A New Year Starting in KL
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
After a 12-hour flight we found our hostel hidden in the very centre of the city on Jalan Bukit Bintang, here is a photo [below]; we stayed behind this big advertising board!
Apres un vol de 12 heures, nous sommes arrives a KL et avons file directement a notre hotel en plein centre, sur jalan bukit bintang. voila la photo [a droit], notre chambre etait juste derriere cet enorme panneau publicitaire!!
We spent the first day hanging around the city, taking pictures and trying the local food 'Nasi Lemak, Kopi Obeng and lots of Goreng!' Brilliant! In the morning we visted a craft centre and it gave us much inspiration for any future home! Then in the afternoon, after eating, we walked around the big shopping centres [imagine the first ten floors of just shops!] with rollercoasters and never-ending electronics. An experience that couldn't possibly get any stranger! ...or could it?
Nous avons passe notre premier jour a nous balader dans la ville, a prendre des photos, et a tester la nourriture locale "nasi lemak (p'tit dej), kopi obeng (cafe glace), et beaucoup de goreng (mets frits)" super! Le matin nous avons visite un endroit dedie a l'artisanat qui nous a donne beaucoup d'idee de deco pour une future maison! puis l'apres midi, apres avoir mange, nous avons passe un peu de temps dans les immenses centres commerciaux (jusqu'a 10 etages!!) ou on peut meme trouver des maneges types grand huit! hallucinant.
...It could! In a city so huge and populated a man bumped into me [Brian] and as we turned to each other - it was an old Malay friend from times on Perhentian Island in 2006. Incredible chance! After the introductions [to Lena], we went for a coffee and in the astonishment caught up on the last three to four years! Then we made plans to meet up after New Year, the next day!
Mais encore plus hallucinant, c'est le moment ou dans une ville aussi grande et peuplee que KL, j'ai vu un homme s'approcher de Brian et lui sauter dessus! c'etait un ami malais qu'il avait rencontre lors d'un precedent voyage en 2006! Joe! apres s'etre presente, nous avons bu un cafe ensemble et ils ont rattrape le temps perdu, heureux de se revoir.
We enjoyed New Year 2010 near the Petronas towers, albeit on the wrong side to see 'all' the fireworks! We were just lucky and happy to be there in Kuala Lumpur seeing the New Year in! On New Year's day, as arranged, we met Rini and Adam [Joe's lovely family] and they took us to the Batu Caves, a Hindu temple outside the city. Monkeys, chanting, steps, interesting people, worship and lots of photos followed!
In the evening they took us to 'Genting', simply a very incredible place on top of a mountain [physically questionable] built by a mad chinese man with lots of money! There is everything there, including; one of the world's largest hotels, amusement parks, strange strange 'things' and cloud blowing through the front doors!!!! Quite refreshing too!
Nous avons passe le reveillon du nouvel an autour des tours petronas, mais nous n'etions pas du bon cote pour voir les feux d'artifices! dommage!! mais nous etions contents d'etre la, realisant la chance que nous avions d'etre a KL pour la nouvelle annee! Tel que nous l'avions arrange la veille avec Joe, nous sommes alle avec Rini et Adam ( adorable famille de Joe) voir les grottes de Batu, un celebre lieu hindou dans les alentours de KL. Beaucoup de marches a grimper pour y acceder!!! les singes sur le bord nous donnaient l'occasion de nous arreter pour prendre des photos. ouf! nous avons assiste a des chants religieux et des celebrations dans une atmosphere indescriptible.
Enfin le soir, Joe nous a emmene dans un endroit tres special, Genting, tout en haut d'une montagne, ou on peut trouver des grands hotels, un parc d'attraction etc... un endroit constuit par un riche chinois qui avait de la suite dans les idees! Si haut que les nuages entraient par les portes...
On the final day we walked around Chinatown, the Central Market, the National Mosque and more importantly KL Park. In the park we enjoyed the greenery, the deer park and fortunately the butterfly park too - which was marvellous! Imagine walking into a fantasy world of butterflies! In a rainy spell, we sat and played cards under a pagoda for an hour, the rest was quite welcome and the next day we were leaving the city, heading to a new place and a new country!
Le dernier jour nous sommes alle a chinatown et au marche central, puis a la mosquee nationale. mais ce que nous avons le plus prefere etait le parc de KL ou nous avons vu des animaux et pu nous balader au bord du lac. Le meilleur moment etait lorsque nous avons penetre dans la serre aux papillons. magique!!! un peu plus tard la pluie nous a stoppe dans notre elan alors nous avons joue aux cartes sous une pagode dans le parc. ce repos force etait bienvenue car on avait marche toute la journee. le jour suivant nous partions fin prets pour de nouvelles aventures vers un nouveau pays!
written by  Lenameets50 on January 3, 2010 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
from the travel blog: Indonesia & Malaysia et al 2010

Where you from? Where you go?
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Coming from KL and landing in Yogyakarta [Indonesia] was quite an experience, we knew it would be the moment an Indonesian woman tried to climb on our backs waiting to check-in at KL airport! Then when we touched down in the city [one of only two airplanes on the tarmac] we discovered that each visa would cost $25, 20 Euro or a lot of local currency, make that over 500,000 Rupiah... ...not easy to count! Wanting to keep the only 20 euro notes we had, we decided to explain that we didn't have any. Thankfully they took my passport and let me go to an ATM on the other side which meant being stopped rather abruptly by security and trying to work out how many zeros to press on the cash machine! Twenty minutes later Lenaic came looking for me and eventually we got our bags, a taxi and out of the airport! We also discovered a new kind of heat!
Partant de KL nous savions deja que l'Indonesie allait etre une sacree experience! Dans la queue pour enregistrer nos bagages, une indonesienne qui se trouvait derriere nous montait litteralement sur nos sacs a chaque avancee! sympa la proximite et toujours avec un grand sourire! Nous avons atterri a Yogjakarta (Indonesie), petit aeroport (2 avions le notre compris), ou il a fallu payer le visa d'entree. Et la ca a ete un peu complique car nous n'avions ni dollar, ni monnaie locale... expliquant notre histoire a la douane, ils laissent passer Brian en gardant son passeport pour qu'il aille retirer de l'argent au distributeur. Mais nous n'etions pas familiarise avec le ruppiah qui est environ a 13000 pour 1 euro... ca a ete un peu la galere!
Fortunately, the day before we called through and booked ourselves the unknowing certainty of a guesthouse in the southern part of the city, some guesthouse it turned out to be for our first nights in the country! As you can see from the pictures; it had a gorgeous garden with pool, lovely Java Coffee every morning and best of all - the superb staff who worked there and made our stay so great. At a price of 5-7 euros each per day what can you say, Prambanan Guesthouse - it's well recommended by us!
Mais heureusement qu'on avait reserve une superbe guest house au sud de la ville, avec jardins exotiques et piscine (pour 5 a 7 euros par personne par jour) pour nous remettre de nos emotions! Nous avons vraiment apprecie nos premiers jours en Indonesie.
Our time in Yogyakarta was spent walking around the city, relaxing by the pool and visiting Borobudur, a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument. While we were at this famous local monument we were amused by the children and adults who wanted a photo - with us! So we now appear on at least half-a-dozen Indonesian family albums, rather strange but great too! On the way home from Borobudur we stopped off in a beautiful small monastery and took many pictures. We didn't visit Prambanan [another temple] because it was severely damaged in 2006 by an earthquake, in fact much of the city including our guesthouse was reduced to rubble in the same quake - one of the worst to hit Indonesia in recent years.
Nous avons passe notre temps a decouvrir la ville et ses alentours, comme borobudur, un edifice bouddhiste du 9eme siecle duquel on peut voir le mont Merapi (actif)!!! Ce qui a ete deconcertant, c'etait les enfants et les adultes qui tenaient absolument a prendre une photo avec nous... on a jamais compris pourquoi!! on doit bien apparaitre dans une demi douzaine d'albums photos! Nous avons decide de ne pas aller a Prambanan, l'autre fameux temple hindoux des alentours car les 3 principaux temples ont ete endommages par le tremblement de terre de 2006 et sont encore fermes pour restauration. en effet, Jogjakarta a ete devastee par ce tremblement de terre et les photos affichees de notre guest house quasi en ruine font froid dans le dos!
We bought our first souvenirs, enjoyed the quieter streets around the Sultan's Palace and discovered that the becak drivers don't do 'change', even if they say they do! Another thing we had to get used to was the Indonesian welcome as we walked along the streets; "Hello. Where you from? Where you go?" ...all in one go! It was quite interesting to confuse them with "France" and "England" although it often depended how we felt at the time.
They weren't harmful though and everything passed without incident. In fact we found a lot of them to be really helpful and just taking the opportunity to practice their English. There are not so many foreigners in this city and most of them are from the Netherlands or Belgium it seems! A nice 3-day stay to welcome us to Indonesia, open our eyes to the colours and sights while also marking the beginning of our 30 day voyage through the country by land and sea.
Le jour d'apres, nous avons achete nos premiers souvenirs et avons continue de nous ballader dans les petites rues de la ville, surtout dans le quartier du palais du sultan, "Kraton", au marche aux oiseaux puis avons assiste a une demonstration de fabrication de marionnettes faites en peau de buffle. Nous avons aussi vecu notre premiere petite arnaque sur le chemin du retour. Quand on s accorde avec un conducteur de becak (comme un pousse pousse) sur le prix et qu'il nous dit qu'il a la monnaie... et ben faut pas rever!
Sinon les indonesiens sont des gens tres communicatifs, heureux de parler aux etrangers pour pratiquer leur anglais, leur francais ou juste pour aider. nous avons droit toute la journee a : " Hello! where you from? Where you go?" Alors a chaque fois on leur explique, "de France et d'Angleterre" et on raconte notre periple encore et encore! En plus, il n'y a pas beaucoup de touristes pour faire diversion, c'est la saison de la mousson, donc la basse saison! En tout cas, ces premiers jours en indonsie ont ete riches en decouvertes et rencontres et nous donnent le ton pour les 30 jours que ce fameux visa nous procure... affaire a suivre!
written by  Lenameets50 on January 6, 2010 from Yogyakarta, Indonesia
from the travel blog: Indonesia & Malaysia et al 2010

Clouds Over Bromo!
Probolinggo, Indonesia
After Yogyakarta we took an 11-hour ride to a small mountain village near Mount Bromo, a ride we can only confirm as usually South-East Asian! A driver picked us up in the morning and we wondered if there would be any further passengers - anyone to join us - nope! So we endured a journey east across Java with the magical four-handed magician, he could not only smoke, call people on his phone and drive our mini-bus but also sound the horn every 3 minutes. In fact, sometimes when the roads were clear, when there was nobody there, just us, our driver would find a good reason to press the horn repeatedly, again and again! This is how we reached Yoshi's Hostel/Lodge/Guesthouse/Homestay/Tourist Trap/ whatever you want to call it, i forget! We won't talk too much about that but any place where breakfast is either coffee or toast [BUT NOT BOTH!!!] is going to annoy you further.
Apres Yogjakarta, nous avons pris un minibus direction mont Bromo. Le trajet a dure 11 heures et nous etions seuls a bord! Nous avons eu le temps d'observer la conduite incroyable de ce chauffeur (chauffard): a vive allure, portable dans la main gauche, cigarette dans la main droite et avec le doigt constamment sur le klaxon. Litteralement 11h de klaxon! Ici il sert a indiquer qu'un vehicule arrive, va tourner, s'apprete a doubler ou encore juste pour le plaisir, enfin tout quoi!
Instead we are going to tell you about our great day discovering Mount Bromo and a flight of stairs! We started by waking up at 3am, then we took a 4x4 jeep to the top of a Mount Paranbakan which overlooks Bromo. The idea was to see the sunrise but sadly there were quite a lot of clouds about so we didn't get to see much. However it was a refreshing view considering that we had been either in a busy or on buys roads previously. While waiting there we embarked on some light graffiti and as you can see in the photo we managed to write Bromo! There were some confused Indonesians, Japanese and others nearby wondering why we were [repeatedly] waving the torch around and not looking at the landscape!
Nous sommes finalement arrive le soir a notre guest house sain et sauf. Le lendemain matin, depart 3h30 en 4x4 pour le mont Paranbakan duquel on etait sense voir le leve du soleil derriere le mont Bromo. Je dis sense car il y a malheureusement eu trop de nuages... il parait que c'est fantastique. Pour tuer le temps on s'amusait avec l'appareil photo et Brian a decouvert l'option longue exposition. S'en suit plein de photo graffiti, dont voici un exemple "Bromo" [au dessous]. Pendant que les autres touristes scrutaient l'horizon, immobiles, nous nous agitions dans tous les sens avec notre lampe torche!!
After the 'suncloud' part we made our way back down the mountain and on towards Mount Bromo itself. This was great, an open valley type place with some horses ready to take tired legs to the bottom of the stairs that lead to the crater. We walked and by the time we got to the stairs, we realised that breakfast would have been a good idea if only it had been offered! Anyway, just the stairs to go i guess! Those stairs [the ones you can see in the photos] were a killer, tired legs, slowly realising that you have already been awake for 3 hours and that quite a few stairs remain!
Une fois le soleil leve, nous nous sommes rendu au pied du mont Bromo ou il y avait plein de chevaux prets a faire l'ascension jusqu'au cratere avec des touristes sur le dos! Mais braves que nous sommes, nous l'avons fait a pied (le p'tit dej etant servi au retour a l'hotel, j'avoue que l'energie est venue a me manquer a un moment donne! dur dur mais ca valait le coup!).
However, when you do reach the top it is fantastic! The smells, the backdrop [landscape] and the rest you have can really be appreciated as you start chatting to other people and learning about other places where they have been, an important part of the trip as we are travelling without a guidebook. As we talked to other people, we started to realise where we would go next, the only thing that was already sure was that we were bound for Bali!
Arrive au sommet, la vue etait deja extraordinaire mais encore plus epoustouflant, etait la proximite avec la fumee sortant du cratere et le bruit que cela faisait. On imagine tres bien qu'en 2004 ce volcan est entre en eruption! Apres toutes ces emotions, nous sommes rentres a l'hotel (pour prendre le petit dejeuner surtout!! A ce moment la, il devait bien etre 8h30) et avons attendu quelques heures le bus que nous avions reserve en partance pour Bali.
We went back to Yoshi's, rested and found a random place to get on the internet with a really nice and slightly handicapped guy who ran the place and gave a good insight into real local life. His revelation that he started his business one year ago and that he feared being beaten up because of what he had was quite something! A little sad of course but a reflection of a common theme - it seems that in some places doing well for yourself brings the wrong kind of attention. Having said that he seemed happy that he knew people too and overall it was just great to see the odd child coming in and being able to use his facilities! Oh and for Lenaic there was a very very friendly cat with no name, me and the owner decided to name him 'Glen'.
Pendant ce temps nous sommes alle sur internet dans un petit cyber local et avons discute avec le proprietaire qui a releve que son nouveau business n'etait pas du gout de tout le monde et qu'il avait peur de se faire frapper! Ce qu'on a remarque aussi bien en Malaisie qu'en Indonesie, c'est qu'il n'est pas bon d'afficher sa reussite au yeux de tous.
written by  Lenameets50 on January 7, 2010 from Probolinggo, Indonesia
from the travel blog: Indonesia & Malaysia et al 2010

