Snapshot Saturday: Postcard #10 Muir Woods National Monument

It's day 166 of our round-the-world trip, and our last weekend in California. Though it's a fairly chilly afternoon, we drove to Muir Woods National Monument in Marin County, a primeval forest named after naturalist John Muir. The average age of this forest's resident redwoods are 500-800 years old. The oldest is about 1,200 years old and the tallest is 79 meters. Not for nothing are these trees called giant redwoods.

Random trivia: Some scenes of the film "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" were shot here.

It's not too late to join! Email your address to gaye.emami@yahoo.com to receive a postcard. Recipients are chosen via Random.org.

TweetShare


This page was viewed times.

Snapshot Saturday: Morning Monkey Business

Man, ain't that the cutest nose ever?!
I shrieked as we chanced upon a bunch of proboscis monkeys, freely wandering and having brekkie by the beach. We were then striding towards our chosen forest trail for a morning hike in Bako National Park, Sarawak's oldest national park, Borneo.

I shrieked some more, and jumped, and sobbed (but not as much as when I saw a panda for the first time), and pinched Shervin to know I wasn't dreaming (okay, I shoulda pinched my own self but what the heck!). So yeah, I'm obsessed with those creatures!

TweetShare


This page was viewed times.

Snapshot Saturday: Out On A Limb

A two-month preggy backpacker up on a limb along the coast of Pulau Mamutik.
It's almost Valentine's Day folks! Last year we spent it camping on Pulau Mamutik, Kota Kinabalu. Where will you be spending yours? This year I'll be romancing Batanes with fellow bloggers, thanks to Seair for the free winter tour!

TweetShare


This page was viewed times.

Snapshot Saturday: The Cliff And I

Me looking like a midget with this beautiful, towering limestone cliff at Bako National Park. Sarawak, Malaysia.

TweetShare


This page was viewed times.

Snapshot Saturday: Staircase To A Crater

250 steps to Gunung Bromo's crater! East Java, Indonesia.

TweetShare


This page was viewed times.

Snapshot Saturday: Paco Park

Paco Park, view from the top of its thick adobe walls.
What used to be a municipal cemetery during Spanish colonial period is now a park frequented by young dating couples from surrounding universities. Its charming old St. Pancratius Chapel, more popularly known as Paco Park Church, is a top fave for intimate weddings.

It is where the Pinay Travel Junkie tied the knot with her backpack buddy. Tomorrow is the first anniversary of our "settling around".

Koh Phi Phi Lei

There's no way you can keep it out of Lonely Planet, and once that happens it's countdown to dooms day - says one of the characters in the movie 'The Beach'.

Although the popular novel (turned into a Hollywood movie) by Alex Garland is set in Thailand, it's been rumored that the actual inspiration for it is the Philippines.

Our own beach, just across "The Beach".

Koh Phi Phi Don

Koh Phi Phi Don is the largest of the Phi Phi Islands. It is almost separated into two islands, but a strand of flat land (each side has a beach suitable for swimming) connects them. When we arrived at the Ton Sai Pier, Shervin led the way through the jungle straight to Long Beach. We scurried away from the mosh pit of locals and tourists haggling for accommodation.

Ko Phi Phi Don, shot from the view point.

Gunung Bromo

We arrived at Yoschi Guesthouse in Cemoro Lawang around 7:00 PM. The guy at the reception told us we have to wake up the next day at 3:00 AM for breakfast. And at exactly 4AM, a jeep will fetch us and drive up to the viewpoint of Tengger Caldera. So we ate Sandi's mom's packed food that we brought from Yogyakarta for dinner and went straight to bed.

Sea of fog. Halfway up Gunung Bromo. Panting.

Backpacking Borneo: Bako National Park

Bako National Park can make you feel like you're on the set of 'Lost', with its a la choose-your-own-adventure trails. It is Sarawak's oldest national park, gazetted as a protected area in 1957. It covers an area of 2,727 hectares (with an incredible variety of plant species) at the tip of the Muara Tebas peninsula.

Bako National Park's limestone and sandstone cliffs.

