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I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last wrote my blog!
I'm going to write this little snapshot backwards because it's much funner for me to write about what I just did!
I just climbed Mnt Kinabalu in Borneo! It's 4095 meters tall and was one of the coolest experiences ever! I started hiking 3 days ago, I slept in a dorm half way up and then you wake up at 2:30 am to start hiking to the top to see the sunrise. Getting up in the middle of the night to hike was crazy but it was so neat to be out there with a head lamp, stars and rope leading the way. We had the best weather! It was so clear & not to windy, I think we were really really lucky!! I climbed down yesterday and today I found my way to Sepilok, tomorrow I'll go the Orang-Utan rehabilitation center, there's only 4 in the whole world, it's going to be really cool to see Orang-Utans up close :o)
Before Mnt Kinabalu I was in KK (Kota Kinabula) I flew there from KL (Kuala Lumpur). KK is defintely the hottest and most humid place that I've been so far, Whew! HOT and Sooo Sweaty! I only stayed there a couple days, I spent one day on Mamutik Island to escape the heat, snorkelled and tanned, the water was really clear, it was nice to make use of the snorkel that I've been carrying with me :o)
On main land Malaysia I went to Melaka, it was a spur of the moment things and I'm glad I went, the town was beautiful and had tons of history and really awesome colonial buildings.
I made it the "Thaipusam" festival at the Batu Caves - KL, it was the most intense festival I've ever been to, over a million people go and there's a little blurb at this link that'll better explain it: http://allmalaysia.info/msiaknow/festivals/thaipusam/
I felt privileged to be able to attend a festival of it's kind. It was actually scary at times to see the people full of hooks and in such bazaar trances. So different...
Prior to that I was in Taman Negara, a 130 million year old jungle, it's only one that escaped all the ice ages and other natural disasters. Before I got there I was pre-warned about the leeches, I was told that you couldn't walk without 100's of them attacking you. So I was prepared! I had to buy soccer socks and pull them over my pants past my knees and than I had to duct tape from my shoes all the way up, add on a layer of bug spray and I was offically leech proof!! I've never heard of ground leeches before! You could literally see them on the path, rearing up (not joking) and running for you!! You couldn't stop for a minute or else they'd smell your blood, and the poor people I met were eaten alive!
The jungle itself was really amazing, the night I got there I did a night jungle trek, saw some jungle dear and cool bugs. The next day I did the worlds largest canopy walk, it was a little nerve racking to be up so high and the ropes looked pretty old so it was a quick canopy walk, I didn't really have a chance to look for birds or monkeys or anything. I also went into a cave that was full of bats! It was just like on TV how the bats fly everywhere it was fantastic! Except for the fact that you get absolutely covered in bat sh*t! Ewww! I think doing it once in this life time was enough ;o)
Before the jungle I was in Cameron Highlands. One things about Malaysia is that it's nothing at all what I thought it'd be like. Cameron highlands was like the Swiss Alps, the buildings were all Swiss and there were tons of plantations. They grow everything there from strawberrys to tea to cucumbers, everything! The tea plantations were beautiful!
Before that I was in Penang - another nice old town, lots of history, went to Penang Hill. And before that I was in Langkawi, one of Malaysia's nicest islands, it was the 1st time that I did absolutely nothing for 4 days except I learnt to drive a scooter myself, that was sweet! The scooters here go super fast and driving them is a blast and the best way of getting around.
I flew into KL from Laos, I didn't expect it to be so huge and so MODERN! It reminded me of Las Vegas or Sydney, millions of cars, lights, 7 million people and their trains don't even have drivers! Malaysia is super multi cultural, everyone speaks english! I basically had culture shock all over again, I'd been up in the jungle and in glass huts for to long :oP
Miss you all millions!
Hope you're staying warm :O)
Hannah
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