Email to Friends: Diving in Borneo‏

If you have to sleep in an airport, I suppose the Kota Kinabalu airport isn't half bad. My flight from Phnom Penh to Kuala Lumpur was late. Tried to get standby on the next flight to Kota Kinabalu but there were already 25 people ahead of me. So ended up in Kota Kinabalu late and the cab drivers wanted to charge me $11 each way to my $8 dorm room I had booked in advance. Also noticed my flight the next morning to Tawau was cancelled and wanted to catch the earlier flight instead of later, so would have to be back at the airport early to try to secure a seat. Decided to just bite the $8, and camp out at the airport. Got a few hours of shut eye but got up when they started cleaning around me. McDonalds was the only thing open, so I was forced to grab a bite and some coffee there, but luckily got on the early flight.

After 26 hours of being in airports, I finally got to step foot in Malaysia in Tawau. Wasn't sure how I was getting from Tawau to Semporna, and a nice man on my flight who owned a hotel said he could take me to town to wander around and then ask his driver how to get to Semporna, but as soon as I grabbed my luggage, some guy asked me where I was heading. When I told him I had no set plan really, he offered to sneak me onto the shuttle for cheap with the guests staying at the nice bungalows over the water resort (which I swear I will do one day, even if for only one night). So I got a nice air con ride to Semporna, which was great. It was strange how Malaysia's landscape has the same familiarity of most SE Asia countries. Red earth, green, lots of fruit and palm trees. But it is more modern (there was an all the way PAVED road with lines of where you could pass or not!) and it is mainly Muslim here. There are mosques instead of temples and many woman wear head coverings and some the full face covering. But there are also people who look more like me, so I am still getting spoken to in the local dialect sometimes, if I don't speak first.

Semporna is kind of a dirty town with not much to do and feels a little dodgy. Apparently, it is on a few countries' "areas of Malaysia to avoid" lists. But lots of tourists that are with various dive groups or heading out to an island end up here. I check into the Scuba Junkies dorm for the evening, as I missed the 8am boat to the island. Also missed the early bus I thought about catching to try to see orangutans and proboscis monkeys. Met a nice German man, but I generally kept to myself. There is a swamp out back full of water bottles and trash. But pretty birds hang out in it as well as an enormous monitor lizard that I first thought was a crocodile (I am glad he doesn't seem to be able to get through the flimsy fence). Also saw a few monkeys (not proboscis, though) by the roadside.

Caught the boat the next morning to Mabul Island. The Scuba Junkies resort is beautiful! I have my own bungalow and it is huge with two beds, a hammock, and table and chairs to relax on the porch. My first day is just spent relaxing, as I was not diving that day based on the way the permit system worked for Sipadan. Walked around the island, which is pretty small. There are two little villages and a handful of resorts. The village right next to the resort is super poor, with no running water and trash everywhere. But the island is nice, people are friendly, and the long pier is fun to hang out and stare into the crystal clear water. Food is included at my resort, and pretty good (but not as good as street food or side of the road food). Spent the evening reading and chatting with other guests at the resort.

The next day, I got up early and watched the sunrise from the jetty. Played with a resident cat who seems to like sitting with me on my porch and I prepared for my first day of diving. I signed up for a refresher day, as it has been a while since I dove. We did one dive with skills right off the jetty and then two more boat dives. It was a nice small group with two German guys and my instructor, Scott. The last dive was really nice, and saw stuff I have never seen before like a frog fish, two huge cuttlefish, several crocodile fish, and something that looked like it had wings. Also had tons of turtles at a wreck dive. There are lots of great dive sites right off the island and the water is nice and warm. We came back to the bungalows and I headed off to explore town and watch the sunset. Stumbled into a basketball game in town so sat and watched and chatted with a kid I keep running into on the island. Also accidentally stumbled into a burial in a small cemetery before heading back. After dinner, had a beer at the bar an then joined a lot of the dive staff and for a bonfire on the beach. Lots of stars and really nice. The cat came and sat with me for a bit before I went to bed.

