Sabah, Borneo

Some places are best described with pictures, rather than words, and even then it's not quite adequate in capturing the blissfulness of lying on a pristine white beach with turquoise tropical waters lapping at your feet. A welcome and much needed break from the dazzling madness of big cities:

This is my third time on Malaysia's relatively unspoiled coasts - the first being on the amazing Perhentian Islands, which I just can't rave about enough, and the second in Sarawak,during my first visit to Borneo. The fact that I came back should say enough really...

We stayed on the idyllic Gaya Island for a few days where I was lucky enough to spot about 5 black-tipped reef sharks whilst snorkelling, and also unbelieveably relieved to get back into some scuba gear and explore the depths. The diving wasn't as impressive as what I'd found in Perhentian and Indonesia but still well worthwhile. At one point, we found two horseshoe crabs stuck in a net on the seabed which our diving instructor freed - giving us the chance to take a close look at the alien-like species which is effectively a living fossil dating back over 450 million years.

The last couple of nights of our stay were spent at the Shangri-La Resort in Rasa Ria where they are wrapping (today is the last day) up their orangutan rehabilitation programme. We spent the morning watching two two-year old orangutans clambering over each other and their keepers - followed by a canopy walk where we introduced to the pit viper. Our guide gleefully told us that it was called the 100 step snake (because that's as far as you'll get once it's bitten you) whilst poking it with a stick:

Another of the highlights of the trip was a night tour of the mangrove forests that line the rivers around Rasa Ria. At night, the shadows along the river banks come to life with the twinkling glow of hundreds of miniscule fireflies. The scene looks like it's been lifted straight out of a Disney movie - our guide held a small blue-ish light on our boat which mimics the light given off by female fireflies, making the tiny twinkling bulbs lift out of the shadows and float towards the boat

Our last day in the sun was spent sipping coconuts whilst topping up our tans on the beach and hiring out a small catamaran, skippered by Stanley, an ex-mechanic.

Our return trip was broken up by a one day layover in Hong Kong - the mist had finally cleared and we were finally able to enjoy the unbroken views of the amazing skyline:

Sleeping:
Gaya Island Resort - absolute relaxing bliss. They organised snorkelling and scuba diving trips for me and both were great. Evenings are a little quiet as you are stuck on the island so definitely a place for relaxation!

Shangri La Rasa Ria - set on the most amazing stretch of beach and within close proximity to the rivers and mangrove forests - we chose it for the orangutan rehabilitation program which is now closed. 

Sarawak, Borneo

Kuching, aka the cat city, is the capital of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo; it lives up to its name by erecting the kitschest feline statues ever to be sculpted on every corner and roundabout. I'm not a huge cat fan at the best of times by when they're over 1 metre tall and surrounded by snap happy tourists they're even bloody worse. Ironically enough cats are about the only animals that I didn't see in and around Kuching. Most of our time here was spent getting in touch with nature. We visited the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre where orangutans are cared for before being released into the wild. Feeding time is at 9am and there is nothing quite like the experience of waiting in anticipation for these fuzzy ginger primates to swing through swaying trees and cartwheel along ropes to a natural soundtrack of birds and crickets. Orangutan is derived from the Malay/Indonesian 'Orang Hutan' which means 'people of the forest' - Apparently they are amongst the most intelligent apes and it's not difficult to see their human-like attributes as they walk around upright to munch on their bananas.

The rest of the week was spent at Bako National Park where we got to trek along some beautiful trails and see plenty more wildlife. The real stars of the show here are the less than attractive proboscis monkeys with their elongated rubbery noses but apart from this we were lucky enough to see eagles, flying lemurs, and bearded pigs as well as plenty of creepy crawlies including fireflies, poisonous tarantulas and the even more poisonous green viper:

The trek to Pandan Kecil and Besar Beaches is a gorgeous wander through the tangled Bornean rainforest that culminates in a breathtaking cliffside view. Despite the heat, the one and a half hour trundle through twisted roots, hanging vines and rustling trees is really enjoyable and gives you the feeling that you're lost in a tropical fairy tale forest. The beach itself doesn't disappoint either with scuttling crabs decorating the shoreline and beautiful sunlit caves piercing the wave sculpted cliffsides.

Our time in Malaysia ended on a loud and high note at the Rainforest World Music Festival which can't really be summed up too easily! Think of booty shaking Africans, spear wielding Australians, bagpipe playing Iranians, accordion squeezing Colombians, ribbon twirling Koreans, Norwegians dressed like Hobbits, shrieking tattooed Borneans, violin fiddling Irishmen; all against the backdrop of traditional native houses and towering backlit trees and you'll get a general sense of the awesome 3 days we spent enjoying culture, music and dancing! And all of it kicked off by this old chap with a flute up his nose. (I really can't imagine why this is a dying art. I may take it up myself...)