Deepest Darkest Borneo

Well, we have just returned from a long weekend in Deepest, Darkest Borneo. Actually, most of what we saw wasn't too dark, but we felt very quickly deep when walking in the rain forests.

The nearest corner to here is Kuching in the Malaysian state of Sarawak and it's only just over an hours' flight. We left early last Thursday morning and by the afternoon, covered in several gallons of insect repellent, we were off on a tour (just us, as it turned out) with a guide, to the nearby Orangutan sanctuary for the afternoon feeding session. We were lucky enough to see a couple of the orange guys, as they live wild there and don't always feel the need to show up for breakfast or tea.

We followed this by a drive to the foothills of the mountains "backbone of Borneo" that separate Malaysia from Indonesia. The scenery was spectacular with miles of dense, tropical, virgin, rain forest climbing over the mountains and we eventually arrived at a "long house" community - basically a series of adjoining wooden huts where, as the family expands, they simply add another unit to the end, forming ...well... a long house. We took a tour round and were introduced to a skull in the "trophy room" while learning that the people used to be head hunters. It was pretty old and we were glad to learn that they were apparently talked out of this activity about 130 years ago. Phew!

Friday saw us take trip to a nearby national park (there are so many there) and we trekked up a small mountain to a waterfall. We were again covered in tons of repellent and for once, it wasn't Adam, Hannah or I that were attacked by the smaller wildlife elements. In the damp rain forest environment it was David who was attacked, this time, by leeches. He found at least 4 while the rest of didn't get any. One actually got inside his shoe and had a marvellous feast there without him being aware until he got back to the hotel and removed his shoe to find a very red sock! All very messy. I can't say just how relieved I am that he was the one they found so tasty.

Saturday saw a different park and this time we had to take a boat trip to get there as there are no roads in. Quite exciting whizzing along in a small boat. The scenery was, again, fantastic. This time we saw macaques (a type of monkey), a bearded wild pig and a poisonous pit viper to add to the list of giant ants (more than one inch long), butterflies and enormous millipedes (4 or 5 inches) etc. of the day before. The boatman said he would pick us up from the beach for our return trip rather than the jetty. This all made far more sense when we returned from a 4km trek involving scrambling up rocks and over matted tree roots up the steep sides of another small mountain. The tide was out and we now needed to walk across acres of beach to get to the sea, then wade in (amongst the crabs and a huge starfish) to find our boat. And yes - even in the jungle, Hannah still wears pink!

We had a worrying moment as on our return, crossing the raised boardwalks over the mangrove swamps, we ran into a group of very aggressive macaques guarding a bridge that we needed to cross. Unfortunately for Adam, he happened to be in front. As he went to go up the steps onto the bridge, a large growl was followed by a face between the steps with bared teeth and hideous hissing. He (Adam) backed off pretty fast and it was quite some minutes before the group finally dispersed into the trees and let us pass. By this time, there was a group of 10 or so returning trekkers, so maybe they felt out numbered. We know how the billy goats Gruff felt.

We returned by boat and then public bus. This was a local bus, air conditioning provided by leaving the door open, and it reminded us of our back packing trips BC (Before Children). It was so strange, a step back in time, but with Adam and Hannah sitting there. We'd never imagined doing something like that until they were a few years older.

The state capital, Kuching, is a very nice town and we spent our final day exploring, visiting the museum, Sunday market, local park and strolling by the riverside. We stayed in the "best hotel in town" (we are talking Borneo here, remember) and got a great deal by booking a suite with two extra beds. This was far more economical than two standard rooms, and we benefitted from use of the "executive lounge" including free canapes and drinks in the evening. Some nights, we didn't even need dinner later!

The staff were fantastic. I thoroughly recommend it for anyone who finds themselves going there, and the buffet breakfasts? Well, all I can say is that I didn't know Adam could consume quite so much food in one sitting. We did a buffet dinner once too and Adam ate so much they'll probably be reviewing their buffet policy as a consequence.

Back home for a few days, then off for our next adventure in South East Asia - got to make the most of school holidays whilst we're here!

First Term Over

Wow - where did the time go? I can't believe that we're now on summer holidays and Wimbledon is in the second week.

During the first three weeks here, everything was new and there was so much to do along with doing some fun things with Adam and Hannah before they started school.

When term began, the 10 weeks stretching ahead felt like a very long time and I had so many plans. Getting our apartment organised and buying many bits and pieces that we still needed, doing some sight seeing, planning our holidays in the region, joining an expat group that do social tennis, coffee mornings, evenings out and tours etc. There seemed plenty of time. And here we are, almost at the end of the first week of the school holidays (7 more weeks to go).

Well, I've made a start on the things I wanted to do and have achieved some to some degree or other, but we really can't believe we've been here 3 months already. It's flying by at a scarey pace and there are so many things we haven't even started to do yet.

By the end of term both children were pretty tired. With the small class sizes, the amount of work in the school books that they brought home, suggests that they've really covered quite a bit this term. They both got good end of year reports and have clearly settled in and coped with the work well. In addition to the school production, performance assemblies, extra curricular activies etc that have been on going, the last week term was rounded off with the sports days.

Hannah's began well enough and they did running races and a selection of activities, showing off the different skills they'd been learning - gymnastics, ball skills etc. Unfortunately, about half an hour in, the sky had turned black and the wind suddenly picked up. We've now been here long enough to know that that means rain. Heavy rain. Everyone dashed into the canteen where the snacks we'd bought to eat after the sports day were consumed early. The children then had to return to their classrooms, as by this time the tropical downpour was in full flow.

The following day, for Adam's sports day, the weather was hot and sunny and most parents were glad to be watching from the shaded stands. They did some ball skills/obstacle race type of activities, but also did running races, long jump and high jump. Adam was thrilled. After watching the Olympics almost 4 years ago, he has spent many hours in Clarence Park in St Albans practising long jump into the sandpit. He was very happy to be doing it for real in a proper long jump pit and all those hours of practising paid off too, as he did one of the best jumps in his class. (Photo is Adam's 50m race, he is on the far right).

Despite many school friends having trips back to their home countries we are managed to get lots of outings and play dates in. A week of tennis coaching each morning is booked for one week in August, along with some holiday breaks for us. So far, this week has been a whirl of activity - a trip to the zoo with school friends yesterday, different school friends over today, swimming lessons, the weekly tennis lesson, a birthday party....I shall be shattered by the time they return to school!

At the zoo, Hannah had her first ever pony ride - double click on the photo to get a close up of the smile on her face!

David has been particularly busy just lately as his office move finally took place a couple of weeks ago. There are still the last bits of finishing off to do, but the new space looks great and works very well. I visited one day last week to admire the paint colour I chose for them and join them for a celebration lunch - there was a great range of takeaways chosen by the staff from one of the many local hawker centres. Quite a feast and neither of us needed dinner that evening.