We purchased our airline tickets for last night because it was the only day in a span of the next 15 days when the tickets from Kuching to peninsular Malaysia were a reasonable cost (prices are high as everybody is returning home from Gawai Dayak). We both wish we had just a bit more time. We had hoped we'd able to go to Bako National Park so that we could have a more close up experience with the probiscis monkeys; however, when push came to shove, we decided it was just too tight in terms of time to get the bus to the park at the right tide, find 5 people to share a boat with, go for a hike, and then reverse the whole process.
It was a bit sad to say that we should have stayed on a bit longer in Sakau and gone to the Sepillok reserve, which has orangutans, sun bears, and probiscis monkeys near Sandakan instead doing the journey we did. We are just going to have to make a journey to see the probiscis monkeys sometime in the future.
Instead, we killed the afternoon by going to the Sarawak Ethnology Museum. It was set up just as badly as a turn of the century natural history museum normally is. It did have a great exhibit on longhouses though, which showcased local tribes' history of headhunting! Did you know that you have to keep a fire going under the right of heads that you have hanging in order to make sure their spirits don't go for a walk about the house? I don't know why we didn't see more skulls in the Sarawak Cultural Village! I feel slightly cheated now!
It was only after we got back to pick up our luggage that we realized something. A Czech couple who we had run into 1) in the cab in KK when we lost my ukulele, 2) on the bus leaving Brunei, 3) at the accommodation in Kuching hadn't bothered to come back to say hi to us when we had seen them in Kuching. Not that we cared. We had found them a bit cold the first time we had met them; however, the 2nd time, we'd have thought they'd strike up a conversation purely to respect the coincidence (which they hadn't). The 3rd time though without saying hello - come on! Fate must have brought you together for some purpose! Who doesn't say hello to somebody they've basically stalked throughout Borneo? Seems unnaturally cold to me.
We then headed off for a flight to Kuala Lumpur. We unfortunately arrived at 12:45 a.m. Everything, including all buses to any city, including KL, stops running from 1 a.m. until 5 a.m. By the time we got our luggage, we had only about 3.5 hours to skill before we could get on the first of two buses to get to our next destination, the city of Penang. Now, we know that once you leave departures, airports can get a bit uncomfortable to wait in. There aren't as nice of benches. It's harder to find electrical outlets to change things. Plus, once you leave, you can't come back. We chose not to leave until 4:00 a.m.
It was quiet. We had a plug point. We didn't have to keep a hand on our stuff. When we left to get a coffee and get our bus ticket, we saw an entire arrivals waiting area filled with sleeping waiting passengers. Row after row of benches had a person lying on them. Every space that wasn't in the main walking area was filled with people. The airport had become a shelter for these people stuck in the no man's transportation land! Good thing we'd stayed inside!
A few buses later, we made it safe to Penang, found a hotel and crashed.
Not sure how long we'll stay yet, but we are pretty sure we are going to wrap up Malaysia when we finish with Penang.
It was a bit sad to say that we should have stayed on a bit longer in Sakau and gone to the Sepillok reserve, which has orangutans, sun bears, and probiscis monkeys near Sandakan instead doing the journey we did. We are just going to have to make a journey to see the probiscis monkeys sometime in the future.
Instead, we killed the afternoon by going to the Sarawak Ethnology Museum. It was set up just as badly as a turn of the century natural history museum normally is. It did have a great exhibit on longhouses though, which showcased local tribes' history of headhunting! Did you know that you have to keep a fire going under the right of heads that you have hanging in order to make sure their spirits don't go for a walk about the house? I don't know why we didn't see more skulls in the Sarawak Cultural Village! I feel slightly cheated now!
It was only after we got back to pick up our luggage that we realized something. A Czech couple who we had run into 1) in the cab in KK when we lost my ukulele, 2) on the bus leaving Brunei, 3) at the accommodation in Kuching hadn't bothered to come back to say hi to us when we had seen them in Kuching. Not that we cared. We had found them a bit cold the first time we had met them; however, the 2nd time, we'd have thought they'd strike up a conversation purely to respect the coincidence (which they hadn't). The 3rd time though without saying hello - come on! Fate must have brought you together for some purpose! Who doesn't say hello to somebody they've basically stalked throughout Borneo? Seems unnaturally cold to me.
We then headed off for a flight to Kuala Lumpur. We unfortunately arrived at 12:45 a.m. Everything, including all buses to any city, including KL, stops running from 1 a.m. until 5 a.m. By the time we got our luggage, we had only about 3.5 hours to skill before we could get on the first of two buses to get to our next destination, the city of Penang. Now, we know that once you leave departures, airports can get a bit uncomfortable to wait in. There aren't as nice of benches. It's harder to find electrical outlets to change things. Plus, once you leave, you can't come back. We chose not to leave until 4:00 a.m.
It was quiet. We had a plug point. We didn't have to keep a hand on our stuff. When we left to get a coffee and get our bus ticket, we saw an entire arrivals waiting area filled with sleeping waiting passengers. Row after row of benches had a person lying on them. Every space that wasn't in the main walking area was filled with people. The airport had become a shelter for these people stuck in the no man's transportation land! Good thing we'd stayed inside!
A few buses later, we made it safe to Penang, found a hotel and crashed.
Not sure how long we'll stay yet, but we are pretty sure we are going to wrap up Malaysia when we finish with Penang.
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