happy New year

How I will fire my new years eve tonight is not sure yet. I know the park cafe closes as usual at 21.00. But outside the national park there should be one open restaurant I heard. Last night I talked with a Dutch guy and his girlfriend living in Hong Kong. So probably I spent the evening with them tonight.

I had a lousy night, many noisy people walking around. Had my breakfast with the Chinese family again. Father lives in KL, mother w 2 children in Sidney, son in Chicago. They meet every xmas. Pity for me they check out 2 days earlier.
Also I am disappointed in what the National Park has to offer,so I cancelled my second canopy walk over high hanging bridges, because yesterday we did not see a single animal there.. and that hanging narrow bridge wobbles a lot. As they say is normal nothing to see, so why write something else on their website?

The WiFi is mostly not working here. You buy WiFi for w day, 5 RM. I write again Friday eve from Saba.

What I don't like here is that every tour announced starts really 2 or 3 km walking from park headquarters reception. So I am saving my muscles for the deer cave walk this afternoon. And also less people using the internet right now, so it maybe works now. Can I do this 8 kmvery slow walk? I hate slow walking, never using these hip muscles. It probably will take 3 or 4 hours. When we are lucky we SEE millions of bats vleermuizen fly out of the caves in the evening.

Wish you all a nice end of the year and all the best for 2015! And most of all a Good health!

a traditional Chinese docter

Today I went on ex pedition by local bus. My present hotel is out of town, but blue bus nr 10 drives by to and from the central market in town. To town it took 10 minutes, back I started to worry because after 10 minutes I started to see 'real' Malaysia, but after 30 minutes I recognised we were there :-)  Was a nice sightseeing trip.

I had to be at a traditional Chinese pharmacy before closing time 12.00 on Sundays. I was there earlier this week asking if they had Astragalus and or aschwhaganda, both providing energy. You remember me being a herbalist? They had called me up in kapit that they had found out what is was in Chinese and they had some of what I was looking for.

They soon asked the doctor to speak with me about what and how. Before I knew I was sitting in the narrow waiting room in front of his office and I had a traditional Chinese medical examination. We had an interesting conversation and he suggested I should maybe move to Taiwan, China, singapore, to try out Chinese medication for 6 months with regular exams every two weeks in the beginning. I took with me some meds for 5 days, just to see if it would have some effect on me.

It was fun to see him mix leaves, berries, bark etc for a patient to f.ex. cook in water every day. It looked like spicing the day. I can tell you more about it when we meet.

So now I am carrying with me half a kilo of herbs in my backpack, everything marked for a possible custom check.

This evening I dined eating shell. To start I did no really know how to eat those with 2 sticks, so I took them in my mouth whole, soon hearing from a lady at a table away that was the way to go.

In the bus I had conversation with passengers. It was a half big bus.

At dinner one small climbed of its chair to watch me, which made everybody laugh. Yesterday a boy sat with his back to the table watching me.

Tomorrow I fly to the Kelabit highlands to spend Xmas in a house. You should  hear from me again not later than January 2.

Salim inn, sibu

Hotel review:

Modern furnished rooms. Modern bathroom w spacious shower. Very clean. Modern lock.

front side facing main road. Call them 3 days before arrival if you want a quiet room at the back, otherwise you can change room later.

Next door are many restaurants.

Taxi from boat 22rm.
friendly helpfull staff. Free printing of volharding passes.

------------

Today I came back from Kapit. Booked the 13.45 boat, Bahagia, which went exactly 13.45. This was not a luxurious boat as I had on my way to it, where business class had very comfy chairs. No this boat , I guess from another company, had old chairs, very cramped for a white long lady. I was glad we arrived after 3 hours. 

Every class has its own toilet... But of course economy class people know where to go.

many often new longhouses along the river, near areas with removed trees and erosion. I heard some people, often politicians, make a lot of many of selling all the trees. Those same politicians and other government officials from that money living in small palaces. You see a lot of big empty or seldom used governmental buildings everywhere, even in kapit. Those palaces you see everywhere too, of course on a nice location.

Although I could have visited kapit,s museums until 18 hours on earlier days, I choose to visit them on Saturday morning. But my Malaysian is not that good, they were closed today, so what else to do until 13.00 hours then sipping ice coffees, enjoying a Kampua special (vegetable soup and mihoon with meat) and another ice coffee with a view on the busy weekend market. Today everybody of the area seemed to be in town, cars park double everywhere. Children throwing balls in holes in hope to win a fluffy toy. Grown ups putting cans on coloured squares in hope to win extra tea or lemonade cans. 

I WALked a few more times over the central market, studied the chickens still alive and those slaughtered, same for pigs. Interesting to see how a stick with a plastic bag keeps the flies away from the t, when wifting it.

Bought some interesting looking Malaysian kind of cookies, snacks, baked bananas and cocos fried bread, to eat on the boat.

Got a lot of looks, smiled and hellot back.

On the boat I was again the only white person. They study me when I don't look, I study them. Children and old people the most curious.

It was a somewhat cloudy day today, what gives temperatures of 27C. During rain I ate a second breakfast :-)

+++++++
I just ate some unbelievable good babi atam. I picked out a restaurant where I saw some people eating what I wanted to see. The waitress did not understand English and pointing at the food at that table did not help either. Luckily one of the eaters did speak English and helped out. She also told that I wanted that and that but only for 1 person, not 6. You guess I got for more then one. I especially loved the meat, crispy pig meat, roasted and probably marinated before. Why can't I make my meat like that?

Well before I left I asked her what the name of is was. Not understood. Then I said, babi pangang??? No, it was babi atam.
and the bill was not as high as aspected. First time I also got a plate full of veggies, because I was already wondering my lack of vitamins here.
there is no cutted up fruit for sale here either and a vegetable soup often has less then 1 spoon of veggies.

