 'Jeepneys' you see patrolling the streets. They are public transportation vehichles but look like something a gang would roll around in. My internet session was cut short by a full scale power cut, and it wasn't until my walk back to the hostel that I felt how windy it was. When I got back the receptionist told me that a typhoon was making its way through the capital! I have never witnessed wind strengths like that in my life. I found it funny the next morning when I went downstairs to find that a huge tree had been blown straight into the hostel, and I slept through it!

I could tell straight away that there was limited stuff to do in Manila so I didn't plan on hanging around. I went to see the José Rizal memorial statue (Philipinos answer to Ghandi) and the Intramuros area. Spain used to rule the Philippines from 1519 through 1898, and there is a lot of Spanish history remaining, including wide usage of the language. The Intramuros area in particular has a very European edge to it, with loads of churches and colonial style buildings dotted around.

I planned to meet Alejandro the gwizzly Argentine in the Palawan islands but becuase of the Typhoon all flights were pushed back and in turn, sold out. Instead I followed my original plan of heading to the Taal volcano. The journey there showed me how badly the storm had hit, with a number of broken trees and sign posts. The Taal volcano is located on its own small island known as a caldera. It is only a little thing compared to most, but it has taken many lives throughout the years, obliterating the local town of Tagaytay. After getting skanked on a return boat price across the lake (1300 pesos, nearly 20 pound!) I made my way up to the view point. I was getting harrassed for a guide, but then saw 3 tourists on horseback obviously heading for the same destination, so I followed them. Keeping up with horses is tough by the way. The view was incredible from the top, looking down into the crater. The crater here was full of water, which could be seen bubbling away in parts, and smoke was being released in certain areas too. It was a great view of the surrounding lake, which at that moment in time was being hit with a thunderstorm in the distance.

After getting the required pictures I made my way to the town of Talisay to jeepney it to Tanauan to bus it to Batangas to get the boat over to Mindoro island for Puerto Galera. Only problem was that I had missed the final boat - by three hours. I had the tough decision of either heading back to town and paying for an expensive hotel or stay in the ferry terminal overnight. I am confident you can guess on my final choice.

Only 9 hours till next boat.

Luzon Photo Link:

http://www3.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=6132027011/a=2264773011_2264773011/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Malaysia Summary

These statistics are a combination of the travelling done in Borneo and the peninsular side of Malaysia, just so you know.

Days travelled - 21 days (3 weeks)

Distance travelled - Approx. 2,060km (1,280 miles)

Hours travelled - 45 hours (1 day, 21 hours)

Destinations - 6

Top 3

3 - Kuala Lumpur - KL has got to be one of the best capitals we have ever visited. It has just about everything to offer, a great skyline, lovely people, some amazingly cheap food joints, bargain markets, expensive malls, and a great night scene. If you ever go, you must climb the petronas towers, you must see the Hindu Batu caves and you must find a local with dreadlocks by the name of Nadzim and get pissed with him. Just suggestions.

2 - Kota Kinabalu - KK (gotta love these abbreviations) is a great city itself also, but the surrounding areas just make it that bit more special. With the highest mountain in Malaysia, Mt. Kinabalu, hanging nearby and the numerous national parks to visit and go trekking around, plus the outlying islands that Im sure would be amazing if the weather was good, makes KK an excellent destination to see.

1 - Perhentian Islands - I think if me and Maj didnt complete our diving course here it would not have made top rank. But as it goes, we did do our diving and it was amazing! The islands themselves while expensive, are nothing short of stunning. The type of setting most tropical islands would be envious of. The water was crystal and so warm, the beach was amazingly clean and white and the diving was out of this world. Since it was both our first dives we cant compare the diving quality, but Im sure it would get high marks from the veterans too.

Final Advice

We both really took to the country and found the people extremely friendly and interested in where we came from and what we were doing there. As with Thailand, you can find such a variety of places to visit from the big city of KL to the vast jungle that covers most of the country to the tranquil beaches and island dive spots. It really does have it all. Except for cheap booze. We figuered with 98% of the population being Muslim that was the reason for the high priced alchohol. It kept me away from it for a few weeks anyway. The food was gorgeous. The only problem I found was that I didn't try a variety of dishes because I was so pleased with what I had previously eaten. The buses in Malaysia were wonderful. They had really big, comfortable chairs (like buisness class on an aeroplane) and the roads and the drivers were the safefest we've experienced so far.

The Borneo side of Malaysia is completely covered in jungles. Everywhere is so green and tropical. Crossing over from Tarakan in Indonesia was quite a headache but it was a way cheaper option for us. From Kota Kinabalu, which is Sabah's capital, everywhere is easy to reach by bus or boat. The south of Borneo takes a long time to reach so plan in advance, we didn't, and ended up having to change our plans.

Malaysia has definately been one of our most enjoyable countries we have visited, the people speak great English most of the time and are more than happy to help, well, except that bastard Vincent.

