Malaysia

Semporna and Singamata Miles traveled 105.
Tropical paradise has been found, and it is in Borneo, Malaysia. After a short debate on the merits of the investment, Sara and I decided to become certified in Scuba diving rather than continue snorkeling. It was more difficult than I expected, but we completed the course and have four dives under our belts. We have been more than 50 feet under water…and survived to tell the tale.
The feeling is rather incredible. I turned so that I could look up toward the sky and watch my bubble rise to the surface to reassure myself that I was really underwater. The visibility was incredible, nearly 60 feet, in the clear water of the Celebes Sea. It was hard to believe that what we were seeing was real. Our most incredible dive was in Turtle Garden off of Sibuan Island. We saw three turtles, an infinite variety of neon and Technicolor fish, and coral galore. There was brain coral, fan coral, and branched stiff types of coral. Clown fish and baby sea horses hide in the stinging arms of sea anemones. Lion fish sheltering in the shadowy recesses of coral boulders. Our largest sighting was a monster grouper over five feet long. In between dives we rested on the stunning white beach of the small island.
In between studying and diving we hung out at our hotel Singamata. It was built in the bay and an artificial reef was built around it. Even there, we could snorkel and see starfish, coral, and abundant fish. We sunned ourselves on the beautiful deck, enjoyed the panorama of the sea and jagged islands in the distance, and we watched the huge specimens of fish in the “aquarium” in the center of the resort.
Enjoy the pics, sorry no underwater camera yet.

Borneo miles traveled 1146
When you hear of Borneo, you probable think of jungles, beaches, and wild animals well you would be right. We landed in Sandakan in the Malaysian Province of Sabah on the northeast side of Borneo. From our hotel, we made our arrangements to travel via bus to the fishing village of Semporna- the nearest point to visit the Sipadan Marine Park. The next day, in Sandakan, we took the mini bus to begin our journey to the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center. This center was created to rehabilitate orphaned, captured, or wounded orangutans. Their biggest threat at present is the elimination of their habitat due to palm oil plantations. We ended up arriving after the first feeding, but this gave us time to go for an amazing jungle hike. The Dipterocarp trees towered hundreds of feet over our head and had roots as tall as my lovely wife. The sounds of the forest all around us and the density of life were mesmerizing. We ate a leisurely lunch, watched their introduction video, and toured the exhibits before the main event: viewing orangutan feeding time.
We walked about twenty minutes into the rainforest.

Jane of the jungle

Sara's jungle queen hat

jungle walk

Mike in the jungle

towering trees

Sara and dipterocarp roots WOW

Mike at feeding time

Sara Feeding time

feeding stations

Jungle snake

jungle lizard

Oran and staff

One needed some guidance

Close up

playful cartwheeler

en route to food

Oran swinger

Orangatan on rope 2

oran

The clowns attack

Sneaking in for left overs

Oil Palms as far as the eye can see.

Malaysia, miles travelled……6555
Our flight on Malaysia Air was longer than expected. We thought flying time would be around 8 hours, but it turned out to be 12. Also of note, we are now a day ahead of time in the U.S. When we call our friends in the morning, it is night time for them of the day before. We got off to an inauspicious start on Malaysia Airlines with a round of orange juice and confusion regarding our in flight entertainment. Soon this was remedied by a flip through the in flight magazine. We discovered we could choose from dozens of movies, languages, games, music, and learning programs. We were even able to make up our own playlists for the flight! Sara watched a program exploring the mysteries of the Big Bang and Mike failed in several contests of Yatzee against the computer. Later, the stewardess, dressed in Malay attire, came by with selections of free beer and wine. This helped us prepare to take a nice rest and pass the time until touchdown.
Kuala Lumpur’s airport was modern, clean, and posh. We wizzed through immigration faster than any other country and hailed a cab to down town KL. The cab dropped us off at Lanson Place, where we would stay with our friend Spencer, who just happens to be in KL on business.

Lanson Place

Kuala Lumpur City Centre Park

Crazy KLCC tree

Petronas Towers

Petronas Towers

Batu Caves

Caves steps

Batu Caves 5th Incarn of Vishnu

Back of statue KL skyline

Shrine Batu Caves

Batu caves

Batu Shrine

Batu Shrine