The long-awaited winter vacation ('fuyu yasumi') is one where many teachers here get a chance to do some traveling either in Japan or in other parts of the world. Because it's close, warm, and cheap (and awesome), southeast Asia is a very popular destination as I found myself taking a trip to Thailand and Laos during my first winter holiday one year ago (see this post). Having learned from the experience, Caitlin and I didn't do much planning after we had decided to travel together again to a new part of southeast Asia because in this part of the world, you can just simply up and then take it from there.
After a seven hour flight from Osaka to Singapore, we stayed for a night in the city and had a chance have a meal and catch our breath before making our way to the Malaysian section of the island of Borneo- a place known for orangutans, biodiversity, and headhunting tribes. The city of Kota Kinabalu in the Sabah province was home for a short while as Caitlin and I met up with Ann (her sister) and Leah (her cousin) in at the now infamous Lucy's Backpacker Inn. Right away we had some bad luck when Caitlin came down with a severe stomach illness and had to stay in bed for multiple days so we soon moved from Lucy's to a room at the swanky but inexpensive Hyatt Inn close to the waterfront. We all quickly learned the number for room service and spent a lot of time ordering fresh juice while hanging around the hotel. This was my first clue of how amazing the selection and quality of fruits and vegetables would be in this part of the world. Though I am very lucky with what's available in Japan, things just have their own taste near the equator.
Anyway, while Caitlin's condition improved, Ann and Leah both caught her sickness and were now stuck in bed for a few days. I used this time to explore Kota Kinabalu (or 'KK' as everyone calls it) and discovered the amazing night market and gritty, gritty side streets and alleys.
Late night on Christmas Eve, I decided to buy a solo plane ticket to see some caves that were featured on BBC's Planet Earth series. The next day I was on my way to the town of Miri in the Sarawak province as I, in mid-flight, realized that I had confused the city names of 'Mulu' with 'Miri' and needed to catch another flight in order to reach Gunung Mulu National Park to see the caves. Thankfully, I stepped off of the plane in Miri and bought a ticket to Mulu with such ease that I was on a plane heading there 20 minutes later(you gotta love that Air Asia is so cheap that you can take flights on a whim as long as there's a seat for you...). My Christmas day was spent in transit between KK, Miri, and Mulu and I found myself at the park with no accommodation or tour bookings whatsoever (something that the guidebooks strongly recommend against) but I ended up staying in a large dorm room beside the park headquarters for about 15 ringgit (or about $4) a night. After some food and a shower, I went to bed early and listened to the never ending downpour of rain that would have had me convinced that the building was constructed under a waterfall. The next morning, I awoke to find three feet of water covering the steps to the building.
During the next two days I was out and about in the park, seeing the caves and getting to know some great people.
We had to take boat rides to and from the caves that crosses through small villages and schools that I hiked to later on that day. This was the Malaysia that I wanted to see.
Gunung Mulu Park was an amazing experience. It felt nice to travel alone for a short bit and I think that because of the remote location of the park, only very adventurous people ended up there. There is really no nearby town and all supplies must be flown periodically on the tiny airstrip beside the park's headquarters. Everyone that works in Mulu is from a tribe local to the area so the employees were pretty much all related in some way...and you'd quickly get to know this just by chatting with them. After a nice time in the jungle, it was back to KK and on to what would be the most challenging but rewarding part of the trip.
I had never heard of Mt. Kinabalu before buying my plane ticket Malaysia. Upon researching things to do in the Sabah province, I found that it was definitely the main reason for people travel there- the highest mountain in southeast Asia (higher than Mt. Fuji), within the diversity of Kinabalu National Park, and seemingly not an impossible task 'for people of all ages.' Caitlin was just well enough after her sickness to get back to the outdoors so it was fortunate that we had booked our hike on the days that we did. The day before starting out on the mountain, we caught a long distance cab ride from KK to the park and got a good rest the night before. The first day's hike was short but intense with most of the trail being large steps that were unrelenting but not impossible if you're taking your time.
We spent that night at Laban Rata, the sleeping quarters located a little over half way up the mountain. With some dinner and tea, we were in bed at 7:30pm so that we could wake up at 1:40am (the earliest I've ever got up for anything) to climb the most difficult part of the trail in pitch black so that we could see the sun rise at the summit. With our very memorable local guide Helmy (who was given the name 'Sir Helmsly' during the hike), I spent the day witnessing some of the most beautiful things that I've ever seen in my life.
When all of the hiking was done (going both up and down) our time spent on the mountain was about 30 hours. A little bit of that time was spent sleeping, some of it eating, but a lot of it was climbing steps in the earth that seemed to never end. We experienced hours of heavy rean on the way down but it felt nice after we had already completed the difficult part of the climb. Our legs didn't work for a few days afterwards but the big event of the trip had been accomplished and we felt amazing after seeing what it's like to be 4,050m above the sea when the sun rises on a perfectly clear morning.
I must say that when I first stepped foot in the city of Kota Kinabalu I was hesitant to feel comfortable because I felt out of place as a westerner in a Muslim culture. After spending a week and a half there, I've now been able to get to know some one of the most humble and generous people that I've been exposed to. And I really mean that...no one was pushy or really even attempting to get money from me. In fact, I was usually offered a beer or a seat by the people I made small talk with. Everyone in Borneo had such a nice and relaxing vibe and that was apparent from the time we took our first unmarked van from the airport to the city to the final taxi ride on our way back to catch our flight to Indonesia.
The final significant event in Malaysia was the New Year's party. Myself, Caitlin, Ann, Leah, and her friend Jocelyn went out and made some new friends while celebrating the entrance of the final year of this decade. Pictures do best at telling the story of this particular evening.
So, on New Year's Day, we packed our things and were off to a new country.
1 comment:
Brad,
I really like your pictures! Looks like a once in a lifetime experience.
Dad
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