Pencil diving at Kota Kinabulu

We finally made it to Kota Kinabulu in the evening and easily found a place to stay in the main backpacking area. We were back in dorms but that didn't matter because we had the room to ourselves. Our original plan was to see if it was possible to go to Mulu national park, which is in the Sarawak region of Malaysia Borneo, which holds the biggest cavern and cave entrance known to the world, but because we left it to the last minute, it would have been too expensive. This meant that we had to use our expertise and our travelling experience to plan another exursion. We met three Danish lads and two English girls from down south somewhere and collectively decided to go to Adbul Rahman National Park, which is a collection of small islands that has decent beaches and good snorkelling spots. It was sunny by the time we left the hostel but when by the time we arrived, it started to get dark and started raining! Swimming in the sea was a bit tricky with sharp dead coral in shallow water so we weren't in there for too long. Instead we had two kids who had too many e-numbers to deal with Danny and Becky jumping off the port, although it did take Becky about half an hour to do one jump-she fell in installments!

Becky 'Moroccon chilli' Lee and Ellie 'Timone' James (the two girls from down south) pleaded us to allow them to join us on our excursion because they wanted to be around cool people for a little longer, and after me and Danny weighed our options, we allowed them. They were going to pay 200 pound to climb up Mt Kinabulu, which is the highest mountain in SE Asia and is a 2 day climb up and down, but they cancelled it after realising it wasn't worth it. Vincent, the pisshead and owner of the hostel, who also speaks seven languages and wouldn't shut up about it didn't take their cancellation too lightly. Apparently he's short staffed and new staff keep leaving after 2-3 days because he's a complete arse and an alcoholic.

We left early morning and got the minibus to Crocker range, which is a mountain range surrounded by rainforest but only a very small portion is open to trek. Vincent told us it was a 2 hr trek each way but when we got there, it was only a 45 minute trek and there was nothing interesting to see. We walked around the Rafflesia park, which holds the biggest flower in the world, but there was nothing to see as they weren't blooming and they only live for 7 days at at time so you have to be pretty lucky! The park ranger gave us a lift to Keningau so we could get the bus to Renau, which is the nearest town to Kinabulu headquarters, but the last bus had already left so were stuck in Keningau for the night. We got stared at around here because I don't think many foreigners come here but it was something that we were used to. We found a place to stay and got something to eat and this was the start of our awkward chats at dinner with Becky and Ellie-you don't wanna know!

The next morning, we got up at 6.30 am and got the bus from Keningau to Renau and started our trek pretty much straight away. The trek was pretty simple, we walked through the jungle up to the entrance of where people climb up the mountain and then made a different way down. There were some slippy moments, when Dan nearly fell of the side but apart from that everything went cool. We didn't see any animals and there weren't many clear views as we were in the clouds but it was still cool to trek through the jungle and look like a sweaty mong! Staying at the park was very very expensive, even for a dorm so we did our trek and stayed the night at Renau. We made our way to Poring hot springs the next morning to have a decent clean but that plan was scrapped when we spotted a nice hike up to some waterfall. The trek was a lot harder than we initially thought because it was just going up all the time and took a bit longer (with Becky having her strop) but the waterfall made it every bit worthewhile. It was a secluded waterfall, about 70-80m high, with no tourists around because they probably couldn't be asked to do the trek, so it gave us the chance to have a quick dip in the freezing water. The trek down was a lot quicker but it got slightly delayed because Becky tripped and did a pencil dive into the floor. This girl had a bandage for a small scratch on her foot so you can imagine how long it took for us to sort her out, when she got a cut. I wanted to laugh my head off because it was such a funny fall but I held back and kept a mental image of it instead

We finally made our way back to Kota Kinabulu after our 3 day freestyle excursion and went straight to a pizza place, which I was absolutely craving for. We watched the final of the world cup, with our lack of sleep and we were struggling when it went to extra time. It was mine and Danny's final day together as he goes to Phillipines for 2 weeks and I go back to Thailand for 6 weeks of thai boxing training. We ended up going back to the islands with the girls again and again it was sunny when we left but when we got there, we were stuck in the middle of a storm - NICE ONE! After spending nine and a half months with Danny's white ass, we said our goodbyes and went our seperate ways. He wouldn't stop crying but this was something I had to do and he head to learn how to deal with it - you're a big boy now! Good luck to him for Phillipines, I'm sure he will be fine as I've taught him everything I know but don't worry, there will be a re-union in Thailand at some point before we head back!

Kota Kinabulu photo link:

http://www3.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=6114989011/a=2264773011_2264773011/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Slumming it for Orangutans

The 5 hour boat ride from Indonesia to Malaysia was really rough. Maj threw his guts up because of how choppy the sea was. We were sat at the front of the boat to begin with, and we were being completely thrown up out of our seats on the bounce. We headed to the back of the boat to sit the ride out.

