It’s been so long since I wrote anything for the blog that it seems kind of strange to add something now. I think the last time I added an entry was about three months ago when I was in Thailand, and so much has happened since then.
Let me first start by saying that I’m in Borneo right now. For those of you who don’t know, Borneo is an island that is controlled by three countries, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. Currently I’m in the Malaysian part known as Sabah, in a city called Tawau. There really isn’t that much around here to do, and the only thing that I did find interesting, I missed my opportunity to go. So right now I’m sitting in the lobby of my hotel drinking a coffee and trying to somehow put my life into context for any one interested.
From the time I left Krabi, Thailand (last entry) to now, I’ve spent about 6 weeks in Penang and 6 weeks in Kuala Lumpur, and 2 weeks in Borneo, all are cities are in Malaysia. The remaining time, about 30 days I traveled around Indonesia.
Now I realize the next part may seem boring to anyone reading this, but I want to write the path that I took from Krabi until now. It’s more of a way for me to document what I have done for posterity and not necessarily for enjoyment.
I left Krabi and headed to Penang for 6 weeks. I rented a room in an apartment for a month, and spent a little bit more than a week in a neighboring town. Most of my time there was just relaxing and hiking in the national park in Batu Ferringhi.
From there I took a bus to Kuala Lumpur for what I thought would be a week or two, but it ended up being a sort of home away from home. I met a lot of great people there and am still friends with the hostel owner and some of the staff. I stayed there until December 30 when I left for Indonesia.
I arrived in Jakarta at the end of the year and stayed there for about 4 nights. Before I went many people told me to avoid Jakarta because it was big, dirty, and there wasn’t much to see. That didn’t change my desire to go, afterall, Jakarta has always seemed so mystical to me… for no other reason that for its name. What I did realize is that those people who told me to avoid it were correct. It really is a non-place for tourists.
From Jakarta I took a train to Yogyakarta which is in the middle of Java. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised when I got there. The people were extremely friendly, the weather was nice, and there were at least enough attractions to keep me busy for the week that I was there. One of the best things about it was the hostel I was staying at. It had an open courtyard/garden that all the rooms opened into. I spent many days and nights just sitting outside my room completely content.
From Yogyakarta, I took a flight to Denpasar in Bali. Bali is an island, Denpasar is the main city in Bali. My first week I stayed kind of close to one of the more famous beaches in Denpasar; Sanur. It was very touristy and very developed. Some of it I liked, but most of the time I just felt out of place around the resorts. It wasn’t the busy season so there wasn’t a huge amount of people, but it was busy enough for me to have enough to do while there.
After about a week in Sanur I headed to Ubud (city in Bali) for about a week, and this is where I started to feel a little bit more comfortable. The city was developed many years ago by a Western artist and since has become a somewhat center for the arts in the area. There is a strong tourist vibe to it, but as far as I was concerned it didn’t bother me. While there I went to Monkey Forrest, went on a tour, and generally just walked around the city. Food was good and cheap and after the problems I had finding good food the last few weeks, Ubud was just what I needed.
The last couple weeks, from the time I was in Kuala Lumpur, everyone seemed to be telling me that “I just had to go to the Gili Islands.” So that was my plan. I left Ubud for the biggest Gili Island (there are three), known as Gili T. Oh, shit I loved it there. It was everything I had hoped to see in Bali. There are no motorized vehicles on the island, just horse carts and bicycles, the water was warm, blue, and filled with fishing and diving boats. If there was a drawback it would have been that it was a little bit too touristy, but honestly it didn’t bother me at all. I didn’t do that much while there, but Gili T will probably be one of my most favorite places that I’ve gone in quite a while.
With my Indonesia visa running out, I started to look for a new place to explore. I had planned on going to Darwin, Australia for a few days. Unfortunately finding a place to stay while there was too difficult, so I decided to head back to KL for a week. I don’t like KL for things to do, but I do like that it is the hub of AirAsia, and I can fly to almost anywhere for next to nothing, for example getting to Borneo, I paid $30. You can’t beat the price.
KL was good. I stayed in the same hostel as before and really enjoyed the people there. The owner of the hostel took me and two other tourists for a drive around the city and up into the hills. He and one of the other tourists were trying to locate where a festival was supposed to be held, but I just went for the view.
After about a week at KL I headed to Borneo, where I am right now. To be a little honest, I had no understanding of Borneo except it was supposed to be very remote and have large areas of jungles. I was looking forward to doing some jungle trekking. When I got here I was surprised, and I’m not sure I was surprised in a good way or bad, but much of what I saw was more like the rest of Malaysia. Fairly developed and not the least bit what I had expected. I landed in Kota Kinabalu and stayed there for about a week. Someone I met in Penang decided to visit while I was there so during the weekend she and I went on a tour and just hung out. Got to admit it was a nice change from my usual traveling alone and meeting someone, then a day later I can’t remember their name. She was so funny too. I still laugh at some of the things that she said to me… and that I actually let her say to me.
By Monday I was on my own again and heading to a small town on the eastern side of the island, Sandakan. It’s got a few interesting things to do but in general it was just an okay experience. I was there for three nights.
Yesterday I left Sandakan and arrived in Tawau. I’m bored. L
