Orangutans

My main reason for coming to Borneo was this amazing ape and I was not let down. It was one of the best experiences of my life. It is crazy how people like these guys are. Especially the babies. Everything about them is human like except for all the hair of course. Before I made it to the Rehab Center I met a guy who had the experience that I wanted. He was on a hike by himself and an Orangutan actually came up and touched him on the head. This is what I was going for as well.

The rehab center is a huge tourist attraction, so there was a ton of people there. It was a bit a bummer having to deal with all these people, but they were there for same reason as I was. It did´t seem that way though. Many of the people were just running around and talking not paying any attention to the apes. That was bit annoying. The way the center works is that there are two feedings per day. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. Everyone gathers on a deck a few meters away from the feeding platform. It is mash of people competing for the ultimate picture. This is when you see them eating and fighting off all the other smaller monkeys, but I was not going to get my one on one interaction in the middle of all this. I was lucky to have met my friend before because he told me about the extra hike. There is a trail that goes beyond the feeding platform, but it looks to be blocked off. You have to ask for an extra ticket when checking in to get a the hiking pass (at no extra charge). They make it difficult to because they don´t want all the people from the platform going back into the jungle...it is just too many people. You have to wait around for all the people to leave the feeding platform then sneak off on the trail that appears to be blocked off. They have a barrier set up with workers hanging around to make it look like you are not supposed to go beyond that point, but if you do go they don´t say anything.

I did this the first morning I was there and saw nothing except for the 4 leeches that were crawling on my leg and few small macaques. I was a bit disappointed about that, but I thought maybe my expectations were too high. I went back for the afternoon feeding and there were less people at the feeding which was nice. I did the same thing...hanging around till most people had left then walked further down the pathway. This time it was a different story. As soon as I turned the corner there was a young adult orang swinging on a rope only a few meters away. I couldn´t believe it. I was so close to him. I just sat down right there in the pathway and watched him show off for a bit. He was swinging around by his arm then his leg just trying to impress me, it was great. Then he swung off of the rope and landed in a tree right in front of me. He climbed right down the tree and walked right up to me. He sat at on the balcony rail just two feet away. It was awesome. I was so close to him I actually reached out and touched him. It didn´t last long because one of the staff came up and walked him back into the jungle, but it was a highlight of my life. To make things even better as soon as the young guy was escorted off a younger orang came up just down the way and started showing off as well. This one was a baby it probably weighed around 8-10 lbs. She played around the walkway in the trees and on the rail for a good 30 min. I just sat and watched her play around like a little kid. I could not have asked for a better experience with the orangs. It truly was a once in a lifetime experience. Except for the fact that I plan on returning there someday :0)

Indonesia

I wasn´t planning on going down to Indo but I met many people who said they loved it. So again I figured I should check it out. I also met some friends who said that were heading that direction around the same time as me which worked out great. I did plan on making it out to the islands of Komodo, but unfortunately that didn´t work out. I still had a great time and really enjoyed the country.

I flew into Bali and headed into the town of Ubud. This was a small town that was home to a culture of Art. Everyone who grew up there was taught art though out their childhood. I am not a huge art guy but it was still neat walking around town and checking out all the painting and crafts. One guy I met in Semporna ended up coming a meeting me there in Ubud and we traveled together for the next few weeks. We rented bicycles and cruised around Ubud through rice paddies and to temples. This was great time except for getting lost and nearly getting run over a couple of times. It was definitely a great way to see the town and get some exercise. I try to get exercise when ever I can out here traveling. From Ubud we headed to the island of Gilli. This island was great. It is a tiny spec off the coast of Lombok between Lombok and Bali. I ran around the entire island in 40 minutes just to give you an idea of the size...it was tiny. We met up with two other people that I had met on my jungle tour. We did have plans to head out to Komodo to see the dragons and do some diving, but it ended up being much more expensive than I thought. Plus it was going to take up much more time. We ended up spending a week or so on Gilli then a few days on Lombok. Lombok was nice as well. It was a much bigger island and had some beautiful volcanoes and mountain scenery. Again I would have love to hike the volcano, but it was quite expensive. We did a driving tour around the island and through the volcano and that was a great trip so missing out on the volcano trek was ok. From here we all split our ways and I headed back Thailand for my last 2 weeks in Asia. I have been here for so long...it was weird to think that I would be leaving so soon.

