Diving Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Here I am sitting at the airport departure gate, waiting for my flight back home. And sometimes, I wonder, where is ‘home’? … …

My fav hotel in KK

I arrived in Kota Kinabalu 7 days ago, on the very last day of February. There was a familiarity that I took comfort in as I made my way around the city night. I checked in at my usual hotel, Sarangnova. No fancy hotel, but it was nice and clean with a distinctive flavor. I was kind of glad the guy behind the counter recognized me. What really took me by surprise was the bar, BB cafe. The waitress spotted me and it felt good to know that I wasn’t forgotten. Well, for a moment I was really wondering why… What had I done that was so unforgettable?

and recalling what I had done previously ...

Spoke to a young chap from China who was also traveling alone. He was excited about his first dive the next day and was full of questions when he learnt that I was here for a full diving trip. Yeap, call me ridiculous but this was a 5 days dive trip and I planned to complete my rescue diver course. Hope I survive this. Thanks to my new found friend, I stayed up longer than I initially planned to. But it was a good start to my trip.

I wasn’t exactly sure what was awaiting me the next morning. All I knew was that I had to be up and about pretty early. I was going to the dive shop for my theory classes. An early start and I was so sleepy. Better make sure I wouldn’t end up sleeping through the course.

The dive shop, notably one of my favourite in this part of the world is Borneo Dream. They were about 5km away from where I stayed and I was all prepared to take a stroll to my destination. I happened to be chatting with this young chap at the counter and he told me it wasn’t walkable and I had to grab a cab. I didn’t want to be too smart for my own good so I heeded his advice. It was a short ride and upon reaching the office I knew it was definitely within walking distance. So I gathered, walking was probably not a sabah-ian past time.

My lanky instructor, James and the ever friendly and efficient lady boss, Joanne greeted me at the office. James still as skinny and as tall as before, no change. Joanne looks great too and I was looking forward to diving with her. She took excellent underwater photos and it would be fun to tag along and see how she managed that. Yes, stealing some tips would definitely benefit the amateur underwater photographer.

Scott was my rescue diver course mate. He looked friendly enough but perhaps not as crazy as I was reputed for. But seriously I had absolutely no idea what I had done to deserve the title. Oh… I soon learnt too my course mate wasn’t exactly as harmless as he seemingly looked.

Introducing Malcolm

I got my text, all wrapped up and yes, that was a lot of reading to do. We sat through an hour long video and I was trying hard to keep my eyes open nearing the end. Scott made some comments now and then and I was glad because that kept me awake but there were times when I truthfully dozed off and had no idea what he was talking about. Hehe, now you know.

The rest of the course was so much more fun as we went through the practical and hands-on exercises. James made us act out some scenarios too. And my favorite guy to rescue… sorry Scott, that’s not you. It’s Malcolm! We practiced CPR on Malcolm and he had absolutely no complaints. Needless to say, I had tons because it wasn’t easy for me to move my dear course mate around. It was all in good fun.

Then the serious stuff. Our written exams. No perfect score here but I guessed I did okay to pass the exam.

after a long walk....

sand sea beach

We ended pretty early so I decided to head out to the beach and yes, I walked . A bit sunny but it wasn’t all bad. The beach was pretty stunning, maybe because it was all quiet. It was a hot afternoon and the seawaters glistered under the bright sunlight. A moment of peace and quiet. I took a little stroll by the beach before popping over to the park next to it. A quiet little neighbourhood park.

The museum and the heritage trail map

a very different trail walk

I also managed to squeeze in some time to pop by the museum. Unfortunately it was closed due to an unforeseen power failure. But fortunately this was a cluster of museums and galleries so I headed out to the heritage village. Do not imagine this as some air conditioned gallery with photos of the living conditions and cultural activities of the the different ethnic tribes found in Sabah. They actually built different types of houses along a well marked trail. This was so cool and you could enter the different houses that were fit out to look as original as they could possibly be.

I was determined to rest early tonight. I had some serious rescuing to do in the waters tomorrow and I was kind of looking forward to apply the skills we had picked up in the classroom earlier.

It was another early morning. A quick breakfast and I headed out to the Jesselton Point Jetty that I was all but too familiar with. You would never miss James even from afar. The tall lanky guy holding out a Borneo Dream sign.

the dream boys

Some familiar faces on board. The Borneo dream boys as they were affectionately called. Richard and Gene still looking good. Then there was Dan whom I’m meeting for the very first time. I had finished up my ‘homework’ as James instructed so I had some basic ideas of what we were doing next. Scott and I were ready to hit the waters.

We had a whole range of skills to complete for the course. It wasn’t exactly real diving and I guessed my camera would only be in the way. We started off with some underwater skills, nothing we had not done before so it was more of a refresher. James pulled off scott’s mask and turned off my air. We did some practice on out of air and air sharing exercises. And we did some surface rescue exercises too. Different methods of approach and towing for tired and or panicking divers. We did some exercises on giving rescue breaths and assist breathing techniques. I was taking off and putting on my bcd so many times I totally lost count. And poor Scott, I ‘drowned’ him a few times too.

In the course of all these, we attracted a bit of attention too from curious tourists wondering if there was a real drowning case going on. Maybe we will become YouTube stars. And when we had to call for help, James told us to shout call for pizza instead. Guess there were cases when people on shore really jumped in to offer help. But it was still kind of strange to be calling for pizza. Hope I would never get into a habit of that and really shout call for pizza in a real emergency case.

We had some land, or rather, boat exercises too. We tried reaching out with things available on board. Then we tried throwing out floating devices too. Needless to say, my throw was relatively weak and it took me a few tries to get it to a slightly decent distance.

We finished off the day’s underwater skill set with search patterns in case of missing divers. I had some difficulties with getting the direction right with my compass but with some tries, I finally got it. The last bit to drag the victim up shore was the real trying one for me. We tried a few methods. Both James and Scott had no problem bringing me in. But trust me, I could barely lift Scott. By now, whoever reading this must be thinking he’s some real fat guy. Be assured he’s not. It was a combination of both the height and built I guess.

By the end of the day, I was really tired. More homework from James so it meant working through the night again. Scott was having a frisbee night and I was tempted to join him for some fun. But I had my homework and I needed to finish this course proper so I decided to be the hardworking girl.

