Of crocodiles, chickens and curry

It's Thursday so today we focus on food.  First stop is Jong's Crocodile farm, where prior to seeing the crocs themselves we're treated to a gallery of photos of dismembered 10 year old boys being cut out of crocodile stomachs.  You wouldn't see that in a politically correct western venue, and it's certainly not for the squeamish. 

I wonder what it is about young boys that crocs find so delicious.  Good size?  Tender?  Or perhaps it just opportunism - the boys love the water but aren't experienced enough to know the dangers.

So we see crocs - lots of crocs - in fact hundreds of crocs.  It's a bit unnerving to be so close to these predators when there's only a bit of rusty netting between croc and lunch.

The signs could do with an update.  They're so faded the warning against swimming is barely noticeable.

But it's not all crocs.  There's other wildlife at the zoo.  Nik takes time out to do some communing with a distant cousin.

The crocs look quite lethargic really.  Hardly threatening at all when you see them like this.

Then lunched is served.  Dead chooks are strung on a wire 3m above the surface, and the crocs get a bit more active.

This is seriously scary - especially when those jaws snap closed.

It's really not a good day for chooks.  While the crocs may go for brute force, we humans like to put a bit more finesse into our meals.  And so it was that we enrolled in the Bumbu cooking class in the afternoon, where chicken curry was on the menu for dinner.

After donning our delightful aprons

we knocked up a nice Tako (coconut milk, pea flower and sugar set around sweetcorn in screwpine leaves) for dessert, then set to work with mortar and pestle to grind up the curry ingredients.  While that was bubbling away we prepared the Sambal Midin (local fern fronds), but the dried prawns and shrimp paste were a bit overpowering for most.

The finished result was supurb.

Everyone was groaning by the end of dinner, and most of the Tako

got taken back to the Lodge for breakfast.

So an excellent day for most.  Crocs 1, humans 1, chooks -2.

Headhunted in Borneo

Today's Wednesday so it must be the day to visit the Cultural Village.  Instead of us traipsing all over Sarawak, the Tourist Board has kindly relocated longhouses and tribespeople from all over the state to one handy spot on the coast less than an hour from Kuching.

With a sense of anticipation we set off to encounter the natives of this jungle paradise.  And it doesn't take long before we do.  This fine looking headhunter is giving us a demonstration of his blowpipe shooting prowess.

It's not surprising that eligible young males should seek out a partner, and of the hundreds of tourists in the crowd, who should he desire but a lovely fair-skinned young lady from New Zealand?

After the obligatory courtship rituals, Nik has to prove she can use a blowpipe as well as he can.

And she does a pretty good job, with the dart just glancing off the balloon without popping it.  Standing closer, it pops with wild applause from the audience.

Suitably impressed, the headhunter makes his move.  Can Nik resist his charms?  Does she want to spend the rest of her life in a longhouse deep in the Borneo jungle?

You can perhaps tell from the body language that Nik's not that keen, and besides, our headhunter hasn't yet proved himself in battle else he'd have a head dangling from his belt.  Most of you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing Nik's returning to NZ with us.

The remaining time at the village was somewhat less exciting but no less rewarding.  Interesting seeing the style of housing still in use in the interior today.

And we even had a go at blowpipe shooting ourselves.

Not as easy as it looks, even with a rest.  Nik's definitely our star shooter, and clearly a headhunter's delight.  Go Nik!

Orangutans!

Less than an hour out of town and we arrive at the Semenggoh Wildlife Sanctuary.  The orangutans live in the surrounding forest, but come to the sanctuary to feed, and we happen to have arrived close to feeding time.

In no time we start to see them up in the trees and moving towards the feeding platforms.

Ritchie, the big male, dominates the feeding platform for a while.

They come close enough to take bananas out of the guide's hands before scuttling back up into the trees.

It's amazing seeing them so close in their natural habitat - no walls or cages between us and them - a unique experience.  And they're true acrobats too.

There are times I wish I had a decent SLR like some of the other tourists - I lust after a zoom lens and decent exposure control - but my little Casio point and shoot just manages the job and doesn't weigh me down with expensive gear.

So a magic orangutan experience, and no need now to go rushing off to another sanctuary in Sabah in the east. 

All we can hope for now is these magnificent animals continue to have sufficient habitat to live a natural existence.  Tricky, given the voracious demand for palm oil which is seeing the rain forest decimated to make way for the endless hectares of palm trees we saw around KL.

Back to town and we book for the river boat trip.  A good way to see Kuching from the comfort of a boat with a beer in hand and running commentary.

