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There comes a time when travelling with no return date in mind that some of us feel the paing of guilt. A fleeting acknowledgement that we have at the very least escaped the monotony of day to day life whilst those we care about most are still slogging it out. Whilst this feeling is not strong enough nor persistent enough to make us commit the ultimate sacrilige and return to sydney, get jobs and take up a lease on an apartment, Clare and I do recognise that we can not pack, unpack, get this bus, walk that street, hunt for a bed here, hunt for a bed there, forever. We are also not ready to search for full time employment after 7 months on the road in my case and 11 months in Clare's. We are also yet to find a place that resonates with either of us so strongly that we would like to stay for an extended period. Fortunately we have heard of ways to compromise that will allow us to stay in one place for a short period, work during that time and save money by not having to pay for accomodation or food in exchange for 5 or 6 hours of work 5 days a week.
Somewhere along the way we were told of a couple of websites which we now subscribe to. They are called HelpX and Workaway. The general outcome is as I just mentioned and the way it is arranged is much the same as couch surfing (see earlier post). There are those of us looking for a place to stay and a feed and are willing to do some work for it so we set up a volunteer profile. On the flip side are those that need some work done at their house, hostel, resort, garden, farm or whatever. Both use the website to contact the other as they see fit depending on each one's profile. Both parties can receive reviews by the other adding a level of insurance that both parties are acting responsibly otherwise a few bad reviews and either party could find their opportunities dimish. On these websites you can find all sorts of work from doing some of the cleaning in a hostel to doing manual labour for someone building their dream eco resort to teaching english privately or in a school and almost anything in between. For those that are interested there is another website called Findacrew which is used by people offering work on their boats. Sounds like fun and a great way to move from one place to another but I have a serious condition called sea sickness which I try to aggravate as little as possible. Clare doesn't understand. In fact she finds it hilarious. I hope she gets morning sickness one day.
It probably sounds contradictory to want to stop moving and put our bags down for a while right after seven weeks at the Muay Thai gym in Phuket but that is how timing panned out for our first Workaway experience. We went directly from Phuket to Langkawi, a small island off the north west coast of Malaysia. When I say directly I mean that we had to take a taxi, a bus, another bus, another bus, a ride in the back of a truck, a ferry and another taxi to get there. The direct ferry would have cost four times as much. Maybe next time.
Our first Workaway wasn't quite what we expected. It definitely was not all rainbows and puppies although I still think the puppies were Clare's favourite part of the stay. The lady running the place does not live on site so there is virtually no organisation and therefore logistical difficulties to solve. The other volunteers were not aware that we were coming and there were not enough beds for two more people. Fortunately someone found a tent in one of the sheds and that was our home for the week. It's not a problem for either of us to sleep on the ground but the heat combined with the dogs barking at every little noise throughout the night made sleep super difficult. We knew that the place was used to provide healthy meals for paying customers that wanted to experience natural local organic produce. We didn't realise that during our stay we were also supposed to eat a raw vegan diet in keeping with the ethos of the commercial side of the property. Clare; myself; Clare expecially; eating vegan, not likely. The one chicken left after the dogs slaughtered the rest did not stand a snowballs chance in hell of holding onto her eggs. The other difficulty was the isolation. We had grand plans of working mornings then getting around and checking out the rest of Langkawi island. Unfortunately we were isolated in a way that we didn't expect. Miles from any shops and even further from somewhere we could rent scooters. We managed to put one whole day aside to explore the island but that had to begin with two people hitch hiking to find rental scooters. After that we were on our way with nothing to stop us from checking out the best beaches that Langkawi had to offer. Oh, except for the resorts. They own the best beaches and reserve them for paying guests only. We couldn't believe it. Misadventures and logistics aside we met and hung out with some fantastic people, Clare could play with and train the puppies as much as her heart desired and we got a free cruise around the islands of Langkawi on a beautiful old traditional Malaysian vessel.
The primary business of the lady that runs the property we were working on is charter boat cruises. We were aware of this from reading the profile on the website. We were also aware that many people had spent time helping on the charters and some had even lived on the boats in the marina rather than on the property. If i'm honest, that was the main drawcard when we applied for this Workaway. We settled for one day on the boat and it made all the hot tents and vegan meals worthwhile. We were able to sail through the islands, swim to and along the beach, drink beer, wine and everything else with the guests and eat the most amazing giant prawns and german sausage that any of us volunteers could possibly have dreamt of after missing any animal protein sources for the better part of a week. In exchange we helped with some of the food preparation, entertained/talked with the guests and did a bit of a beach clean up when we arrived on one of the islands. I personally enjoyed my work on the farm and had a great time with some of the other volunteers and the day out on the boat was like the icing on the cake. I think the lady we were working for must have appreciated what Clare and I were doing on the farm also because she's asked if we'd come back to run and manage the property in a paid capacity in the future. I told her we'd be in touch some time around the middle of May because we have a few other things in the pipeline until then. Ultimately we have to ask ourselves, does this place resonate with us in a way that makes us want to stay for an extended period? I'm not so sure. Maybe we'll want another a break from moving around by then again although probably not at the expense of meat, milk and eggs.