My fourth day in KK now and I’m looking forward to some real diving real soon. James had mentioned that if we cleared out skills in the morning we could go for a little mini dive in the afternoon.

We did some surface rescue again as James wanted to be sure we really know what we were doing. We did some underwater rescue too. And we were pretty much done, or so we thought. Just as Scott predicted, James started struggling and we rushed out to his rescue.

We did our exam during lunch and it was stressful and difficult to concentrate with the noises around. But hey, my hard work paid off with a brilliant score of 49/ 50. Scott did well too considering he had so much more fun the night before. James, you should be proud of us :p

trying hard to stay awake after lunch... we need to dive!!

After lunch, we finally had our dive. I brought by camera along this time but James did warn us that the course was still not over. We guessed he was going to act up strange underwater again. And he most definitely did.

I ‘saved’ him twice and I hoped I did only the right things. It happened so suddenly that I could only rely on instinct to try and do what I could.

rescue buddies

Well, nothing could beat my greatest stupidity of the day. I finally waited till I could get my camera underwater and in a most classic case, the battery was totally flat. Scott and I managed to take a photo of each of us and it went completely out.

Scott and I decided to have our little celebration. We are now certified rescue divers!! And guess what we had? Pizza and beers. It was kind of a chill out night. We had a good chat over beers.

Finally, my fifth day and my first day of proper diving. James had told me he might not be diving with me today so I was kind of surprise to see him. Guess he couldn’t bear to ‘dump’ me after all. It was a three dives day and even though it was drizzling, I was still excited.

Our first dive site was Agill and we saw loads of stuff. As it was only James and me, I was kind of looking forward to trying out the camera and getting some practice shots. But clever me, this time I was out of memory just seconds after I dived in. I was so angry with myself. But it was a good dive. We saw trumpet fish and loads of nudis. Not good with marine life identification but there were quite a number of stuff going on.

only shot i manage

I was half freezing when I got out of the waters. I made myself a hot drink and helped with getting ready for the second dive. There was quite a bit of a current underwater but it wasn’t all bad as we simply drifted along. James wanted to try out Clemens Reef even though he was a little concerned about the current.

It was definitely a good choice. The highlight for me was the entire school of fish. It was quite a spectacular sight. I took loads of photos and a short video clip. James was telling me to go after them and I literally swam in their midst. It was simply amazing.

Swimming into a school of yellow snappers

Nemos !!

I took some photos of the evergreen subject, nemos and managed to get some shots of some nudis and lion fishes too. I was slowly getting the hang of using the camera. I was also tryig to control my buoyancy with the current constantly pushing me away. It was pretty strong and and we drifted quite a distance from where the ‘sausage’ was released. It was a good dive.

big and small creatures ...

After 2 dives I was famished and lunch never sounded better. I was almost falling asleep after lunch and for once, I had no book with me so it was really just rest and relax.

During our last dive for the day, we met up with Dan and Bob. I took a while to try get a shot of a shrimp behind an old tyre. I had to stick the camera in a tiny space and just shoot randomly. It was so tough to get a decent shot and I finally have up. Dan gave me a little fright when he gave my calf a little squeeze while I was trying to get a decent shot of some lion fishes. They swam along pretty fast while James and I took our time. I recalled that not too long ago, James was always telling me to slow down and swim past the entire world. I guessed I had really learnt quite a bit about getting comfortable in the water and really enjoying the views around me.

fishes... angry ones?

Dan spotted a real huge stonefish. Poor James was trying to point it out to me with all sorts of hand gestures. It must have been pretty frustrating but I finally got it. That was really one grouchy looking fish.

THE stonefish and some tiny little things...

Not sure if it was because my time in Kota Kinabalu was coming to an end soon but I was feeling a bit down. I took a long walk in the city after we came back to shore. A nice long walk in the evening. I went to bed with a heavy heart.

I didn’t sleep well as it was noisy in the streets. I knew what the din was about because this was not my first time here. I drew the curtains and yes, the street was entirely closed off… Sunday market!! I got changed quickly and took off for some window shopping. They had everything, from foodstuff to daily necessities, from paintings to musical instruments, from fashion to toiletries, even pets.

Shopping?

Today was the day, my last two dives. I couldn’t imagine there was a time when I didn’t enjoy diving and was going to give it up completely. Now I knew I would miss it.

I was surprised at the number of people today. It was a huge group. For safety and regulatory purpose, a number of us had to take the dinghy. I was diving with James today as he was our skipper. I had a surprise too. Billy was on board. Well, I hadn’t seen him in a while. Good old crazy Billy.

time to go diving!

The dinghy ride was one fun ride. James crashed through some waves and we were almost bouncing off our seats. But it was a heart pumping and exciting ride.

I was diving with Dan and Bob. Poor Dan, he was straddled between us. I was slow as I was trying to take photos and Bob was always ahead. I guessed I got a little carried away and Dan had to come behind me and steer me back to the reef. It was fun as we fooled around a little underwater. There was a whole school of fish again. It was a spectacular site.

underwater camera time

swimming around

Colourful underwater world

As we had only 2 dives today, we were in no hurry and took our time resting on the boat. This was followed by a long lunch while waiting for the other group. As usual, I got really sleepy after lunch. I couldn’t wait to get into the water. The weather was so much better today and the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds.

And my last dive of the trip. There were so many nudis, in different shapes and colours. I was beginning to spot these too. Dan found some little crabs and I patiently waited for them to come out so I could get a more decent shot. And there was a smaller stonefish too. Dan was pointing out such tiny stuff I was really straining my eyes. Seriously wondering how he could see them.

peeking through ...

tiny creatures 1

tiny creatures 2

tiny creatures 3

It was a good dive with a bit of a current. But again, drifting along wasn’t all that bad.

I hate goodbyes and I was kind of sad to leave the boat. Definitely going to miss you guys, the dream team.

Last dive of the trip

I went back to the hotel, washed up and change and headed back to the jetty. Really wanted some night shots of the place. I took my time, taking in the view before me.

Night stoll at Jesselton Point

Jesselton Point night scene

Goodbye KK, I’ll be back again.

Mulu Pinnacles, Miri, Sarawak (Part 3)

And now, the main purpose and highlight of my Mulu trip, The Pinnacles.  I had wanted to the Summit trail but I did not have sufficient time, so I settled for this.  But after looking at the images I found on the internet, I knew I wouldn’t even call it a compromise.  I was pretty sure I was in for a real treat.