Someone with a sense of humour creating a dragon sculpture.

Some native Sarawak dancing at the end of the trip was an added bonus.

So day one in Kuching is a resounding success.  Roll on our cultural experience tomorrow.

KL to Kuching

Two and a half years ago I was in KL debating whether to go to Borneo.  Malacca won then as it was the wet season in Borneo - now to make amends.  The Puduraya bus station was closed for renovation, but in no time the Star Shuttle agents had found us and we were on a bus for the LCCT - the low cost Air Asia terminal.  Easy flight, but no transport as arranged with Singgahsana Lodge on arrival - first problem, but a taxi soon got us into town.

An interesting place, Kuching.  Borneo conjures up visions of impenetrable rainforest, mud to your waist and headhunters on the loose.  In reality, Kuching is a clean, modern city (fourth largest in Malaysia) with a pleasant riverside frontage not dissimilar to Phnom Penh.  Yes it smells a bit fruity like all Asian cities (apart from Singapore) due to its open drains, but better than most.  Affluent too - most residents have cars and the proportion of motos is low - and consequently traffic congestion is quite high.

We arrive at Singgahsana Lodge to our second problem.  Our pre-booked room is on the ground floor - musty and windowless.  After complaining to reception we're relocated to the second floor - vastly better.  Apart from these two bad experiences Singgahsana Lodge proves to be an excellent backpackers.

Kuching is known as the city of cats, so we take the obligatory photo under the monument.

The mountains make a nice backdrop to the river.

Nik gets acquainted with the local wildlife.

Spectacular buildings too - in the background right is the DUN (Sarawak State Legislative Building), while on the left is the Astana - the home the White Rajah built for his wife.

We're booked for the orangutans in the morning.  Hopefully not a view of a hairy orange bum 100m away in the trees!

Storked in KL

First stop is the Petronas Centre at KLCC to get our tickets for the Skybridge.  I mentioned in this blog a couple of years ago that's it's important to get there early.  8am isn't early enough!

We queue for a couple of hours and get tickets for 5pm - should be a good view getting close to sunset, but it does mean a change of plans.  After breakfast at the San Francisco Coffee Shop we do a quick circuit of the shopping centre, and I'm pleasantly surprised to find electronics prices are comparable to NZ - no need to lash out on new kit here.

Next stop is back to nature - the botanical gardens and bird park on the west side of town.  It's a bit of a mission to get there from the nearest train station - KL isn't a particularly pedestrian friendly place, and tourist attractions aren't well signed.

But it's worth it when we get there.

The hibiscus, orchids and other plants are stunning.

I was particularly impressed by the carnivores.

On to the biggest walk-in aviary in the world, but first a stop to quench our thirst with local tropical juices that interestingly turned into a traffic light!

Of course we had to get Nik lined up with a bit of the wildlife.

And not just birds, plenty of monkeys around as well.  Last time in KL I only saw them from outside at a distance.

The birds were all very tame.  A stork was waiting patiently on a railing waiting to pose with tourists.

Just as bit closer Nik - he's really friendly.  I'd like a better photo...

And Nik gets storked!  A photo a few milliseconds later would have captured Nik about a metre in the air as her scream echoes around the bird park!  Fortunately it was just a gentle beaking with no lasting ill-effects - more a love-peck really.

His Evilness Himself.

Not cheap to get in, but the bird park is a must-see in KL.

Back to KLCC and up 40-odd floors to the observation bridge.  Certainly some spectacular views.

After more window-shopping we head back to Chinatown for a meal and to recount our top experiences of the day.  No question about that - being storked in KL takes the cake!

Kuta to KL

It's up at 3.30am to get to the airport in good time, and shortly I'm winging my way out of Bali and looking forward to my arrival in KL.  There's something mildly relaxing about revisiting a city you've visited before.  No longer "on edge" about what to expect, I find myself back in Petaling St searching out a hotel room.

Chinatown is as manic as ever, with street stalls, restaurants and crowds of both tourists and locals - a real buzz, particularly the steaming cauldrons of roasting chestnuts.  Moving a bit upmarket from the Red Dragon backpackers I stayed in before, I settle for the Winsin Hotel- two rooms with private showers and windows for a not outrageous price.

Pauline and Nik are flying in to KLIA, and being so far from the airport the train is the best way of getting there.  It's quite obvious really to have a train between the airport and city centre - Auckland seems to be lost in the dark ages. 

Pickup is like clockwork - great to see them again.  We swap stories and make plans for a Sunday in KL as we whistle back into town.