I'm writing this paragraph from our second workaway sitting on a rock watching the waves break on an isolated patch of jungle at the back end of a national park in southern Borneo. There are five people here and no one else within a three hour hike through the jungle. Fortunately for us we were picked up by boat which in itself is a 30 minute ride from the nearest small town. We are working for a French couple who are building a small "eco" resort or homestay. Eco seems to be the buzz word in the asian tourism industry at the moment and seems to mean anything from all natural to some natural products may have been used in the making of this product. In this case eco means it is completely environmentally friendly. All construction is made from natural products with the exception of electrical wiring and plumbing. Even the timber beams were cut from the trees that were felled to creat space for the accomodation. The cut the beams from the trees with a chainsaw. What can I say, small things blow my mind. Try it some day though. I bet you can't cut a straight beam from a felled tree with a chainsaw. All electricity comes from about ten solar panels mounted on a small hut, water comes from a creek that runs off Mount Santubong in the National Park so it is used for everything from washing up to bathing to drinking. All toilet waste goes to two septic tanks laboriously dug in by hand. I'm glad we weren't here for that. Although we spent most of our time doing even more mind numbing and back and bucket breaking work backfilling to level off the ground of what was to become the restaurant. Over five days we walked back and forth along a slippery, narrow track through the bush that seemed to have been made solely of soft mud and trip hazzards. We picked rocks up off the beach then carted them back to the site of the restaurant. Fortunately for us the temperature never got about 35 degrees and 85% humidity. Clare and I were severely tested as was the englishman Jamie and his amazing sense of self deprecating humour as well as Matt and Sophie who pushed through with the rest of us. I was super impressed with Clare. She wouldn't give up even after hearing of several other men that had given up in favour of the three hour hike through thick jungle and mosquitos to get out of there as soon as they could. Hard work aside after our six hours a day were done and we were free to make the most of the jungle if we still had the will or the energy to make the most of it.
Yesterday Clare and I took one of the kyaks to the next beach about a kilometre away. Complete isolation and not even another boat in sight. The kind of place you could run nude on the beach safe in the knowledge that you'd never be seen. You can imagine our surprise when Clare found a makeshift camp at one end of the beach. It was made of nothing but what could be cut from the jungle such is the isolation. There were some old butane cans and three fine sieves. A small creek ran from the jungle into the ocean staining it vivid red. Talking to Mattias the Frenchman who's place we were working at that evening we put two and two together. This region is known to have gold in places. The red water of the creek indicated that the water was coming from somewhere with iron in the ground which is usually found where gold is found. The makeshift camp and the sieves obviously meant that someone else was aware of all of this and had been here doing some prospecting and intended to return in the not to distant future. Fascinating place. Not only does this part of the jungle contain gold it seems but also several types of primate including the large bulbous nosed Proboscis monkey, small fresh water turtles in the creek we get our water from, the uncommon pink Irrawady Dolphin in the river that we arrived from and a myriad of lizards, snakes, spiders, insects etc etc. All of these things (except the gold which we knew nothing of) are what captured our imagination when we read Matt and Sophie's advert. We may not have seen the monkeys but we definitely heard them. Regardless of the hard work and not seeing all the wildlife that may be on offer we both agree this place is a highlight for us. Being in such an isolated and natural (eco) environment in the jungle of Borneo alone makes it a highlight. Bathing in a fresh water creek running off a mountain, listening to the cacophony of insects at night, watching the lightning shows or the sunset (as I type) across the bay and literally having nothing to do in your spare time to make you feel guilty about reading a book, listening to music, playing with puppies or just getting lost in your own thoughts for hours all made this a truly unforgettable experience.
Looking forward we'd definitely take on another work away. It can be hard, it can be fun and it is definitely good for the budget. Now we're going to head off into the jungle to the one remaining National Park that is apparently still home to completely wild Orangutans in Malaysian Borneo. We've got our fingers crossed already. After we'll make our way to the east coast to dive off the famous Sipidan Island. After that, our plans are still up in the air. We've long dreamed of spending a month in Bali just surfing every day and doing little else. Coincidentally we've also just come across a work away opportunity at a beach down there too. Who knows, maybe we'll find a way to combine the two. We wouldn't be doing nothing in between surfs but then life is all about compromises right..
- comments
carol Sound fascinating enjoy xxx
Sue What an amazing experience you are having. I feel as though I can picture it all in my mind from your writing. xxx