Borneo Part III : Bandar Seri Begawan

People warned me not to go to Brunei. Not because it's dangerous or hostile towards women as one might ignorantly assume given the fact that it's an Islamic oil state. It's not insanely expensive or wrought with horrible people. In fact, it's affordable (still a tad pricey than Malaysia) and the people are bloody brilliant. No, I was warned not to go to Brunei because frankly after a short couple hours I'd sit twiddling my thumbs wondering what to do with the rest of my time in this tiny buck-tooth blip of Borneo. 

But I, in all my stubbornness, could not be swayed. Since meeting Bryon back in the stoneage, I've had a few hysterical capitol cities eternally stuck in my head and on my list, just waiting to be checked off. I thought there had to be at least something remotely redeeming about with a name as interesting as Bandar Seri Begawan. I must admit, I think the interesting bit ends there with the name. 

I might be being a tad harsh. The city is... clean (mostly), calm (eerily), ordered and so damn quiet. 

BSB, for short, is home to two beautiful "ornate" mosques... okay ornate may be an overstatement, but I'm trying to give them SOMETHING here. In addition to the mosques, the Royal Regalia Museum is host to displays of gifts to the sultan from foreign dignitaries and a ego-boosting three level display of formal portraits and meetings of the sultan. And there it is ... BSB in nutshell. Finished. Okay, there's also a floating water village (houses on stilts), some shopping and a dirty waterfront. Outside the city is some supposedly nice virgin rainforest that costs four times as much as anywhere in Malaysia to visit so I forewent the visit. 

I have to admit though, the most redeeming part about my stint in Brunei was the people. Despite a couple very minor transportation oriented setbacks, I was shocked at the over the top hospitality of the Bruneians. And I'm not referring to in a restaurant or hotel, just everyday Joe Smo Brunei on the street. 

Case in point : myself along with two friends decided to spend a quiet evening exploring the city. I must point out that Brunei is a dry country so we had little else to do than wander the streets and start at the "space aged style" mosques. Feeling quite up to the challenge after weeks of hiking in Sarawak, we determined it couldn't be that hard to locate the mammoth mosque 3km off of our Lonely Planet map. I mean, its huge.... "how could we miss it?" Long story short, after wandering practically onto a freeway and then disagreeing about which precise direction to walk, we asked a middle aged gentleman outside the hospital waiting for his wife to point us in the right direction. Despite his confusion over the fact that neither of the young women with the strapping Dutch lad were his wife(wives), he promptly insisted to drive us there. No alternate motive. No request for payment. Just true, kind hearted generosity. 

This happened again and again. Free rides. Friendly banter. Considerate commentary/directions/cultural explanations. If you haven't traveled in Asia, you may not realize that most, if not all, acts of kindness are usually accepted tentatively as the traveler waits for the 'catch'. It seems in some places, there's always 'something'. Not in Brunei. My friend Maggie informed the sales lady at the museum gift shop that her perfume smelled lovely and inquired what it was. The lady, beaming with pride, told her she'd show her the bottle. Not only did she show it to her, she insisted Maggie take the bottle to remember her by. 

So I guess in the end there is something to appreciate beyond a cool capitol city name. My far-fetched dreams of visiting some exotic locale called Bandar Seri Begawan may have been shattered by reality but I just keep my head up for the day I get to Djibouti. 

Borneo Part II : Gunung WOW National Park

Most of my group from Bako National Park managed to stay together to make the journey to the amazing Gunung Mulu National Park. For those of you Travel Channel/Nat Geo/Discovery junkies out there... remember the Planet Earth episode about caving in the largest limestone cave system in the world filled with insane amounts of Guano (Bat poo!)... yup that's Mulu National Park! 

The caving, the hiking and more were simply described as mind blowing. One friend posed they ought to rename the park "Gunung Wow National Park" because there's few things one can say when venturing through these passage ways besides "wooooowwwww". 

Words cannot describe (or at least mine can't) and photos cannot capture. Just watch that Planet Earth episode, it took ONE MONTH to set up the shots to only begin to capture the grandeur of these caves.

Two to Three MILLION bats fly out from this particular passage way, Deer Cave (the largest cave passage in the world!), eat night in search of food. (The entrance to the cave is shadow on the face of the cliff). 

 Scientists report they collect/eat nightly over 15 TONS of insects! Explains all the poop! The stream of bats continues for about one hour every night! 

In addition to hiking and swimming, also managed to fit in a little "adventure caving". Aka real caving with rope assisted climbing and descents through one of the intermediate level passages. If you look closely at the photo above you can clearly see I'm the dirtiest kid in the group! 

Again, I managed to stay with the nicest family in a homestay outside of park headquarters. The people of Malaysia have constantly overwhelmed me with their hospitality and friendliness over the past couple of months. Dina and Robert of D'Cave were exemplary of this! Sadly the only photo I have of their place is of the awesome toilets. I informed Robert he ought to turn them around as they have beautiful vistas up to the parks' summit... what better to look at while sitting on the john, eh?   

 

Borneo Part I : In and around Kuching.

I've been contemplating how to write about the past month in Borneo. It's hard to summarize and articulate four weeks of jam packed exhilaration. I've had way less 'down time' since flying to Kuching earlier this month, definitely a good thing, but it certainly makes it hard to take the time and how amazing this time has been. 