Ubud to Kuta

I'm not particularly looking forward to Kuta - everyone I've met says to get out of there as quickly as you can.  But I've got to experience it for myself, so here goes.

I'm on the bus chatting to an Irish girl.  She and her partner are returning to a nice guesthouse on Poppies Gang, so I tag along hoping to get a room,  Sadly they're full, but no worries, just around the corner are three guesthouses I've extracted from Lonely Planet.  With my pack weighing me down in the oppressive midday heat and humidity I settle for the first - Rita's House.  Big mistake - while it's got a pool the rooms are overpried, and it wasn't until I'd settled in that I realised:

• The toilet doesn't flush (hence the bucket of water conveniently supplied)
• There's no toilet paper or bum gun
• The shower tap disintegrates as you turn it, resulting in a solid stream of water at waist height.  This was actually better than the pittance coming out the shower nozzle once the tap was reassembled.

I should have gone to the Berlian Inn about 20m further down the road.  Not to worry, it's only for one night.

So this is Kuta.  The same tacky tourist stuff I've seen before, only more crass.  The most popular items on display are wooden penis bottle openers, and T-shirts with the logo "Go to Bunnings, Buy some timber, Build a Bridge, Get over it".  Spare me!

But Kuta is really about the beach, so in no time at all I'm in my togs heading for the surf.

Now this isn't actually too bad.  After a couple of hours bodysurfing I wash off in the pool, forsaking the shower.  But as a beach it's not a patch on the clean white sands we have in NZ, and the bars all seem rather tacky.  Adequate I guess, but not my choice of an Asian beach holiday - Phuket resonated with me more.

So Indonesian memories?  Definitely worth a visit with Borobudur, Bromo and Lovina as highlights, but you're forever running the gauntlet of come-ons for taxis, massages, "special" batik exhibitions, blowpipes and other assorted junk you really don't want.  It gets so persistent you really just want to tell them to f*** off, but they're only trying to make a living in a fairly impoverished country, so copious No thank yous (Teeduck, terimah carsee) are the order of the day.

But hey, I've done Indonesia now (well, Java and Bali at least, though sure there's more of Bali to see like the east coast and the Gili Islands).  Now it's off to KL to meet up with Pauline & Nik for the Borneo leg.  The blog might get a bit patchy from hereon in - it's a personal thing, and I suspect we'll be flat out from now on.

The Lovina loop

I'm supposed to go to Kuta but I hear it's full of noisy drunk Aussies.  And I need to pick my wallet up from Lovina.  And the twisty roads through the central mountains are spectacular.  Hmm...

Those who understand my predilection for two wheels will be completely unsurprised to find I'm heading for the main street of Ubud actually seeking out the irritating locals who keep on asking if I want a "Taksi" - for they are also the purveyors of fine motorcycles for rent.  I have fond memories of my time in Phuket where I rented a 1000cc Honda Fireblade for the day to see the island, and wanted to do the same in Bali.  Sadly the best I could do was a Yamaha scooter with an automatic clutch, but "150cc - go very fast" he says.

You've gotta be kidding!  As I start ascending I'm wringing the thing out, and it's doing all of 50kph.  But to give it credit, it gets me to the top and down the other side ok.  Certainly a bit of a change from the Raptor, and not just weight and power - the most disconcerting thing is there's no tank to grip with your knees.  But it's very responsive to counter-steering, and once a bit of momentum is achieved it whips round the corners ok.

I'm doing an anticlockwise loop and hang a left when I hit the north coast.  Lovina comes into view with 100km under my belt and the fuel level hovering on empty.  After collecting my wallet with copious thank yous (terima carsee) I top up body with ice cream, bike with gas, and follow the signs to Denpasar.

There are some nice lakes in the mountains, but it's bloody hard to stop and take a photo.

That's my little Yamaha front right.

And a better shot in front of  - can you guess?

So while the main road leads to Denpasar, Ubud requires a left turn well before, then requires following a maze of twisty passages, all narrow.  In the absence of a handlebar mounted GPS with digital maps and spoken instructions I have three tools at my disposal - a paper map (pretty useless on a bike at speed), street signs (pretty useless in Bali most of the time) and my little mini-GPS that I've cunningly "homed" at Ubud on departure.  As I head south I wait until the arrow points due east and take the next side road.  Following the arrow I home in on Ubud with unerring accuracy and feel pleased I bothered to bring it.

No trip to Ubud would be complete without a visit to the Monkey Forest at the bottom of my road.  Yes, surprisingly there are monkeys there.