It wasn’t high, only a 1,200m height gain from camp 5 where we set off from in the morning.  It wasn’t a long hike too, only 2.4km.  Sounds simple enough from the numbers but a closer look would tell you that this was almost a vertical wall.  Yes, I had read that it involved scrambling and going down on all fours.  There were ladders to bridge areas where it would otherwise not be possible to cross or climb.  I was really looking forward to this.

But before this, we had a 8km hike to our camp ground.  The boat dropped us off and our guide, Biogo, assured us it was a short hike.  Well, it wasn’t that tough as it was relatively flat ground but I had a little issue with my shoes.  They were really slippery, especially when I walked on timber planks with thick growth.

start of our trail to camp 5

Beng Lee was fast and it wasn’t long before he and Biogo both disappeared into the far distance.  Annette and I paced each other and had a little chat every now and then.  The trail was pretty well marked by huge river pebbles, so we had no worries about losing our way.  We tried to speed up a little as we wanted to reach Camp 5 early and I was so looking forward to jumping into the river for a good swim.  I had been up and about since early morning and I could really smell myself now.  And trust me, I didn’t exactly like how I smell right now.

along the river, we walked

It wasn’t exactly just a walk through the rain forest.  We went over two suspended bridges too.  We were told there were still leopards in the forest and they lurked around Camp 5.  It was a mixed feeling, kind of hoping to see one and yet that little bit worried about bumping into one.  Except for birds, insects and some really artistic roots structure, we saw no cats, big or small.

and that's me

a higher and 'shakier' bridge

interesting growths

It wasn’t a tough walk but the amount of walking and running I had done the day before and today was getting to me.  I was just glad that this was all flat ground.  The only thing that made it that little tougher was my backpack which was really weighing down on me now.  It wasn’t exactly that heavy, only 12kg at most but it felt much heavier now.  Just when I thought we were down to our last 1km, my relief was short lived.  We had a little hill to cross before we reached our destination.  Well, it really wasn’t that bad but I guessed I was just tired.

After about 2.5 hrs of walking, we found ourselves our Campsite.  Beng Lee was already all washed up and looking refreshed with Biogo.  Our accommodation wasn’t as bad as I imagined.  There was even an exercise mat provided.  I brought my own sleeping bag so I just layered that up.  While the ladies got ready to go for a bath, Annette and I went to the river.  The water was so cold but it was definitely refreshing.

our destination for the day

When we made our way back to camp, the guys had prepared dinner and I felt really bad.  I had brought freeze dried food but Beng Lee, Eil, Wong and Ai Ling had proper dinner prepared.  They cooked rice and vegetables and canned fish.  We were invited to join them for dinner and I was really glad to be hiking with the group.  I guessed all I could do was volunteer to help with washing up.

We decided to sleep early as we had an even earlier start tomorrow morning.

Sigh, I hardly slept.  It was way too early and I guessed my excitement kept me up too.  I washed up, packed the stuff I needed and I was almost ready.  The guys prepared a sumptuous breakfast again and they made extra for lunch.  I took some rice and made myself hot soup.  I wasn’t that worried about lunch as I knew I didn’t need much.  And this was how we looked before we set off.  All smiles and ready to go.

and we are all ready to go....

We had two time checks.  Firstly we had to reach the ‘mini pinnacles’  within an hour.  This is the initial ‘test’.  If you did not make it even at this early stage, it would be  best to turn back.  There were miniatures of the limestone structures and I guessed you wouldn’t go back entirely empty handed even at this stage…. yes… photo time again.

And as you probably guessed, I made it.  I wasn’t as fast as the rest of the group but there I was.  I paced myself and made it in pretty good time.  However, there was no reason to be please with myself at this point as this was not even halfway through.  Perhaps only the first quarter.  We took some photos, had a short break and was told to leave a bottle of water behind to lighten our load.

there? nope.... this is the miniature

Another view of the miniature

The first section was a tough start and I was already almost on all fours most of the time.  The start to the second leg was surprising more manageable.  Remember the second time check?  Now we had to make our way to the first ladder before noon. I was pretty confident we had plenty of time but i didn’t want to be over-confident.  Again I paced myself.  Biogo was real fun as we joked and laughed along the way.   I had Annette with me and I was making her keep to my pace too as she had a tendency to go faster and faster.  Hope I wasn’t too much of a nag here.

going up....

At the first ladder, there was this huge sign that said to turn back if you were past noon.  The worry was that you would not be able to make it down before sunset and it would be tough to descend in the dark.  I fully agree as the ground was pretty wet from the days of raining and we were plain lucky that we had a pretty clear day.  Even so, it was really slippery.

The rest of the way up was really all vertical.  We had to make use of the ropes around to hoist ourselves up and I finally understood the need for the ladders.  The rock walls were really all vertical but what made it different was that it wasn’t one huge piece of rock.  They were ‘needle’ like and you need the vertical ladders to go up and the horizontal ladders to bridge one point to the other.  A bit of a balancing act here too.

Ladders, ladders, ladders...

As I was on all fours all the time, I was making sure I did not squash any bugs where I stepped and where my hands laid.  I was also washing my hand whenever I find any water ponding in small crevices on the rock surface.  It was nice and cool.

Just as we were almost to the peak, I turned back and looked down where I had come from.  That was when I realised how high up I already was and the view behind me all this while was breathtaking.  I couldn’t help but stop to snap away.  A few hummingbirds caught my eye and they were tiny, darting about.  I had a feeling Biogo know why I smiled.

View from behind

And finally, after hours of hard work, I reached my goal.  And trust me, it was beautiful.  I once told a friend no matter how many places I had been to and how many rainforests I had been through, how many millipedes I had seen, each place had its own beauty and a reason to take my breath away.  And here, this was a view I never though I would witness on my own.  And this was a pure creation of Mother Nature, nothing man-made and perhaps a structure we would never be able to create as perfect no matter how hard we tried.

Yes yes yes.... i'm here

The pinnacles

Looking at pinnacles from different angles

And yes, it is beyond what words can describe and at this point, the best re-production would be my amateurish photos.

