One challenge at a time

  Up early and ready for my morning walk with Yulinda pre breakfast... the sky was grey this morning and it felt even a bit chilly at 24 C. Rain was in the air for sure but at the moment it was dry so we set off to see what we could find. This morning the Gibbons had started calling early so after a quick walk round the pond, we headed for an area behind the accomodation, where the calls were loudest. Stand... look up... and wait for trees to move! Sure enough soon we could see the branches moving which told us where to direct our gaze. At the tops of the highest trees the Gibbons had woken up and we're starting to move around. Given the height they were operating at, getting a clear picture was not easy even though we could. clearly see them moving. The trick was to look with your eyes first, zoom the camera in preparation and then follow your gaze with the camera. We could see 4 or 5 Gibbons. moving around, then stopping to sit and graze on the fruit around them. They like the fr...

  Early morning... awake at 5am to head to the airport. It had been really lovely staying with Maria and Tom and catching up after 13 years but I was ready to leave and find a bit of peace and quiet away from the city.  I was heading to Tawau, a small town and from there to Tawau Hills with 1 stop Borneo, a company that had reforestation programs and jungle guides. A bit out of the way of the normal tourist route, I was hoping that there would be less people there and a better chance to find animals. The flight wasn't fun. Bumpy and with a landing that could best be described as 'winging it', we swerved into Tawau and landed with an almighty bump. Here, in Borneo, after many years of dreaming of a visit. I was met at the airport by Mr Wong, who kindly spent the entire journey telling me about Borneo, it's wildlife, people and the Palm Oil business. The roads were nearly empty once we had left the airport and in surprisingly good condition. It was also very hot. 30 degre...

  Last day in KL. I was determined not to go back in the city again, instead seeking out the nearest approximation to jungle that I could find within the limits of the urban version. Fortunately, not too far away from Maria's was a Community Forest where there were hiking trails and lakes. The google reviews looked good, mentioning good trails, nice views, jungle, animals. Perfect. I am not a city person. I am far more at home trekking up steep inclines whilst scanning the trees and the floor for any sign of life. So the community forest it was. The weather had cooled ever so slightly and there was even talk of rain later in the day, all of which meant that it was going to be better hiking weather. The Grab pitched up within 10 minutes of booking and I endured a 40 minute ride through traffic filled roads, which ended on a dead end road in the middle of what looked like a factory estate. Nestled in the corner off the path was the start of the trail, narrow and squeezed in between t...

  Today I wanted to find the greenest place I could within the city... that led me on the map to the Bird park and Butterfly park, set in an area of greenery outside of the city. The journey there seemed to be straightforward and I navigated the Grab and the LRT like a pro. I hopped off at KL Sentral and prepared for the long walk to the parks. It was (again) very hot and I had neglected to fill my water bottle right up but ploughed onwards, through the busy streets  and to the west of KL centre. I reached the outskirts of the parks after around 30 minutes walking, having passed some places I recognised from my first day in KL. Then I branched off and was faced with another hill. Up I went along the road which was significantly less busy than many of the roads here. Near the top, I spotted a sign for stonehenge... and as I rounded the bend, there it was, in close to all it's glory... albeit a lot smaller and a lot newer. A few photos of the world's smallest stonehenge and then...

  I was excited about today! The Batu caves had been a place I had read about. A majestic temple in a cave but more pertinently for me, another cave called the Dark cave where you could hire a guide and go in and find bats and snakes and insects. Also if you waited until dusk you could see the bats fly out. At least that's what the rough guide had said.  It was only on the train into KL, when I was googleing, that I discovered that the Dark Cave was permanently shut! Bu@@er! Still at least I could see the bats fly out. Batu caves a few days ago, was the centre of a religious festival celebrations with hundreds of thousands of people descending on the site. I was hoping that, now it had ended, the caves would be a more peaceful place. After the hour to get into KL, it was the another 45 minutes to the North, though these trains didn't run as frequently as others, so I had to wait for a bit in KL, before finally boarding the train and heading back out of the city.  North of...

  A non stop plane journey sounded like a really good idea back in July when I booked it... Now, however in the midst of a 13 hour flight, I would have killed for a stopover. Turns out that the available movie list was fairly poor and having worked my way through 2 films already, it was slim pickings from then on.  When you don't sleep on flights the hours go by very slowly, punctuated by the welcome breakfast/coffee/dinner rounds. The food was pretty good however, the breakfast waffles particularly so... but still 6 hours to go. Worse was the fact that a bit later in the flight, no coffee service due to turbulence so one less thing to take up time!  Eventually, after an absolute age, we landed on the Malaysian tarmac and bleary eyed disembarked the plane, into 28 degree heat and blazing sunshine. Dare I say it, I was already too warm.  Maria (who I worked with many years ago) and Tom were waiting for me at the airport and when I first saw them, it was as if no time ...