Backpacking Borneo: Niah Caves

We arranged a tour with Highlands, our accommodation-cum-travel agent for a hefty RM60 each. We were picked up by our guide, a Miri local who speaks fluent English with an Aussie accent at exactly 9:00 AM. There were five of us: Shervin, me, Keran (Scottish), Toby (British) and his French girlfriend.


Niah National Park is located in Batu Niah (literally "Niah Cave" in Bahasa Melayu), a quaint Sarawak town, 13km west of the highway between Miri and Bintulu. To get there, you can take Syarikat Bas Suria from the Miri Bus Station. Travel time, 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours. Less than 1 hour 30 minutes if you hire a taxi.

A permit is needed to visit the Niah Caves, it is issued at the Niah National Park Headquarters for RM10 (opening hours 8AM-5PM).

From the headquarters, the caves are across the river (RM1 for boat ride) and then a further 3km along a wooden boardwalk.

It is an interesting one hour hike, as you are guaranteed to see various species of insects, slugs and caterpillars on the handrail along the way. Also check out the gigantic trees!


The first of the 'chambers' is the Trader's Cave. Before the area became a national park in 1975, bird nest traders once inhabited this cave. The original structure of their roofless huts are still intact.


Up the stairs on the other end of the chamber, a trail leads to the west entrance of Great Cave.


A fenced area to the left, facing the cave, is where archaeologists have found evidence that early humans lived here some 40,000 years ago (oldest recorded human settlement in east Malaysia). The Great Cave is one of the largest caves in the world.
To the rear of the Great Cave, flights of wooden stairs take you to the Padang or Large Chamber. Sunbeams from the holes of the cave's ceiling illuminate your path as you go pick which direction to take (a la Choose Your Own Adventure). One boardwalk will lead you to the Moon Cave, after passing through a pitch dark tunnel.

You may direct your torchlight to the stalactites as you walk, but don't be too caught up marvelling. Shervin kept swinging his flashlight left to right unaware that the boardwalk makes a sharp left. I told him to halt, just in time he was right at the edge.

We walked in the dark for more than half an hour. It was pretty creepy. I was relieved when we reached another exit.

At the covered shed where the other three were waiting, we found another trail leading to the Painted Cave. We also saw a woman in heels with a local guide emerging from the Moon Cave. Toby called it 'fashion caving'.


We were disappointed to see a deteriorating cave painting. Understandable though as these drawings were discovered back in 1958 by Barbara Harrisson. The motifs are mainly of human figures and boats, that could possibly be the burial rites documented by the early dwellers as several 'boat coffins' were found nearby.


We didn't take much time in the last cave. We told our driver we'll be back by 2:00 PM at the park headquarters. It drizzled for a few minutes, which was perfect for it wasn't too hot to hike back.

We took tons of photos once more of unknown insects on the handrails while we trekked. Toby noticed two caterpillars who seemed to be (slowly) racing. He said, "I bet five bucks on that sprinter". Keran reminded, "Oh, remember no gambling?". We all laughed (except the French chick who's not good in English)

Read the park regulations at the headquarters, you'll know what I mean.

[This blog is part of the South East Asia in Six Weeks series which took place May-June 2009. Price of goods, transportation and so forth may already be different.]

TweetShare


This page was viewed times.

Backpacking Borneo: Kinabalu National Park

Shervin and I scheduled Kinabalu National Park on a Sunday, and luckily Kuni our CouchSurfing host was going also with Dinah (another Couchsurfer) the same day. The night before, we initially organized the trip amongst the four of us and agreed to split the petrol expense. Then came Tobi who moved in the house and asked if he could join us. Kuni was hesitant for he thought the car would be too crowded, but we said five should be alright. Besides, the more the merrier.

Mt. Kinabalu as seen from a view deck, located on the way to Kinabalu National Park.
Our party of five left Kuni's house at 7:00 AM to have brekkie first at a cheap local restaurant near Grace Ville. In less than thirty minutes, everyone was done eating. We all hopped in Kuni's car once again soon after.