Malaysain Borneo

My time in Malaysia was great. Most of it was spent in Sabah, Borneo. I spent 2 days in Kuala Lumpur and that was as much as I needed. I had come to Malaysia to get out of the city and do some diving and play with Orangutans. For as long as I can remember I have loved monkeys and the Orangutan is the probably one of the most amazing.

As soon as I arrived to Borneo I immediately fell in love with it. The people there were some of the nicest I have ever met locals and travelers. I was trying to figure out the cheapest way to get to my destination from the airport and the first person I asked offered to give me a ride into town. That was the kind of hospitality that I experienced all over Borneo. I had people offering to give me rides across town to the correct bus stations and all kinds of friendly gestures. When I would go on jogs through town every car seemed to shoot me a thumbs up with a huge smile, and many of them actually stopped to see if I needed a ride. It seemed like every other traveler I met was equally friendly. I met many people whom I know I will keep in touch meet up with again in the future. Borneo truly is one of my favorite places for these reasons alone.

Besides being home to some of the friendliest people anywhere, Borneo is just wild. I was walking down the street and on the side of the road was a massive monitor lizard just lounging about. I had never seen one in the wild and it was exciting for me. I would soon be bored by these guys because they were everywhere. As you all know I love animals. I did a jungle trek into the Kinabatagan River area and was basically in heaven. In just 3 days we saw all kinds of wildlife. Growing up I never thought that I would have the chance to see Proboscis monkeys in the wild, but I was wrong. Seeing the specials on Discovery channel it seems like they are so far away and you have to be some scientist the find them. I couldn't believe that we were there in this little canoe in the middle of the river watching these amazing animals leap from tree to tree with their gigantic noses flopping about. I felt like I was on the discovery channel. Exotic looking tree frogs, scary looking insects, blood sucking leeches, and exotic horn bills are a few of the others that we saw. I could have easily spent a month in the jungle but it was time to move on to the sea.

Semporna is where the great diving is. It is on the NE part of Borneo. I really didn't do much research before heading out there. I met a girl in Nepal who said that the diving was some of the best in the world, so I figured I should go. I was just planning on chilling out at the beach and do some world class diving. I was able to accomplish half of that (luckily the important half). The actual diving is off an island called Sipadan. It is about an hour boat ride from the mainland. The port town of Semporna is where all the dive centers are, and Semporna had nothing. It was really just a dirty old port town that smelled of dead fish and poo. Needless to say, I didn't do much chillaxing on the beach. That was no big deal though. The diving was excellent. Beautiful clear water and coral. Massive schools of fish and countless turtles. It was full of life. My main goal was to see the amazing whale shark. I can die happy once I have swam with a whale shark. My first day of diving was an exciting let down if you will. We did 3 dives the first day. My boat was divided up into two groups of five. Two out of the three dives the group that I was not in saw a whale shark. We were literally meters away from the giant fish. One person actually had a picture of the whale shark with my group in the back ground...we were just facing the wrong way. It was exciting that I was so close to one, but I really want to swim with one. The last two days I did some free diving and saw lots of other fish but now whale shark.

From Semporna I headed in to KK (Kota Kinabalu) the main city in Borneo. I spent a few days at the beach there where I saw the most amazing sunset of my life. I was nice there but a little to busy for me. I really just went there because I had a flight to Bali out of there. Borneo has definitely been one of my favorite places...it has everything that I love. I will make it back there someday for sure.

