A new school year has begun! But I’d like to back up a bit and reminisce about our time in Malaysia. Check out our pictures here.
Aaron, our friend Rachel (from Eau Claire, Wisconsin) and I traveled to Malaysia and Borneo during our vacation. First, I must say, the country of Malaysia felt like the America of Asia. Its religious and cultural diversity was refreshing and fascinating. We spent our first and last few days of our trip in the giant city of Kuala Lumpur and, other than the blazing, tropical heat, perhaps what stuck out the most in this city were the beautiful people. You could walk down the same street for about a mile and pass a Hindu temple, Chinese Buddhist temple, a mosque, and a Christian church. But even more beautiful than this diversity was the peaceful nature of each group walking down the street together--hijabs with saris, malas with rosaries. Some walked hand in hand and others simply exchanged conversation.
From the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur, we headed to the island of Borneo. Our first destination was Mulu National Park. Our propeller plane dropped us off at a small airport in the middle of the jungle. Then, we had about a 1km walk to the park headquarters where we stayed for most of our time there. Probably my favorite part about staying there was the cacophony of insects lulling me to sleep every night while Aaron enjoyed collecting the enormous moths that congregated in our bathroom in the evening.
We saw the famous Deer Cave (the largest cave opening in the world and home to over 4 million bats) and the Clearwater Cave System-- both breathtaking! But the highlight of my time at Mulu was our 2 day trek and overnight in the jungle. The three of us had our own guide named Ishmael. He was a short, little man with a contagious smile. He grew up in the Penan tribe in the jungle, used a blow pipe for hunting, wore a loin cloth, and knew EVERY plant, animal, and organism in the jungle AND what it could be used for. He had us eat various plants good for specific ailments and even showed us the tree from which they collect the poison that is put on the top of their blowpipe darts. He still uses the plants for healing and is considered a medicine man among other tribes who are still living nomadically. He said he travels to these tribes on a volunteer basis to heal the sick and wounded. Sometimes it takes him over 2 weeks on foot just to reach where they live in the jungle. But according to Ishmael, when the Christian missionaries came from Australia they insisted the Penam live in more semi-permanent longhouse villages. Ishmael now lives in a Penam village near the park. And, when the park opened, he learned conversational English and began working as a guide.
After Mulu we headed to the other side of Borneo and did a homestay with a family along the Kinabatangan River. On both sides of the river are strips of lush jungle crowded with elephants, monkeys, birds, lizards and other jungle animals. For us, this was fantastic as we saw 5 different kinds of monkeys, pygmy elephants, owls, hornbills, lizards, and many many bats including the largest bat in the world. But the reality is that this entire area is cursed by palm oil plantations. The plantations have cut down the majority of jungle in this area forcing the wildlife including many endangered species into these narrow strips of land. Osman, whose family we stayed with, refused to be part of the palm oil and supports his 6 children by giving tours to tourists and letting them stay at his house.
He and his family live in a longhouse and the only way to get to their home is by boat. Upon arrival to his home, his 5 year old twin daughters greeted us with 6 kittens hanging off every part of their little bodies. After we were handed a kitten, we played, drank delicious tea prepared by his wife, Yanti, and went on our first rainy river cruise on which we saw an orangutan, proboscis monkeys, a flying fox bat, trees filled with long-tailed macaques, owls, and hornbills. It was unbelievable how much wildlife we saw from the river. Tree after tree filled with monkeys and birds. And although I was squealing with excitement, there was something just not right about being able to see so much wildlife in a 3 hour boat ride when a few days earlier we hiked for 2 days in the middle of the rainforest and mostly just saw tracks.
Osman treated us like family. Yanti fed us the best and freshest food we had in Malaysia (baby ferns are my new favorite vegetable) and Osman entertained us with his humor and enormous personality. Aaron and I stayed at Osman's for 2 nights with a couple from Holland and 2 gals from Chile. Although it rained almost the entire second day, we kept busy by teaching each other card and dice games, reading, sharing stories and playing with his adorable children. Then, we managed to find a rainless window to go for a cruise and after some patience and adventure, we found elephants!
Next, Aaron and I headed to Kota Kinabalu to go snorkeling in the pristine waters off the coast of Borneo. We ate fantastic grilled chicken, seafood, and drank fresh fruit juices in the night markets, swam in the warm water, and relaxed until it was back to Kuala Lumpur for the Chinese New Year. In KL, we saw the Batu Caves (a Hindu Temple that is in a cave outside of the city) and ate ourselves silly. Curry, curry, and more curry. Yum.
All three of us fell in love with the scenery, smells, and people of Malaysia. Almost everyone we spoke to knew English or was incredibly confident when they tried. We would recommend Malaysia to anyone who is a nature lover and has an adventurous soul.