We took our time taking photos and having our lunch.  There was a pair of lovely squirrels who were trying to get at our lunch boxes attempts after attempts.  Oh, but they stunk pretty bad.  Nice to look at but no, not getting anywhere near me while I feast away.  After a quick bite, I made my way to the other corner of the peak.  The hummingbirds were there again.  I took some photos from that corner.

The group

Soon, it was time to make our way down.  I knew I was going to have a lot of problems making my way down and I was right.  I took my time making my way down the ladder but that was really not the hardest part.  I could not understand how Biogo was able to move so fast even though his shoes were much worse off than mine.  But I had so much fun with Biogo.  We took our time and he was making silly jokes.  We talked about the river waiting for me to jump in.  And we had a little story going on about how he was gathering his monkey friends at the river to celebrate for me.  Really really lame stories but they kept me going and took my mind off how tired I was.

I took a long time but I made it back to camp 5 in one piece.  The rest of the guys cheered for me and it felt good to be welcomed back.  Guess I didn’t have much of a choice.  You could choose to go up or not but coming down, you had no choice.  And yes, I wanted a swim at the river.

The cold water was soothing my tired muscles and I was taking in the sight and sound of the river rushing past me.  At that moment, I sincerely thank the Lord for bringing me here and giving me that moment of peace that I knew I needed badly.

Having a dip

It was not the end of the trip.  After a hearty dinner, we chatted till late before heading to bed.  The same 8km trail walk awaited us early next morning.

I felt a bit sad as morning dawned and we made our way back.  For me, it wasn’t just leaving camp 5.  It was the day I leave Mulu entirely and fly back to Singapore.  In short, back to reality for me.  The same walk through the rainforest, the same river boat ride.  But a very different feeling.

The trip to Mulu had been amazing, not just the views and the adventure.  I had met some really wonderful people during my stay.  I know I will be coming back ….

Amazing Mulu caves in Miri, Sarawak (part 2)

A fresh new start, my second day in Mulu.  I had a really early start.  I was going on the sky canopy walk.  Well, I had been ‘trampling’ through the rainforest and now, I would be getting a chance to view it right from above.  Pretty excited that I will be getting a fresh new perspective of this amazing place.  But guess what, I was once again in a terrible rush.  I had to be back within 2 hours so I could be on my way to two other caves.

Jenny was a more serious guide and not as funny as Eugene but she was lots of fun too.  The morning  tour was group of six of us and I felt bad as Jenny said that we needed to speed up a wee bit for my sake.  The really cool part though was that we were the early birds of the day and we would be the first to walk on the trails leading to the canopy walk.  I soon realised that meant clearing the morning cobweb too.

Along the way, Jenny pointed out some insects and tiny little creatures.  We saw a pigmy squirrel and it was merely my palm size.  It was zipping in and out and was so fast I wasn’t able to get a decent shot of it.  Then there were the stick insects and some other lovely creatures.  We saw lots of monkeys too, or rather we could hear them moving along in the trees.  I caught a glimpse of two or three of them.  There were the grey ones and the orange ones.  Both were equally active and very very shy.  Some shots of the animal and plant lives along our way to the canopy walk.

'stickies' again...

Beautiful bugs

a tiny little tree frog

And finally, here we were.  The shaky little walkway above us.  I had been to the treetop walk back in Singapore so I was expecting this to be pretty much the same.  And I got my surprise.  Firstly, the bridge was really narrow and flimsy looking.  The netting around it reached only waist level.  Did I feel safe?  Not really but I wasn’t about to back out now.  Trust me, it definitely wasn’t very assuring when Jenny told us that there were supposed to be only 3 on a single stretch of bridge at any time.

and we are finally here

We saw more ‘warring’ monkeys as we walked along the bridge.  It was pretty shaky as we moved along.  I stuck close to Jenny and kept track of the time.  She pointed out some tiny insects but the bridge was too shaky for me to get a decent shot.  The most amazing part was when we saw 3 huge hornbills fly right overhead.  The view was magnificent and the three birds were beautiful.

And as Jenny had predicted, I had to run all the way back to headquarters to meet up with my next guided tour.  This was important as the next 2 cave viewings formed the first part of my Pinnacles Climb.  We were going to Clearwater cave and Cave of the Wind.  Both caves were along the way to Camp 5 where we will be staying overnight before the climb the next morning.

And again, I made it.  I even managed a quick breakfast at Mulu cafe.  I met my climbing group finally.  2 guys and 3 gals.   Four of them were from Sabah and they were really experienced at trekking.  What sounded almost unbelievable was they had just completed the Summit climb and now they were going on the Pinnacle climb.  I was getting worried about keeping up with these guys now.  And here’s the group… …

The Group

Instead of hiking, we were going via the river this time.  The boat ride was refreshing and exceptionally so for me after all the running around.  I was going to take a good rest and enjoy my ride.  We were told to expect two little problems that might occur.  Firstly, if the water level goes too low, we would have to go into the river to push the boat and secondly, there might still be crocodiles in the river.  But lucky for us, we were spared from both ordeals.

refreshing boat ride

on the left - village lives along the river

on the right - cave openings?

We started with Cave of wind.  Steps yet again.  I was really beginning to wonder how many steps I had climbed since I first stepped into Mulu.  And i wonder too if I would be sick of caves and even lost track of what I had seen after my second cave but I was so wrong.  Every cave had its own unique qualities and formations and as the name suggested, this was a ‘wind’ cave.  Certain sections were pretty narrow and this created a tunneling effect that send cold chills into the cave.  Strangely enough due to the different formations, the ‘windy’ portion were only at pockets of the cave.  One unique point of this cave was the cave collapse.  It created a ‘skylight’ that created dramatic lighting effect in the cave.  There was also the King’s chamber.  Entirely up to your imagination but do see if you can see the majestic face on the cave’s wall.  I guessed I got lucky too as we managed to see some bats on our way out.

Counting steps to the cave of imagination

The king, the bats and the hole

We took a little break before proceeding to the next cave.  And we bumped into Inge, Toliver and Jennifer.  It was good to see familiar faces again and we soon started a photo taking session.  I felt a little bad for holding back my group but thought it would be really nice to have some photos taken together with my new friends.  Next camera whoring session will be with my Pinnacles group, Beng Lee, Wong, Ai Ling, Eil and Annette.

