Hi all,
Last night after I posted, we listened to the footy quarter of the footy and then had to switch off for our tour meeting. Judging by the result, it’s a good thing we did!!
Our tour guide’s name is Ned. He’s really friendly but at times has trouble finding the right words in English. Having said that, his English is much much better than our Malaysian!!
Our group all seem lovely. Most people seem to be travelling as parents with children in their 20s just like us. There’s a family of two parents and two children from the UK, a family of two parents and one child from Australia, a couple of older and younger solo travellers and then us.
We headed out for dinner and got to know some of our tour mates. We each had a reasonable sized meals with rice and a drink, and spent about $6-7 Australian each. Awesome!
I had a fairly good night of sleep until the call to prayer woke me at 5.20am, even with earplugs in as I anticipated it haha. Never mind!! Breakfast was good and then mum and I went to the Sunday market in Gaya Street (Chinatown). We saw everything from clothes to kittens, from pet mice to bags made out of plants.
At 9.30 our group set off to our home stay. We stopped again at the Signal Hill Observatory we went to yesterday, then quickly at a petrol station (where we enjoyed a delicious lychee icy pole) and then we were on our way. The scenery today was magnificent. Despite all we hear about deforestation, Ned tells us 60% of Sabah is still rainforest. I’m not sure if this figure is good, and I want to read up more and form my own opinions once home. But today we were treated to beautiful views of luscious rainforest with the imposing Mt Kinabalu lurking in the background. It looks very high - my nerves for Tuesday and Wednesday are building!!!
After an hour or so, we had some bad luck. The road became very rocky and we got a flat tyre. That’s an understatement. It was so flat, I would go so far as saying it was the flattest tyre I’ve ever seen. It got even more intense when other cars came and needed to pass the bus on the very narrow road. As our driver moved, the rim popped out.
The other mini bus for our group continued on and came back to get us. So there we were, nine Australians and an American, stranded in the middle of the Bornean jungle with no guide. We chatted away and got to know each other better. You’ve just got to roll with it!!
Then we arrived at the Tanak Nabalu Homestay. Mum and I are staying in a two storey house with Stacey and Rochene, also from Melbourne. The lady who owns the house is lovely but doesn’t speak any English. Her name is Juhiliah. I love how even though we don’t speak the same language, you can tell she is a friendly and warm person.
Juhiliah made us a delicious lunch with coconut water and then we headed off on a walk with Ned.
Along the two hour journey, he pointed out lots of different plants. We saw tapioca, and Ned told us during World War II the Japanese took all the rice and other useful foods from the local people, thinking they were leaving them hungry. However, they didn’t know about tapioca, and the locals used this to their advantage. They survived on tapioca and even supplied the POWs some as well to keep them alive.
We also saw pineapple growing, and Ned told us it’s planted on a slope so it becomes sweet and not sour. I tried some, and those who know me well know this is a big deal for me. I hate pineapple (and don’t even start me about pineapple on pizza)!! But I actually liked it!
We also saw rubber trees and the local guide tapped the rubber tree so we could see how the locals harvest the liquid from within that makes rubber. Other sightings included mangosteens, a hairy fungus on leaves and a giant millipede.
We relaxed on the deck outside for a while and then headed to dinner. All the local families cooked us delicious food, and then we enjoyed a cultural show of gongs and dancing. We then had a turn. As much as I usually hate that kind of thing, I’ll admit I had fun!! We all had a good laugh at ourselves.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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