Dropping by the view deck for Mt. Kinabalu seems to be mandatory if you have a private car (or with a tour group). We all agreed to make such stop so we could check out some souvenir items. When we got there, Kuni said we're fortunate the peak was not covered by clouds. We were very lucky indeed for we were able to get good photos with the mountain.

If you don't have a private car, here's how to get to Kinabalu National Park:

1. Hire a taxi. From the city center, it will cost you around RM150-200 (can only take 4 passengers). Travel time, about 2-3 hours.
2. Take the bus. Buses though leave from the North Bus Terminal in Inanam (to get there, you can ride a cab RM30 or bus from Wawasan Terminal for about RM1.50), starting at 7:00 AM daily. Travel time, 3 hours.

Admission fee is 15 MYR for non-Malaysians and 3 MYR for locals (the latter we paid, thanks to Dinah who did all the talking).

Now do you intend to climb Mt. Kinabalu? So let's say you're that brave and adventurous, but consider the expenses though. One must pay for park entry fee, climbing permit, climbing insurance, guide fee and transport fees. We initially wanted to do it, but after realizing how much we'd have to pay just to torture our bodies, we crossed it out from our bucket list.

Okay, maybe we'll still do it some time in the future. When we got more money.

Strolling within the botanical garden.
And so we opted for leisure hikes. We trekked to the botanical garden, falls, and the bat cave. We also went inside the butterfly garden (Dinah was really eager about it) without paying an extra fee cause the booth attendant was not there. Probably on bladder break.

Poring Hot Springs with fellow Couchsurfers
We also did the canopy walk, paid for the entrance but did not declare that we had cameras because they'll charge RM5 each. Kuni (who has done it several times) and Tobi did not join us. We just met up with them at the Poring Hot Springs when we were done.

Before going home, Kuni said he wanted to try the fish massage at Kampung Luanti, Ranau. It sounded awesome, until we saw how the fishes do the "massage" (RM10 for legs and RM25 for full body)! You get in the water, dip your closed fists (with fish pellets inside) and they suck your skin like there's food scarcity! While it was far from relaxing and more brutal than Thai massage, it was definitely a unique and 'interesting' (as Kuni kept repeating) experience. Dinah, apparently a fish enthusiast (well she loves to eat them too), had the time of her life.

Shervin, lone person who did the full body fish massage.
[This blog is part of the South East Asia in Six Weeks series which took place May-June 2009. Price of goods, transportation and so forth may already be different.]

TweetShare


This page was viewed times.

Backpacking Borneo: Pulau Mamutik

After soaking up the sun at Pulau Sapi's shore, we (Kuba, Maciek, Shervin and I) once again hopped on our hired boat and headed to our second and last island for the day, Pulau Mamutik.



Pulau Mamutik beach. Reminds me of Anawangin and Nagsasa Cove.
Pulau Mamutik, though the smallest island in Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park, has complete tourist facilities: toilets, changing rooms, a cafe/restaurant, barbecue pits (barbecue buffet also offered for RM45 per person), even a camp site (overnight camping fee RM5)

You've been warned.
Admission fee is 10 MYR (which shall cover for all the islands within the national park). We already paid at Pulau Sapi so we just presented our tickets at the booth.

We spent a lazy afternoon on the island. Sherv played with his ball in the water, Kuba read his book, Maciek and I conversed with his limited English and my uber-limited German.

If you have missed the previous posts, here's how to get there.

The island's clear turquoise water.
We left at 4:00 PM, and went back to Grace Ville via bus (.80 MYR for short distances) straight after docking in main land. Dinner that night was at Grace Point with other Couchsurfers.

[This blog is part of the South East Asia in Six Weeks series which took place May-June 2009. Price of goods, transportation and so forth may already be different.]

TweetShare


This page was viewed times.

Backpacking Borneo: Pulau Sapi

Anita was raving about 'the islands' over beer at The Loft, so we blocked off a day for Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park (a group of five islands named after Malaysia's first Prime Minister). That day started with me exchanging morning pleasantries with Kuba and Maciek, both from Poland, on the way to the bathroom. The night before, they joined us for dinner and moved in the house (we were all simultaneously hosted by a felllow Couchsurfer named Kuni) because the accommodation for Kota Kinabalu summit-ers was already full.