Got up super early again (the cat was crying outside my door to get let in), but forced myself to go back to sleep. Bad idea, as I overslept and almost missed the boat to my first dive. Luckily, Scott, my dive instructor came and woke me up and I just threw on my bathing suit and ran to the boat. The boat was full of dive instructors and dive masters, but one of the German guys from the day before (who always runs out if air before me, so I am never the limiting factor which is nice) and Scott are in a group together. We had three great dives today! One dive had a heavy current and chock full of sea life and corals which was fun and another was an artificial reef with lots of underwater structures covered in coral. Saw a giant barracuda inside a structure that I swam right next (saw his huge teeth and wasn't really sure what I was going to do if he came towards me in the confined space), a huge school of jack fish, some rays, clown fish, an octopus, and some really pretty nudibranch. Never found a pygmy seahorse, though. Felt a lot more comfortable with my diving today, which is good as I am one of the lucky seven on the boat heading to Sipadan tomorrow. Took it easy tonight, as I have to be at the boat jetty at 6:15am (Scott warned me that if I overslept, there would be a wait list of 20 people ready to take my spot, as permits are only issued to 120 people a day and required a reservation three months in advance... Even as an instructor, he has never dove it).

Woke up on time, excited for my third and final day of diving. We head to Sipadan Island, which is now owned by the government and no one is allowed to stay on the island except those living on the Army base. It is protected waters, a bird sanctuary, and a sea turtle sanctuary (although I heard and felt dynamite go off somewhere during a dive... the locals still dynamite fish the area when they can get away with it). We check in and there is military people roaming the island with big machine guns. I like to end all my trips with a week on the beach, and this was an amazing end to an incredible vacation! We did four dives, and being the only open water diver, I have my own guide who is a local with a good eye to spot everything. The dives were full of sharks, huge schools of fish, corals, and a bagazillion turtles (to the point that I was actually enthused to see another turtle-- except the one that swam up right behind me onshore while I was playing on the beach during a break). Visibility was good and it was like swimming in an enormous tropical aquarium. Turns out I got to see more than all the other divers, as my guide was really good (I think it helped that he was a local) and we were always in the right place at the right time. Most memorable was getting to see a big leopard shark, swim amongst and into a huge tornado of jack fish and the occasional shark (but not the elusive hammerheads) and on the final dive I got to witness an enormous school of hundreds of giant barracudas create a tornado and dive right past me. We did barracuda reef twice because there was so much to see (and it is supposedly in the top five to top three dive sites in the world). Definitely the best dives I have ever been on, and worth every penny.

Headed back to Semporna by boat the next day and since my hotel was going to charge me too much to get back to the Tawau airport, called the same driver who had given me his number when I arrived. He met me at the boat jetty and he whisked me to the airport so I could make my tight connection and head back to Kota Kinabalu. Surprise, surprise... my flight on Malaysia Airlines had been cancelled. So far, they have only managed to not cancel 1 of 3 of my flights. I now kind of hate Malaysia Airlines. Finally got on a flight. After ten dives in three days and fighting a head cold, my ears were giving me a few problems, but thankfully felt okay-ish on the flight (oh, and I got stung around the leg and arm by a jellyfish underwater yesterday on the third dive, which tends to wipe me out as I get a bad reaction to it).

Arrived in Kota Kinabalu just in time to catch a beautiful sunset across the bay. I set off to explore the KK waterfront area and ended up spending most of the the evening in an amazing night market full of seafood!! There are vendors everywhere selling food and drinks. You find a vendor selling raw seafood and then they take it over to a grill and cook it up for you as you find a plastic chair at big communal tables. I managed to polish off two crabs in butter sauce and a gigantic prawn in sambal sauce washed down with two lime juices. Fresh, delicious, and relatively inexpensive! I was pretty worn out, so didn't get to see as much of the city as I had hoped. Turned in early for yet another oh-butt thirty flight back to the mainland.

Got to Kuala Lumpur without a hitch (well there was confusion about my flight home tonight, but now flight ridiculousness is just starting to be expected). I stored my backpack in an airport rental locker and headed to try to figure out how to get into the city to see the Petronas Twin Towers. A nice gentleman helped me navigate the train, and even took me right to where I was going before he headed to work. The towers are pretty impressive... super tall and set in a beautiful park. It is actually surprising how clean and organized everything is in this city! There were no more available tickets to go to the top of the towers (which was okay, since I felt a little strange going up on what happened to be 9/11).