No tuktuk here in Sarawak either, only real taxis without a meter.

Longhouse near Kapit

When you can not buy a ticket to enter, you have to buy some of the things the make, the IBAN tribe people I visited today living in longouses. Impressive meeting. Luckily some of the small girls could speak some English. Was several hours in the old wooden lighthouses, watched them swim in the river and had a quick look in the public area of the new concrete longhouse which looks like a Dutch row of houses with a roof over the street in front, only this street had tiles.

Picture from Damai beach walk to a nearby village with low tide. The evening before I was in boat spotting for crocodiles in these wetlands, so you can imagine that I was afraid one would come inning out of the bushes.

I bought this thing which they wear on top of a party dress during rituals.  It is made of kralen", so quiet heavy. I think I will maKe a lamp of it. The woman told she worked 1 month to make it in the evenings.

Poisonous viper snake above the terrace of nanga damai.

At the river the girls saw me beeing Eaten by mosquitos, although I more saw those tiny things w have in Norway. But I have to take care not getting dengue fever from biting mosquitoes during the day. They also meant I was eaten by mosquitoes before, so then it were no bed bugs there in sibu.

I am tired now, did not get much sleep last night from every hour turning the airco on or off, because it only had one of 'freezing '. On Off I was baking in my bed.  I think I prefer baking a little above blowing ice cold wind.

So good evening to you my friends. Goodnight to me :-):-)

Bed bugs in Sibu?

Selfy at breakfast. I prefer wearing my double focus contacts instead of my old glasses for finding my way at night. Can't see sharp with my glasses.
Ice coffee w milk and sugar, while I normally never drink coffee.

Breakfast was laksa. I really enjoyed this.

I was the only white person at this Chinese 24 hours restaurant and many people gazed at me, maybe to see how I was doing my soup with sticks? My t-shirt got some stains :-) I don't mind the staring I happily look back.

Yesterday's room in Sibu after upgrading room because of me getting red spots on my legs from sitting on the bed in my original room. Can tell that the spots still itches.

i love the Chinese

Why? Because I just enjoyed a perfectly spiced Chinese Paisa with shrimps, as well as a wake-up ice coffee. The coffee here taste so much better then at home.

But that is not the only reason that I love the Chinese here.

This is what I have heard. From long time experts as well as from half Chinese and half iban people. Iban is one of the original tribes of Sarawak. Malay don't work that much, they get money from the government when they earn less then 3.000 rm a month, 700 EUR. Malay also don't have to buy land to build a house on, they get it for free. Are you of Chinese origin you have to buy the land..... because you are not a real Malaysian,because your family only lived here a couple hundred of yrs.

Chinese as well as lawyers etc also pay up to 60% tax.

Expats have to buy a car for European price plus 200% tax. Because only a Malay can import tax free or low tax. The then can t sell sell the car the 1st yr.

It is right that I only see, or almost only see, Chinese working. It are them having a shop.

I heard that of the 650.000 people living in and around kuching, 40.000 of them yearly, only Chinese, leave Malaysia because of all the discrimination. They don't have the same rights as the Malay.  Where can they go? Back to China... or if they are lucky permanently to Australia. That was what also the Chinese Malaysian had done, so his children would have better opportunities. One of them now becoming an anesthesiologist.

What would the world be without the Chinese?

Did you know that since October China has outgrown USA? It's true.

So now I have to find a taxi to my boat to kapit, down stream.

hotel bahagia, sibu

Early rise today. At 07.00 I have been driven to the boat terminal in Kuching. The boat to see uses 5 hours. I like to see the landscape change ad of just falling out of the sky somewhere. There was hundreds of kilometers with wetland to see. Very green.

When they say the boat goes at 8.00, then in fact it always goes at 08.30, because the Malaysians always come late. Now I know its true.

I really have to bear to wear long pants and a coat next time. The airco was on freezing temperature.

Taxi from the boat, but could have walked.

Finally I have WiFi in my room! Yippee.
The problem still is that I can not come in my bank on my tablet etc. Used many hours, to enter the bank on the old pc in Damai, but didn't work.

This is how my room for tonight looks. Noisy streets so no window.   ... if I only could upload a photo or 2. But a silent airco and a water cattle and mini tv:-)

 Rambutan fruit

 Beans inside for cooking at the central market

Sibu

Milo

After a 3 hours jungle walk, rock hopping to and from the golfcourt beach it really was time to enjoy something cold.

A Milo has shaved ice, coconut stuff _ green coloured _ and crunchy Milo chocolate powder on top. Underneath you find mais corn as well as brown beans, something typical Malyasian.

You can buy this At damai  food court, shop nr 3. You should try!
They also have Chocolate or STrawberry icefloat, on top of your pick, coca cola or sprite. In hot weather simple delicious.



Pics coming later, when I have wifi again.


After all those icethings I walked over to a restaurant near the beach and watched the sunset from there. Made a lot of pics with my Nikon, but I still don't understand how the Nikon 5200 works, so most it is on Automatic.

nangA dAmai homestay, damai

G

My room is in the garden cottage, with bathtub airco fridge, no tv. Heavenly sheets.
no Wi-Fi here otherwise the maid is on the net the whole day, but a PC you can use on request.
free WiFi in the cultural village, entrance 60Rm.

 green viper snake above the terrace

 white lady drink w fruit below

 statues around the swimming pool

 daily breakfast 

 after the jungle walk I cooled down sitting in the water... not knowing then that there could be crocodiles... but not according to locals.

Marco polo guesthouse, kuching

MARCO polo is near the cat statues. James and jenn run the place, a very welcoming. Couple.

If you are a very light sleeper like me ask for the santubong room, without any Windows.

It is a 20 minutes stroll into the center, along shops , restaurants and the river.