Friends

Friends

The Clearwater cave was a ‘water’ cave.  This was a much bigger cave and here we could see the different markings caused by water.  The speed of water and the hardness of the rocks were the variables in the different indentation on the walls of the caves.  The water level had gone down drastically over the years but we see what it had done over million of years.  I was particularly intrigued with the needlelike markings and yes, they were sharp.

Entering the cave

Light at the end of the tunnel?

And like all other caves I had seen, imagination is your best friend.  And this is perhaps one of my favourite shot.

and who do you see here?

I guess that was the end of my cave tours in Mulu for a while.  We had lunch before making our way back to our boat.  River cruise again and we were heading towards the last part of my trip in Mulu, my Pinnacles climb.

Do stay tune for part 3 of my Mulu adventure.

Amazing Mulu caves in Miri, Sarawak (Part 1)

After spending a day in Miri with my paragliding friends, I was all set for my little adventure in Mulu. I had been reading up quite a bit and there was so much I wanted to do but alas, as usual, I just did not have enough time. I had only 3.5 days. I needed more time!! I finally settled for some show caves visiting and Pinnacles Climb.

Mulu is only accessible by flight or boat along the river. No roads lead to Mulu and most parts of Mulu has been untouched for 60 million years. In fact many caves, flora and fauna remains undiscovered till today. I am really looking forward to setting my foot on this amazing place.

Flying out of Miri, I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable the flight to Mulu was. MAS wings was definitely value for money. And just side tracking a little, I actually did a little survey on an iPhone styled as a tablet. That was so cool I had to take some shots of it.

survey

Ingre was the first lady I met on the same track to Mulu. A ten minutes car ride will bring us to our destination. The lady driver was chatty and friendly and she took note of our return time so she could be back to fetch us to the airport. There was this very personal touch to the service and I had this feeling that this was such a sparsely populated place that probably everyone knew everyone else. Welcome to Mulu.

Checking in at the headquarters was pretty much of a breeze. I was told I had to take the bungalow since nothing else was available. One of the guides at the counter pulled out this really cool itinerary planner with a map and noted down the trips I had planned. Most of the treks in Mulu are guided walks and there were only 2 routes I could take unguided. I was pretty determined to complete these during my time here.

Mulu National Park HQ

It was only 11am and I left Ingre to go to my room. We were meeting up again at 1pm for our guided cave tours and our bat viewings. That would last us well till the end of the day, so I was planning to do the unguided trail to Moonbeam cave before our guided tours.

My first pleasant surprise. The bungalow was really a bungalow. It was really a luxury sleeping quarters and I felt so pampered to be here all by myself. The next two nights will be at Camp 5 and that would be really basic facilities, so I was quite glad for this little luxury indulgence.

My bungalow

Welcome to my bungalow

A quick lunch and I was off to my first hike to my first Mulu cave. Yes, I was getting really excited. The walk started with a raised timber walkway and progressed into a cemented one which was pretty tricky. Thanks to all the rain we had, it was real slippery.

Moonmilk walk

I took my time initially as it didn’t seem to be that far away. Well, advice from the guides was to give myself 45 minutes to an hour each way. I figured that would give me a comfortable 30 minutes to explore the cave.

Boy, I was so wrong. Firstly I was distracted by the insects and butterflies along the way and oh, did I leave out the birds and the trees too… Perhaps I was alone so there was really lot s of chances to spot insects and bugs. Not a big fan, but some of them were really pretty. And the singing of the cicadas, really captivating. And there were these little white flowers that smell so good. Secondly, I realised I wasn’t able to move as quickly as I would like to. I nearly slipped a few times and I had to really watch my steps. Nope, I wasn’t going to suffer that fall and miss my Pinnacles trek.

Crawlies...

and more crawlies

Big, fat and juicy but nope, not eating them

It felt good again to be back in the midst of the rainforest on my own. Well, it might seem a not-so-wise decision to do this alone in a foreign land but I was really enjoying this little quiet time alone. As a park safety measure, we had to go to this white board at the park security office to put down our names and destination with the time that we set off. Strictly no hiking after 7pm. I was also given a briefing on the difficulties of conducting a search if one went missing in the forest. Yes, I would be a good girl and I would try hard not to go wandering around too much on my own.

It seemed like a very long walk. By now I had begun tracking my timing and keeping my pace in check. It had been a good 30 minutes and the cave was nowhere in sight. I was getting a bit worried and considering if I should turn back so I would not miss my afternoon activities. I pressed on and the sight of the steps took me by surprise. I took out the little write up I picked up from the counter and I was shocked at what I missed reading. This was the start of the 427 steps that would bring me to Moonmilk cave. I began the ‘journey’….

Treacherous steps

Well, it was all worth it when I finally found the entrance to the cave. And yes, I was all out of breath. Torchlight in hand, I entered my first Mulu cave.

Moonmilk cave

Unlike the caves I visited in China, this was very much in its original state and it was really dark. The ones I had been to previously were well lit with neon lights and I had always felt that that took away the mystic feel I imagined caves to have. This was a real treat for me because it was very much in its original state. At that moment, I really wished I had a better camera.

For most part of the caves, I was not able to stand tall and had to crouch low to get through. Certain portions were also really tight and I had to squeeze myself through a little. There was a bit of a wind tunnel effect too as I could occasionally feel the cold breeze blow through. It was initially daunting to be alone in the cave but I slowly grew comfortable with the low lighting and the confined space. I had read a little about the formation of these limestone caves and water played a major role. I could feel water dripping on me as I moved along. The cave was damp but it was a refreshing kind of chilly and cool moist air. Nice after a long walk up the steps.

I finally understood the meaning of light at the end of a tunnel when I saw light coming through from the other end. I wasn’t really sure if I should walk right through that and if this was a ’round-about’ kind of route. I decided I did not have the luxury of time and I went back the way I walked in.

Moonmilk cave

I guessed going back would be slightly faster and after clearing my steps, I decided to run a bit, just in case I couldn’t make it back by 1pm. Again, my plan was foiled by what I saw along the way. And well, the concrete walk was still slippery. I made my way back as fast as I possibly could and if you were guessing, you were most probably right. I made it.

The afternoon plan was to go to Deer cave and Langs cave, both of which are guided show caves. I was wondering if a show cave would be something of the sort I saw in China with the artificial colourful neon lights. I definitely hoped not.

