The first day we arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, we arrived late so tiffany and i randomly picked a hostel in Chinatown to stay at. According to Lonely planet this hostel, Anuja's Backpackers Inn, was one of the more "reliably" clean hostels. So we decided to give it a go. Outside the hostel there were several people hanging out, having a beer and having dinner. thought it was a good lively crowd to be around. The hostel turned out to be pretty dingy, dirty and infested with bugs. The other guests seemed to consists of locals who had no other place to stay. The sheets were stained and probably havent been washed for weeks. The sleep was good, but only if you are a sound sleeper. As for me, i was constantly waken up by the screams of people fighting outside.
(It looks cleaner than it was)
It's funny how even in countries half way across the world there seems to be a McDOnalds at every corner. We resisted the idea of eating McDonalds for breakfast and opted for the 30 minute search for some real malay dishes. Street food is delicious!
The people in the main Malaysian pininsula are really friendly. It could possibly be due to the fact that we were two un accompanied females, but nonetheless people were always willing to help us out. One thing i noticed was the lack of females on the streets. Since Malaysia is a very conservative muslim country, i figured they are probably at home.
The view from the flight to Borneo was amazing! Domestic flights are really inexpensive. the tickets cost us about 20$ CAD. We travelled with Air Asia and definitly one of my favourite airlines. they played a 10 track cd the entire flight, which surprisingly didnt get old. WHat awesome about Borneo is that they have endless hills of just palm trees. I guess its no surprise that their number 1 export is palm oil.
Uncle Tans was located in Sandakan, Sabah. Sandakan is known for their natural treasures and wildlife, so i was stoked as to what was to come. The ride to the camp ground consisted of an hour and a half drive, then a 30 minutes speed boat along the Sungai Kinabatangan River, which is Sabah's longest (and very muddy)river.
Trekking through the jungle is definitly an experience. Being able to see animals live natrally in their own habitat is far better than watching them close up in a zoo. It seems to me that animals are socialized to be scared of humans. the animals that ventured into the campgrounds almost didnt care that there were groups of people living in the area. They almost walked around with a very "you're on my turf" sorta attitude. One of my favorite visitors was the Monitor Lizard!
We slept in longhouses which is basically houses built on stilts. Its necessary for rainy season when everything gets flooded.
If you dont mind being eaten alive by bugs, not bathing for days, and having bug repellent eat at your clothes a jungle trek is definitly something you should look into. There are several tours in Borneo, but this is the one we went with. http://www.uncletan.com/ It's definitly worth it.
Our next destination was Kota Kinabalu. We arrived late night on Tuesday night. We stayed at a small hostel at the end of the street. I dont remember the name of the hostel, but it was pretty nice. The man who owned the hostel was definitly on something. He made Janelle and Mike really nervous. haha i liked him, i liked how he told things like it is, and was eager to help us out.
The next morning, we woke up early and headed for Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park, which is a park that consists of 5 islands. Due to the shortage of time we stayed at Manukan beach. It was pretty overcast that day so it wasnt the best day for the beach, but amazing nonetheless. Manukan was the first time i snorkled! The fish in the sea are absolutely gorgeous! I also caught a baby orange star fish that Mike talked me into throwing back into the water. There were also big bright blue starfish that sorta looked scary and so i decided to stay away from them.
The night market is Kota Kinabalu is fantastic! u can get a heaping plate of noodles that could feed 4 people no problem for only 3$ CAD. Other options are satay, chicken hearts on a stick (which is not that great), fish, fruit, banana fritters among others.
The last day was spent in Kuala Lampur, one of the sites we went to is the Batu cave (above)! its a temple inside a mountain. It was awesome! and there are monkeys just roaming around! Once u reach the top of the mountain you are greeted by a man who charges about 3$ CAD to take a picture with a snake or lizard. and two other shops that sold malaysian/hindu paraphenelia. It really weirded me out. Yes, the temple is definitly a tourist site, but it is still very much a temple. It made me think, do people who want to go to the temple to worship feel offended that their place of worship is becoming so commercialised?
We took public transit on the way to the cave. the ride was about an hour. The buses here play the radio on the bus, pretty loudly. Call me old, but the combination of the heat, jerky movements, and loud music on the bus was a not a good combination hahha
If in Asia, visit Malaysia!