In fact the little buggers are prone to leaping on you and running off with hats, sunnies, phones, cameras, wallets etc.  Feeling somewhat paranoid, I stay well zippered.

This guy was more to my liking. 

I too see no evil - Bali's a great place.

Cycling Ubud

Yes, cycling.  Or more to the point, downhill cruising.  The only aspect of mountain biking on this ride is the fact that we do actually see mountains, and gently cruise down the lower foothills of one.  This ride can be done by anyone who can actually stay upright on a bike and pedal around 10 revolutions, because that's about how many I did.

But there's more to this ride than biking - it's billed as an eco-tour after all.  And to start was a damned fine breakfast with an even better view.

It's a bit dodgy visiting the lake - the locals are rather in-bred and can be unpredictable.  Apparently marriages are decided by throwing flowers over a wall, so it's quite easy for brothers and sisters to end up together.

First stop is a plantation, where we're introduced not just to any coffee, but Luwak coffee!  Yes,that's the one where civets eat the strong male coffee beans, then shit them out to be cleaned and roasted.  I join a Norwegian group and we all pitch in to share the delicacy.

And I have to admit it's not bad - rich, with a good taste and very lingering aftertaste.  But I wouldn't pay some of the outrageous prices being asked in the West - $40 a cup in Melbourne I've heard, and a similar number of pounds in London.  I'd pay twice the going rate, but not 10 times.

Master coffee roaster at work.

Finally the bike ride gets underway.  I choose my trusty steed - a clapped out old bike that wouldn't be seen dead near Woodhill.  But it seems to have a bit of padding left in the seat, and it shifts adequately, so it'll do the job.

Surprise!  Paddy fields...

We stop off at villages, watch a bit of bamboo processing and hear another story from our guide.  Only a few people in Bali have an MBA he says.  MBA?  Yes, Married By Accident.  If a boy gets a girl pregnant he has two choices - marry her or go to jail for two years!

Then it's on to the 500 year old Banyan tree where our guide insists I do a Tarzan impression.  How could I say no?

We finish off with lunch.  I've been vegetarian till now, but the description of Bali's national dish (combined with assurances of Western hygiene standards) sways me.  Balinese duck, stuffed with local herbs and spices, and slow roasted for eight hours.  It's certainly good, but difficult to replicate and in the final analysis nothing to write home about (just a blog note will do).

It's around this stage I'm aware I don't have my wallet with me.  Surely not, first my phone, now my wallet?  I rarely use it, the last time I recall being when I left Hotel Angsoka in Lovina.  Sure enough, a quick phone call confirms they have it safely in their keeping - but it's in Lovina, I'm in Ubud, and tomorrow I plan to go to Kuta.  But seeing opportunity out of adversity, I start to hatch a cunning plan.

Strolling down the main street of Ubud with a smile on my face, who should I run into but Sarah.  We'd said our goodbyes on the bus at the ferry terminal, and after a horrendous trip to Kuta she's now spending a day in Ubud.  We catch up for dinner, swap more stories and check out each other's photos.  I have a few good Bromo ones which she missed, so more email addresses swapped.  And she knows she's got friends in NZ when she comes out looking for that special Kiwi bloke!

Lovina to Ubud

It's time to say good bye to Lovina.  A great little spot - quiet, laid back and relaxing (unless you choose to bugger yourself mountainbiking). 

Still running a bit on NZ time.  I wake up early and decide to go for a dawn walk.  The dolphin boats are just heading out.

Not to catch them, but so tourists can see them offshore.  I'm asked if I want to buy a ticket.  I decline of course, and explain that in New Zealand dolphins come right into shore to play with the swimmers.  Go Moko!

Next stop the swimming pool.

 Astute readers may note the same picture appeared on FB.  Teasing then of course - it was dark by the time the ride ended.

I missed MarieClaire last night and again this morning, so scribble my email address on a piece of paper outside her room and climb into yet another minivan for the trip south to Ubud.  And spectacular it is too as we climb over the saddles between Bali's volcanic peaks.  The roads are a mixed blessing - twists and turns to bring tears to a motorcyclist's eyes, but chock full of slow vehicles that makes overtaking an experience for either the quick or the dead.

I'm chatting to a Czech couple in the van and after extolling the beauties of our respective countries agree that we'll schedule a visit.  I've always wanted to visit Prague - now it's just a matter of timing!

I settle in to Loka House just off Monkey Forest Rd in the heart of Ubud.  I ask my host Gusti if there's any biking to be done.  He grins and brings me a brochure of a cycling eco tour.  Well, that's got tomorrow sorted!