The walk this time round was slightly different as this was a guided walk and there were about 6 of us in the group. Ingre was also part of this group. Eugene was an excellent guide and he was able to point out lots of stuff for us to see along the way to the caves. We had a little lesson on the different plants and trees. I had been through hikes in rainforest but this was the first time I had someone explaining their uses. Eugene also explained the different relationships that plants and animals share and how interdependent they were. I particularly liked the way he played with the thorns of a plant. It actually responded with a little rustling and we were all amazed. The sounds we heard were actually made by the ants on the plant as they rushed and brushed against the leaves. Nice one there.

interesting plants

crawlies again...

By the time we reached the caves, we were all becoming great stick insect spotters too. I had some difficulty initially but like I said, Eugene was really good and soon, all of us were spotting stick and leaf insects on our own too.

Stickies and leavies - look closely

We headed toward Langs cave first. It was not a huge cave but definitely much wider than the Moonmilk cave. As we entered, there were small pools of water that greeted us. It was much wetter in comparison and I was quite surprised at the differences. Eugene pointed out some small shrimps in the water with his torchlight. I was more captivated by the thread worms and the web they spun. They were long thin threads shimmering in the caves.

Shimmering beauties ?

There were also potholes on the ceiling of the caves and on closer look, there were actually bats within them. We were careful not to shine our lights directly at the bats. It was after all still sleeping hours for them and most importantly, we were not to blind or startle them.

Homes of the bats

Other than the animals within the caves, the cave structure was itself amazing. The stalagmites and stalactites were spectacular on their own. You could also see and feel the water coming down through the tiny holes and how some of them joined up to form a column. There were also many telltale signs of how the water had washed or triggered down to mark the walls of the caves.

The chamber mother nature built

Spectacular formations

In contrast, the Deer cave was much bigger. Well, bigger was an understatement. It is the world’s biggest cave passage. It had this grandeur about it when you entered as it was really huge. Apparently, a long time ago, there used to be deers living in the caves, mainly for shelter and water. Today, one could no longer find them around. But Deer cave continued to house over 3 million bats. The ammonia smell from their shit was also overwhelming, definitely not for the faint hearted. A little joke, we were told not to open our mouths when we looked up or we might end up tasting a mouthful of that.

Entering the world's largest cave chamber

Millions of bats....

What you see in the cave structures relied heavily on your own imagination too. It could be an animal or the face of a famous historical figure. We had a bit of fun telling one another what we thought we saw.

The end of the Deer cave is the Garden of Eden and it was formed when the cave partially collapsed to create an opening. This was so beautiful and definitely as the name suggested. There was also a waterfall right at the end. Unfortunately, this cave tour did not include the Garden of Eden and we were not able to walk across. I could imagine how refreshing it would be to simply dived into the pool of water with the waterfall gushing down behind. Well, another reason why I needed to revisit this place.

Garden of Eden

The highlight of the evening was to wait for the bats to go out to hunt for food. We took our seats at the bat observatory and patiently waited for the show to begin. I was expecting the sky to be filled with millions of bats but what happened was a bit different. The bats came out in batches and it seemed so unbelievably organised. I wondered if they were actually queueing up at the cave entrance. Still, it was quite a sight and experience for me.

Choosing the best spots...

time to feed ...

It seemed to get dark pretty early, perhaps around 6pm and Eugene was saying that it usually gets completely dark by 7pm.

After a long walk back, I took a shower before heading to the cafe for dinner. I had made arrangements to have dinner with Ingre. I didn’t realise how bad I smelt until I was taking my bath. It felt good to be in nice clean clothes.

I met Troliver and Jennifer during dinner. Jennifer knew Ingre when they met in Kuching and was on the same plane as Toliver when they flew to Mulu. In fact, we were 4 strangers having dinner together and it was really interesting as we shared a little about what each other did back home. I might be traveling alone but like I always said, you would find company along the way.

Great dinner company, a long chat and it was off to bed. I was definitely looking to day 2 of my Mulu trip and this, to be continued in part 2.

Me... tired but happy

Paragliding Miri, Sarawak

I could not believe myself. I had barely touched down for a day and I was making my way back to the airport again. After 6 days of sea adventure in Cebu, I was heading for Miri in Sarawak.

The initial plan was to do paragliding at a private beach area owned by the relatives of one of our fellow Sarawak paragliders and I had made arrangements for the Singapore paragliders to meet up with both Sarawak and Sabah paragliders. But I had made some last minute changes to my traveling plans. I had run a random search on the internet and found a place where I really wanted to explore, some of the oldest cave structures in the world and some amazing limestone mountain formations.

Singapore Paragliders

I met up with some fellow paragliders at the airport and sheepishly told them about my plan. They laughed as though in anticipation. Well, I guess I had that sort of a reputation now. Not really sure if that was good or bad though.

I admit I was extremely tired. I caught a cold in Cebu, did not have sufficient sleep throughout the week and my one day in Singapore was spent clearing, tidying up the house and bathing my beloved doggies. I almost had to drag myself out of bed to get to the airport. But I could not suppressed the bubbling excitement I felt too. Coupled with this was also a sense of guilt as I was really looking forward to the second leg of my trip in Sarawak. So much so that I did not bring my glider along on this trip.

Arriving in Miri, I was pleasantly surprised when Ismail, a local paraglider greeted me at the airport. I had no idea he would be fetching us and I was both appreciative and a little embarrassed by his hospitality. He had even arranged for his friend to drive us around for a small token. I could only say thank you at that point but Ismail, if you were to be in Singapore, I would definitely return the favour and would try my best to ensure that you would be well taken care of.

It seemed almost the norm. We checked into the hotel and the next thing we know, we were on our way to the paragliding site. When it comes to flying, nothing stops these guys.

Miri paragliding site

The site was beautiful. A nice stretch of almost untouched sea and beach and a nice constant breeze. With such an enticing sight, the guys were raring to go. For a moment, I was really cursing myself for not bringing along my glider. Joseph was the first to go after a short briefing from our friendly host.

While Joseph got ready, I took some time to take in this sight before me. They had called this place little Timbis, Bali. But the views were totally different, not that one was better than the other. They each had their beauty. Maybe because we were early and the only ones around at that time, but there seemed to be an air of solitude and sadness about this place. It could be the lone building, the lone bench and the single tree. Or it could simply be me feeling a little lonely. It wasn’t a disturbing feeling and in fact, there was a serenity about it. Call it a brief indulgence but it was nice just staring blankly at the sea and allowing myself to experience that emptiness, and momentarily shutting out the noise that was nagging at me for the longest time.

