Brenners In Borneo
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Borneo?
After six weeks in Singapore, Robert said he needed a break. The stress of the job was showing on his face, and sometimes it feels a little crowded... four million people live on this tiny island! So Sarah researched lots of places in Thailand and Malaysia looking for affordable vacation spots.
Someone at St. Andrew's Sunday evening service suggested Sarawak.
"Sara who?" Sarah asked.
"Sarawak... in eastern Malaysia," James replied.
And so we learned that Borneo has three countries on it... Sarawak and Sabah are two states of Malaysia; tiny Brunei lies in between them; the southern 2/3 of the island belongs to Indonesia. ¶ 2:30 AM 0 comments
After six weeks in Singapore, Robert said he needed a break. The stress of the job was showing on his face, and sometimes it feels a little crowded... four million people live on this tiny island! So Sarah researched lots of places in Thailand and Malaysia looking for affordable vacation spots.Someone at St. Andrew's Sunday evening service suggested Sarawak.
"Sara who?" Sarah asked.
"Sarawak... in eastern Malaysia," James replied.
And so we learned that Borneo has three countries on it... Sarawak and Sabah are two states of Malaysia; tiny Brunei lies in between them; the southern 2/3 of the island belongs to Indonesia. ¶ 2:30 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
So Sarah B. went back to the research table and found treehouses at Permai Rainforest Resort for the equivalent of $45 a night (US dollars)! It's right on the beach on the coast of Borneo!
If you care to see, look here
Then we discovered that we could fly there very inexpensively from Johor Bahru, the Malaysian "sister city" of Singapore lying just across the causeway.< ¶ 10:15 PM 0 comments
If you care to see, look here
Then we discovered that we could fly there very inexpensively from Johor Bahru, the Malaysian "sister city" of Singapore lying just across the causeway.< ¶ 10:15 PM 0 comments
We got busy and found some hiking boots and socks (can you find Robert at the end of the row in the shoe store?).Sarah scurried around finding Immodium and water purification tablets (just in case) and a hat. At the last minute we remembered to get change some cash into Malaysian Ringgits.
Then on Thursday evening, October 27, we caught a special taxi that is allowed to travel across the border, and bravely entered Malaysia! ¶ 10:10 PM 0 comments
Into the Unknown
Thursday's adventure into Malaysia began with a two-hour traverse of Singapore's immigration checkpoint. We learned that 45,000 people on motorcycles alone cross into Singapore each morning for the better jobs there. All of them were on the road at once about 7 p.m. returning to Johor Bahru, Malaysia! We wanted to get a photo, but our cab driver said it was illegal to use a camera at immigration sites!
Fortunately we were not in a hurry. The taxi eventually delivered us right to the door of our hotel, a place that looked pretty good online (and was affordable!). We stayed one night in Johor Bahru because our flight was at 7 a.m. on Friday, and we were very UN-sure of getting across the border very early in the morning.
Malaysia is officially a Muslim country, so in keeping with Ramadan, the hotel had a sumptuous buffet in the dining room. We arrived late enough so that almost all the guests had finished, and we were warmly welcomed and even given napkins ("serviettes"). In Singapore, also, you have to have your own tissues or wipes with you when you eat out except at the fanciest places. Sarah forgot several times about not using her left hand to eat (that is offensive to Muslims), but the grilled shrimp and chicken weren't cooperating with just a fork and a spoon!
Tummies satisfied, we headed to bed for a few hours of sleep. To be on the safe side, we arrived at the airport before 6 a.m. on Friday, ate granola bars, and boarded a B-737 bound for Kuching. ¶ 9:30 PM 0 comments
Fortunately we were not in a hurry. The taxi eventually delivered us right to the door of our hotel, a place that looked pretty good online (and was affordable!). We stayed one night in Johor Bahru because our flight was at 7 a.m. on Friday, and we were very UN-sure of getting across the border very early in the morning.
Malaysia is officially a Muslim country, so in keeping with Ramadan, the hotel had a sumptuous buffet in the dining room. We arrived late enough so that almost all the guests had finished, and we were warmly welcomed and even given napkins ("serviettes"). In Singapore, also, you have to have your own tissues or wipes with you when you eat out except at the fanciest places. Sarah forgot several times about not using her left hand to eat (that is offensive to Muslims), but the grilled shrimp and chicken weren't cooperating with just a fork and a spoon!
Tummies satisfied, we headed to bed for a few hours of sleep. To be on the safe side, we arrived at the airport before 6 a.m. on Friday, ate granola bars, and boarded a B-737 bound for Kuching. ¶ 9:30 PM 0 comments
Here is the eastern end of Singapore in early morning light as we fly out of Johor Bahru, headed across the South China Sea. Our apartment towers are among the ones closest to the green area on the far coast. 
¶ 9:15 PM 0 comments
An hour or so later, we looked out the plane's window and had our first look at where we were headed. Mount Santubong was a huge mountain! Would we ever be able to climb that? Well, we wouldn't know until we tried!
¶ 9:00 PM 0 comments
Arrival In Sarawak
We landed at Kuching International Airport. Kuching is the capital of Sarawak, and the name means "cat" in Malay. They even have a cat museum there, though we did not visit it.
The newer arrival concourse was very pleasant.
A familiar sight on the ground level was Famous Amos
cookies. The tiny macadamia nut ones were just out
of the oven, so we got a small sack full (they didn't last long!).
Discovering the taxi stand, we were again blessed with a great driver who took us all the way to the resort. She was one of only three female taxi drivers in Sarawak!
Along the way, we got other glimpses of Mount Santubong.
We landed at Kuching International Airport. Kuching is the capital of Sarawak, and the name means "cat" in Malay. They even have a cat museum there, though we did not visit it. The newer arrival concourse was very pleasant.
A familiar sight on the ground level was Famous Amos
cookies. The tiny macadamia nut ones were just out
of the oven, so we got a small sack full (they didn't last long!).
Discovering the taxi stand, we were again blessed with a great driver who took us all the way to the resort. She was one of only three female taxi drivers in Sarawak!
Along the way, we got other glimpses of Mount Santubong.
Getting closer!
And closer!
We were headed toward the other side of the mountain.
You can see it from a satellite view here.
(If you zoom in three times you can see the beaches of Camp Permai,
the two uppermost white strips on the west (left) side of
the peninsula). See how the whole peninsula is the mountain
and its slopes!
