Where to go and not use up too many stamps? That was my main prerogative this last Christmas holiday. With a passport practically full and needing it until my trip to Qatar this February, we had to be creative. It was thus agreed we would take a road trip to Borneo: Brunei-Labuan-Sepilok-Sandakan-KK-Labuan-Brunei. 4 stamps!
First stop, a few days on the island of Labuan. Originally Bruneian, it was released to Malaysia during the 20th century and has now become one of the biggest off-licences around Brunei. When you get off the ferry, it looks like many Malaysian towns, with cafes, Indian and Chinese restaurants, liquor stores galore, of course, but our hotel was at the north tip end and it was a pleasant escape from the somewhat seedy town centre. Our aim was to relax and relax we did. We would go into town for lunch and dinner but quickly realised that by 7pm most places were closed. Since we weren't staying in a hotel in town, we got a real sense of what Labuan is like and whilst the off-licences stay open, the shops and cafes close early, with a few Chinese restaurants still up and running, and full, as a result. It was nice to have Chinese again and some of our favourite dishes though perhaps not quite the same. But I guess it's like any cuisine, unless you eat it in the country, it will never live up to what you know.
From Labuan, we took another ferry to Menumbok, a ramshackled port in Sabah, Malaysia, where all you have for miles is nothing, really. It didn't matter since we were on our way to Sepilok for a few days to see the orang-outangs. The drive took the best part of the day. It was very long along the one sinuous and difficult road. A lot has been said and written about drivers in many parts of the world- but Malaysian drivers are definitely up for a medal. Not only do they drive fast, but overtake whether they can see or not. Much more fun when they can't see a thing, actually. I can't say I enjoyed driving on that road, not to mention the potholes or the disappearing portions of the road itself when suddenly you would go from a two-lane road to one with a truck pushing its way into you. I've had way better driving experiences for sure. Eventually, we arrived at Paganakan Dii Tropical Retreat in Sepilok, about 30 kms from Sandakan, the main city that side of Borneo, at the far north-east end. The retreat was absolutely delightful, with huts built in the jungle. On opening the sliding door, the most beautiful view of the river below overgrown with lush vegetation welcomed us. Sepilok is known for the orang-outangs and proboscis monkeys reserves which we visited.
Whilst we were in that part of Borneo, we drove all the way to Sandakan which proved a bit disappointed, perhaps, though the English Tea House and Restaurant there was a real treat, with real and very well-cooked English food; yes, you read right, and a cropped crocket lawn. How surreal to play crocket in Borneo! It felt like a summer's day in Kent. :)
You may think that once you've seen the monkeys and been to Sandakan, it might feel like there isn't that much else to do, however, we drove all the way to Kinabatangan as we had been told that there you could take a trip on the river and see the wildlife. The trip was booked for 4.30pm as during the day the animals, mainly the families of monkeys, travel the rainforest in search of food and come back in the early evening along the shore of the river for the night. We have taken several river trips in Asia but this one was absolutely amazing. Not only did we see loads of animals, but the light on the river as the sun set was out of this world, even with a cranky camera like ours.
It was then time to drive back along that one road to KK, though this time we went round Mount Kinabalu and enjoyed the spectacular view and skies as we descended towards the city. Our hotel was a beach resort 20 kms out of KK and we enjoyed a few very relaxing days there. Finally, we took the ferries back to Labuan and Brunei after two weeks on the road and the freedom that driving your own car affords you. A truly enjoyable time.
PS: The pictures may be a bit mixed up. Oh, well!
No comments:
Post a Comment