Hello, hello from Borneo.

Well it wasn't on our intial itinery but then we don't seem to be following that any more, we've become adventerous and go with the wind, hop on buses at the blink of an eye and head off to foreign places. Our first port of call after saying a sad farewell to our friends in Cairns was Singapore. There we embraced the colour, the smells and the temples of Little India, China Town and the more westernised parts of Clarke Quay and city central. Singapore is all about eating and shopping, shopping we refrained from but eating we did, eating in tiny little cafes with the locals, eating curries with our fingers (sorry nan, but when in Rome as the saying goes) and sipping chai's from plastic bags (great fun). We also donneed our nice gear (well the nicest things we had- we left our good stuff back in Oz) and headed for a Singapore Sling in Raffles as we promised you Uncle Don. We could become accustomed to Singapore Slings- Cherry Brandy, Gin, Pineapple juice and Angustos Bitters, very refreshing-mmmmm. We spent a few days exploring the many temples, Hindu, Muslim (where some little monkey -well a human not a monkey, we didn't see any over there, ran off with my new flipflops-we had to leave them outside the temple as we entered and when we came back they were gone- my only pair of shoes!), Buddhist and ornate chinese temples- the styles varied significantly yet they seemed to live in relative harmony next door to one another. We also stumbled across beautiful Chinese garden which were home to hundreds of tortoises (or terapins-who actually knows the difference?) and padagogadas(they might not actually be called that so don't quote us on it), chinese houses.

From hot and sticky Singapore we bused it up to the massive down pour that graced Kuala Lumpa, when locals run for cover you really should too. There we explored the hidden markets and visited the Batu caves which are home to a Hindu temple, giant Buddha and cheeky monkeys. We climbed the 272 stairs to the cave opening which inside contained hindu shrines. Every hindu is meant to make a pilgrimage there at least once in their lifetime, a girl of two years old was doing hers early as her dad helped her climb the giant steps. Whilst in Kuala Lumpa we also visted the Petronas twin towers where you could walk across the skybridge over looking Kuala Lumpa. (ompa Lumpa, stick it up ya jumpa!)

Then to Borneo, A few nights in Kuching where we had a look around, saw a Malay carnival, full of vibrant colours and dancing dragons (well humans in amazing dragon costumes). We also visited a pitcher plant garden, the plants are goblet shaped, very unusual, some even had lids, it was quite interesting, we also visited Sarawak musuem and the highlight of our Kuching trip was seeing the Oronarongs (as Grandad calls them) or Orangutangs to you and I. It was fantasti, seeing them in their natural environment, a mum with her baby and a giant male weighing 80kg, he wasn't even the largest, apparently the dominant male wieghs in at a mighty 100kg (that's double our size!). 

From there we headed to a long house where we spent a day and night with the Iban tribe. In days gone by the Iban's were headhunters but thankfully now a days all that remains of their days as huntsmen are skulls hanging in the communal hallway. To briefly explain a longhouse is a large, long building on stilts there about 20 families (around 200 people-all extended failies of one tribe) live, there is a communal hallway at the front of the longhouse and seperate family units coming off the back of the hallway. We spent the day watching the tribe weave baskets, making fishing traps and tie dying clothes. In the afternoon we swam and washed in the river surrounded by jungle and people busy with their daily activities, washing clothes and one lady pulling bamboo down the river. Everyone seems to work really hard, there's a real community feel with everyone caring for one another, in the evenings the elders tell stories, they are so energetic and active, still working in the field well into their 70's, they are full of life, they're inspirational. Although we couldn't speak their language and they couldn't speak ours we interacted with smiles, nods and the odd stickman drawing or two. We we lucky enough to live and eat like them for an evening, sampling local delicacies such as forest ferns, fresh fish and chicken cooked in bamboo-all of which were quite tasty.

Since then it has been bus journey after bus journey, we spent a day at Batu Niah caves trying to negotiate the construction  site and non-existent board walks to the caves, but had to give up in the end as it meant sliding our way along a concrete plank 10 feet in the air (even tight rope walkers would have their work cut out). So 15 bus rides later, 5 boats of different descriptions and we find ourselves in Seporna. That was after a brief stop in Brunei where some locals showed us and the Swizz guy, who had become our travelling companion over the last few days, the Sultans palace (the largest in the world), large ornate temples with gold plated roofs (they looked amazing all lit up at night) and the local night market. Although Brunei is only a small country it has alot to offer and is an extremely wealthy country.

We are now in Semporna after three amazing days, exhausted though we are they have been spectacular. We are now proud to say that we have passed our Open Water Diving course and are now qualified divers. We were exposed to an incredaible underwater world which you forget exists. We saw deadly barracudas, a giant green sea turtle, a black frog fish (which our diving instructor was spell bound by, seemingly they are really rare), angel fish, clown fish (think finding Nemo) and even a trumpet fish which is a member of the seahorse family.

Tomorrow it's an early start again as we head to Sarawak for a few days  jungle trekking, sleeping under mozzie nets under the stars and going up the river in little wooden boats, keeping our eyes peeled for crocs, Prosbic monkeys and an array of other wildlife. From there it's to Thailand where we are meeting up with a very special lady (not the Queen, but our mummy) and catching up with a friend from our travels in Africa.

 So until then when mum can give us a hand with the journal entries we'll say our goodbyes or Selemat pagi (good morning as it may be your end).xxx

Quick special mentions:

Big Jake- Happy Birthday MR. 21! That means you have to act grown up, as hard as it maybe, at least you've got us two to look to for inspiration. Have a great day and we'll celebrate with you soon.x

Erico- happy days.  we miss you our little Ozzy travel companion. Have a great day and we'll catch up wioth you somewhere in Asia fingers crossed.x

Kirstus- Happy birthday Grandma. Time to celebrate again although i'm sure you've been celebrating since Shell's birthday (haha). Have fun.x

And get well soon Granny and Nan. Hope the operation goes well Granny, we're thinking of you and sending you our love and positive thoughts, keep active and you'll be running about in no time.

Nany Doth- can't believe you didn't want mum to tell us, that's really naughty. Hope you're getting better. Take care of yourself. Love and hugs.

And i know we've said it briefly already but well done Nazler and Ed for passing your driving test we're so proud. Andy whens yours?.x