By the time I finished my 'business', I walked out and found Shervin already awake and chatting with the two. They mentioned they wanted to do some snorkeling so we decided to go together and share a boat. I honestly wasn't so enthusiastic about going to the beach since I had my uhm... period then, but I changed to my bikini faster than you can say Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park.

Pulau Sapi's beautiful stretch of beach.
We took a bus (.80 sen) to the city center and hopped off near the Central Market where we searched for a place to eat breakfast. Shervin and I settled for noodles at a small cafeteria while Kuba and Maciek searched for continental breakfast in vain - but rejoined us minutes later with a plastic bag of various types of bread from a local bakery.

Fab seafood noodles brekkie.
Only a fifteen-minute walk from the local resto was a small jetty. It didn't feel right, I was certain (as I saw on the city map) that the port should be farther away. It was also odd that we didn't see any other tourists. Only Malay locals going to Pulau Gaya, where a lot of illegal migrant Filipinos live. Kuba and Shervin started haggling with the boatmen anyway. It took half an hour to convince one of them to take us to two islands for 160 MYR (Kuba insisted we do it 'slowly'). I wasn't much of a help cause during that time, a handful of locals were talking to me and asking stuff about the Philippines when they realized I ain't Malay.

"Uhm, WOW!" *scratches head*
We found out two days later that tours/boats to the national park depart from Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal, RM17 per person, one island. This info is posted on two other blogs, Kota Kinabalu-Pulau Labuan and Camping at Pulau Mamutik.

And everyone's just suddenly giddy.
First stop, Pulau Sapi ('pulau' means island). After docking, you'll pass by a booth where you'll be asked to pay RM10 admission fee (which covers all the islands within the national park so save your receipt if you're visiting more than one).

Sapi is not only popular with tourists for snorkeling and scuba diving, it also has a beautiful stretch of white beach (with fine sand!) for people who just want to soak up the sun. You may not just share it with fellow tourists though, but also with monitor lizards!

  Monitor Lizards freely wandering on the island.
Next island, Pulau Mamutik.

[This blog is part of the South East Asia in Six Weeks series which took place May-June 2009. Price of goods, transportation and so forth may already be different.]

TweetShare


This page was viewed times.

Valentine's Day Date: Camping at Pulau Mamutik

Our second Valentine's Day together and we still haven't celebrated it over a romantic candle-lit dinner in a swanky resto. As a backpacker couple, we have more than a dozen other mushy ideas of our own. And yes, camping is one of them.

Our tent, Hurley. His first trip overseas.

9 Countries for 2009: 'Best Of' Snippets

If you can't play the video, it may have been removed because of its soundtrack. You can view it here instead.
Part 1 of Pinay Travel Junkie's Best Of 2009 video. 'Best Of' may not pertain to the best choices in town, but they're the most unforgettable for me. Places I have been to and experiences which I found life changing (though my life didn't really change much).

Trip stats for 2009 here.

Disclaimer: Obviously, the songs used for the video aren't mine. Credits go to:
1. AC/DC - Highway To Hell
2. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - I Would Walk 500 Miles
3. Mungo Jerry - In The Summertime

What's on your 'Best Of 2009' list?

TweetShare


This image was viewed times.

Not-So-Forgotten Rizal Park

Rizal Park or Luneta is so famous amongst Filipinos that there's an expression widely used which goes, "parang naglalakad lang sa Luneta", literally translated "just like strolling in Luneta". The expression simply describes a person who walks slowly, without any care if the person behind him needs to rush past. Like a tourist sightseeing.

I wonder, how many Filipinos have used this expression but haven't actually been to Luneta? And when I say been, I mean sitting on a bench or the grass to read a book, having picnic with friends, or taking the kids to the playground. If not for a compulsory school field trip, perhaps less people would have the chance to go.

Gunung Bromo: 250 Steps Mean Nothing

An uncanny view unfolded in every step. At the peak, we got reacquainted with solace.
Gunung Bromo blog here

TweetShare


This page was viewed times.