Lovina Beach: Love the Rain!
Singaraja, Indonesia
We left Probolinggo in the early evening, escorted to an executive bus on a main road and we soon fell asleep after a busy day. When we woke up we found ourselves in Bali and heading along the north coast, our destination, Lovina Beach. We arrived around 4.30am and iwere welcomed by the rain that we would get to know very well during our stay! We asked for directions to a guesthouse and then stretched our legs, walking around 5km with backpacks to the place with the sun coming up to our right and the animals waking the locals. Finally we arrived and were met by another guesthouse owner who easily convinced us to stay in his newly finished [and very exclusive] top room, an oppotunity to relax in comfort and take a shower in the outside bathroom with sea view! Nice!
Nous avons quitte Probolinggo par le bus de nuit pour nous reveiller a Bali. Ce qui nous a marque dans le bus, c'est leur facheuse habitude de mettre la clim a fond (alors que la chaleur reste tres supportable, surtout la nuit!) pour ensuite distribuer des couvertures afin que les gens n'aient pas froid!! Nous avons carrement sorti nos sacs de couchage !! Allez comprendre... Nous sommes finalement arrive sur la cote nord a 4h30 a Lovina Beach, sous la pluie, et avons decide de marcher les 5 km qui nous separaient de notre guest house avec nos 15kg sur le dos. Nous avions besoin de nous detendre les jambes et cela nous permettait de decouvrir l'endroit ou nous etions, le temps que le soleil se leve. Enfin arrive, nous avons profite de la salle de bain sur le balcon avec vue sur mer par une bonne douche chaude bien meritee! On adoooooore!
To be honest, there was not a lot to do in Lovina Beach itself and th best part was renting a moped and shooting off into the hills to discover the GitGit Waterfalls, temples and surrounding countryside. This option is also much cheaper and convenient than taking organised trips with either the guesthouse or another local agency. The waterfalls were nice but better not talk about 'the hammock'! The temples were everywhere and after a while it became much more interesting just to roam the county roads and discover the places we would otherwise not have seen.
We also had the fortune to make it to the lakes 'danau tamblingan' and 'danau buyan' just before the rain arrived. We had a great lunch and then the heavens opened, meaning we had to stay inside for an hour before getting soaked anyway on te journey back. After ten minutes your feet and everything are soaked and there really is no getting away from it. Then there are the lorries which cover you in a blanket of water off the road too. It was an experience and introduction to the real 'rainy season'!
Lovina Beach n'etait pas vraiment ce qu'on attendait... endroit touristique pour aller nager avec les dauphins sans charme. Alors nous avons decide de louer un scooter pour decouvrir les alentours: la cascade Git-Git, les temples et les beaux points de vue du haut des montagnes proche des lacs tramblingan et buyan. Tout se passait tres bien nous mangions a l'exterieur, admirant la vue sur les lacs... jusqu'au moment ou des enormes nuages gris arrivent en un rien de temps, et une minute apres : pluie tropicale!!! hum les pates (mie goreng) a la pluie!
Optimistes, nous avons decide d'attendre a l'interieur du restaurant que la pluie se calme un peu... en vain... et il fallait bien rentrer! Alors sans aucun equipement de pluie (bien sur c'est toujours comme ca) nous avons repris la route en evitant l'aquaplanning. Nous avons mesure ce que l'expression "trempe jusqu'aux os" voulait dire! Mais a ce moment la, nous n'avions pas encore rencontre le gros camion qui venait en sens inverse... deja qu'on y voyait plus rien et qu'on avait la bouche grand ouverte pour respirer, un gros SPLACH d'eau nous a totalement submerge!! c'etait tellement enorme qu'on s'arretait plus de rire (nerveusement a ce stade!).
Equipped with our new raincoats [imagine a small tent on wheels] we decided to go west along the northern coast of Bali until Permuteran. In the morning we stopped at the local hot springs for little dip and the chance to meet local people. Lenaic felt a little uncomfortable in her swimming costume so she decided to keep some clothes on and not make any cultural statements. After this we got back on the road, passing through Pulaki and then finally landing in Permuteran, where we enjoyed a relaxing couple of hours on a nice beach and with some gorgeous food! The sun beating down and still no sign of the rain, we returned to Lovina and saw out the night at the restaurant which had become our little reliable place!
The usual entertainment was provided by the two young lads who served us each night and on the first night brought us home. They got the chance to practice both their English and French and we got a small insight into a backstreet but local place to eat, of course complete with cats and flying insects! The next morning it was time to leave but not without seeing the street dog which followed us for a good 30 minutes along the main road one last time. A sad sight but a reminder of another way of life!
Equipes de nos nouveaux ponchos de pluie, nous avons decide d'aller explorer la cote nord-ouest de Bali. En chemin nous nous sommes arretes aux hot springs, une source d'eau chaude dans laquelle vont se baigner les locaux. Par pudeur j'ai garde un vetement par dessus mon maillot de bain car les femmes se baignaient toutes habillees! et hop, de nouveau sur le scooter en partance pour Pulaki et Permuteran ou nous avons profite d'une belle plage. Magnifique! C'est la ou nous aurions du aller! Mais non, il nous a fallu repartir vers Lovina sous un soleil de plomb (toujours pas de pluie...finalement ca rafraichit la pluie!)
Nous sommes directement alle a ce qui etait devenu notre repere du soir, "kiki restaurant" avec ses insectes, ses chats et ses 2 serveurs mythiques qui ne loupaient pas une occasion de nous parler pour pratiquer leur francais et anglais. Ils etaient bien sympa. Le lendemain matin il etait deja temps de repartir mais pas avant d'avoir revu le chien sauvage qui nous avait suivi durant une demi-heure la veille le long de la rue. C'etait triste mais reflete bien la realite de Bali qui est une ile remplie de chiens qui vivent sur le bord de la route a la recherche d'ordures. Le probleme est que ces chiens dorment sur la route, traversent a tout bout de champs et qu'un accident est tres vite arrive.
written by  Lenameets50 on January 10, 2010 from Singaraja, Indonesia

The town of meeting people and shopping!
Ubud, Indonesia
After Lovina and all the rain we arrived in Ubud, a small cultural shopping city north of Denpassar, Bali. On the bus we met a couple of French guys, a couple of Dutch girls and a German guy, Sirko. Together with Sirko we checked into a guesthouse with a swimming pool on the main street [Monkey Forest Road] and then started to discover some of the best food had on the trip so far! After the delicious curry in Permeturan i thought it would be difficult to find better on the island, however over the three days in Ubud i can't recall eating or drinking one bad thing! Gorgeous food and lots of coffee milkshakes and really fresh juices!
On the first day we did a bit of shopping in the famous tourist market there and then in the evening we went for a meal together with some Dutch people we had met in the guesthouse in Yogyakarta. We also started to spend a lot of time sorting laundry [after the rain] and the next part of our trip, leaving Bali and reaching somewhere in Flores [...and somehow more importantly!].
Apres Lovina, Ubud! La ville des rencontres! Dans le bus nous avons rencontres des francais, des hollandaises et surtout Sirko, un allemand. Nous sommes reste dans le meme homestay, proche de la foret aux singes, et avons passe nos 2 jours a profiter ensemble de la bonne nourriture et des fantastiques cocktails pur jus a tomber par terre. Le premier jour, nous sommes alle au marche (pour les touristes hein) faire quelques emplettes. Dur dur les negociations! Sinon Ubud est une ville tres agreable ou il fait bon se promener. On s'y sent bien. Et vu que c'est la ville des rencontres, nous sommes tombes par hasard sur 2 couples de hollandais qu'on avait rencontre a Yogjakarta!
On the second day of our stay, we rented a scooter and headed off into the country surrounding Ubud and in truth it didn't start that well. We went to a place called the elephant cave and neither did we see any elephants or enjoy it. It just felt like on big tourist trap with people on every corner asking you either to pay them to be their guide or to enter their 'different' temple! There wasn't anything that special about it and the most amusing part was watching a couple of europeans doing some yoga/meditation by a pool as their master had a shifty cigarette while sitting on a stone and giving the odd chant. Why would you do that in a place like that? Serenity i think not. However the afternoon got much better, plane ticket confirmed to Maumere [Flores] for the next day and the discovery of the places where they make much of the stuff for sale on the market and stalls.
While asking for directions we were invited in by a lovely lady who made plates like we had bought at GitGit waterfalls [70Rph]. She showed us the processing and even let me break a few things trying, then at a very reasonable price she sold us four coasters that we appreciate greatly. The real price of the plate was revealed as 15Rph and the starting price of the stall seller had been 150Rph! On the way home we stopped off at a sublime cafe overlooking a rice field and as the rain came and the rainbows formed, we sat back and enjoyed a few drinks!
Then on the way home i reaslied that i had lost my wallet, that sinking natural feeling that is confirmed on opening the bag! We went back as night fell and the rain fell - thankfully after another scare and breaking their toilet door - Lenaic discovered the wallet, saved me and landed me a sarong from a lady who had helped for 40Rph!!! Thankfully a good end to the day was completed with more great food in Sirko's company and in the morning we had a flight to catch...
"Le deuxieme jour, nous avons loue un scooter pour nous balader autour d'Ubud, decouvrir l'elephant cave (bof-bof sauf pour voir des europeens en pleine seance de yoga/meditation avec un maitre et tout...dans un lieu tres touristique), un vieux chaudron (qu'on a jamais trouve), et les fameuses rizieres en terrasses (magnifiques). De petites routes en petites routes, on s'est un peu perdu. Et c'est en demandant notre chemin qu'on est tombe sur une dame tres gentille qui tenaient un atelier de fabrication d'assiettes au decor de mozaique, justement les meme qu'on avait achete quelques jours plus tot ( beaucoup plus cher que son prix de vente, degoutes!). Elle nous invite a venir voir le processus de fabrication, Brian s'essaie a couper une plaque de verre pour en faire des petits bouts, pas facile, c'est un coup de main a prendre!
Une fois notre chemin retrouve, nous nous sommes arrete boire un milkshake (encore!) dans un endroit avec vue panoramique sur des rizieres. Jusque la tout allait bien mais alors qu'on rentrait sur Ubud, Brian se demande ou est son portefeuille....aie aie aie, il ne l'a pas! Et hop de retour a l'endroit du milkshake...qui entre temps avait ferme! On alerte un voisin qui gentillement nous aide. Il verifie dans les toilettes en demontant la serrure...rien. Par chance, il etait la ou on s'etait assis... ouf!"La femme du voisin n'a cependant pas perdue le nord, elle est arrivee avec ses sarongs a vendre! Brian lui en a pris un histoire de remercier.
written by  Lenameets50 on January 13, 2010 from Ubud, Indonesia

Dino Lopez: A Guide to Flores
Maumere, Indonesia
While in Ubud we had to make a familiar but often difficult decision for any traveller, where do we go next? Considering that we had 19 days left on our visa we chose to fly two hours eastwards to Maumere, which is the principal town on the magnificent and less touristic island of Flores. The flight was quite an experience, they gave me full responsibility for the emergency exit and we were the only plane at the two tiny airports where we landed but it actually went much better than we thought. Safe and sound at the other side we met two more of the very few westerners on the plane, a French couple who like us were between luggage reclaim and taxi. A taxi is never easy when landing as a backpacker at an Asian airport and we were soon surrounded with shouts of "Hello meeesta!". To our Surprise one man was ushered our way and in exceptionally good English we started to chat, his name was Dino Lopez.
The Dino Lopez who became our guide for the next 10/11 memorable days! On the first night and after some strange goings on we settled down and started to consider his proposition to take us across the island as a group of four. Thanks to a little internet research, an evening meal, a prior passenger from New Zealand who was hanging out at his place and finally his experience of living in Amsterdam for more than three years - we said yes! The next few entries will take you through our adventure, the people, places and events that made Flores very very memorable. We also promise to put lots of photos to make you jealous - especially near the end! ;)
Apres Ubud, nous ne savions pas vraiment ou aller et avons decide au dernier moment de nous laisser tenter par l'ile de Flores, beaucoup moins touristique! Des que nous avons atteri a Maumere, nous avons fait la connaissance d'un couple de francais qui comme nous, ne savaient pas trop ce qu'ils allaient faire sur cette ile. Et c'est la que Dino Lopez est apparu, telle la providence!
Apres mure reflexion, Dino est devenu notre guide touristique/ chauffeur durant ce memorable periple de 9 jours de Maumere a Labuan Bajo.
written by  Lenameets50 on January 14, 2010 from Maumere, Indonesia