We were so happy to finally reach Malaysia again after all the trouble we have had these past few days. Little did we know......

First objective was to collect our money from the western union since we were more or less skint. We just made the bank before it closed. After refueling we wanted to catch a bus to Sandikan where we would be going to see the Orangutan rehabilitation centre. Unfortunately, our luck had not yet picked up and there were no more buses for the day. We were told to catch a bus to somewhere called 'Batu 32', which was the half-way checkpoint for buses to Sandikan and Kota Kinabalu (that's where we head next).

But when we got to Batu 32, occompanied by a hilarious middle aged Malaysian woman who was also heading for Sandikan, we were hit with the fact that the last bus had already departed. This however wasn't the bad news. We also found out that there was no accomodation available in the area and we were basically stranded! We had to sleep at this road side market on the hard wooden floor, with the Malaysian woman no less. It was the perfect end to a unperfect day. Thank god for our sleeping bags!

We were up at the crack of dawn, since we had trouble sleeping anyway and got aboard the 6am bus to Sandikan. We dropped our bags at a near-by restaurant and got fed and showered whilst we were there. It was a short walk to the Orangutan sanctuary and cost 30 malaysian ringit, to enter. We watched a short documentary before going to see the kings of the swingers but it was not what we were expecting, at all. To be honest, I think it was the biggest let down in all of my 9 months of travelling. We saw 3 Orangutans from a distance, horded by loads of tourists, and that was it. We expected to see the babies or even be able to get pictures with them. No such luck.

To make the day a little more worth our while, we went on a trek through the surrounding rainforest within the conservation area. Being the rebels from Sheffield that we are, we diverted off the signed pathway and went for a good jungle exploration. We saw loads of wild monkeys, some very interesting insects, a snake, and most memorable, a bunch of friggin leeches. The first one got spotted sucking away at Majs boob and I had to pull the little demon off. It stretched to about 5 times its own length before coming free. After that, we just kept finding them on us. 2 on my legs, 2 on the back of Maj's shorts. And I even found one about an hour later whilst on the bus, down my shorts!

The ride to KK (Kota Kinabalu) took us past Kinabalu Mt. So the scenery was fantastic. Hopefully KK would give us a change of luck.

Sandikan Photo Link:

http://www3.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=6114702011/a=2264773011_2264773011/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Indonesian Summary

Days travelled - 18 days (2 weeks, 4 days)

Distance travelled - Approx. 2337 km (1461 miles)

Hours travelled - 80 hrs (3 days, 8 hours)

Destinations - 8

Top 3

3 - Gilli Trawangan - Although there's not much to do on this island if you're not diving or snorkeling, it has a chilled out vibe that's also seen through the local people. The island isn't that big so it's a nice walk around!

2 - Gunung Bromo - Our first volcano and I'm sure it won't be our last. Yes it is a big tourist attraction but it's definately worth getting there to see the sunrise-you'll be amazed. Stay away from the crowd and you'll enjoy it more. Best thing is, Indonesia is full of volcanoes.

1 - Bali - Our first trip to Kuta wasn't what made Bali the hot spot, it was the 2 day motorbike ride starting in Ubud to the north of Bali via Munduk. We rode up to the peaks and saw more volcanoes and lakes at heights above 2000m. Another off the beaten track ride for us, which makes it our number 1.

Final Advice

Starting Indonesia by flying into Jakarta isn't the ideal way to start travelling around such a beautiful country but it is the capital and a short brief visit is all that's needed. The Indonesian people are soooooo friendly, probably the friendliest people we have met on our travels. There are not many people who speak English but you can usually find someone who can speak enough broken English to get by. We visited the country at a bad time for us because played shit in the world cup and we get cussed for it all the time but I'm sure they'll love us again-give it til the next world cup!

Indonesia is made up of different sized islands and travelling from one place to another is hard work. We've realised that they never reach the destination at the correct time so you have to be quite flexible with your time. Java is the only island with a train line and if you can, try travelling on the train, it's just a lot more comfortable and usually takes less time. Buses here are good enough, it's just sometimes leg room is a problem with us generally being a lot taller then them. The only major problem we found was how badly Indonesia is connected in terms of getting from one island to the other. Yes you can get buses/boats but they're time consuming, but if you look into flights, they are really expensive.

We originally wanted to go to Kalimantan (Borneo) via a pelni boat, the only boat company that goes across, but it seems they only have 2 boats going across every month and they usually don't know the schedule until a few days before so it would be really wise to plan your trip around their boat departures to save you the hassle of going back to Jakarta like we did.

All in All, Indonesia has been a dream country to travel because every island has something different to offer. I personally could spend 3 months easily taking my time exploring the whole of Indonesia. It's just that you need a bit money to climb up the big Volcanoes, which has got to be done if you can afford it!