Apnea Dive

Apnea Dive: http://www.apnea-total.com/free/


While I was hanging out there in Ko Tao I finally got myself over to Apnea Dive. I have been to Ko Tao so many times and been wanting to do it, but I had just been too damn lazy. I am so glad that I finally got over there because it was amazing. The instructors there were great. They were extremely experienced and their teaching style was impeccable. They really just filled you with confidence which enabled me to push myself.

I took the beginners course and the advanced course directly after that. I learned how to free dive properly and more importantly safely. I also learned how much I love it. I have a feeling it is going to be my newest obsession...besides traveling of course. Both courses together took only 5 days, but it was an amazing 5 days. After the 5 days I was going down to 30 meters (90ft). It was such an amazing feeling. To be that deep with just your mask and the air in your lungs. I wish that I had taken the class several months ago so I would have had time to take the master course (6 weeks). I will definitely make it back sometime hopefully in the near future to take it. I really loved the whole set up there at Apnea Total. I could totally see myself opening up a place like that in Central America. I will be spending my last week or two in Thailand and I am definitely going to go back and do a couple more dives before I head to Latin America. It is even better that they are right next to Seashell so I still don't have to go very from my home there in Thailand :o)

Back to Thailand

By the time we finished our trek it had been a month in Nepal. It was probably our busiest month, and also maybe the most fun. It is hard to compare because Nepal was so different from anywhere else. We were ready to head back to Thailand and figure out the next adventure.
Of course as soon as we got back to Thailand we headed right down to Ko Tao. Ko Tao is home away from home. I am so far from my family it helps me to come here and spend some time. I love showing up there and everyone is just waiting for us to say hello give us big hugs and to ask about our travels. I feel so lucky to have such good friends here in Thailand. After a couple of days chillin out at Seashell I finally made myself take the free diving class that I wanted to take. I really wish that I had taken it sooner, because it was amazing. It was better than I expected. The people that run it are great people and even better teachers. I did this course because I decided to head to Borneo and do some diving. I have been way to lazy on my diving here in Asia and I making up for it now. But before I could make it down to Borneo I had two amazing experiences once again here in Thailand.

First was another wedding. The owner of Seashell's sister'n law was getting married. The groom was our other friends uncle. So they invited us to come along. Now this was basically the opposite of the first wedding we went to in Nahkon Si Thammarat. This was in BKK. There were over 1000 in attendance. They had a massive hotel booked out. The commentator for the wedding was a TV star here in Thailand. It was great fun. The experience just like our first was priceless. It is great because our friends treat us as if we are thai, and as if we are family. Not many people get to experience this side of Thailand.

The evening after the wedding I had to hop on a Train to Pathuloong. A small city in the south of Thailand. When I was on Ko Tao Pleaw told me that she had just bought a new house. She was so excited about it. She then asked me if I wanted to come stay at her new house for a couple of days. I felt so honored she wanted me to come stay with her and her family. That's why I was on my to Pathloong. I spent the night on the train and woke up just in time to get off at my stop. I love the bus and train rides because you are never 100% that you are on the right train, or which is the right stop. Pleaw picked me up at the train station and we headed to her house. It was a great house just built. It was really long and narrow two story building. I was more like an apt. I really didn't know what to expect. I had an amazing time. The first day we just hung out went to the market. She bought stuff to cook up dinner. Then I took a nap for awhile. The next day was awesome!!! The whole family...I mean cousins, uncles, nieces, everyone got together and head to a waterfall and park for picnic. It was great fun going out and getting such a local experience. It was fun hanging out with her family and try to communicate with them. Most of them spoke very little English, and they spoke south Thai which I know very little of.
After those two days it was time for me to head down to Malaysia, so Pleaw and her family drove me down to the border and dropped me off at the bus station.