News.
Maumere, Indonesia
SEE NEW POST BELOW: We have been to Ubud in Bali [2 nights]. but
We are now on an incredible journey across the Island of Flores with lots of stories to tell in just a few days. There is only Internet in two cities on the island and we will be staying on a boat for several nights too. So see you all after that.
NOTE: There are 141 photos so far [not just the ones in the blog], see link;
Bye for now!
written by  Lenameets50 on January 14, 2010 from Maumere, Indonesia

The Nature of Tradition
Ende, Indonesia
The trip got started immediately as within a an hour we had arrived at a Gypsy fishing village outside Maumere. Here the Bugis [a community from Sulawesi island] build there boats and the Bajo build the houses, the result is that together they live in a wooden craftsman's paradise. They are a poor community but their richness is certainly in the strength of their community which only established itself in this particular place around 15 years ago. The children where everywhere, showing us how to walk the stilt-raised platforms which connected the village. The sight of the craftsmen at work, the smell of the seafish and the sound of "Hello meeeesstaa!" intensifying around each corner contributed to the experience greatly.
Le voyage a Flores a debute par la visite d'un village de gitans/pecheurs pas tres loin de Maumere. Ils se deplacent de region en region en fonction de la peche. Ils sont installes ici depuis 15 ans mais viennent de l'ile de Sulawesi. 2 communautes vivent ensemble: les Bugis qui construisent les bateaux et les Bajos, les maisons. Vu que chacune a besoin de l'autre, les gens vivent en harmonie. Le tsunami a aussi devastes ce village sur piloti. Pour leur venir en aide, les hollandais leur ont construit des habitations plus haut dans la montagne. Mais c'etait sans comprendre l'ame des gitans qui ont construit de nouveau le village sur l'eau (ces maisons sont encore vides aujourd'hui!).
Within a short time we found ourselves in the midst of another traditional village called Sikka. This time their traditions were very much land-based, more specifically they were Ikat weavers and true practitioners of an art passed down the generations. The ladies soon heard that we were in the village and just as the rain started they gathered us into a small hut and gave us some coffee while delicately displaying their work and goods. The funniest moment was when the head-lady snapped at the others to keep back and save the selling until after we had seen the process, as Dino told us anyway! It was really nice sitting there surrounded by these ladies, they were really friendly and transformed our environment completely.
Ensuite, direction Sikka un village bien connu pour la qualite de son artisanat "Ikat" qui se transmet de generation en generation par les femmes. Elles font principalement des habits (echarpes, jupes, etoles...). Nous avons ete bien recu: abris pour la pluie, chaises, cafe... sur les ordres de la chef du groupe (qui ne rigolait pas!). Brian s'est essaye a battre le coton pour le rendre plus doux, elle a dit qu'il etait nul car pas assez de force dans le geste! Ahahah
The rain cleared and we went outside where they proceeded to demonstrate some of the tedious and incredibly numerous stages of the process. It was very interesting to see the work they put into just one item over weeks and more often, months. The animals and children passed around us and eventually the sales part could begin - i have a magnificent souvenir of looking at each lady's work and enjoying the banter about colour, style and of course, price! One quiet lady had something attractive enough to part us with 50,000Rph and a great afternoon was had.
Nous avons pu voir le processus de fabrication, manuel bien sur et aussi que pour les pigments, ces femmes savent se servir des richesses de la nature qui les entoure. On ne se rend plus compte de tout ca de nos jours! Ni de la minutie et du temps que la fabrication peut prendre!
If this wasn't enough for one day we stopped for something to eat at Paga Beach [probably one of the most impressive beaches i have ever been to] and this man cooked us a delightful Mie Goreng. The force of the waves and the fact that nobody was there made it all the more forceful. I would love to go back there! By the end of the day, we made it to Moni, settled in for the night and began our introduction to the local Indonesian wildlife!
Nous nous sommes arretes manger dans un endroit magnifique, Paga beach qui est une plage deserte ou cet homme nous a cuisine un mie goreng. Brian en a profite pour se baigner, il avait la mer pour lui tout seul et a bien apprecie!
written by  Lenameets50 on January 15, 2010 from Ende, Indonesia

Kelimutu to Riung
Riung, Indonesia
The second day started much the same way as the first but with an earlier wake-up call. At 7am we were on our way up to the three lakes of Kelimutu to see the most famous natural phenomena on Flores. Steeped in legend, it is a spiritual home for the people where sacrifices have long been madein honour of the dead. The lakes are not only three different colours but they have also each changed colour over the years.
Despite scientists attempting to relate this phenomenon with the surrounding volcanic activity local people believe that each is a resting place for the souls of those who have died; young, elderly and everybody inbetween! What we appreciated more than anything else before the rain appeared was the absence of large numbers of tourists [just a handful were present] and there were no hard-sell locals with batteries or chains etc either. For this reason we could really feel the spiritual element to this place and that made it more enjoyable. In case it interests you, the lakes are highly acidic and anything including people that fall in will certainly not be recovered as proved through the years!
2eme jour: le leve du soleil n'aura pas ete pour cette fois non plus a cause des nuages sur le mont Kelimutu! Mais cela reste un site exceptionnel avec ses 3 lacs acides et ses legendes! Ces lacs sont bien connus pour avoir ete blanc, rouge et noir. Aujourd'hui, ils sont vert clair, vert et bleu/noir. Leur couleur changent au fil du temps sans reelle explication scientifique alors les locaux ont cree leurs legendes.
L'ame des personnes decedees de la region irait dans un lac en fonction de l'age (un pour les jeunes, un pour les moins jeunes...). Afin d'assurer leur repos, il y a regulierement des offrandes et des sacrifices (encore aujourd'hui). On ressent quelque chose de particulier en etant la-haut, d'autant plus qu'il n'y avait aucun commerce lie au tourisme sur ce site (ce qui est extremement rare en Asie).
After a late late breakfast we hit the road and the road hit us! We travelled to Riung on the North coast and encountered not only the magnificent inner beauty of Flores island but also a long stretch of road that could not be passed at speeds above 25km/ hour. I managed to break Dino's passenger window along the route too. If this wasn't enough we also stopped at a beach where the blue stones turn green in the water and the locals work very hard to collect them and sellthem to Japanese who turn them into ceramic bathroom tiles.
Finally we reached our destination where we were welcomed by all animals that live in jungle bungalows [more to come on that one though!] Dinner was killed in front of our own eyes, made into both duck soup and grilled duck before finally we got some shut-eye in the safety of a mosquito net!
Ensuite il etait temps de partir pour Riung, une ville au nord de l'ile. Cela n'a pas ete une partie de plaisir car la route est completement defoncee! (30 km/h max). Il n'y a qu'une route qui traverse l'ile et elle n'est pas vraiment entretenue. On a eu le temps admirer la beaute des paysages! L'indonesie est une vraie force de la nature et lorsqu'on traverse le pays, on a l'impression que tout est intact depuis l'apparition de ces paysages. Et on a qu'une peur c'est que le tourisme de masse debarque un jour sur cette ile (comme avec l'ile de Bali par exemple).
En chemin, nous nous sommes arretes sur une plage de galets bleus, qui ont la particularite de devenir verts au contact de l'eau. Apparemment les japonais les achetent pour le carrelage de leurs salle de bain.
written by  Lenameets50 on January 16, 2010 from Riung, Indonesia

Never to be Forgotten!
Riung, Indonesia
In the morning as we woke up, Lenaic alerted me to the second of two large spiders that we had seen the night before. I acted swiftly to remove the danger with a flip-flop and we could breathe again, Lenaic has a phobia of spiders and "small beasts" you see. Drama over, we walked to the small jetty and boarded the boat that was taking us on an excursion to see some small islands, eat lunch on the beach and do some snorkeling. As you can see from the pictures both the journey out and the village were very picturesque. Lenaic discovered snorkeling and Brian got sunburn spending way too much time with the fish. Lunch was a marvelous seafood barbecue prepared by Itan , one of Dino's friends in Riung. We relaxed for a while but just as it was time to move on the rain made its usual appearance and we made our way back in some memorable torrential conditions.
Le matin dans notre bungalow en plein milieu de la jungle, qui je precise a un immense espace entre les murs et le toit, je retrouve les 2 araignees vues la veille. Je precise aussi que je n'ai aucune attirance pour les araignees et les petites betes de la jungle voire une phobie. Brian apaise la situation a l'aide de sa tong. Fin de l'histoire, nous partons pour une des fameuses 17 iles du parc de Riung faire du snorkelling. Pendant que je balbutiais dans l'eau a faire mes premiers essais de respiration avec un tuba, Brian nageait comme un poisson dans l'eau a tel point qu'il a attrape un bon coup de soleil dans le dos. Barbecue de poisson et bananes grillees sur la plage preparees par Itan, un ami de Dino. Fantastique. Alors qu'on s'appretait a partir decouvrir une autre ile, une pluie torrentielle s'est abbatue sur nous et avons du retourner tristement a nos bungalows. On a pas fait grand chose du coup cette apres-midi la.
On our return, Lena wondered if she had been hallucinating when she saw [in a glance] a spider of considerable size. We went for dinner and Brian tried the Betel-nut mixture; Betel nut, Lime powder and lots of chewing. The result is that your mouth goes very red and you get a short-lasting natural high, it is also the reason why you see 80% of old Indonesian ladies with maroon coloured bottom lips! The men smoke, the women chew Betel nut!
Avant de partir diner, je vois au plafond une enorme araignee et detourne le regard une seconde en me disant que ca commencait a devenir un cauchemar pour moi ici. Une seconde plus tard, plus rien. Je commence a douter et a me demander si j'ai pas eu une hallucination tellement qu'il parait impossible de disparaitre d'un plafond en une fraction de seconde. Bon. On mange tous ensemble et Brian s'essaie meme a la coutume locale qui est de macher la noix de Betel avec de la poudre de citron vert pour l'effet qui pique. D'ou la langue rouge!! Apparemment il a bien aime. Ce produit est suppose rendre legerement stone un court moment, sauf que Brian a trop force sur la poudre de citron, ce qui a eu pour seul effet de lui bruler legerement la langue. Haha Experience. Ici a Flores c'est incroyable le nombre de femmes que l'on voit avec la bouche noire/rouge. Elles ont mache ca toute leur vie et semblent un peu accro! En gros les hommes fument et les femmes machent.
Back to the bungalow, where on entry, Brian discovered that the spider of a considerable size did exist and that he also had a friend! As they were on the cieling, we called for back-up and Dino appeared with a magic brush to help move them on and out of the gap between cieling and walls [a jungle bungalow don't forget!]. After the second drama of the day we made sure that all of our bags were closed and the door locked from the inside before tightly closing the mosquito net and heading to sleep!
...well until approximately 4am when Brian rather strangely and unusually turned to Lenaic and said "pass me the torch". As she did so, an air of uneasiness filled the room and as the torch was turned towards to the mosquito net we discovered that it was wide open [not a little bit, it was wide open!]. The fear that rushed through us was like being in a very scary film, worse still we shone the torch towards the door and it was wide open too! Our water bottle resting nicely against a wall and not on the bed as we always keep it. Lenaic's trousers on the floor where she never keeps them in fear of spiders getting inside. This was an insane and confusing experience that has not and will not be explained! In fear of either a thief or someone still being inside the room, Brian got up and had a look around - nothing was stolen and nothing/nobody was found - except the key in the front of the door. As the title says; 'never to be forgotten, January 17th 2010'.
Temps de rentrer. L'angoisse monte et je demande a Brian de verifier si notre bungalow est habite ou pas. Reponse, oui et par 2 araignees cette fois. C'etait bien celle que j'avais vu... Brian n'etait pas a l'aise du tout cette fois-ci et la simple tong ne semblait pas suffire! Dino vient nous aider avec son balai magique qui les a chasse a l'exterieur. Sachant qu'elles pouvaient revenir, nous fermons tous les sacs et sautons vite dans la moustiquaire en nous assurant qu'elle est bien fermee. Une bonne nuit de sommeil en perspective pour se remettre de toutes ces emotions!
...Jusqu'au moment ou vers 4h du matin, on se reveille legerement... Intuitivement, brian me demande la lampe torche comme si il avait ressenti quelque chose. Il fait une breve inspection et me dit soudainement d'un ton pas rassure du tout que la moustiquaire etait grande ouverte derriere moi. oh la la qu'est ce qu'il se passe. L'angoisse monte d'un cran (je pense surtout aux araignees qui pourraient etre partout dans le lit, tandis que lui pense que quelqu'un est entre et qu'il a pu nous voler des affaires). Alors qu'on balaie la chambre avec notre lampe torche, on remarque terrifies que la porte est grande ouverte, puis que la bouteille d'eau et mon pantalon qui etaient avec nous dans la moustiquaire sont maintenant sur le sol a un metre. Digne d'un film d'horreur, hors de question de bouger tellement que je suis pas rassuree et reste immobile dans le lit avec la lampe torche allumee le temps que le jour se leve. Cette histoire nous marquera pour longtemps, d'autant plus qu'elle n'a ni sens ni d'explication, que la cle etait sur la porte et que rien n'a ete vole... C'etait le 17 Janvier 2010.
written by  Lenameets50 on January 17, 2010 from Riung, Indonesia

Hot Spring to Bajawa
Bajawa, Indonesia
After the eventful night in Riung the sun finally came up and we set off for Bajawa with no real explanation for what happened except 'spirts'. Driving to Bajawagave us the chance to sit back, relax and enjoy the magnificent mountainous greenery around every twist and turn in the road. This scene animated by the children and animals playing dangerously close to the side of road. Just before arriving in Bajawa we stopped at a very hot and unoccupied natural Spring. Dino had a shave, everyone slowly got in and Brian sat on the side because his sunburn from the snorkeling was in the painful stage.
Apres la folle nuit de Riung, qui est reste sans explication sauf Celle des esprits qui seraient venus nous saluer (ils sont animistes dans cette region), nous sommes partis pour Bajawa. Ouf, fini la jungle. Nous avons retrouve notre route chaotique preferee et apprecie de nouveau les paysages. Nous nous sommes arretes sur un site naturel ou l'eau jaillit a 40 degres. Nous etions les seuls! Les indonesiens utilisent ces bains pour faire leur toilette vu que l'eau n'est pas stagnante et part vers une riviere. Pendant que nous faisions trempette, Dino faisait sa toilette et s'est rase! Malheuseusement Brian n'a pas pu entrer dans cette eau qui etait trop chaude pour ses coups de soleil.
After the Spring, we made it to Bajawa where we had a look around the market and had lunch. Nothing exceptional to add apart from the presence of the clouds passing through the streets and accidentally leaving our bag at the restaurant for all of a few minutes while we crossed the road.
A Bajawa, rien de special a part le marche qui etait bien sympa et le fait qu'on ait oublie notre sac dans un restaurant avant de realiser quelques minutes plus tard qu'on l'avait oublie...
written by  Lenameets50 on January 18, 2010 from Bajawa, Indonesia

