A relax end of the Borneo adventure: Pulau Tiga (version 2)

My last days in Borneo arrived. Last weekend I went with Bert and Silke to Pulau Tiga. For me it was, just as Mount Kinabalu and Bako, the second time. A bit expensive, but I like the island so much that I couldn’t resist. Especially the mudvolcano is a special you can’t find that easily. Nothing more fun and relaxing: floating in a mudbath, hiking back to the sea fully covered in the mud, getting dried up and then dive into the sea. We had a great laugh with an older Chinese lady who panicked in the mud…She screamed she couldn’t swim while moving wildly with all her bodieparts…uhm, no need to swim in mud, you float like a cork. Then we pushed her out of the mud, like a fish getting on dry land and splashing around. Funny sight. wahaa.

The next morning, while my friends went for a boatride to Snake island and the sandbank, I discovered the eastern part of the island, which was a lot more difficult then the western part I went to the first time. Swamps with muddy water that masked the trails, trails that got blocked by huge trees that felt down, annoying green flies that bite you instantly,…but it was fun!

Furthermore we just relaxed, hiked to the rocky beach, played pool and zipped beers. Yes, you have all reasons to get jealous.*grin*

When we got back to KK last sunday, I introduced Bert and Silke to the lovely Kadazan family who hosted me for several months. We played cards & gambled a bit (we will create a new hype in Belgium soon hehe), enjoyed bbq and seafood, chatted around and…uhm…zipped beers of course.

It was an awesome awesome 3 days!

The first night there was a heavy thunderstorm. I tried to catch the lightning… unfortunately he was covered by the clouds.

one of my better fly-shots.

mushrooms

detail of leaf eaten away by insects

the beach on the eastern part with all those green flies…

reflection…the swamp starts

uh oh…I needed a stick to feel the bottom and where to set my feet. All roots  on the bottom and hard to estimate the depth.

I never saw this before! I found a crab who traded her shell for a plastic cup!
She probably took from the shores where often stuff arrives with the high tide.

rocky beach

mad mudfun!

The end…

Next destination is Jakarta, Indonesia!

Kundasang – Ranau

I’m back in Kota Kinabalu and showing Bert and Silke a bit around.
During the last days we’ve been to Rose Cabin in Kundasang, a hostel in a small town with splendid views on Mount Kinabalu. No, we didn’t climb it like most people do. Instead we discovered the surroundings & watched the mountain change every beercan. It’s also darn expensive to climb that mountain. Bloody 100 euros is one of the cheaper options…No, thanks. Heavy commercialisation is not OK for nature hikes in my opinion. I even noticed that in those few months that I’ve been away prices rised again! Almost everything got like 20 percent more expensive. The rise of fuelprices is a reason, but you don’t need fuel to stay in a hostel or to do nature hikes… Dorms are coming my way now, although I really don’t like them.
My first night in the dorm was heavily disturbed by a girl that went to pee outside the room and somehow locked herself out. I suddenly got awake of ridiculous hard bounces on the door and when I opened she told she was already doin’ that for half an hour. Tears were in her eyes, poor sheep. Anyway, so far for a good nightrest. Couldn’t catch sleep anymore after that.
My second night was disturbed by a couple that went for the early mountainclimb. They got up around 5.30am or so and made continuous noise for at least an hour. Seemed that they didn’t prepare their backpacks before they went to sleep! 1 hour of zippersounds, annoying whispers and plastic bags getting muffled away. Yeey…

Anyway, some pics:

The mountain got a lot more waterfalls now

The gateway to the path was locked…I asked Bert to bite it.

bamboo, as hard as steel…

nice mosquito..see those feathers? You can’t see that with your eyes, my lens can.

funky web

I think it’s a leech.

When I got back from the hike, my left leg was full of dried blood. Never knew it, but there must have been a leech on it. I think it was one of those. If anyone knows these, please let me know.

Now off to Gayang, one of the best seafood restaurants here, located a bit outside KK.
Yummy!

Rainforest World Music Festival, Santubong (Sarawak)

Picture report of this fantastic festival, under the shades of Mount Santubong.
I’m not a big fan of festivals, but this one is one to remember. The organisation & crew was superb, the location even better. We went on fridaynight, openingsnight, when the big crowd was not there yet. Overday there were ‘workshops’ with shows and history of the various instruments used by the musicians. At 7pm the gigs started. 2 stages, one band stops at the first stage, the other band starts directly on the second stage. Like DJ-ing between 2 stages. The only disadvantage of this system was that they didn’t allow bis-songs…We camped footsteps away from a cozy beach.

Oh yeah, it was muddy…rain-forest…haha

At the edge was our camp-spot…crawling out of the tent and jumping into the sea…what more do you want?

and another wonderful sunset as the end of our Sarawak adventure.

see how colors change withing  15 minutes…

Cheers!