Alright, indulgence is indulgence but there is a time to snap out of it. Time to fly.

Paragliding is this amazing sport. It is both an individual and a group sport and it is also amazing how just by watching your fellow mate fly, you can derive the same adrenaline rush from it. That is not to say watching is enough. Once you have been up, its hard not to go there again. Trust me on the addiction level. No wonder they say its a dangerous sport.

Getting ready to decorate the skies

Since I had no glider with me, I made myself the official photographer. Alright, no kick ass camera here and liked I always said, I am no great photographer. But I tried my best and some shots looked pretty good, at least in the eyes of an amateur like me.

There was a time to fly and a time to land; a time to enjoy and a time to work out a little…

Flying

Our friends from Kota Kinabalu and Jugra joined us not long after. It was nice to see our friends and we were all meeting up at a place nor so near home.

The wind was really picking up, reaching 30km/h at one stage. Even experienced paragliders like Major Nine and Mustan were having a little trouble. But it was all fun amidst the little try-outs. Well, i guess that wasn’t difficult to figure out from the smiles on our faces.

Helping hands

Up up and away ...

After some roll arounds and some struggles, we finally saw the gliders in the air. Watching them with their wing overs and some crazy stunts, I was really wishing I had my glider with me. Uncle Lee was so nice he offered to lend me his glider but I didn’t have the courage to try out a new glider in this wind condition. Guess I was really grounded and had to enjoy this at a ground level.

Flying into sunset

Time flies when you are having fun. That was so true. Before anyone realised, the skies were getting dark. Almost unwillingly, the guys landed and it was packing time.

Staring out at the horizon, I thought I wondered if I should stay a day more but even then, I knew the caves and the summit I were about to set off for were not any less amazing than this.

The mesmerizing evening skies

But Miri, I will definitely be back to soar your skies.

Ushering the new year

 

Just having fun

I had a great 2010 and 2011 and I am looking forward to an exciting year ahead. I used to keep a journal to keep a little record of what I have done and places I have been to. The varied experiences enriched my life and I hope with the little I have gained, I can now share with with friends and strangers alike. I am no great photographer but I like this photo as my first blog. Stories begin only when our lives become entwined with others’ along the way. While entanglement brings pain and sorrows, it also makes the happy times more valuable and memorable.

Kawasan Waterfalls, Moalboal Cebu, Philippines

Kawasan Waterfalls is a little bonus to my 6 days trip in Moalboal. Traveling with a group of divers and staying in a pretty remote resort, I really needed a little time out on my own. Perhaps I was still very used to traveling alone so being bound to a single activity and confined within a resort was driving me crazy. I needed to go somewhere to find my peace.

Trishaw

Taking a motorbike driven trishaw, it took me around an hour to get to the base of the waterfall. The ‘driver’ was really friendly and chatty. Being out of the resort was really great and we drove past local towns and markets and past through several villages. There was this sense of relief, freedom and I definitely felt I could breathe a lot better.

I met a group of trekking guides. It seemed that you need a guide to bring you around. My guide was really friendly and while we took our walk along the river, he suggested that I hiked all the way to the source of the waterfall. Something that I didn’t know could be done and it really sounded good.

Beginning my walk

Kawasan Waterfalls is made up of 3-tiers of waterfall and stands only at 30m tall. Hiking this should not be too tough. My only concerned was I had a pair of non hiking sandals. My guide was so kind he actually gave me his slippers which had a rubber base and a lot much better grip.

There were several resorts near the start of our hike and my guide told me that many tourist would choose to stay over for a night. Food would be very basic local food but they sure looked good. As we moved on, we passed by a village and my guide showed me his house and the village’s chapel. It was a small little shed-like building.

Little village chapel

The trail was extremely wet and slippery as it had been raining for the past few days. From cemented floor to earth track to what I would hardly call a trail. After 20 minutes, we arrived at the spring of the waterfall. It seemed almost unbelievable that this was all natural. The water was so clear and inviting. I folded up my pants and walked as far out as I could.

Spring

Spring and me

I crossed the spring on a bamboo bridge that was almost falling apart. The rocks were also extremely slippery. Finally I saw the very first tier of the waterfall. At first glance, I had thought it was a concrete base and it seemed almost artificial but on closer look, it was just one huge rock under the flowing water. After many years of washing out, the rock was entirely smoothened out, making it look like on giant concrete boulder. Once again, I couldn’t resist sticking my hand into the water. It was icy cold… so refreshing against my sweaty arms.

The first fall

The guide seemed amused at my joy and told me this was nothing. We had 2 more tiers to go. And he was so right. The second tier was a bit milder but the water was much faster flowing. Crossing the river now was slightly harder as the water seems to be rushing past pretty fast. I nearly lost my balance a few times and I told myself, no more hiking with sandals or slippers.

The second fall

And finally I arrived at the most impressive fall. It was crowded with people swimming. I had initially thought that I would only be at this level and taking the bamboo raft right under the waterfall. But the little hike was definitely a little highlight of my Cebu trip. I took the bamboo raft and though we were avoiding going under the waterfall, I was still thoroughly wet from the splatter of water. It was amazing how clear the water was.

There was a little cave behind the waterfall and we went through that and behind the waterfall. Some of the guys were enjoying their waterfall massage . I had no extra clothes with me so I decided to give that a miss. I stayed around for 30 minutes and I had to rush back to the dive resort for my afternoon dives.

The waterfall

Behind the waterfall

This is my guide and I was really grateful for the slippers. I had a really good time and for some reason, I was in deep thoughts on my way back. I was glad I made the trip.

My guide and me

Diving into 2012 – Moalboal Cebu, Philippines

I have not done a group trip for a long long time. Am I anti-social? No, that probably would not be quite the right description of me. I do not deny my love for solo traveling, but I do usually come back with a whole load of friends added to my facebook.

So, I like to see myself as a pretty sociable and friendly person.

But, having done this for the good part of 2011, I decided its time for a little change as I take the ‘plunge’ into the new year. I would say this in the most literal sense because I will be diving right into the new year.

