Journey to Langholm

Langholm Library
Originally uploaded by Aishihik.

Heading north we came to the great divide where in and around the year 100 the Romans built a wall, now in ruins, from coast to coast dividing Scotland and England. Langholm is a pretty little town where 3 rivers meet. It is also the birthplace of Nick’s Grandma Nichol (Ritchie). This area is known as the Dumfires and Galloway. The highlight of our evening was going to the village library. Volunteers have kept and restored books from the turn of the century. Our most interesting find was a book on Borneo from 1917 and many books about northern Canada written by early explorers.

Yorkshire and North

Dick's Pen and Ink
Originally uploaded by Aishihik.

Now that we are seasoned drivers we decided to rent a car and head to North Yorkshire to visit Caroline’s brother Dave, his wife Jan and their father Richard (Dick). In 1969 Dave visited the Lewis families in Canada and opened the door to much closer ties between us. Over the few days that we had with them we had so much fun! Once again we had great food, drink and conversation. It was an honour and a pleasure to be able to visit Dick. Although he did not remember me from a visit 13 years ago, he did remember my mom. It is with great fondness that I will remember these blood ties……..

Ipswich and North

Canola
Originally uploaded by Aishihik.

After a period of corresponding by email Nick and I were invited to stay with Caroline and Steve who live just outside of Ipswitch. After a very long flight from Malaysia via Singapore we arrived in London where Steve met us at the airport. They have a lovely home in the country and we even had our very own studio suite. We had a marvelous visit with Caroline, Steve, and two of their daughters Nancy and Alice. Unfortunately we did not have the opportunity to meet Victoria and Laura this time around. We will always remember the lively discussions around the kitchen table and walking through the countryside.

Danum Valley Conservation Area

Danum Jungle
Originally uploaded by Aishihik.

The Danum Valley contains the very last lowland dipertocarp rainforest in Sabah Borneo and it is only 438 square kilometers. Nick and I made arrangements to go to the research field studies centre where researchers, scientists and naturalists are working and have worked for many years. Danum Valley is surrounded by intense logging and much of the lower reaches have been replanted with palm oil trees. Monoculture practices – Green Gold as it is known by the locals……On a positive note the conservation area supports a wealth of wildlife including rhinoceros, bearded pigs, elephants, proboscis monkeys, orang-utans, reptiles, fish, snakes and huge diversity of insects.

Diving trip to Palau Lankayan

Lankayan Shark
Originally uploaded by Aishihik.

Lankayan is 1.5 hrs. North of Sandakan in the Sulu Sea and is part of the Sugud Islands Marine Conservation area. This region has been protected since 2001. The dive resort is situated on a magnificent island with pure white sand beaches. Nick managed four dives in two days. The island is surrounded by mostly hard corals and a stunning array of fish including sweet lips, lion fish, travallies, frog fish and the black fin shark to mention a few.

Badminton in Sandakan – Canada vs. Malaysia!

Malaysian Badminton
Originally uploaded by Aishihik.

We were in a cab on our way to the orang-utan rehabilitation centre when nick happened to notice our cab driver had shuttle cocks printed all over his tee shirt. After a great chat with Bacho he spontaneously invited us to join him to play badminton later that day at the local club. Without much thought we excitedly said YES and arranged to be picked up. It was so much fun but incredibly HOTTTT and stuffy – Canada lost by one point – I have to say some of their players were awesome!!!!! The other curious thing there was no female players in their club. Ummmmmmmmm

Sabah Malaysia City Impressions

Students
Originally uploaded by Aishihik.

We departed Limbang and traveled by boat to Pulau Labuan to rest after our trek through Mulu National Park. Labuan is a duty free port and many Sabahians, Bruneians, expats and travelers enjoy the greatly reduced alcohol prices! Once again we hopped on a boat and headed to Kota Kinabalu to organize the rest of our t rip in Sabah. We decided to arrange a dive trip and excursion into the jungle in the Danum Valley Conservation area via Lahad Datu. We really enjoyed our stay in Sandakan and especially the dim sum breakfasts!! Enjoy the collage of photos of these various communities and the colorful local people……..