And, it seems the more we see of the world, the more we realize there is to see. So, Aaron and have decided to leave Korea when our contracts are up in August. We will be traveling around Southeast Asia, Nepal, and India for about 3 months before heading home in November (don't worry mom, we'll be home for thanksgiving:).
Love to all of our friends and family!
 |
| The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. |
From the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur, we headed to the island of Borneo. Our first destination was Mulu National Park. Our propeller plane dropped us off at a small airport in the middle of the jungle. Then, we had about a 1km walk to the park headquarters where we stayed for most of our time there. Probably my favorite part about staying there was the cacophony of insects lulling me to sleep every night while Aaron enjoyed collecting the enormous moths that congregated in our bathroom in the evening.
 |
| The famous jellyfish cave formation in Lang's Cave. |
We saw the famous Deer Cave (the largest cave opening in the world and home to over 4 million bats) and the Clearwater Cave System-- both breathtaking! But the highlight of my time at Mulu was our 2 day trek and overnight in the jungle. The three of us had our own guide named Ishmael. He was a short, little man with a contagious smile. He grew up in the Penan tribe in the jungle, used a blow pipe for hunting, wore a loin cloth, and knew EVERY plant, animal, and organism in the jungle AND what it could be used for. He had us eat various plants good for specific ailments and even showed us the tree from which they collect the poison that is put on the top of their blowpipe darts. He still uses the plants for healing and is considered a medicine man among other tribes who are still living nomadically. He said he travels to these tribes on a volunteer basis to heal the sick and wounded. Sometimes it takes him over 2 weeks on foot just to reach where they live in the jungle. But according to Ishmael, when the Christian missionaries came from Australia they insisted the Penam live in more semi-permanent longhouse villages. Ishmael now lives in a Penam village near the park. And, when the park opened, he learned conversational English and began working as a guide.
 |
| A caterpillar in Mulu.
Our time on this 2 day trek with him was fantastic. We bushwhacked our way about 6km in to the jungle, spent the night in a longhouse, and then about 6km back (we took a tribal trail “short cut” on the way back that I’m thinking was really more of a long cut). The forest’s lush greenery and rich sounds and smells distracted us from the intense heat and humidity. The leeches also distracted us…a little too much. Aaron hadn’t told me that this rainforest was FAMOUS for its leeches. And no, they are not in the water, they’re on land! They attach themselves to every part of your body and begin sucking instantly. At first we were stopping almost every 2 or 3 minutes to rip a leech off of a foot or ankle, but soon we just decided to wait and let them suck until we came to a break point. Poor Rachel easily pulled off 80 during those 2 days. For some reason they really liked her blood.
|
 |
| A tiger leech feeling our warmth and reaching out to latch on to one of us. |
After Mulu we headed to the other side of Borneo and did a homestay with a family along the Kinabatangan River. On both sides of the river are strips of lush jungle crowded with elephants, monkeys, birds, lizards and other jungle animals. For us, this was fantastic as we saw 5 different kinds of monkeys, pygmy elephants, owls, hornbills, lizards, and many many bats including the largest bat in the world. But the reality is that this entire area is cursed by palm oil plantations. The plantations have cut down the majority of jungle in this area forcing the wildlife including many endangered species into these narrow strips of land. Osman, whose family we stayed with, refused to be part of the palm oil and supports his 6 children by giving tours to tourists and letting them stay at his house.
 |
| Osman with elephant poop, a cigarette, and a leech in hand. |
Osman treated us like family. Yanti fed us the best and freshest food we had in Malaysia (baby ferns are my new favorite vegetable) and Osman entertained us with his humor and enormous personality. Aaron and I stayed at Osman's for 2 nights with a couple from Holland and 2 gals from Chile. Although it rained almost the entire second day, we kept busy by teaching each other card and dice games, reading, sharing stories and playing with his adorable children. Then, we managed to find a rainless window to go for a cruise and after some patience and adventure, we found elephants!
 |
| These guys were all over Batu Caves. |
 |
| Posing with our banana leaves full of delicious curry. |
All three of us fell in love with the scenery, smells, and people of Malaysia. Almost everyone we spoke to knew English or was incredibly confident when they tried. We would recommend Malaysia to anyone who is a nature lover and has an adventurous soul.
And, it seems the more we see of the world, the more we realize there is to see. So, Aaron and have decided to leave Korea when our contracts are up in August. We will be traveling around Southeast Asia, Nepal, and India for about 3 months before heading home in November (don't worry mom, we'll be home for thanksgiving:).
Love to all of our friends and family!
No comments:
Post a Comment