This is the view from the resort in Moalboal, Cebu, Philippines.

Amazing sea view

A little introduction, my ‘daddy’. Hopefully you can tell he’s not really that old and he is daddy simply because he is such a loving and caring friend to have. But i did remind him, its time to lose a bit of weight. Then Hilary, a dear friend as sweet and as innocent as her smile. And yes, please tell her, she needs not lose any more weight for there will be nothing left of her if she goes along this path. These are my 2 roommates and family during my Cebu trip.

My roommates

On a side note, thanks for putting up with me hanging my clothes all over to dry. And oh, daddy, thanks for that triangular ‘flag’ that nicely greets me first thing I wake up every morning. I should really have taken a picture of that.

And a whole bunch of other crazy and fun peeps…

Cebu dive team

The first day of diving ended with me telling daddy : if its another wall dive on my right hand side tomorrow, my neck and shoulder will break! Yes it was wall dives after wall dives.

The first day of diving was a bit disappointing. We did see some lovely creatures, nudibranches, nice soft corals, plenty of nemos in various colours, equally fierce and possessive of their little turfs. Not forgetting huge turtles. Nothing that really takes your breath away though.

And talk about angry nemos… here’s one of my favourite shots.

Angry Nemo

Underwater shots

As it was the first day, we were also starting to know our dive guide and divemaster, so there was a bit of interaction to familiarize ourselves with one another. He is really experienced and one of the oldest divers on board. Always eager to go, he would be the first to descend after giving us a hand signal. Nice one there.

'Parking'

Oh, he had a soft spot for one of our divers and I love the way he took care of her. He was holding onto her practically the entire time to keep her from floating away. I love this shot of how he will ‘park’ her along walls and reefs should he need to go check something out.

We ended the day with 3 full dives. I was meddling around with the camera that I borrowed from a friend. Lazy me did not check out how to use it before bringing it down so half the time I was trying to figure out how to operate the camera in different modes. Okie, my fault.

The dive sites we covered were Taisay, Tongo and Tongo Sanctuary.

We had an eventful New Year dinner. Not exactly the kind we were expecting. Well, I’ll leave that for another story to tell. In short, it was a night of drinks, laughter and tears as well.

The second diving day was a gloomy day. The sky was overcast and it was dizzling. Putting on a damp wetsuit wasn’t exactly the most welcoming experience. Arghhh…. I long for the sun.

The boat ride was not a pleasant one and I was shivering really bad. The sea was really choppy and we were all drenched from both sea and rain water as the boat crashed through the waves. I was wrapping myself up with towel and the 3 divemasters on board were having fun laughing at me. I was really hoping the water temperature will be better than staying on board under rain and cold lashing winds.

One of my first on this trip is doing my backroll entry and i am seriously falling in love with it. I did not have to go though any backbreaking walks to the end of the boat. Seriously, I swear I was shivering so bad underwater during my morning dive. Half the time I was hugging myself real tight. And it was a wall dive again and on my right again. I was having a stiff neck and my shoulder was really aching. But i just had to maintain my posture and stare at the wall, really hoping to see more stuff on my second day.

I caught a chill and I wasn’t able to do my second dive. It was really raining now and the water is going to be real cold too. I was looking forward to Pescador Island dive so I wanted to rest and be well enough for that. Pretty glad i made that call when I saw the other came up shivering. But I was disappointed too that I missed out on the ghost pipe fish. Guess there’s always a next time. Now I have an excuse to head right back to Cebu.

The current around Pescador Island were rough and I was really worried. Luckily the spot we were descending was kind of sheltered from the choppy waters so that calmed me a little. There was a bit of current underwater but it wasn’t really that bad.

The dive sites we covered were Dolphin House and Pescador Island.

Underwater shot

We started our third day of diving with something slightly different. It was an airplane wreck. I got pretty excited for a moment. I have been wanting to do a wreck dive for the longest time but to my disappointment, this was a tiny plane that was dropped and sunk to create a airplane wreck site. Guess it was better than nothing and it was a real shallow dive too so its a wreck dive without having to go deep.

Underwater shots

We were back to dolphin house for our second dive before a little shopping treat at some local stalls by the beach. They were the usual T-shirts and souvenirs. What caught my eye was a lady selling some stuff in a little bucket. I really should not have gone after her. She was selling live urchins.. that was really cool. I just couldn’t resist it and the old lady was kind enough to let me try one. When she cut it open, the innards were still moving. Her grandson came with a metal spoon and scrape off some ‘meat’ for me. By then, the guys around me looked pretty disgusted. Slimy as it looked, the taste was fantastic. It was so fresh and sweet. Sashimi at its very best, I must say.

The last dive was really a highlight of the day. I wasn’t able to get a decent photo of the mandarin fish darting among the corals but they were beautiful. The best time to get a full view is actually in the late evening or during the night when they come out of their hiding to mate. Unfortunately I’m not a big fan of night dives so I have to make do with stealing glances at them.

The dive sites explored were Airplane wreck, Dolphin house and Mandarin house reef.

Underwater shots

Underwater shots

It had been a long day and I wanted to take a good rest. I would be skipping my morning dive the next day and I was really excited to go do a bit of trekking. Most importantly, I needed some ‘alone’ time. I wanted to go do something I know I will like and yet enjoy the solitude.

I rejoined the guys for their afternoon dives. Rejuvenated after my refreshing waterfall trek, I was actually excited about doing my last 2 dives. This was the first sunny day dive out of the many days we were in Cebu. I had a bit of a suntan, sitting right at the front of the boat to enjoy the warmth.

The last dive was my first murk dive so I was pretty excited. We were going to walk back to shore. I was initially a bit concerned that there was going to be so many divers all at the same site and with a sandy bottom, we could really end up seeing nothing much more than an underwater sandstorm. Lucky, the sea is vast and we all found our little corners. Saw many sea creatures that I’d never seen before. Really really cool.

Our last two sites were Parangsara and Moalboal Bay.

Underwater shots

Underwater shots

This had been a very eventful trip and I made no mentioned about the dive resort we were in as that had been grossly unpleasant. But the divemasters and the diving had been nothing but great. I thoroughly enjoyed the dives and yes, I will definitely be back in Cebu again pretty soon.

A shot of myself enjoying the Cebu waters.

ME!