KL post -volcano

Apparently the UK had asked Iceland for a bunch of cash, but due to a misunderstanding Iceland sent the whole of Europe heaps of ash. This "misunderstanding" kept us in KL for an extra 7 days, going back and forth to the airport and having the opportunity to stay at the lovely (not) Transit Hotel- complete with bars on the windows (if you were lucky enough to have a room with a window!)

Waiting became the routine, anticipating the next NATS weather updates, with a mix of hope and trepidation. Many hours were spent lying around on top of backpacks and sarongs spread out on the cold hard airport floors. We now know every shop in KL airport off by heart- where to get the best coffees, muffins, and indian food- and Bec has sampled nearly every perfume in stock!

Thanks to the Red Cross for the 4 hour innings on army style stretchers at Stansted, before the lovely stretchers were whisked away by beefy security guys for another lucky punter.

After 7 days of trying to get to Copenhagen airport, we were finally on our descent, and could hardly believe it could be true, when the captain had to abort landing, and our hearts sank as the plane rose suddenly back up into the sky. Thankfully, the pilot only wanted to take another lap around Copenhagen skies before landing the plane. Touch down! :-)

KL pre-volcano

We had a few fun days in KL before getting stuck there for a week longer than we'd planned. We did a fair bit of exploring of the shopping centres and got bargains galore. The food was sensational and the cinema very cheap (and bloody freezing-Bec had to wear all the clothes we'd bought on our shopping spree). Bec and Alice also enjoyed a tea party with the Mad Hatter ;-)

Perhentians: Paradise Found 2

Perhentians: Paradise Found

A week of reading and relaxing on the talcum powder beach; falling asleep at night with the sound of the waves lapping just outside our door; feasting on local delicacies - we have found our paradise.

We couldn't wait to try out our snorkels, and after a couple of baby snorkels closer to the beach, we finally swam the 150 meters out to the deeper and aquarium clear water. Having set up a couple of signs to be able to communicate with each other under water (normally limited to the "this is f***ing sensational sign"), Martin got quite a surprise when he reacted to the quite frantic snorkel sounds coming from behind him, seeing Bec doing the "shark" sign (which was invented as a laugh on shore about 10 minutes before) and pointing panically ahead. Then Martin saw it as well - a 1.5 meter long Black-tipped reef shark, cruising along, deciding whether or not to have us for dinner. We hung around for a bit, trying to believe in what a marine biologist had told us, that if they are not bigger than you they won't eat you.

Easter on the Kinabatangan 2

Easter on the Kinabatangan

Easter eggs, Easter bunnies, hot cross buns- forget about it here. More like Easter monkies of all different kinds- Probiscus monkey, long tailed macaques, orangutans... a very different kind of Easter hunt.

After cruising along the Kinabatangan and witnessing the wildlife and a beautiful sunset, we slather ourselves in mosquito repellent and long sleeves, ready to battle the insect army that comes out to fight at night. On the way to dinner, we battle our way through huge swarms of kamikaze green beetles and fighter jet cicadas- we cover our ears, eyes, and any other orifices we can fit our hands over! Munching our way through the green jungle root stirfry- we tentatively chew our way through each bite, testing for any extra crunchiness that might be a wayward kamikaze pilot!

All in all, a very different Easter dinner :-)

Rainforest and Orangutans

Landing in extremely hot and humid Borneo we headed out for a bit of a walkabout in the luscious green rainforest and visited the "men of the forest" at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. It was awesome to see the dudes in real life.

Night out in Siem Reap