Poring hot springs

After our strenuous climb up Mt. Kinabalu it was time for some relaxation so we headed off Poring hot springs. A tiny town with just one small street of restaurants and accommodation, Poring had a very homely feel to it. On my first day here I swam in a nice cold pool that I shared with a frog, and had a bubbling hot-tub with some girls from our group.
On the second day I walked to see a perfect Rafflesia flower with another one still in bloom, visited the butterfly garden, and walked a total of 7km to see two waterfalls (one of which was 120m), and a small cave filled with bats. Walking to the waterfalls did mean fighting off loads of leeches but swimming in the cold water at the base of the falls at the end made it more then worth it. In Poring I also got to be very close to a semi-wild Orangutan named Jackie who lives in the jungle that surrounds the hot springs complex.
Though very quite and with little to do, Poring is a must stop destination as what there is to do there is really worth making the trip. Trekking to the second waterfall is not an option, it is a must do.

Dusun Village.

To kick off my adventure in Borneo I headed to a Dusun Village called Kiau, where we had accommodation just beside the local catholic church. When we arrived the church was packed with the local townspeople who were celebrating the harvest festival. Adults sang songs inside the church and little kids ran everywhere playing games and posing for photos. They loved the digital camera so much I was having trouble photographing them as they all swarmed so close to me I couldn't get them in the lens...
After the afternoon of much photo taking we all headed to the house of our guide for climbing Mt. Kinabalu, a legendary guide who has climbed to the summit over 4500 times! Here we ate a beautiful dinner cooked by his wife and then started our night drinking on the local rice wine. Being harvest festival bottles of wine and very drunk locals were overflowing in the small house, while a horrendous downpour prevented us returning to our accommodation and made sure the party went well into the night. I stayed awake until around 1:30 to celebrate the birthday of a girl who would be doing some of my travels through borneo with me, and a very good, and strange, night was had.
In Kiau the villagers made us feel extremely welcome, fed us well, and shared with us their amazing geographical location. And in the morning following, I felt very hungover!

Mt. Kinabalu

So I guess I should begin by saying that I didn't make it to the summit of South East Asia's tallest mountain! Not that I had any say in it though, the summit was closed to all due to extreme weather conditions. At 2am when we were supposed to start waking for the climb everyone was already awake and listening to the pouring rain and around 80km/h winds. visibility outside was at about 2m. For me, Laban Rata would be the highest point I reached on Mt. Kinabalu, at a little over 3000m.
That said, the climb was still more then worth it. The 8km trek on the Meselau trail to reach Laban Rata was quite difficult in some places and absolutely beautiful in many more. We crossed waterfalls and grottoes of pitcher plants, and we walked along ridges that provided us with amazing vies of the villages below. Had you asked me before I came on this trip how I would feel about not making the summit I would have said I would be devastated, but honestly after doing the first days climb I really wasn't bothered. Mt. K was an excellent experience with or without the summit!

Kota Kinabalu, Markets, and Islands

Borneo's Kota Kinabalu is a quiet town where the locals don't hassle you to buy things. There's not heaps to do here but its a great place to kick back. I am staying at a cruisy little guest house called North Borneo Cabins that has free internet and beer that's cheaper then the supermarket!
Last night me and some others from the backpackers (Katie, Jo and Ciaran) went to the night markets for some amazing fresh seafood, and we'll be heading back there again tonight. I spent yesterday with Ciaran out on one of the islands of Abdul Rahman national park just swimming, snorkelling and kicking back. Quite enjoying relaxing at the moment though it will be good to get on the move again soon...
Today we did almost nothing, just went and swapped the watch I bought yesterday for one that actually keeps the right time, hopefully anyway, and watched the contender at the backpackers.
Pretty boring post I know, but hopefully the photos add to it a bit.

It Begins

So, here I am, Kota Kinabalu, Borneo. And it is hot. The humidity is suffocating. But I have managed to get myself into a nice little hotel and had no problems getting all the way here from Australia. As expected, Borneo is more expensive then much of the rest of Asia but so far i've been pretty thrifty. I'm also realising how much effort it is going to be to keep this blog upto date! I will do my best I guess...
Anyway no real exciting news as of yet so I will leave it at that for now. More to come though guys... much much more. Haha.

Chinese Weapons Sent To Zimbabwe

At a time when much of the world has their eyes turned towards China and its incredible human rights abuses against Tibetan's China has exceeded its already horrific human rights record (Including not only Tibetan deaths but also its own Chinese Students at Tiananmen Square), by sending 77 tonnes of weaponry to Zimbabwe. The shipment includes AK47's, mortars, and RPG's and over 3.5 million rounds of ammunition. This shipment has been sent of course, just weeks after Dictator Robert Mugabe has yet again refused to hand over power despite opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai winning a majority vote in presidential elections. Essentially what China has done has signed themselves up to the potential death of thousands of innocent Zimbabwe citizens should Mugabe simply decide to act in a manner very fitting with her personality, not to mention also accepting money that clearly should have been spent on much needed development. For these actions the Chinese government should not only be ashamed of itself, but shamed also by the international community and by Chinese nationals.

The Mexican Fisherman

In preparation for my travels I have been sorting through all my possessions to get rid off all the things i don't need. Along the way i found a menu from a Mexican restaurant my girlfriend and I went to while on holiday in Byron Bay and it had a cool little story on it I thought I would throw on the blog. Its simple in both content and meaning but quite an enjoyable little read nonetheless...

An investment banker was at the pier of a small Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked him how long it took to catch them.
The fishermen replied "only a little time amigo".
The banker then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish?
The fishermen replied that he had caught enough to meet his family's immediate needs.
The banker then asked, "but what do you do with the rest of your time?", and the fishermen answered "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening to sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life."
The banker scoffed, "I'm a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, and eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, and eventually open your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA, and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."
The Fisherman asked "but how long will all this take?", to which the banker replied,
"15-20years".
"But what then?" asked the fishermen.
The banker laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you will make millions".
"Millions you say. And then what?", asked the fishermen.
The banker scratched his head and said "Well you would retire, move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evening to sip wine and play guitar with your amigos".