No humidity?!?!?

No, I'm not joking--there is actually very little humidity where I am right now--but that's also because I am in one of those aforementioned places that can only be reached via air. Today, I took a 50 minute hop on a DHC 6 Twin Otter (the same type of plane Bob Costas filmed his seaplane landing sequence in during the Vancouver Games)--a 19 seater aircraft that you have to crouch to enter. I was even weighed before checking in--and you are actually limited to only 10 kilos of baggage, which is why most of my stuff is still in a Miri hostel (clothes and stuff I don't need for two days--I still have my valuables with me), albeit secured. The hostel owner in Miri couldn't be more nicer or eager to help, and easily answered all my questions and helped organize things. She's borderline fluent in english, so that helps.

I'm in Bario, in the Kelabit Highlands--I mainly wanted to come here for the plane ride--it's a great view of the jungle and the bornean interior regions. Just a green jungle carpet interspersed with covered hills, caramel colored rivers, and, unfortunately, red/orange earth logging roads that are like scars on the landscape. The town is an agricultural settlement surrounded by nearby mountains--and it kind of reminds me of Blue Mountain Ranch. The problem is, once you are here, there is very little to do unless you are interested in jungle trekking--which I'm not--there are also a ton more bugs here (not mosquitos, just black flies, which can be as bad, if not worse). So, even though I booked a flight out for monday, I am going to see if I can fly out sunday, which would also allow me to get back to Miri and take care of some necessities, like laundry. I might have to pay more because of airline change fees, since I would also need to change my flight to Kuching. Part of me feels bad, because the people in this town are genuinely some of the nicest and friendliest people you will ever meet--very outgoing, and very welcoming. It's genuine kindness as well--no one is asking for a tip in return. That said, there's just not that much to occupy me, and so it might be better just to try to get to Kuching sooner rather than later. Interestingly, it is actually easier to access the internet here, since the internet in Miri was actually down--nobody anywhere could get access.

Yesterday, after dancing around it, I finally managed to enter the Bornean jungle--albeit, it was on a boardwalk. I went to Niah Caves--about an hour and a half away--and basically a giant limestone/karst formation. It's truly spectacular. Though it is also a national park, it is a working one--natives are allowed to gather the bat guano and birds nests--and their climbing tools are everywhere. There are places in the caves where you are literally walking in total darkness, except for your flashlight. The jungle walk itself was quite steamy, and it gives me a new admiration for Vietnam vets, or soldiers in WWII forced to fight in the equatorial jungles--with a full load on their back, and having to look out for their life. I can't imagine doing anything like it.

The caves were nice, but in some cases, as cliche as it sounds, the journey is more interesting than the destination. Everybody has their random travel stories, and yesterday was definitely my most bizarre day in terms of interacting with other travellers in Borneo. The hostel lady arranged for me and another guy from another hostel to share a car to get to the caves--she had mentioned that it came with a guide, but it turns out it didn't. So, here I was with a chain-smoking 25 year old former Australian postman--who had to do the driving since I couldn't drive stick. We didn't get lost, and the roadside view was quite pretty--lots of trees, some big time oil mini mansions with their own gates, etc. But this guy had a problem--he never put down a cigarette, even in the national park itself--thank god its a rainforest where there's plenty of moisture. I should also note that most of the boardwalk and stairs of this park were made of untreated wood, and the fact that moisture rots wood isn't the most comforting thought while you are climbing a staircase that hugs a limestone cliff. My quads got a major workout, and I'm pretty sure I lost at least five pounds via sweating.

There are more interesting stories that happened later in the day, but the electricity here is on the fritz, so I will have to post it later--but I did managed to have both the worst meal I've ever had and one of the best meals I've ever had in the same night.