I found a roadside stall where all the taxi drivers appeared to be eating and had some delicious lunch. They suggested I visit the aquarium, so I walked over there. I got a discounted admission price, as the guy at the ticket booth asked if I was Malaysian, and when I was about to say no, he shook his head yes and said "because then it is cheaper" (I still would have gotten a student discount since I always carry my school ID when traveling, even if it is expired). Nice little aquarium, but probably not worth full price (especially since I spent the last week seeing most of it in the wild). With more time to spare before my flight, I decided to try to find this colorful graffiti art I had seen on the train ride in. Found the same train stop and got off to explore. Maybe there was a little fence jumping, but got to meet a few of the artists (they went to a nearby art school) before heading back to the airport for my flight home. Great day and my last SE Asia sunset from the airport was beautiful, but I am ready to come home.

I only took a few, but my Malaysia trip photos are online or you can view them as a slideshow. Unfortunately, I didn't have an underwater camera (yet... but thanks to my parents, I now have a GoPro for my next travel adventure), but here is a YouTube video from some user named Philippe Miras that had a lot of the same stuff I got to see:

Love,
Betsy

Email to Friends: Phnom Penh and Heading on the Last Leg of my Journey‏

Successfully made it to Phnom Penh. It is hot, dirty, busy, and noisy with lots of traffic. Found a tuktuk driver to drive me around until I found a place to stay that I liked. I made him earn his money, as he had to take me to several places. Some were too dirty, some asking too much for what was offered, some didn't feel safe, and one with a pool in the lobby with all creepy backpacker dudes asking if I brought a bikini. Almost gave up and shelled out the money for an expensive hotel, but he finally took me to a little family guesthouse a few blocks outside the backpacker zone. I liked the woman who owned it right away, as she had an infectious laugh (they rent bikes and one guy was having lots of issues before giving up, much to all of our amusement). She also turned away an older Indian gentleman with an entirely too young Cambodian girl. She gave me the best room in the place on the top floor with a balcony over the city life, ac, a fan, and hot water for only $15. There is a locker for my passport and stuff I don't want to carry and I have my lock from my pac-safe I can use with the locker. And it is right next to their house, so feels very safe.

Met a man staying in my guesthouse who was from India but getting his MBA in China. He walked the city with me and we stopped at an Indian restaurant he heard about for dinner. He ordered for us, and it was really good! He was so happy to be able to have food from home and that made me happy. There is a huge disparity in wealth here, as some drive a big Lexus or Hummer, while the street kids wander in front of them with nothing. I could tell the man has a soft heart for these street kids (perhaps because of where he grew up), as he stops to talk to all of them. We only ate about a third of the food they gave us for dinner, so he offers it to these five adorable kids, making sure they understand they have to share. They are starving, and devour it. I think he will make a wonderful businessman someday. We walk along the waterfront, watching the locals play a game like soccer but with a much smaller ball. The losing team has to do push ups. Short-lived game as it ends when someone accidentally kicks the ball into the river.

The next day, I decided to take in the sights. I struggled with whether or not to go to the Killing Field of Choueng Ek and the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum as I knew it would be very difficult to see, but decided that it is an important part of Cambodian people and understanding the country's history. At breakfast, one if the many creepy, sad, lonely white guys here in the city that is obviously looking for an Asian woman approaches me. They are everywhere in this city and I want to knock out just about every single one of them that eyeballs me when I am walking or sitting alone. Everywhere you look in the tourist area, there is some 60-70 year old man with a young 20 year old Cambodian woman. Anyway, this particular guy pushed my bag out of the seat to sit next to me, even though I told him I would rather not have company. Even before this, I already could tell I didn't like him and the tuktuk drivers on the street instantly made eye contact with me and I could tell they were watching out for me. One made a very subtle shake of his head, as if to say no. I noticed the guesthouse owner had also moved behind me and was just watching. After his few attempts to get to know me and my curt answers, he left. Everyone gave me that knowing head shake as I rolled my eyes and smiled. I hired the tuktuk driver who had shaken his head to try to warn me, and headed off to the Killing Fields outside of the city.