Pokara and the Anapurna Sanctuary Trek

After our unbelievable trip through the Karnali river we headed to Pokara. This was the most relaxed town ever. It would be easy to hang out there for a month and not realize how much time you spent there. It is a long small town spread out along beautiful lake. You can hang out at one of the many cafes along the lake and just relax, or just cruse the lake in a paddle boat or sailboat. We ended up spending about a week here. We needed time to rest before we headed into the mountains.
Pokara is the starting point for any trek into the Annapurna range. This range is not as famous as Everest obviously, but it is actually supposed to be a better trek for scenery and views. You just don't get to claim that you conquered Everest. We decided that it would be a better more relaxed trip, and that I will do Everest in the future. It was the right decision. It was the most spectacular experiences of my life. Each day we would set out early in the cold cold morning and just start walking into the heart of these enormous mountains. Each day we got closer and closer to the snow capped peaks. At times we were climbing near vertical staircases for hours at a time, then we would have to go right back down the other side. We would cruse ledges just a foot and a half wide and on the other side a thousand meter drop. At times I was so tired I wanted to cry. We averaged about 6 hours a day. Not to mention that we had no proper equipment. Mainly in the shoe department. I had cheap ripoff Adidas and they were not comfortable. Every time something started hurting I would just look up at the peaks above and it would make it all go away.
After day 4 was when it really set in that I was in the middle of the Himalaya Mountains. We were very close to the base camp at that point and it just had a whole different feel to it. We were starting to get up around 3000 meters and seeing more and more snow. On the evening of day 5 we made it to base camp and the feeling was (besides being really tired) was awesome. It was a feeling of accomplishment. The actual views were not that great because of all the clouds. We were hoping that the morning would be different. We spent the evening hanging out with some of the other trekkers playing cards and drinking hot chocolate. In the morning I woke up at 5:30. It was so bright and everything was white. There was virtually no clouds around. In 360 degree span I was surrounded by mountains. Words can't describe it. I don't think there is another place like this on the planet. I mean it was amazing. Just huge mountains all around you. The views here alone were worth every bit of the trek. It is funny though. We spent about an hour or so checking it all out and taking photos, then we headed back down. It was all over so quick. On the way down we basically ran. It took 1 and 1/2 days to get down. So the whole trip was 6 1/2 days. Normally it is 10-12 days. I think that may be the reason we lost so much weight. All 3 of us lost a noticeable amount of weight.

I can't wait to get back and do Everest.

Karnali River

I want to say that this was the best time ever, but I can't. Everything else was so awesome as well. The Karnali is the longest river in Nepal. This time of year it was the best to raft by far. We spent 10 days rafting and camping out in the middle of western Nepal. We were 18 hours of driving from any civilization.

10 nights camping along the Karnali were some of the most peaceful nights of my life. We would wake up at 7 each morning eat our breakfast then get in the water. We would raft for 3 hours or so then have a lunch break for an hour. After lunch we would paddle for another hour or two. We'd get to a perfect sandy beach set up camp, then gorge ourselves at dinner. By 8pm you would be laying in the sand looking up at all the stars. We were in the middle of no where. The only people we saw were the villagers who have never left the countryside. Sometimes the kids would paddle makeshift canoes over to our campsite and play Frisbee or football with us (soccer). The whole experience was so surreal.

All this being said the actual rafting was a rush. We would go through rapids getting smothered by waves. I got thrown out twice. The second time was because the entire raft flipped. Everybody went. It was actually really scary. It reminded me how small I am compared to the forces of mother nature. In a matter of seconds we were all spread across the river getting thrown into boulders. It was one of those things where at the time it was not fun, but after it was all over you look back and say "hell yes that was sweet". One of the days we stopped a village and bought a goat. The guides butchered it up and cooked it up for dinner. There was not a lot of meat on it, but the taste was alright. Another night we bought some chickens and did the same thing. The chicken tasted a little better, but the goat was better than you would have thought.

It was such a great experience seeing the untouched countryside of Nepal. To see all the kids in the villages come running after our raft screaming random English words they knew was just priceless. This coupled with the white waters and peaceful nights is pretty much perfect. I can't wait to go back.