We've Come a Long, Long Way Together, Through the Hard Times and the Good

I was hoping to be able to write an exciting story in my blog today about something fun which I did, but a bit like yesterday, events appear to have conspired against me on my final day in Kuching.

Woke up early to grab breakfast this morning with the intention of heading out to Kubah National Park which is around 30 minutes away from Kuching. It's not quite as prestigious as Bako which I visited on Sunday, but I'd read there were some really good trails including one which leads up to the top of the mountain the park sits on, and another which passes by four or five waterfalls.

As I have begun to learn here in Malaysia, the bus system isn't always the most intuitive, so I prepared myself about 10am for the walk to the bus stop. The only bus before that was at 8am which I never would have made as I was still snuggled up in bed after another late night. The only one after that was at 2pm and the last one back from Kubah aren't the best either as they're at 3:30pm. Departing at 11am, didn't mean it would be full day's trekking but one of the people where I'm staying in said that I would easily have enough time to complete one, if not both of the trails in that time.

I got to the bus station at about 10:30am giving myself plenty of time to catch the K21 to Kubah. I mentioned before that when I got here we were given a piece of paper with the bus timetables and a map of Kuching on it, but one thing I forgot to mention was that in big letters at the top it says - 'THIS BUS TIMETABLE IS FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES ONLY - BUSES ARE NOT RELIABLE AND OFTEN LATE'.

Time ticked on towards 11am as I strolled through the station to see if my bus was here yet. The station in Kuching is basically a lay-by on the road, and even though there is often room to pull forward and let their colleagues out of the way of traffic, the drivers for some reason love to only move and fill up the space when they're about to set off. No sign of the bus ten minutes later, and I started to get a little concerned. I went to ask at the ticket office and they said that it should have been there already.
I waited until about 11.30am, by which point I'd been stood there an hour, and it appeared that a couple of the other people waiting at at the same place as me got into a taxi instead. I didn't fancy the expense so decided to have a bit of a lazy day today and try to prepare myself for the arduous task of travelling through Indonesia in the week or so.

I feel like I have constantly been on the go since coming to Kuching, I have really enjoyed myself, and it has been a fantastic experience here in Borneo, but I can't help but feel like I have somewhat been neglecting my body. A combination of late nights, early mornings and searing heat throughout the day seem to be taking it out of me - and whilst I don't expect that to change any considering I'm going to be slightly closer to the equator, the pace at which my journey might well slow down when I get to the picturesque island of Bali.

One thing a much quieter day does do is allow me to put into perspective what an immensely enjoyable part of the world this is. I felt like I've had some really good experiences in both Kota Kinabalu, and particularly here in Kuching where I think part of my enjoyment factor has come from how easily accessible things have been.
I always thought of Borneo as uninhabited jungles, but the two areas I have been to have certainly been very well developed; saying that, neither has lost their touch with nature. It's really funny because sometimes I get really skittish walking down the street when I hear a strange noise or when I see a creature I don't think I have encountered before. Yesterday I'm pretty sure I saw a small monitor lizard nipping into an open drain, and I came across a bug on the path yesterday that was the size of a large pebble which had wings and what looked to be a really hard shell. I'm so fascinated by everything.

When I first looked at coming to Borneo, one thing I did notice, and add to my list of places to go were the national parks for any one of the many animal encounters there were, but having not done much research I didn't feel like these would be things that I would actually end up doing. It was amazing that in the first two days I was able to get to go and see some orang-utans and then follow that up with a few varieties of monkeys. I think these are experiences will stay with me long after some of the memories of other things I've done here have faded. It's been a good contrast to the concrete cities I am likely to experience in the Hong Kong and Japan, and I even though I had some initial scepticism as to whether I would be entertained enough here, I think my decision has been justified.

One thing I also must celebrate my enjoyment of is the guest-house where I have been staying. As I mentioned in a previous post, I thought I'd push the boundaries of my comfort a little bit by not staying in a hotel and I think I have been very fortunate to stay here. Once you get used to the fact that you don't have your own bathroom, and that it's a pain in the backside to get up and walk down the creaky corridor when you need the toilet in the middle of the night, it's fine.

The one particular feature of the Marco Polo where I have been staying which deserves a mention is the service and the friendly welcome of the two people who are in charge. I still haven't caught their names (but will before I leave) and from the moment I walked in they have made me feel welcome. Obviously owning a guest-house rather than say being employed in a hotel, you're more invested in the care and service element of the business and here it has been top-notch.

Willingness to offer help to their guests, provide useful local information as well as generally just be pleasant and take an interest in the people staying here is something this couple have got 100% correct in my eyes. The place is well run, has some good facilities and excellent rooms. The way in which the owners treat their guests with respect, and take an interest in their travels is fantastic. The guy who sat me down for half an hour when I arrived at first is always asking what we're up to or is suggesting ideas for restaurants or places to visit. The personal touch is very much in effect here, and if I were to come back to this part of the world then I would definitely consider staying here first before anywhere else. I cannot recommend it highly enough and I think it deserves praise for the feelings of enjoyment I have had since arriving.

Whilst the days have been full, I feel like my time here has zipped by, and having extended my stay by three days I feel I have been able to gain the most out of the experience. Tomorrow I will be leaving early in the morning to head to Indonesia, and the beginning of another adventure. I will look back on my time in Borneo fondly and will definitely recommend this as a place to visit to anyone feeling adventurous enough.





Praise You (One of the best music videos ever!)
Fatboy Slim (1998)