It was an experience I will never forget. The grounds are actually very peaceful now, with a lake and fruit trees. But in the center is this huge temple structure full of skulls, and there are burial pits cordoned off which people have covered in offerings and colorful bracelets. I paid for the audio tour, which is a couple hours full of history and stories, in the voice of people who lived through it, and how they honor those lost and are doing things today to help try to prevent another such tragedy. It was heartbreaking and overwhelming. I sat alone in one of the little pagodas on the lake, listening to the stories and wiping tears away. After, I went to Toul Sleng, as it too was part of this horrible history. Saw the rooms they were imprisoned in before being sent to the Killing Field. Read stories of both prisoners and people who worked at the prison and why. It was really haunting to see the mug shot photographs of all of the prisoners as they were brought to Toul Sleng. Picture after picture, I had to force myself to look at them all, as I felt they deserved that. Some had faces of defiance, anger, sadness, fright, and some even smiling (some people did not know where they had been sent). They have faces similar to so many I have met on this trip, and it breaks my heart.

I left feeling drained when I returned to my tuktuk. The driver saw the sadness on my face and got off his moto and sat in the tuktuk with me and we chatted a bit. Turns out his uncle and nephew died here, and he too cries when he visits. It is strange to realize how recent this has occurred and that people walking around everywhere went through this pain, and somehow came through it. He also filled me in about the creepy guy from breakfast, saying he has hired drivers to find him child prostitutes and to go smoke opium. They were going to try to turn him in, and hopefully get him arrested.

My driver didn't want me to end my tour on such a sad note, so he took me to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. Beautiful place to explore the grounds and watch monks in the park. A much more positive end (except for having to yell at a stupid woman who was refused entrance as she had a shawl over her tank top, which every guidebook and signs posted say are forbidden and she proceeds to belittle the man in the ticket booth, hold up the line, and generally be a huge pain... so I maybe unleashed some choice words on her, much to the amusement of everyone else in line.

In the afternoon, I went to check out a volunteer organization that the couple I met in Pursat told me about. Couldn't get a good read on the owner, but said I would come back in the morning and decide. Was joined by another Australian guy and it was nice to have dinner with him to keep the creepy guys at bay. But then he wanted to go to a bar that he heard was owned by an Australian, and it turned out to be a prostitute bar for expats and more lonely male travelers. But it wasn't too bad, the women were actually really sweet and I talked to them a little about their lives and how they ended up doing what they do for a living, many seeing no other options. It is the seedy side of Cambodia, but it exists and is prevalent, so educational in a way. I actually didn't mind the women so much... Just the men who were preying on the situation. After a drink, we got out if there and the Australian guy made sure I got back to my guesthouse safely in a tuktuk.

Got up early the next day and watched the sunrise and street food vendors set up. Headed over to the volunteer organization, and two French girls and an Irish guy were heading out that day. So I decided to go. We drove out about an hour from the city to a place where families are squatting on government land. Disease is a huge issue as is keeping kids in school. We played with the kids in school and they practiced their English with me. Some of these squatters live in small bamboo huts over a polluted swamp. We also took fresh drink water out to the villages, a few bags of rice, and some formula for the babies who needed it. It was sort of fun, but disorganized and I really think the volunteers did not do or add much to the kids day. I also decided I didn't like the organization's owner, even though I think he is doing some really good things. But all in all, worth the day and only cost $5.

Came back and got ready to meet a friend of a friend/old co-worker in Seattle that had recently moved to Phnom Penh to help train some of the young girls who have been forced into prostitution. It was great to talk to him, and I got to eat the fried tarantula that I had heard so much about. The restaurant we went to is kind of like FareStart in Seattle, but they train the poor street kids. It is really cute to see how hard they are working to be good servers with their mentor. And the tarantula was actually really tasty! I had two. I can see why the Cambodian kids like them as a treat (started when people lacked protein and were pushed out of the cities into the countryside and mountains).

And now I say goodbye to Cambodia. My tuktuk driver from the other day is on his way to take me to the airport in about an hour. Fly from here to Kuala Lumpur with a small layover and then off to Borneo. The next morning I head for the small Mabul Island, and will likely not have Internet. So this may be the last email until I return back to the States on September 12th. I will just have to pass the time scuba diving (I think we are given three dives a day and four when in Sipidan) and swinging in my hammock, reflecting on this trip and preparing for re-entry into life.

Cambodia trip photos are online or you can view them as a slideshow.

Love,
Betsy