The Return of The GitGit
Bajawa, Indonesia
Bajawa was fairly cold and the wind on the first night literally shook everything that stood. In the morning we drove thirty minutes to a small village where a local guide took us on a three-hour trek to Inielika, a volcano that last erupted in 2001. We arrived at the site to see that one side of the volcano had actually fallen away with the eruption.
Just as we finished taking a few photos, we started to carefully walk [one by one] along a ridge to a lone tree. As we did this Lenaic felt something happen very quickly, then she realised that she had been stung and that the thing that had stung her was coming back again! Panic set in and before you know it me and the guide took a hit too! We had strayed too close to a wasp nest but it was no ordinary wasp, it was a GitGit and the guide showed us clearrly that even he was in fear of these beast of the sky! See the photos for evidence, honestly you don't want to be stung by one of these! Praise for Toufik though as he beat one that was trying to eat my jumper. It was time to head back early!
La nuit a Bajawa a ete agitee a cause d'un vent exceptionnellement fort, a tel point qu'on etait pas sur de pouvoir faire l'excursion du jour: l'ascension du volcan Inielika. Ce volcan est entre en eruption en 2001 et son explosion a litteralement fait sauter tout un pan du cone. La vegetation n'a toujours pas repousse, reste des crateres remplis d'eau orange (a cause du mercure) mais nous ne les avons pas vu de cette couleur (trop de pluie???).
Une fois au sommet et apres la prise de quelques photos, le guide local qui nous accompagnait decide de nous faire redescendre du cote du cratere quand soudain je sens qu'un "truc" me fonce dessus a toute allure et realise qu'il m'a pique/mordu sur la joue!! Aie! Alors que Brian et le guide venait voir ce qu'il m'arrivait, Brian sent une vive douleur derriere sa tete, ainsi que le guide vers son oeil. Soudain realisant qu'il s'agit d'une attaque de guepes (Git-Git), le guide crie "Git-Git Run!". Et la, c'est la panique! quelles vacances! Brian laisse tomber sa veste par terre car il y avait deja 2 autres guepes dessus. Toufik prend courageusement un baton, tue les guepes et ramasse la veste. Merci Toufik. On quitte la zone du nid le plus vite possible. Je courrais et apres quelques metres j'entends qu'une guepe continue de me poursuivre. Je cours, je crie, je m'assois avec mon manteau de pluie sur la tete, elle est encore la, je cours, je crie, je panique (de nouveau). Et plus je crie, plus elle me suit! L'horreur. Brian me dit "Cours et arrete de crier!" lol, ce qui a marche. S'en est suivi 3 jours de gonflements et de legeres douleurs pour nous deux.
Nursing our injuries we went to Bena village which is a relatively preserved traditional mountain village. Despite tourism obviously passing through, the village has maintained its traditional appearance and customs. Due to tradition, people who marry are required to stay in the original village households and for this reason it is causing a modern-day problem. The attraction of modern commodities and living standards is proving a threat, especially to the young population. There are not actually that many houses either but each descends from a family line and either has origins from a female or male ancestor as can be seen from a small spiritual representation on top of the house. If a household or family wish to either rebuild or in rare cases construct a new house they must provide enough food by sacrifice to feed the village as an offering and in return for their help in the construction. This is evident today by the number of pig-jaws or cow skulls that are displayed on the front of each house.
L'apres midi nous avons visite un village traditionnel relativement preserve malgre le tourisme, Bena. Toute personne qui se marie avec un des villageois doit rester vivre dans le village. Ils fonctionnent selon le principe de communaute. Du coup, les jeunes d'aujourdhui ne veulent plus vivre ainsi, loin de tout ce qui commence a poser quelques problemes. Du coup une certaine tolerance s'installe et les couples doivent seulement revenir pour les fetes importantes, les celebrations. Sur le toit des maisons, apparait une statuette indiquant si le local vivant dans cette maison est un homme ou une femme. Des qu'un couple emmenage dans une maison, le rituel est de sacrifier un sacre nombre d'animaux pour nourrir toute la communaute lors de la ceremonie. Ensuite ils affichent fierement les ossements des tetes sur le devant de la maison. Plus il y en a, mieux c'est.
written by  Lenameets50 on January 19, 2010 from Bajawa, Indonesia

Drink Arak! Speak English!
Ruteng, Indonesia
This was probably the quietest day of the trip as we left Bajawa and headed overland to Ruteng. The journey was once more very impressive and we started to enter rice Field territory which you can see from these pictures. We also got to know more about Amandine and Toufik, the French couple that we were travelling on this trip with. They were a really nice couple who had been living in Australia for a while and have the intention of going to Canada, right now they were making the most of Indonesia though, just like us!
De Bajawa nous sommes alles en direction de Ruteng. Nous avons fait principalement de la route ce jour la. Heureusement qu'on s'entendait bien avec Amandine et Toufik, le couple de francais tres sympa qui voyageait avec nous. Ils ont vecu quelques mois en Australie et ont maintenant l'intention de s'expatrier au Canada apres ce voyage.
Sometime around midday we stopped at a roadside where there were plenty of Palm trees and as always people living/working along the road. These people must be quite popular though as they produce the local alcoholic drink 'Arak'. The government lets them produce on a small scale as the land is not good enough to farm and the sea not blessed with enough fish. Anyway, we got a little insight into the very simple production process and then we moved on again. As the others know well now - the locals would often encourage Toufik to 'Drink Arak' and 'speak English!' ..he did too! haha!
Le long de la route, nous avons vu plein de gens travailler dans les champs de palmiers, recuperant la seve afin de produire l'Arak. C'est le seul alcool autorise par le gouvernement car c'est la seule ressource de la region permettant de faire vivre ses habitants. Nous nous sommes arretes afin d'observer la production de cette boisson que l'on connaissait deja bien. Hein Toufik!! Toufik etait regulierement encourage par les locaux pour boire de l'Arak. Cela ameliorait considerablement son niveau d'anglais! Il nous a bien fait rire.
After the previous night in a simple accommodation with lacking bathroom facilities we were treated to a night of luxury - in a convent! Brilliant! Dino gave us the chance to discover 'Martabak' and 'Keju' when we arrived in Ruteng and it was much appreciated. I'm not sure how to explain it other than 'delicious'. A look up at at the stars and then it was time for bed.
La particularite de cette journee etait surtout qu'apres avoir dormi dans des endroits peu confortables et pas vraiment propres, nous avons dormi.... dans un couvent! Parfaitement tenu... avec une douche chaude, le luxe! On ne peut apprecier ce qu'on a au quotidien a sa juste valeur si on n'experiemente pas l'inconfort de temps en temps. ca c'est fait. Brian a profite de sa soiree pour regarder les etoiles....jusqu'au moment ou les nonnes lui ont demande de rentrer car le couvent fermait ses portes.
written by  Lenameets50 on January 20, 2010 from Ruteng, Indonesia

Last Overland Day
Labuhanbajo, Indonesia
We were woken nice and early by the nuns and then soon made our way to a popular rice Field that has the same form as a spider's web. The reason for this is that the central part is for all of the community, then as the rice Fields spiral around the centre each so many Fields are for different family households from the community. Everybody helps each other and this means that that at any one time each set of Fields is in a different stage of the process and thus often different colours make them clearly visible. An interesting communal way of working! This particular location has the biggest Field of this type in Indonesia and is a good representation of how strong community values and working are in Flores.
Et enfin nous partons pour la derniere ville de notre parcours, Labuan Bajo. En chemin, nous nous arretons voir le champs de riz en forme de toile d'araignee dont la partie centrale est commune aux cultivateurs. Chaque famille a une parcelle, d'ou la difference de niveau de pousse qui donne ces couleurs et ce relief. Ce champs represente les valeurs et la culture sur l'ile de Flores.
By the late afternoon we climbed and cleared our last hill in Flores and arrived in the fishing port of Labuhanbajo. Due to the Komodo National Park and the famous Dragons it is quite a touristic place but unexpectedly an incredibly beautiful place too - not the town itself but the setting! We went to see our boat and captain before settling into our fantastic accommodation with a view that is unparalleled in the town. A bit of relaxation on the decking before Brian and Toufik got involved in some light graffiti [see pics]. If you are not aware of light graffiti it basically involves torches, lights and long exposure on your camera. Then it was bed before the big trip to Komodo and Rinca!
Arrive a destination, nous decouvrons Labuan Bajo qui est une ville portuaire touristique car c'est le point de depart pour visiter les iles abritant les dragons de Komodo. Du port nous voyons au loin les iles du parc naturel, ce qui nous donne un avant gout de ce qui nous attend le lendemain matin. Nous passons voir le capitaine de notre bateau pour s'assurer que tout est pret pour le lendemain matin. Nous passerons 2 jours a bord. Mais avant nous rejoignons notre chambre, qui a une belle vue sur la mer. Une fois le soleil couche (plus de panorama donc plus rien a faire), brian et toufik se sont amuses a faire des photo light graffiti (dans la penombre avec une lampe torche en mode longue exposition).
written by  Lenameets50 on January 21, 2010 from Labuhanbajo, Indonesia

Komodo and Rinca: Day 1
Komodo, Indonesia
Around 8am we met up with our captain, his three-man crew and of course our charter boat for the next two days as we sailed around Rinca and Komodo! It felt like two hours for us to reach Rinca but we were instantly absorbed by the incredible landscape that makes the Komodo National Park. It seemed like a never-ending chain of green jagged hills [even mountains] and empty golden beaches, all of this joined by such clear blue water - really the most incredible thing about the trip for us!
The boat itself was great too, Rolind captained his team of an engineer, a chef and a deck-hand but in reality all of them helped each other. This part of the trip was arranged with Dino and was all included; boat, food, park entrance, snorkel... ...everything except the biscuits and some extra drinks!
Tot le matin, nous embarquons sur le bateau et faisons la connaissance de notre equipage en direction de l'ile de Rinca. 2 heures de mer a admirer les richesses de ce parc naturel qui semble intact depuis des millions d'annees. Quel privilege d'etre la, ces 2 jours seront nos preferes sur Flores. Tout etait inclus pour nous (entrees sur les parcs, guides...) et encore mieux il y avait un cuisinier sur le bateau qui nous preparait de fantastiques repas et en-cas. Pour resumer on n'avait a se soucier de rien sauf de savoir comment on allait manger toute cette nourriture!
Rinca was a strange place with very tall and thin palm trees evenly dispersed across its landscape and dry ravines between its small rolling hills. This is where the Komodo Dragons like to rest in the afternoon and we had the opportunity to see at least five or six females keeping guard near the huge holes they had dug to lay their offspring in. The irony is that once the baby dragons are out of the hole, the mother tries to eat them before they make it to the safety of the trees! We continued to follow our guide [complete with stick] up to a spot on top of a hill where we found a big Dragon hiding between a rock and a tree. As it relaxed in the shade of the sun, it gave us the opportunity to get some good photos before making our way down to the boat. Once on board the crew made us feel instantly at home with a deliciously refreshing juice - a sign of the service to come!
L'ile de Rinca : nous avons fait une petite marche de 1h pour aller a la renconte des dragons et decouvrir le relief et la vegetation de cette ile. Nous avons vu comment les femelles font diversions en creusant plusieurs trous pour tromper l'ennemi afin de cacher leurs progenitures en devenir. Le guide nous a explique qu'a la naissance les bebes ont l'instinct de monter le plus vite possible dans un arbre pour eviter leur mere.... qui attend de les manger! Une fois devenus trop lourds pour grimper aux arbres, ils sont en mesure de se defendre. Le guide a un baton special qui en cas d'attaque permet d'immobiliser les dragons au niveau du cou. Le danger reste minime puisque la journee ils sont assomes par la chaleur. Par contre la nuit cela semble assez dangereux!! Les dragons chassent les animaux de l'ile, chevres, buffles, chevaux (2 recemment qui ont mis bas, et l'odeur du sang les a attires et ont tue les 2 chevaux) et autres. Ce n'est pas tant la "morsure" qui est dangereuse, ce sont les bacteries tres puissantes contenues dans leur salive qui tue rapidement. Apres quelques photos, il etait temps de rentrer au bateau pour savourer le jus de fruit frais qui nous attendait.
We had our first of three superb meals on the boat as we sailed from Rinca across the waters and incredibly strong currents to a snorkelling spot closer to Komodo island itself. Just as the sky became a bit cloudier it was time to jump in and discover what lay beneath. The feeling of seeing such a beautiful garden of corals and exotic fish is difficult to describe but this spot was one on the best snorkelling spots i have ever been to. Within minutes there were turtles and large shoals of fish to be seen, then rays and closer to the beach the coral gives out a red substance that makes the beach look pink and hence the name of the place, Pink Beach.
Nous avons repris la mer en direction de Komodo et avons decouvert la puissance des courants entre ces deux iles (c'est d'ailleurs a cause de la puissance des courants que ces animaux prehistoriques existent toujours. Ils n'ont pas pu quitter leurs iles et d'autres predateurs n'ont pu les atteindre). Proche des cotes, le bateau a jete l'encre pour qu'on puisse faire du snorkelling. Je ne me suis pas aventuree trop loin du bateau tandis que Brian n'a pas hesite a nager jusqu'a une plage de sable rose, admirant au passage poissons, tortues et coraux.
After Pink Beach we sailed a short while to the sheltered spot where we would lay down anchor and spend the night. Just as we arrived two dolphins made an appearance and these were followed by a mass passage of flying-foxs [bats] going from one side of the water to the other, impressive. The locals came out to sell us a wooden Komodo Dragon and we duly accepted, after all it's better to buy here than in Bali! We watched the sun go down and had another splendid meal of fresh fish thanks to one of the crew who caught a big fish en route to Rinca by trailing a fishing line of the back of the boat. A few drinks and some music between everybody and then to sleep; some put up with the heat and size of the cabin others chose the deck!
Nous avons dormi entre 2 iles dans un endroit protege des vagues. Alors que le soleil se couchait, nous avons vu 2 dauphins nager vers le bateau puis un peu plus tard, les flying fox (sorte de chauve souris) passer au dessus de nous rejoingnant Komodo. Magique! Des vendeurs sont venus a bord et nous leur avons achete un petit dragon en bois souvenir. C'est bizarre de faire ses achats en pleine mer! En route, l'equipage avait installe un filet de peche ce qui nous a permis de manger du poisson frais le soir meme. Compte tenu de l'etroitesse, de la chaleur et de quelques cafards dans la cabine, Brian et Amandine ont decide de dormir sur le pont!
written by  Lenameets50 on January 22, 2010 from Komodo, Indonesia

