All the things I've been too busy to do

So, as per usual, I'm getting behind on my blogging. I blame it mostly on slow internet, but in all fairness it is my lack of motivation. It's not that I don't want to tell you all about our exploits (in great detail - sometimes too great or so I've been told), but uploading all the pictures is a long and slow process, and feeling inspiration to write sometimes needs to be forced out.

I'm going to try harder from now on. And I'm going to put pictures up soon (internet is not able to do it now - sorry).

The past few weeks have seen a lot of action. From KL, we left for Kota Kinabalu (the East end of the island of Borneo in Sabah, Malaysia) on the 28th of November. The day after, we set off to climb Mt. Kinabalu (Southeast Asia's highest peak @ 4,095.2 meters (13,432.26 ft)). The first day was 6 kilometers of trail, strait uphill. There were stairs for half of the way, and the other half mainly consisted of rocks that loosely resembled stairs. In that first day we started at 1,800 meters (5,905.5 ft) at the Timpohon gate and at the end of the day ended at the Laban Rata guesthouse at 3,000 meters (9,842.5 ft). Ayu did amazingly well dealing with the climb (we did basically no training at all beforehand) and with the altitude (the air was noticeably thinner even at the beginning). That night we befriended Phil from England, ate dinner, played some scrabble and called it a night.

The second day started at 2AM and consisted of another 2.7 km uphill, in the dark (we had flashlights). This time the trail was twice as steep - the average angle that we hiked the first day was 11.5 degrees, the second day it was 23.93 degrees! So we were struggling. The peak was at 4,095.2 meters (13,432.26 ft), and the higher we got, the colder and windier it became. But what a sight seeing the sun rise from the top of Southeast Asia.

Our success was short lived though. We had to go back down soon after reaching the top (we spent maybe 15 minutes up there) for breakfast and to checkout of the resthouse. On the way down we had to stop occasionally, but we made good time and had a nice breakfast of toast and eggs. Then it was time to continue down (the whole way) to the bottom. We were doing great at first. Making excellent time and looking like pro's.

However, this couldn't last. Our knees were shaking more and more, and our rest breaks became more and more frequent. By the last 2-3 km our guide was laughing at us because we looked like crabs going down the trail hunched over and pidgeon toed (trying to minimize the impact on the knees). The last mile coming down was the worst for me (for Ayu it was the last mile to the top because she was feeling nauseous and didn't sleep much at the resthouse).

After returing to Kota Kinabalu, we rented a hostel and spent our remaining days there trying to recover. I lost quite a few personal items during this our time in KK, including my LED flashlight and camera (both of which I need to replace because they are vital to my travels - hint, hint - they would make excellent Christmas presents). Haha. Oh well. The Lord giveth, and he taketh away. On top of all this I got sick for 24 hours (I'm not sure why actually, it could've been the massive altitude changes or something I ate). So I was throwing up everywhere - including on the plane to our next destination - Kuching!

Kuching is on the West of the island of Borneo (and in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia). The name literally means cat, and its obvious that they love cats in Kuching as there are feline statues everywhere and even a cat museum (they claim to be the only one). We didn't see the cat museum, but we had fun at the cultural village. Ayu and I played Congkak (Westerners might know the game as mancala), an Orang Ulu tribesman taught me how to play a traditional guitar-like instrument (called a sape - pronounced sah-pay) and we tried our luck at a traditional blowgun. It was quite educational and fun and at the end there was a dancing performance that is not to be missed. The day after we went jungle kayaking and saw Orang Utans, and then it was back to KL.

Now, Ayu and I are sitting in a cafe, looking for airline tickets for our upcoming flight to Denmark. Her work permit was approved, and I have a job interview lined up. So keep looking, and we'll keep updating :D