I saw a quote somewhere in the past couple weeks that I do think however, encapsulates this idea : 

" Heaven is not a place we go when we die,

 But the moment in life when we finally feel alive." 

My journey in Borneo began in Kuching. Cat City and the gateway to Sarawak. 

After meeting the Orangutang at the local rehabilitation/soft-release center

and exploring the awesome architecture of local indigenous groups at the cultural center, I geared up for a hike to the "Village in the Clouds". Named because of it's location in the hills, this Bidayuh village is literally nestled amongst the clouds at least until mid-morning everyday. 

We trekked up the mountains on Day 1 to arrive in the village of 48 houses still living predominantly off subsistence agriculture. It's not accessible by road or boat. And each villager, up to our hosts 85yo parents regularly make the 4-5hour hike to the nearest road in order to visit family, receive medical care or take their kids to school. The local primary school is a 1+ hour hike from the village but the secondary school is a boarding only facility in the city, an hour's drive from the nearest road they must trek to! 

Our hosts, Taya and his wife were brilliant! Nicer people are hard to find in this world! They shared a lot about their culture, history, amazing home cooked meals and insightful opinions on the dam project being built nearby that threatens to relocate the village and change their lives forever. 

This particular village is also home to the last remaining "ring ladies" in all of Sarawak!! Similar to the long-neck Karen Hilltribe women of northern Thailand. These ladies begin wearing golden rings around the forearms and calfs from age 10-11 and if their health allows, wear them till death. There are definitely detrimental effects on muscle and bone development. This, combined with the awesome new access of young women in the community to education, means that it is a dying tradition. When the youngest of them, 69yo, passes it will merely be a memory. 

I fell in love with this one lady in particular. She speaks no Malay only the local dialect so we obviously had a language barrier. But boy did we have a good time laughing, chewing beetle-nut and drinking warm beer. I asked my host why she like to laugh so much and he simply said there was no way to explain it except that she was a "happy person". Perhaps the beetle-nut and beer has something to do with it me thinks. 

Upon returning to Kuching, I managed to link up with a killer group of people to explore Bako National Park. Spent the day hiking to waterfalls and explore extremes of a jungle climate with proboscis monkeys, among other things! 

They travel in troops of about 20 monkeys with only one alpha male per group. The alphas have a massive nose like this big boy here. Nearby we caught three female proboscis attempting to break into the "Proboscis Lodge" near park headquarters. The irony was not lost on me... 

"I can see those bananas! They're right there!!" 

Love Affair in Georgetown.

I knew I would like Georgetown, or as most people know it by it's state name: Penang. I knew it from the get-go, even before I arrived in Malaysia. Among other things Penang is famous for none other than FOOD. And as an admitted food-addict, foodie and all-round fat kid, lets just say it was love at first bite.

What's not to love about a place completely committed to the production of deliciousness?! Penang has all kinds of food options. Most famous are it's hawker centers or strips. Areas or streets in the city that come alive at night with amazingness being cooked up at portable stalls surrounded by plastic or metal pop up chairs. Satay, Laksa, noodles, ice lemon tea, rice, seafood, wonderful soups, fresh fruit juices samosas, you name it.... it's here.

Admittedly, I'm pretty awful at knowing what it is that I'm eating. I eat with my senses. If it looks good/smells good or frankly, if the stall is really busy, I'm trying it!

Modernization, air-conditioning and shopping malls have also made the food court set up extremely popular in Penang, as well as much of the region. Slightly more sterile (I mean there's no animals running amuck), centralized seating and picture menus all make it seem more accessible to western travelers. And so much less thrilling, at least in my humble opinion.

The city is also littered with a ton of wonderful restaurants, from local fusions to boutique Italian cafes. So many choices! Admittedly, I'm surprised I haven't gained weight traveling in Malaysia with the amazing Malay spices, Indian influence and massive Chinese population this country truly is a melting pot of amazing culinary experiences!
Food aside, when I arrived in Georgetown, I knew I liked the city but I couldn't quite put my finger on why. I certainly enjoyed the food but there was a certain energy about Penang that just worked for me.

Finally I think it was articulated well by my tour guide at the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, also known as the Blue Mansion given its intense indigo exterior coming from India dyes. With dozens of rooms, seven courtyards and a very customized feng shui during it's heyday it was home to it's namesake as well as 3 of his eight wives and their respective children.

Our guide was intregal in the purchase of the mansion from the family trust as well as the six year restoration process from 1990-1996. She spoke passionately about the learning curve of restoring the home and the challenges they faced but also about general ideas of conservation in local communities especially as they pertain to UNESCO World Heritage sights. She contrasted a lot the efforts of Georgetown Penang to those of Melacca in souther Malaysia. But her general themes i think spoke to the identity and energy of the area as a whole even compared to other cities or sights.

Apparently Georgetown's administration has made a lot of conscious efforts only to partake in reversible development. Meaning that anything as pertaining to tourism should only be implemented if it is also easily removed. In general they are seeking to maintain the historical part of the city as a live and functioning part of a regular Malays life unlike other areas where historical zones are simply turned into a tourist trap of upmarket shops and restaurants.

Personally I think they really succeeded in this even if I was able to independently articulate why I initially felt the warmth of the town. It was great not to feel like my experience was dramatically different than that of a Penang-ite and in the meantime if I get to eat like a queen for next to nothing, I say it's just winning all around!