Komodo and Rinca: Day 2
Labuhanbajo, Indonesia
Our second day on the sea began with a beautiful Sunrise as you can see from the photos. Just as we were getting ready for breakfast, the captain took us on a tour around the fishing boats that surrounded the bay. As Captain Rolind bought our lunch, we got the chance to watch each fisherman on every boat working alongside his wife and child. The sea standing still and the heat starting to rise it was a fantastic place to be and won't be forgotten either.
Nous avons assiste au leve du soleil (enfin!) puis avons navigue parmi les bateaux de peche de la baie. Nous avons constate que de bon matin les pecheurs travaillent en famille avec femme et enfants sur leur bateau. La journee s'annoncait deja belle.
We arrived at Komodo island around 8am before the small cruise ship got there and although it wasn't quite as good for dragon spotting as Rinca it still made a pleasant land-break. We got to see a few big dragons walking around as the heat was more bearable for them at this time. The deer and other animals that live around the small settlement made us imagine feeding time every time they wondered close to a dragon but nothing eventful happened!
Nous sommes arrives a Komodo de bonne heure avant que les bateaux de touristes debarquent. Mais a choisir nous avons prefere l'ile de Rinca pour ses nombreux dragons et le contexte. Mais vu qu'il etait relativement tot les dragons n'etaient pas encore trop assomes par la chaleur a Komodo et nous avons vus certains se deplacer devant nous et c'etait impressionnant! Du coup entre les animaux autour des dragons (des biches) et les dragons qui se deplacent, on imagine vite qu'une attaque va se produire.... et bien non.
After Komodo we had a two hour journey along the coast to Manta point where we spent a while circling the shallow crystal waters looking for Manta rays. Although we saw several from the boat either playing on the surface or swimming in numbers below, every time we tried to catch them in the water with the snorkeling gear they were to quick. Brian did get to spend a few minutes alongside one though and it was a formidable underwater experience. Eventually we stopped the engine and spent some time just playing about in the water and lounging on the boat. A perfect afternoon! Then a last stop on Angel Island where the ladies enjoyed the beach before our return to Labuhanbajo and the end of a quite marvelous two-day trip to Komodo National Park. It wasn't the dragons that made it just the pure beauty and preservation of this magical place.
Apres komodo, nous avons navigue 2 bonnes heures pour rejoindre une zone en pleine mer qui s'appelle Manta point ou on peut admirer des raies geantes. Apres en avoir apercu du bateau Brian a saute du bateau a plusieurs reprises pour les voir avec son masque. En vain, pas assez rapide! Finalement il a pu en voir une durant quelques minutes et profite des ces moments privilegies. Nous avons pose l'encre de nouveau et fait du snorkelling dans une eau translucide (heureusement, si une raie arrive!). La fin du voyage s'est termine par une session plage sur l'ile Angel (ile de l'ange) avant de rejoindre Labuan Bajo. Plus que les dragons, c'est surtout le cadre magique du parc naturel que nous avons apprecie durant ces 2 jours.
written by  Lenameets50 on January 23, 2010 from Labuhanbajo, Indonesia

5 Days on Gili Trawangan
Gili Trawangan, Indonesia
After such a fantastic trip across Flores with Dino it was time to return to the realities of backpacking and this meant a 28-hour journey to Mataram on Lombok island. The journey included several parts by both bus and ferry but it actually went quite well as we slept for most of it. On arrival in Mataram we took 5 minutes out to think [due to hassle coming from all directions] and then decided to head directly to the Gili Islands where we had been planning to go and relax for the last serious part of Indonesia. By midday we had made it to our destination with only one incident to report en route. While in Banksal harbour we were told that there were no ATMs on the Gili islands, so with no alternative we had to manually complete the transaction with a lady who took an astonishing 10% commission. You could say was prepared for us, "How much do you want? 5million Rph?" ...to which i replied "make it 2million!" This meant that we had less money than our Normal budget while on Gili and that we would endure the feeling of being 'officially' robbed. Worse still, there had been an ATM on the island for 2 months [although it was quite hit and miss we were told]!
Apres Flores il etait temps de quitter Dino pour rejoindre Mataram a Lombok. 28 h de ferry et de bus! Mais ce trajet est passe comme une lettre a la poste contrairement a ce que l'on pensait. Nous avons dormi une bonne partie du voyage. Arrives a Mataram nous avons vite ete envahis par les rabatteurs des agences de voyages. En pleine forme, nous avons decide de reprendre le bus pour atteindre les iles Gili afin de nous relaxer apres ce trip aventure sur Flores! 6 jours au meme endroit sans faire/defaire nos sacs. Tout s'est tres bien deroule, sauf qu'au port avant d'embarquer pour les iles gili nous n'avions plus trop d'argent. 5 minutes avant de prendre le bateau nous demandons confirmation qu'il y a bien un distributeur automatique sur l'ile. On nous repond que non! Viiiiiiiiite, il faut aller retirer. Et la bien sur, c'est l'arnaque. Non plutot du vol. 10% retenu du montant total retire. degoutes. Tout ca pour decouvrir que sur l'ile... il y en a un depuis 2 mois (bon apparemment qui marche une fois sur 3).
The Gili Islands were a perfect opportunity to relax and catch up on things that we had been unable to do during our Flores trip. Everything went to plan apart from the Internet which was way too expensive and so we booked ourselves in for five nights, changing place after the first. We stayed on Gili Trawangan, the largest of the three islands and the busiest in terms of other tourists and partying.
Gili is also an island overrun with cats of all colours, sizes and shapes. Cats only have half a tail due to the local superstition that by chopping the end off and burying it in the grounds of the house, it will chase the bad spirits away. As well as cats the island also has a lot of horses but this is due to there being no cars or motorbikes, great! The way to get around is either by horse and cart, bicycle or as we chose - foot!
Nous sommes restes sur l'ile Trawangan, la plus touristique et animee. En un mot, farniente!! On devait aussi en profiter pour avancer dans le blog, mais c'etait bien trop cher!! C'est d'ailleurs la seule chose excessive de l'ile, le reste etant surprenamment abordable. Nous avons donc profite de l'ile, de ses restaurants et petites boutiques mais surtout de ses chats. L'ile est remplie de chats ce qui n'etait pas pour me deplaire! Les chats sont des animaux speciaux en Indonesie. Les indonesiens croient que les chats eloignent les mauvais esprits. Ainsi chaque famille a un chat (ou +) et pratique une mutilation sur sa queue. Ils en coupent un bout pour l'enterrer autour de la maison, qui est alors protegee. Sinon l'ile est aussi remplie de chevaux. Ils sont utilises pour le transport etant donne qu'il n'y a ni voiture ni moto sur l'ile ce qui est agreable. On respire!
Most days were the same, we wondered down to the beach, had a swim and then found a few places to hang out and drink from the wide selection of cold shakes and fruit juices. We met a few people and it was not hard to see them again as the main road around the island links everyone together, you are certain to pass each other a few times. While completing our walk around the island at the sunset bar we met two ladies, French [Caroline] and Spanish [Raquel] who spent a bit of time with and eventually the boat that left the island. The sunset bar was some place as you can see from the photos and gave much inspiration - looking out to sea like that. There is not much else to say about Gili except that we enjoyed it and understand that it is also a changing place what with the popularity of its' name amongst tourists.
Petite ile, alors si on fait pas de plongee pas grand chose a faire. Alors s'installe la routine, entre plage baignade manger boire. La vie simple! Ce qui est bien sur cette ile c'est qu'il est vite facile de faire connaissance et de garder contact puisque les gens se rencontrent perpetuellement sur la seule et unique route qui fait le tour de l'ile! C'est comme ca qu'on a rencontre Raquel (espagnole) et aussi Caroline (francaise) au sunset point de l'ile ou ils ont construit un bar tres design qu'avec du bois, voir la photo, puis plus tard Benjamin un autre francais. Gili restera une etape appreciable, mais il est tant de reprendre la route. On s'est assez repose!
written by  Lenameets50 on January 29, 2010 from Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

Kuta get out of here!
Denpasar, Indonesia
We spent two nights and one day at Kuta Beach before our flight out of Indonesia and onto Singapore. Kuta is a former paradise that has been destroyed by mass tourism and we were told this all along the way, hence why we didn't go. The only interesting aspect was the memorial to the victims of the Bali bombings in 2002, including many Australians, British and French too. The area surrounding the memorial throngs with trendy and not-so-trendy bars, blasting music and westerners clad in Bintang vests, not so great for us! We used our time to catch up on this blog and sort a few emails and details out. See you in Singapore.
Avant de prendre notre avion pour Singapour, nous sommes restes 2 jours a Kuta Bali, desormais celebre endroit pour le surf et la fete....et son attentat a la bombe en 2002. Un grand memorial a ete construit avec le nom de tous les morts a cet endroit. Majoritairement des autraliens et indonesiens, avec aussi des anglais et des francais. Triste paysage avec autour toujours autant de bars et boites de nuit qui semblent concourir pour l'etablissement qui fera le plus de bruit! Ca nous change de Gili! Du coup, on a rattrape le temps perdu et mis a jour le blog (d'ou toutes ces entrees d'un coup!).
written by  Lenameets50 on February 1, 2010 from Denpasar, Indonesia

Half-way in Singapore
Singapore, Singapore
On landing in Singapore, we were the last people to leave our flight and enter the wonder that is Changi airport, the last except two people anyway! Not having booked any accomodation, nor actually having any idea we asked them if they could recommend either a place or area. To our surprise they actually owned a well-known hostel in the center of town and so we soon found ourselves filling out our immigration cards and making our way to G4Station, where we stayed throughout. We met a Finnish girl called Alina on the way and on arrival 'the rules' of living in Singapore and our hostel were clearly explained! Remember, sanitize your hands before using the internet!
A la sortie de l'avion, nous ne savions pas ou dormir et il commencait a se faire tard. Au hasard on demande aux derniers passagers, un jeune couple, s'ils ne connaissaient pas un endroit pas trop cher pour dormir. Bingo! L'homme nous dit qu'il est le proprio d'un hostel assez connu dans le centre! Hop on passe le service d'immigration pas commode du tout (ils voulaient une adresse a singapour, mon email et mon telephone!!) et on se dirige vers l'endroit en question, G4 avec Alina une finlandaise qui etait dans la meme situation que nous. Des fois on a vraiment de la chance. Nous decouvrons alors Singapour et ses reglements. Impressionnant! Nous n'avons par exemple pu acceder a internet qu'apres s'etre lave les mains avec une solution hydroalcoolique!
These rules are great though because what you have in Singapore is an immensely clean city with older men happily cleaning already clean metro station floors - most certainly giving you a different impression than Indonesia. A city that works and a city of order. We spent most of our time walking around the city - no we didn't! We walked to Orchard Road and got lost in the never-ending number of shopping centres and food stalls. We both left very happy, a few good deals in hand!
Ces regles contraignantes font toutefois la reputation de la ville, propre et efficace! Il est agreable de se balader dans cette ville ou on se sent en securite. Toutefois certains diront que cet extreme donne l'impression d'une ville aseptisee et sans ame. Nous on a plutot apprecie, et pour etre honnete on s'est vite dirige vers la fameuse avenue Orchard Road, le paradis du shopping. Des centres commerciaux a perte de vue. C'est dur car il faut prendre des decisions! Pourquoi aller dans celui-ci et pas un autre? Sur quel etage porter son attention? Lol. Ce qui est bien c'est que c'est un peu moins cher qu'en Europe et qu'en plus c'est la periode des soldes (nouvel an chinois) alors.... ca vaut pas le coup de s'en priver!
In the evening we went to the Night Safari and it was really good, efficiently organised [as everything] and worth the money. Sadly there are no photos because the conditions were not very good and using a flash is forbidden with the mostly nocturnal animals. Highlights were; the Asian Rhino, the enormous Tapias and a special crocodile with a huge bump on its nose that we got to see quite close up.
Nous avons passe notre soiree au zoo a faire le night safari. La aussi, bien organise! C'etait une experience originale. Par contre nous n'avons pas de photos car le flash est interdit pour le confort des animaux. Ce qui nous a le plus marque c'est de voir d'aussi pres des rhinoceros asiatique (peau tres speciale!) des enormes tapir et des crocodiles avec une grosse boule sur le nez dont je me rappelle plus du nom.
On the last evening, we ate across the road in an Indian that we got to know quite well and then made our way to Marina Bay / Barracks to see a point of view. We never found the viewpoint but we got to see a huge number of workers from the nearby construction sites who were changing shift. By day and night it seems that Marina Bay is being developed with some incredible skyscrapers. However the night was certainly not over and the main mission awaited - getting to the Indoor stadium where Muse [English Music group] were playing. Lenaic is a big fan of theirs and although we couldn't afford the tickets we decided to see if we could catch them afterwards. After the adventure that was getting there, we met their driver [a really cool guy] and incredibly got both an autograph and photo! Somebody was very happy! Then we walked across the city and home, eventually getting in at 3am. Singapore is finished for now but we will be back in a few weeks and hope to discover a few more places then!
La derniere soiree, nous avons mange indien (ici c'est nourriture indienne ou chinoise) puis nous sommes parti pour Marina Bay/Barracks la zone portuaire d'ou parait-il nous aurions une belle vue d'ensemble. Nous avons surtout vu des tours immenses a l'architecture tres design. On s'est retrouve parmi les travailleurs immigrants qui rejoignaient leurs baraquements pour la nuit, pendant qu'une autre equipe prenait le relais. La construction semble ne jamais s'arreter a Singapour. Mais la vraie mission de la soiree etait de se rendre vers le stade couvert de la ville ou jouait mon groupe de musique prefere, Muse! Bien que nous n'avions pas les moyens de nous acheter des places, il etait important d'etre sur place... au cas ou. Deja on entendait pas si mal de l'exterieur et on a pu faire la connaissance de leur chauffeur (qui nous a lache plein d'infos) en attendant la fin du concert. Mission accomplie, autographe+photo! Super contente! Du coup le retour de plus d'une heure de marche jusqu'a l'hostel est pas trop mal passe. C'etait la fin de Singapour, mais nous revenons dans quelques semaines pour en decouvrir un peu plus. Vivement!
Thought about staying here but changed our mind... ;)
written by  Lenameets50 on February 4, 2010 from Singapore, Singapore