The Longhouse Visit

The Longhouse Visit
Originally uploaded by Aishihik.

Nick and I stayed with Payong and his wife Helen in the longhouse in their home. The building is built on stilts off of the ground and all of the families have independent space all under one roof. In front is a very long veranda that is public space for people to visit and children to play. Helen and Kathy prepared a delicious supper and afterwards we all cheered to a great trip with a glass of home made rice wine. Medalam is on the confluence of the Terikon and the Limbang rivers. On our final day we boated downriver to the town of Limbang and had a scrumptious frog leg dinner at Maggie’s Café!

The Head Hunters Trail

The Head Hunters Trail
Originally uploaded by Aishihik.

Our 4th day started with a 12 k hike in the jungle along the head hunters trail. Apparently this route was used by warriors to reach other villages along to claim the heads of their warriors. The trail ends at the Terikan river where we were met by our boatman Payong. The river trip was absolutely fantastic! By late afternoon we reached the longhouse village of Sungai Medalam for the night.

The Pinnacles

The Pinnacles
Originally uploaded by Aishihik.

After visiting the caves we headed up the Melinau river to our landing at Kuala Birar. From here we hiked in the intense tropical heat and humidity 8.8 k to camp 5 where we staged ourselves to climb Mount Api to the PINNACLES. The pinnacles rise up over 50 meters and look like giant shards of glass! The climb, even though it was only 2.5 k was intensely physically demanding. The sweat never stopped pouring off our bodies the entire time. Once we scaled to the top though the site was stunning! The trek down was equally difficult and after 8 and ½ hours we made it back to camp 5 to relax in the gentle river rapids. We were completely and totally exhausted – BUT WOW – WHAT A GREAT DAY!

Mulu National Park

Mulu National Park
Originally uploaded by Aishihik.

Mulu National Park is Sarawak’s premier park and is a UNESCO world heritage site. We arrived by plane from Miri and were met by Kathy and Lau who took us immediately to the Deer and Lang’s caves. Deer Cave has the largest case passage in the world and is home to over 4 million bats. Every evening between 4:30 and 6:00 the bats depart the cave spiraling snakelike up into the evening sky. Awesome Sight!!! Early the next morning we headed up river to visit Penan village and two more caves called Clearwater and the Wind.

Seridan Mulu Tour Company/Miri Sarawak

Seridan Mulu Tour Company
Originally uploaded by Aishihik.

In order to explore Mulu National Park we needed to hire a guide. We chose to go with Seridan Mulu Tour and Travel Company situated in Miri. We met James (owner) and after a brief conversation decided on a 5 day guided trip that included visiting caves in the area, climbing mount Api to view the pinnacles, trekking the head hunters trail and travel by long boat on the jungle rivers.

James and his staff not only organized the most amazing jungle adventure; Nick and I were treated exceptionally well. We were accompanied by the head guide Kathy and Lau a junior guide. If anyone is looking for a tour operator this is an outstanding company and we highly recommend them!

Bako National Park

Bako National Park
Originally uploaded by Aishihik.

We boated to Bako and stayed several days to explore Malaysia’s oldest national park. Hiking in the hot sun was a little challenging but we were rewarded either by a beach on the ocean or a waterfall pool in the jungle.

Seeing the rare and endangered proboscis monkey, which is endemic to Borneo, was truly amazing. Sadly there are estimated to be only 1000 left in all of Borneo. Other wildlife that we saw included a pit viper (green like the leaves of a tree), the bearded pig (kinda had wirey hair like our dog Maggie), a large monitor lizard, and the mischieveous long tailed macaques and langurs. Some of these fellas are rather aggressive especially if you have a bag in your hand or they out number you. They had my heart racing a few times when they came at us with their teeth showing!!!!

Kuching Sarawak, Malaysia

Kuching Sarawak, Malaysia
Originally uploaded by Aishihik.

Sarawak is rich in ethnic diversity including Chinese, Malay, Indian and over 25 different indigenous groups. Kuching has excellent museums that describe its natural history, the people, textiles and religions. The city is situated on the Sarawak River where the waterfront is the focal point for transportation, walking, vendors and the famous fish market….