Snorkel Junkies of Sibuan!
Semporna, Malaysia
First of all, many apologies for the numerous pictures of tranquil blue waters, desert islands and joyful children playing with toy wooden boats!
Cette fois-ci pas beaucoup de texte mais beaucoup de photos (sachez qu'il y a plein d'autres photos que celles visibles sur le blog dans la partie photo, dont voici le lien).
So where are we? Well, take a look at the map and you will see that we are in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We arrived in Tawau and made our way towards the famous coastline where islands and sand-banks such as Sipadan, Mabul, Mataking and Kepalai can be found. However at over 70euro just to go snorkeling on Sipadan and 300euros [per person per night] to stay on Kepalai, we found ourselves on a cheaper alternative.
A day-trip to Sibuan, a tiny island [as you can see] inhabited by some gypsy travellers from the Philippines and a handful of soldiers. We spent a fantastic day doing nothing except; snorkel, swim, relax, hide in the shade, walk around the island and of course get to know the locals! The children were a sight to behold! It must also be said that so far we have been astounded by the calm friendliness of the people that we have met here. Well this is a short entry just to let you know what we are doing so, bye for now and back to our cheap insect-infested hostel [what a contrast!]...
Nous sommes sur l'ile de Borneo, dans la region de Sabah en Malaisie. De Tawau nous avons rejoins Semporna, endroit bien connu des plongeurs car cette ville permet d'atteindre un des spots les connus au monde, Simpadan (mais aussi Mabul, Kepalai, Mataking). Il faut un permis pour entrer sur ces iles, et il se paye assez cher! Malgre cela, il y a une liste d'attente pouvant aller jusqu'a 2 mois et demi pour plonger la-bas. Nous on voulait simplement faire une sortie de snorkelling qui convenait a notre budget. Nous nous sommes retrouves sur la petite ile de Sibuan habitee illegalement par quelques gitans des mers (qui sont toleres par les autorites...enfin jusqu'a ce qu'un luxueux resort soit construit sur cette ile, ce qui ne devrait pas tarder!), et aussi un poste de douaniers pour controler ces fameux permis.
Journee exceptionnelle a faire du snorkelling, marcher sur la plage et rencontrer les enfants de l'ile. On etait vraiment dans un paysage de carte postale. C'etait tellement bien qu'on n'a pas regrette les sites plus connus qui du coup sont aussi plus frequentes. Bon... ce qu'on ne dit pas c'est qu'apres on a du rentrer dans notre chambre ultra basique pleine de cafards geants et moustiques a Semporna une ville plutot sale. Dur le contraste!
Like we said, sorry!
written by  Lenameets50 on February 6, 2010 from Semporna, Malaysia

It's a Jungle Out There!
Sepilok, Malaysia
Borneo is a land of exotic contrast and having spent a day on Sibuan we soon found ourselves knee deep in rainforest mud, how? Well, a three-day stay in a nature lodge by the Kinabatangan River helped! We were welcomed to the lodge by Ibrahim, he gave us a somewhat unique and funny introduction to the electric fence [to keep big animals out], the animals to look out for during our stay and the agenda for the many walks and river-cruises that we had planned. We were soon heading down river on a small boat, accompanied by an Australian couple, a young Scottish couple and a Swiss girl with a passion for nature!
By the end of the afternoon we had seen orang-utans, eagles, monkies and most amazingly, wild pygmy elephants. The elephants do not appear that often and we had exceptional luck to see them at this time of the year, seeing so many of them from 10m as they had lunch by the river was incredible. In the evening we discovered the jungle by night as we did a 45 minute nightwalk with our 'gentle' guide Elson - who really was a star! We didn't see that much but just equipping yourself physically and mentally to do it is something! [The beasts come out at night!]
Borneo est une terre de contrastes, si bien que nous sommes passes de l'ile paradisiaque Sibuan a .... la boue de la Rainforest! 3 jours dans la Nature Lodge pres de la riviere Kinabatangan a decouvrir la faune et la flore. La boue, c'est parce qu'il y a eu des inondations la semaine passe et que la riviere etait en crue. Ibrahim le responsable qui nous a accueilli, nous a directement mis dans le bain en nous mettant en garde avec la cloture electrique qui entoure le Nature Lodge. Nous avons rapidement commence la premiere sortie en bateau-moteur sur la riviere, seule facon de pouvoir observer la nature environnante et toutes ses richesses sans la perturber. Nous etions dans un petit groupe (un couple d'ecossais de notre age, une suisse et un couple d'australiens) avec qui nous sommes restes les 3 jours.
Des le premier jour nous avons vu la chance de voir des orang-outans (ils vivent seuls et construisent chaque soir un nouveau nid!), des aigles, des singes et surtout... des elephants!! A cette saison, c'est apparemment tres rare. Cela faisait 5 mois qu'ils ne les avaient pas observes! Il etaient pres de la riviere, a casser et a manger des branches. Incroyable de voir ces animaux sauvages dans leur milieu naturel! La suite du programme etait de marcher 45 minutes dans la jungle... de nuit! Preparation maximale : bottes+ 2 paires de chaussettes pour ne pas que les sangsues s'incrustent. Heureusement, Elson notre super guide a su nous rassurer! C'etait une experience inoubliable, meme si nous n'avons pas vu grand chose a part quelques araignees et mille-pattes.
Every morning we woke up at 5.30am for the early morning cruise to see the many birds such as; purple herons, egrets, oriental darters, storm storks, hornbills, more eagles and several small but colourful birds with quite specific names. Breakfast after the cruise and Ibrahim oncemore changed guise to ensure we were ready for our 3 hour rainforest trek to the oxbow lake, a lake in the shape of an Ox's horns. We spent the trek fighting against either the branches or the profound mud levels due to the recent floods that had also altered the riverbanks considerably too. As you can see from the picture Lenaic nearly lost more than her boots!
Chaque matin, nous nous levions a 5h30 pour observer de bonne heure les animaux depuis la riviere. Cette fois-ci beaucoup d'oiseaux : herons pourpres, aigrettes, oiseaux-serpents, calaos a casque rouge, d'autres aigles et petits oiseaux colores avec un nom bien specifique. Ensuite, petit dejeuner tres attendu de tous! Requinques, nous sommes partis pour une marche dans la Rainforest jusqu'au lac Oxbow (lac nomme oxbow car il a la forme d'une corne de zebu), marche qui ne s'est pas faite sans difficulte surtout pour moi. Je m'enfoncais dans la boue, et avec l'air emprisonne il m'etait parfois impossible de decoller le pied! Il fallait s'aider des branches et troncs des alentours, epuisant!
In the early evening we had another cruise and this time we saw crocodiles, monitor lizards, buzzards, otters, probiscus monkies [specific to Borneo] and a large owl on the riverbank eating fish supper. After the evening cruise we had another fantastic meal with Ibrahim in his restauranteur guise and a nightwalk where we managed to break our torch. We had to walk back a short-distance without our guide! We left the Nature Lodge at Kinabatangan with good memories and new friends!
En fin d'apres-midi, rebelotte, observation depuis le bateau. Cette fois-ci nous avons vu des crocodiles! Impressionnant. On gardait les doigts bien a l'interieur du bateau! Mais aussi des petits varans, des buses, des loutres, des singes nasiques (qu ne trouve qu'a borneo) et une chouette. Derniere marche de nuit dans la jungle : pas de chance, nous avons perdu la manivelle de notre torche dynamo peu de temps apres le debut de la marche. Trop dangereux, nous avons du rentrer seuls au Nature lodge en essayant de ne pas se perdre. Un peu flippant du coup sans le guide!! Cette etape n'aura ete que des bons souvenirs, partages avec nos nouveaux compagnons de route!
Next stop, Paganakan Dii, a relaxing retreat set at tree canopy-level and near the Rainforest Discovery Centre, Sepilok. While walking around the rainforest grounds at the centre we were able to see Rhinoceros Hornbills [quite something], a chameleon, a flying squirrel, a 'giant' squirrel, a pig-tailed macaque, an unidentifiable 2.5m yellow and grey snake and many more birds! Are there more animals to be seen out there in the jungle? I'm sure there are but we will leave it at that! The rest of the time was spent at the guesthouse, relaxing on the terrace and getting to know Paul, Ayumi and Sandra a bit more, all of us continuing from the same Kinabatangan trip.
Nous avons poursuivi notre route en direction du nord, jusqu'a Paganakan Dii vers Sepilok (connu pour son centre de rehabilitation des orang-outangs). Nous avons dormi dans un endroit qui surplombe la Rainforest durant 2 nuits, au calme dans la nature a regarder les oiseaux et ecureuils de nos lits. Nous avons passe nos journees au centre de decouverte de la Rainforest. C'est en fait une partie de la foret amenagee par des sentiers et une passerelle qui surplombe les arbres. La, nous avions des jumelles. Ce qui change tout! Quel privilege de pouvoir admirer chaque detail de ces animaux sauvages. Les calaos rhinoceros etaient fabuleux!
Nous avons egalement observe un ecureuil volant, un ecureuil geant, des macaques a queue de cochon et surtout le plus impressionnant un serpent jaune et gris que personne n'a su nommer dans le parc. Nous etions fascines de le voir de si pres (de la passerelle, un ecureuil a attire notre attention car il faisait des bruits bizarres. Il etait comme attire par ce serpent et en meme temps il ne pouvait pas s'approcher de trop pres. Les gens du parc nous ont dit que le serpent avait certainement du manger un des petits de cet ecureuil! Snif). Ces 5 jours dans cette partie de Sabah auront ete riches en decouvertes et apprentissages : nous avons appris la patience et a etre attentif! Nous sommes contents d'avoir pu observer autant d'animaux sur Borneo, tant qu'il en reste...
written by  Lenameets50 on February 10, 2010 from Sepilok, Malaysia

Held up in Kota Kinabulu
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
After the jungle, back to urban life in Kota Kinabulu which is the principle city in Malaysian Borneo. En route, we drove past the famous Mount Kinabulu without actually stopping to make the popular [and slightly expensive] ascent to the summit. Instead, we had a good look as it sat above the clouds, thinking how beautiful it must be up there! We arrived in the city and spent a few days trying to avoid the intense heat that filled the streets and food markets, fortunately the lodge has air conditioning! Eventually we made it both to some small islands off the coast and the impressive philipino fish market. We relaxed on the islands and on our return filled ourselves with wonderful cheap food in the market! Delicious! [...and cheap!]
Apres la jungle, nous voici a Kota Kinabalu la capitale de Sabah. En chemin, nous avons apercu le fameux mont Kinabalu dont le sommet est au dessus des nuages. Son ascension est une des choses a faire ici, mais a cause de son prix (il faut un guide, une assurance etc...) et d'une legere flemme nous nous sommes contentes d'imaginer a quel point cela devait etre magnifique de la haut! A part la visite de quelques iles sur la cote, nous avons decide de rester quelques jours a KK (KK tout le monde dit ca ici). Pas grand chose a faire a par profiter du marche de nuit et ses fantastique barbecues philippins! Des crevettes fraiches enormes, poisssons, calamars et tant d'autres... delicieux!
We thought that the Chinese New Year might bring some events or festivities to enjoy but it was actually really quiet. Unlike in the west, the Chinese spend the occasion at home with the family having a traditional dinner. Apart from seeing lots of promotional tigers and the familiar lion dance around town you really wouldn't know it was New Year. On the same note, there is not actually that much to do in Kota Kinabulu itself, however due to Borneo being a little more expensive than we imagined [or were told] we have decided to stay a few extra days and limit the day-to-day damage. We have good food, a good place to stay and things to catch up on before heading south to our next stop, Brunei.
Ici, c'est la periode du nouvel an chinois et vu qu'il y a beaucoup de chinois a KK, nous pensions profiter des festivites. Et bien pas vraiment, c'etait plutot calme car les chinois celebrent le nouvel an a la maison en famille. Donc a part quelques feux d'artifices et danses du lion, RAS! Les magasins sont fermes durant plusieurs jours. Mais cela tombe plutot bien car nous avons decide de rester quelques jours sur place pour rattraper les ecarts sur notre budget avant d'aller a Brunei!
written by  Lenameets50 on February 16, 2010 from Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Labuan: A distinctly black pearl!
Beaufort, Malaysia
As we had a few extra days to use, we decided not just to pass through Labuan on the way to Brunei but instead stay for two nights on what the local tourist board like to call 'the pearl of Malaysia'. So did we find anything interesting or as beautiful? Yes and No. Labuan suffers from its coastal position, we spent one afternoon walking along its relatively untouched west coast but were unable to make anything of it as the silt, winds and driftwood make swimming or relaxing very difficult. There are very few places to eat and seemingly even less people, however there are a number of large houses presumably owned by rich Chinese, Malay or other expatriates making the most of Labuan's duty-free status! Big houses!
En route pour Brunei, nous avons decide de faire un arret sur l'ile de Labuan, un centre financier offshore appelle "La perle" de la Malaisie. Il n'y a pas vraiment d'interet touristique, seulement economique sur cette ile qui est duty-free. Il y a donc surtout des expatries et des riches chinois menant a bien leur business dans le secteur du petrole ou des finances.
We stayed with a local family who employed a Philippine lady to look after guests, we quite enjoyed our stay but were confused as to whether we were staying in a guesthouse or someone's home! Another little detail was the motorbike that we tried to hire; first we were taken to the hotel porter of the most expensive hotel in town and then as we tried to check with the police a number of them offered to help us out too. Basically there i no official moto hire on the island but if you ask then someone always has a friend, even the police! On our first night after a superb Indian meal we also met another local of some sorts; Paul, his partner Janet and his daughter Emma. Paul [originally from London] works in the oil rig service industry and has been living on Labuan for some time now. We had a few drinks and arranged to meet up the next evening.
Nous sommes restes dans le seul hostel de la ville, une experience plutot...familiale! Dans le dortoir de 12, il y avait donc nous deux, une belle jeune femme qui rentrait tard le soir, l'employee provenant des Philippines...et sa petite fille de 4 ans (qui adorait jouer... dans sa chambre, normal mais un peu bruyant du coup pour nous)! Sinon nous voulions decouvrir l'ile a moto: mission du jour, en louer une. Nous avons appris qu'il n'y a pas de magasin pour cela. On nous a envoye vers l'hotel le plus luxueux, voir un employe qui nous propose de louer la moto de son ami... Preferant la voie plus legale avec les assurances et tout (on sait jamais en Malaisie...), nous poursuivons nos recherches en vain. Nous nous arretons devant un poste de police et nous demandons conseil. Tout le monde veut nous aider et le chef aussi. Et il appelle un de ses amis pour nous louer une moto au black! On a hallucine! Bon finalement on a pris le bus... Le soir, nous avons fait la connaissance de Paul, un expat tres sympa travaillant dans le petrole vivant sur l'ile depuis quelques annees, mais aussi Janet sa compagne et Emma sa fille avec qui nous avons prevu de sortir le lendemain soir.
The next day we went to a bird park but it wasn't that great and seeing some of the birds made us a little sad, remember that recently we saw many of them in the wild along the Kinabatangan river. We also spotted this notice in a local hotel window! It was a sign of things to come as Paul explained to us about how duty-free life on Labuan often means foreign nationals from other parts of Malaysia and around Asia coming to drink hard and enjoy the local influx of illegal Philippine women working as prostitutes. We went on to see for ourselves as we enjoyed a night out with Paul and Janet - it was a good night though! As was the whole experience really, seeing the reality of a strange island where different nationalities cross paths in the shadows of big money oil rigs and financial 'agreements' but 'a pearl' - well not quite.
Le lendemain apres-midi nous sommes alles visiter un parc a oiseaux ou une mega sono installee par les macons diffusait du hard-rock a fond (un peu paradoxal avec le calme des oiseaux!). Cette visite etait une des seules choses a faire sur l'ile mais finalement c'etait plus triste qu'autre chose car les animaux sauvages faisaient peine a voir dans leurs petites cages. Il etait temps d'aller s'amuser un peu et de penser a autre chose, nous avons fait la fete avec Paul et Janet ce soir la. Ce que nous retiendrons de Labuan, c'est surtout ce qu'on a pu observer et comprendre du fonctionnement de vie locale sur le business, l'alcool et la prostitution. "La perle"? Pas vraiment...
written by  Lenameets50 on February 18, 2010 from Beaufort, Malaysia

The Beat of Brunei
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
How do we begin to explain the most unexpected part of our trip so far? Just how?
...we were warned that Brunei was both expensive and boring. Haha. How wrong! O.K we were lucky and it is easy to miss the reality but seriously all you have to do is meet the right people... ...and we did! First we met John on the ferry from Labuan to the port and he gave us a generous lift into town. Not just any lift though, a lexus-lift as John is MD of a big firm and has expansive travelling experience himself! He is building his third boat [111ft]so that he can sail around the world again and we saw some rather incredible pictures! Thankfully, he made it clear we would struggle to get in to town, his PA exchanged some money, the office guided the way to our destination and we sat back in unexpected but welcome comfort! Secondly and on arrival, we then asked a young guy for help calling the government owned youth hostel so that we could stay there for $10 [Brunei Dollars] a-night, a guy named Yasdi and another new friend from our travels it turns out! We couldn't check-in as it was friday prayer time so instead Yasdi took us to his place where we had lunch and started to exchange cultural differences.
Nous prenons le ferry pour Brunei avec pleins d'a priori. Nous avons lu et entendu de la part d'autres voyageurs qu'a Brunei, on n'a le droit de ne rien faire et que de toute facon, il n'y a rien a faire et que c'est cher... Et bien pas du tout! Nous avons passe 3 jours fantastiques, il suffit juste de rencontrer les bonnes personnes...ce que nous avons fait! Tout d'abord, John qui etait dans le ferry, un ancien routard qui s'est transforme en riche directeur de firme. Voyant notre galere (car il n'y a que des taxis et que ca coute une fortune), il nous a gentillement propose de nous deposer a notre hostel. Dans la voiture, incroyable. Son assistante personnelle appellait ses contacts pour localiser l'adresse pour guider John! Ce dernier lui a aussi demande de nous changer nos Ringgits contre des dollars singapouriens au taux de change exact (on etait pas non plus a 2 Ringgits pres avec tous les services qu'il nous rendait, et ben si!). Nous sommes donc arrive en Lexus, s'il vous plait, a notre hostel qui en fait... est juste une chambre dans le complexe sportif de la ville. Mais l'avantage, c'est qu'on a pu profiter de la piscine municipale! En arrivant, il n'y avait personne car c'etait l'heure de la priere. Nous devions appeller un numero... et il fallait une carte telephonique. Said, un jordanien decide de nous aider et de nous donner sa carte de telephone, tandis qu'on rencontre Yasdi qui decide de nous amener dejeuner chez lui. Il devient rapidement un ami et nous resterons avec lui les 3 jours.
The people of Brunei are amongst the most friendly and helpful that we have ever met and truthfully it is they who made our stay so great! Yes, they have a way of living that is dictated by both religion and their ruling Sultan but in many ways it is this that makes everything work so well. For example; the Sultan pays for bodyguards when Bruneian citizens do the Hadj pilgrimage to Mecca. He gives $10 to all attendees to his palace on several occasions each year and helps people eventually own their own house amongst a great deal of other things. The Sultan is so prominent in the lives of these citizens that when they use the possessive form 'his' to begin a sentence, you know who they are talking about.
However, what most marked me was that not one public advertisement carried a picture of the product or store they were advertising. Instead they carried immense portraits of their ruler with small print associations to either the product or store that had paid for it. At the same time and to add a bit of perspective i suggest you look up the dear Sultan in Google for more information such as his astounding car collection. While Yasdi was working we made use of the pool attached to the centre where we were staying and had a stroll around the central Bandar district. We also went to an incredible musuem that explained the history of both Brunei and of course its Sultan! An interesting place with a great number of artifacts given to the Sultan from other countries and more impressively a couple of huge man-operated chariots that have been used for ceremonies. No bags! pictures!
Les gens vivant a Brunei nous sont apparus vraiment tres gentils et serviables. Ils sont aussi devoues a la religion et a leur Sultan, qu'ils apprecient malgre certaines regles qui pourraient nous paraitre a nous, occidentaux un peu excessives : pas d'alcool a Brunei, pas de critiques... Lors du regne du Sultan precedant (donc le pere), le nombre de crimes ne cessait d'augmenter. Le Sultan fils a alors decide de retablir l'ordre dans son pays ce qui ravis les habitants. Ils sont contents d'etre proteges par leur Sultan et ne souhaitent pas en changer.
Par exemple, le Sultan assure gratuitement la protection des pelerins qui vont a la Mecque par des gardes du corps. Ou encore, il donne 10 dollars aux habitants qu'il invite dans son palais pour les celebrations, ou meme leur donne une maison quand ils en font la demande apres plusieurs annees d'attente. Ce personnage est interessant tant par son histoire, son parcours et ses collections (regardez juste sur internet si vous voulez connaitre le nombre de voitures qu'il possede et leurs marques...impressionant). Nous avons d'ailleurs visite le musee qui lui est dedie et vu les chars en or qu'il utilise pour les occasions speciales, tires par des hommes.
When Yasdi wasn't working he was driving us around to see Mosques [Sultan's Mosque in picture], palace gates, entertainment/shopping districts and more interestingly his room! The consumption of alcohol is illegal for Bruneian Muslims and for this reason there are no bars and no nightclubs. However this does not mean that the young people don't enjoy themselves and Yasdi is a DJ in the making with some of the best beats i have ever heard coming from his bedroom set up! We had a little exchange of music and talked some more about life in Brunei before saying our goodbyes and best wishes to see each other again! We really got to see how some Bruneians live and as i said to Lenaic shortly after meeting him; "he's a dude!"
Yasdi nous a montre brunei by day et by night, les mosquees aux toits en or, le palais, les centres d'interets de la ville et son histoire.... mais il nous a surtout emmene chez lui. On ne s'attendait pas a ca. Yasdi est un Dj en dehors de son travail. Il a transforme sa chambre en party room ou il recoit regulierement beaucoup d'amis. Avec Brian ils etaient contents de partager la meme passion et ont echange la musique de leurs MP3. Meme s'il y a ni bar, ni boite a Brunei nous decouvrons que les jeunes s'amusent ici autant qu'ailleurs, mais de facon cachee. Yasdi est un personnage que nous n'oublierons pas!
written by  Lenameets50 on February 21, 2010 from Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

Miri-aculous!
Miri, Malaysia
We arrived in Miri around 5pm after an eye-opening trip down through the southern part of Brunei and over the border. On the way we had the chance to see various towns and facilities that have been established on the back of the oil industry which was quite interesting. Once in Miri, we found our guesthouse, had a shower and found a place not to eat! Then we were approached by the hostel owner and a women from New Zealand about going to the Niah Caves in the morning, although we considered resting and doing much-needed laundry, we said yes! A very good decision as today after visiting the centre of town and there being not much to write home about, we can tell you about the magnificent Niah Caves and the stupefying Bird-Nest Harvesting that happens there, with photos of course!
Nous voila enfin dans l'etat de Sarawak, a Miri, apres avoir pris 4 bus depuis Brunei d'ou nous avons pu voir des puits de petrole le long de la cote de la mer de Chine. Ici le petrole est partout, il n'est pas surprenant que le litre d'essence soit a 25-30 centimes d'euros. D'ailleurs a Brunei, c'est un passe-temps que de prendre sa voiture juste pour rouler le soir apres le travail. Une fois installes, nous avons rencontre une neo-zelandaise qui avait prevu de se rendre le lendemain matin a la grotte de Niah. Nous avons decide de la suivre alors que ce n'etait pas prevu. On a bien fait car c'etait fantastique! Un de nos meilleurs souvenirs.
The Niah Caves are located around 45 minutes drive from Miri and an additional hour walk is needed when you arrive at the National Park Office. The walk is actually really nice as it is mostly on a raised walkway that cuts through dense rainforest jungle. There are plenty of animals to be seen incvluding lizards, butterflies, birds and other jungle creatures but perhaps more impressive were the Angkor-Wat style trees growing on/over/around/under rocks. In fact and as we agreed, many of them were more impressive than found in Cambodia. At the end of the walk you get a glimpse of huge cliffs through a few clearings in the forest canopy and before long the walkway becomes a flight of stairs. The introduction is quite something too! A huge chamber where the timber-frame remenants of former inhabitants [1970 latest] is the only feature in a natural wonder of colour and shelter. We saw one man, he carried a huge sack on his back and was walking from the far distant corner, a corner where we not only found a great picture point but also the path to the proper caves!!!
La grotte est situee a 45 minutes de Miri, puis il faut marcher environ 4 Km pour l'atteindre a travers le parc national, ce qui etait tres agreable. Ce qui a attire notre attention dans cette foret (apres en avoir vu pas mal maintenant!), ce sont les racines des arbres geants qui se sont developpees autour des rochers. Un peu comme a Angkor Wat mais encore plus impressionnant. Une fois arrivee a la grotte de Niah, nous avons ete frappes par ses couleurs. En effet, cette grotte etait sous ma mer il y a fort fort longtemps, ce qui a colore les murs par des nuances allant du vert au violet. Il y a une atmosphere indescriptible, on a l'impression d'etre "ailleurs" que sur la terre. La visite de cette grotte nous a profondement marque tant par ses reliefs, que ses couleurs ou encore l'echo des cris des oiseaux. Il est tres difficile de decrire notre ressenti, peut etre que les photos parleront d'elles-memes...
The first is that of the Great Cave, a giant compared to any other cave i have ever seen and that was before we even properly entered it. It was slightly surreal too as the colour of the rocks and the rounded surface to the opening entrance felt like we were somewhere else, another planet or the moon perhaps. All we could see were the steps that led to the back part and several interesting wooden structures that somehow hung from the top of the cave. The colour of the rocks was different in part due to the many swallows and bats that live in the caves, the same swallows that make nests from their saliva and the same nests that sell for the same price of the most expensive Caviar you can imagine. The Chinese delicacy in question is 'Birdnest Soup' and at a common price of 60euros a-bowl it's not that cheap but apparently the high price means having yougner skin! Another and more appropriate reason for the incredible price put upon this speciality is that people climb those ridiculously dangerous wooden structures on the cave ceiling to collect the nests! A high number of people are, as we were told, "cut in two" as they fall while working in this profession as there is very little room for safety ropes or nets. Did i say very little room - make that 'no room'.
These men miraculously climb and balance upon these wooden structures that have been passed from generation to generation, all in order to take a long stick and try to poke free a bird's nest that they can then catch in an attached net. As you can see from this picture this often means sitting on the end of a narrow plank a considerable height above jagged rocks on the cave floor. I am sure that they don't see the cave floor from where they are though as another detail about Niah Cave - it's very dark! Pitch black in fact! So dark that we spent about two hours with our torches at the ready for parts of the cave that literally dissappeared at the end of a staircase! It was a real adventure and perhaps one of the best parts of our trip, a true wonder to both nature and mankind!
Aussi dans cette grotte il n'y a pas que des touristes, il y a aussi des travailleurs ou plutot des recoltants. Nous en avons croise quelques-uns avec un grand sac sur les epaules. Nous avions bien une petite idee de ce qu'ils portaient... car c'est un enorme business ici. D'ailleurs dans l'entree de la grotte, qui est une grotte a elle toute seule tellement qu'elle est grande, on apercoit encore les structures en bois d'habitations de ces travailleurs, qui vivaient ici jusque dans les annees 70. Ce qu'ils recoltent, ce sont les fameux nids d'hirondelles dont raffolent les chinois. Il faut 45 jours pour que ces oiseaux construisent leur nid...avec leur salive!! Les chinois consomment ces nids (laves hein) en soupe, apparemment cela a un leger gout sucre. Le must du must. C'est un peu notre equivalent du caviar en Europe. C'est 60 euros le bol pour ceux qui seraient tentes! Ce qui justifie ce prix, c'est le risque que prennent ceux qui s'aventurent a la recolte car ces nids sont perches en hauteur et il n' a aucune prise pour les attrapper. La technique se transmet de generation en generation. Suspendus sur un baton de bois ils s'aident d'un autre baton pour faire tomber les nids, il n'y a aucune securite. Beaucoup d'accidents mortels, mais apparemment le salaire fait que cela vaut quand meme le coup.
The Great Cave can actually be traversed completely and in doing so another walkway took us to a second cave, the Painting Cave. In this cave several paintings and artifacts were discovered that date back 1,200 years! Considering the jungle and stap cliffs that surround the caves it is easy to realise why they went undiscoverd for so long. Sadly the real paintings are fading and we decided not to take pictures of them but of the examples given close to the fence which protects them. Hot, sweaty and with very little water left we set off back through the Great Cave to a chorus of bat and bird signals, the whole time still wondering 'how those men get up there!' A truly incredible place and well worth flying to Borneo for!
Nous avons traverse la grotte principale avec notre torche, car la grotte n'est pas eclairee artificiellement. Plusieurs passages se font dans le noir complet, et avec le bruit du demi-million d'oiseaux et des chauves-souris presents, c'est... quelque chose! Nous sommes arrives a une autre grotte, celle ou l'on peut admirer les restes de peintures vieilles de plus de 1200 ans. Malheureusement, il faut s'y prendre a 2 fois pour les voir car elles ont ete endommagees et on ne voit presque plus rien. Ces peintures representaient principalement des humains et leur conception de l'apres-mort. Ce sont des bateaux qui emmenent les morts vers l'au-dela. C'est ainsi que face a ces peintures, ont ete decouverts des petites barques en bois faisant office de cercueil et des objets qui sont desormais au musee du Sarawak. C'est une des rares grottes temoignant d'une presence humaine. Un squelette vieux d'environ 40 000 ans y a meme ete trouve. Comme vous l'avez compris, nous recommandons la visite!
written by  Lenameets50 on February 23, 2010 from Miri, Malaysia

Singapore: The bit we missed!
Singapore, Singapore
So after the fabulous adventure that was 'Borneo' we find ourselves back in Singapore and back to our hostel between Little India and Bugis. We sit here after two days catching up on the things that we missed last time we were in the city and making sure we got those bus tickets to our last stop before Kuala Lumpur and the flight back to Europe. Not even two days and absolutely tired out! Cream-crackered! Sapped of our energy, new things to do and more significantly - Singaporean dollars, money!
Apres notre fabuleux periple a Borneo, nous voila de retour a Singapour au meme endroit que la derniere fois. Nous avons pu decouvrir les quartiers que nous n'avions pas eu le temps de faire. 2 jours epuisants a depenser notre energie... et nos dollars singapouriens!!!
After we arrived yesterday morning, we went across to the Islamic part of the city and found several good places to eat and a few roads that resembled the city of old. However the skyscrapers and huge commercial centers were never far away and made the back-drop to our walk quite picturesque. It was hot, real hot and the hustle and bustle of the streets we took the MRT [Metro] to Clarke Quay and found solace by the side of the river. We watched others eating and drinking, the boats passing-by and then a little reminder of Borneo - two eagles flying from a telecommunications mast. It was quite incredible to see nature there in such an urban theatre! Before the evening ended and the shops closed Lena managed to grab herself a bargain, giving her much enthusiasm for the following day, more shopping!
Nous avons tout d'abord decouvert le quartier islamique, ou l'on trouve toujours les meilleurs endroits pour manger. Cette fois-ci, notre trouvaille etait un sublime restaurant... indien!C'est tres bizarre car a Singapour il y a le quartier indien, little india. Cela reflete bien la mixite rencontree dans cette ville avec les communautes chinoise, musulmane, indienne et tous les expatries. Ensuite nous sommes alles a Clark Quay, l'endroit ou tout le monde sort pour boire un verre le long des quais. C'est tres agreable. Nous nous sommes poses la, le long du canal a profiter de l'ambiance tranquille et animee a la fois. Et surprise, nous avons pu apercevoir 2 aigles qui avaient fait leur nid en haut d'une tour de telecommunication! Borneo n'etait soudainement plus tres loin!
Did i say 'more shopping'? ...Singapore has more shopping centres, arcades, underground passages, kiosks, stands, markets and luxury department stores than you can imagine. Then just as you think that you can imagine it, you have to double, treble and add to the picture you have, it's incredible! Days, weeks and small holidays could be spent browsing, wandering and spending! There is an enchanting amount of choice while customer service and the general shopping environment is something far beyond what we are used to in Europe! It's safe to say we loved it! But WARNING - it will leave you in need of a good Indian meal, some iced coffee and an early night - and that's exactly where we are going, so goodnight from us and goodbye Singapore!
Bon nous sommes encore tombes dans le panneau et n'avons pu resister a la tentation du shopping. C'est tout simplement impossible! Cette fois-ci nous avons mesure un peu plus a quel point Orchard Road est une rue demente : des centres commerciaux a ne plus savoir ou donner de la tete, qui sont quasiment tous interconnectes! On pourrait passer une semaine dans cette rue sans voir le jour! Singapour c'est bien, mais c'est la ruine!
written by  Lenameets50 on February 25, 2010 from Singapore, Singapore

Melaka we like you!
Melaka, Malaysia
Before we fly back from Kuala Lumpur on the 3rd March we found time for one more stop and interestingly it has been one of our favourites! Melaka is half-way between Singapore and our final destination in Asia, KL. The city is both very important and diverse due to its history as a principal trade port between East and West. The moment we entered the historical centre we understood that Chinese, Indian and everything in-between that modern Malaysia has become to resemble was mixed there. This mixture was furthered by a vintage European influence due to the Portuguese, Dutch and British all making this city a focal point of there Asiatic ventures. It is a really fascinating place to be and completely different to other places along our journey.
Avant de rejoindre KL pour le grand depart vers l'Europe, une derniere decouverte, celle de la ville de Malacca. Nous avons particulierement apprecie cette ville qui est riche en histoire. L'architecture de la ville s'est faconnee en fonction des diverses colonisations (portuguaise, hollandaise et anglaise). Le point fort de cette ville est sa position geographique entre l'est et l'ouest, en faisant naturellement un port important depuis le 15eme siecle dans le fameux detroit de Malacca. Singapour ayant pris le relais, Malacca est devenue une petite ville touristique tranquille.
Our liking of Melaka was made better by the fact that everything is quite calm but at the same time something is always happening. As you stroll the streets you are almost invited to look into the lives of people who live and work along the roads. There are a great number of places to eat and drink while the quality of almost all has been exceptional! We have been spoiled with choice as the night markets bring the Chinese New Year to a close and the streets are filled with things to see, try and sometimes... buy. The sight of the streets when filled at night is quite something and a real effort seems to have been made here to decorate the town as you can see. What else is there to do? Well, the river cruise, visiting the various temples to various religions [often next door to each other],walking off dinner and generally relaxing!
Enfin pas si tranquille que ca puisqu'il y a toujours quelque chose qui s'y passe. Les maisons et magasins sont ouverts sur la rue, ce qui cree une certaine proximite avec les gens. Le jour, il y a la ville a decouvrir avec ses eglises, ses temples, sa tour panoramique, sa replique de galion et bien d'autres monuments, tous tres anciens. Au detour d'une rue nous sommes tombes sur le plus vieux temple chinois de Malaisie. Le soir, nous avons profite du marche de nuit, de la ballade en bateau sur la riviere et des celebrations du nouvel an chinois (qui se termine, ca y est!). Malacca est une ville agreable et interessante qui s'impose lors d'un voyage en Malaisie!
Another thing to mention is our guesthouse 'SAMA SAMA' because in terms of what we needed it is superb! Its not the Hilton but its full of powerful reminders of the historic location and essentially its just a place i for one would love to help inspire my future home. An added bonus to our guesthouse is that we were openly welcomed to the live music night in the place where we originally checked-in. It just happens to be the coolest bar that we have been to on the trip - see pictures! So how was the music? Superb, an innocent Chinese/Malay girl who had a magnificently moving voice and a guitar that has obviously been by her side wherever she goes. We bought her CD and are itching to try it out! So, if you ever visit Malaysia make Melaka a certainty, it has been a marvelous little surprise to us.
Au detour d'une rue, c'est aussi comme cela qu'on a trouve notre guest house "Sama-sama" (qui veut dire "de rien" en malais), un endroit ou l'on se sent bien. Le soir il y a de la musique live, nous avons ecoute Ika, une jeune chinoise/malaise jouant acoustique avec sa guitare. L'air innoncent, elle envoute son public avec une voix tres douce. Et envoutes, nous avons achete son CD! Un moment de detente, c'etait ce qu'il nous fallait avant d'affronter nos derniers jours dans la capitale, dont le rythme est un peu plus soutenu!
written by  Lenameets50 on February 27, 2010 from Melaka, Malaysia

This is The End
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
As we entered the last few days of our fabulous trip through Indonesia and Malaysia we returned full circle to the starting point, Kuala Lumpur. After all the adventure we decided not to do that much in KL so we can only tell you that the lift to the skybridge on the Petronas Towers was more than quick, that the rain held off for us to see something and that you need to be there around 8.30am maximum in order to get a ticket. Another detail to note is that Joe [our friend in KL] believes that in Riung we had an encounter of the spiritual kind too and he did his best to explain this through other stories and cultural explanations.
Les derniers jours de notre fantastique periple a travers la Malaisie et l'indonesie se sont termines a Kuala Lumpur. Il y avait une seule chose que nous n'avions pas eu le temps de faire lors de notre arrivee, c'etait de monter sur le pont reliant les tours Petronas. C'est chose faite! Il faut s'y prendre assez tot car les tickets sont gratuits et sont servis aux premiers arrives! Le pont est situe au 41eme etage et il faut 41 secondes d'ascenseur pour l'atteindre, rapide! Autre detail, nous avons de nouveau rencontre Joe et en lui racontant notre aventure a Riung, il a immediatement confirme l'hypothese des esprits! Il a tente de nous expliquer les croyances religieuses en Asie du sud-est et ses propres experiences du genre!
So some reflections upon the trip;
Highlights - The Niah Caves and the birds' nest harvesting in Miri! The small island of Sibuan if you really want a lazy day in paradise! Melaka! Komodo National Park for TWO DAYS with an overnight stay on the boat, not just the dragons! Mount Bromo! And finally for the nature lovers, the Kinabatangan River in Sabah! The people of Sabah and Brunei! Brunei!
Meilleurs souvenirs : les grottes de Niah avec ses nids d'hirondelles, l'ile paradisiaque de Sibuan, Malacca, le parc national de Komodo, le mont Bromo et aussi l'impressionnante nature de Sabah que l'on a pu admirer le long de la riviere kinabatangan. Aussi, mention speciale pour la gentillesse des gens rencontres a Sabah et a Brunei!
Us - well this trip has brought a great deal to the both of us and our appartment in Nice seems very much distant now as we each start a new adventure very soon! Travelling for 9 weeks around Indonesia and Malaysia has given us the time and experiences needed to value those next adventures and make some informed decisions. We have certainly been touched by the kindness of the people, especially in Malaysia and particularly Sabah. This has made us feel comfortable and relaxed, the perfect environment for a bit of reflection. Meanwhile, the journey through Indonesia was like a Christmas stocking filled with travel adventures! The differences we found between people, cities, cultures, religions, islands, foods and of course each of their different landscapes is simply incredible! The two countries were a perfect balance for each other and we thoroughly recommend going!!!
Pour finir, on peut dire que ce voyage de 9 semaines s'est deroule comme nous l'avions prevu et sans reelle difficulte. 9 semaines de decouvertes et d'emerveillement! Des souvenirs qui resteront graves pour longtemps dans nos memoires, aussi grace a ce blog. Il a ete enrichissant de rencontrer des gens de divers horizons, d'experimenter la vie locale avec ses differentes religions et cultures, de tester les specialites et d'apprecier les paysages. Nous voulions varier les plaisirs en passant de l'Indonesie a Singapour puis par la Malaisie et enfin Brunei, afin de tenir le rythme. Ce voyage nous aura apporte sur le plan personnel et nous aura beaucoup appris. Nous sommes maintenant prets pour de nouvelles aventures!!
...this is the end!
written by  Lenameets50 on March 4, 2010 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia