June 2012

Bangkok: A tribute to Hunter S. Thompson the drug addict, alcoholic, adulterer who shot himself in the head.

Bangkok, Thailand backpacker ghetto
Khao San Road, the backpacker ghetto
Like batter poured into a pan, Bangkok sprawls outward, expanding and cooking at the same time. Although only a capital city for two hundred and thirty years, it’s history is everywhere: In its Chinatown market that is as old as the city itself, in its giant lavish temples that are surrounded by beggared, street sleeping locals and advantageous tuk-tuk drivers, in its decrepitness.

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Sandakan, Malaysia: More Than Just an Airport

Sandakan street
Sandakan, Malaysia.
We got a ride to the Sukau junction. Osman’s wife told us that we could catch a bus anytime to Sandakan, but our driver to the junction seemed less sure. He told us to take a minibus to the checkpoint and then a local bus into Sandakan.

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Shaved Across Southeast Asia

I wait, slightly nervous, as a boy slowly has his hair cut. The barber runs the comb through the hair and snips at it with the scissors. The end result is a hairdo that I refer to as “the Asian”. I’m definitely not here for one of those. Two weeks of traveling has left me with a patchy fuzz across my face. It’s time we parted ways. I get into the chair and am reclined to 180 degrees.

Puerto Princesa philippines barbershop
Barber shop in Puerto Princesa, Philippines
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Sukau, Malaysia: Where’s Osman?

Osman's Homestay Sukau Borneo Malaysia
Watching the river flow by at Osman’s Homestay.
We got up early for the 7:30AM bus from Semporna to Sukau (RM40/$13). We had booked a night with Osman’s Homestay (RM50/$16.20 per person per night inc. 3 meals) and arranged for them to pick us up at the junction, paying RM20/$6.50 for the privilege. We were dropped off at a boat dock and took the boat across the river to the homestay where Osman’s wife and children greeted us warmly. We settled into our very basic fan room – the best one in the house (including the family’s quarters). The lodgings weren’t stylish, but we were here for Osman. We had read online that Osman is the fixer for the BBC’s nature documentary crews when they are in town filming the local wildlife. He is supposedly a mine of information about the wildlife in the area, and the best around for spotting the animals.

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Semporna, Malaysia: A semporn-ucopia of sea life!

Snorkelling in Sibuan Borneo Malaysia
Pulau Sibuan. Perfection.
We caught the bus to Semporna from the Sepilok junction at 8AM (RM40/$12.90, 5 hours). We were a little worried it would be full, but when we climbed on the bus a mere six fellow passengers greeted us. As our bus steamed past the Sukau junction, we were a little dismayed that Sukau hadn’t worked out exactly the way we had planned. Not to worry though, we planned on booking with another B&B in Sukau as soon as we got to Semporna.

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Sepilok, Malaysia and the Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre: Don’t look for it, Taylor. You may not like what you find.

Sepilok orangutan rehabilitation centre borneo malaysia
Tourists gather for the show at the Sepilok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre.
Getting to Sepilok from Kota Kinabalu is easy. We took a taxi to Inanam Bus Terminal for RM25/$8.10. The taxi drivers will tell you it’s a flat rate, but ask around as we got told a couple of different prices. When we arrived at the station (around 11am), we headed to the ticket counter and asked for tickets on the next available bus to the Sepilok junction. Any bus going to Sandakan will drop you at the junction. The next bus with seats available left at 1:30pm (RM42/$13.60, 6.5 hours). It would be a good idea to book your bus ahead of time if you want to arrive in Sepilok early. We found a restaurant across the street from the station sat down, drank tea, ate murtabak, and played chess until it was time to board the bus.

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Final days in the Philippines: Taytay and Roxas

View of Taytay from Casa Rosa Guesthouse, Palawan, Philippines
View of Taytay from Casa Rosa Guesthouse.
We made a break for Taytay, hoping to escape the mass tourism and expensive prices of El Nido. We took Roro Bus for P138/$3.20 from El Nido Roro Bus Terminal. The bus was air-conditioned and left at 10am. It was a quick ride to Taytay: only an hour and a half. We took a tricycle to Casa Rosa Pension (our review here) for P50/$1.20. We scored a basic bamboo fan hut with a shared bathroom for P500/$12. The view from the restaurant was beautiful: definitely worth the climb.

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El Nido, Philippines: Island hopping and pig slaughtering.

el nido, palawan, philippines
El Nido Beach.
We hopped on a jeepney in Port Barton bound for Roxas which is the transfer point for onward travel to El Nido. On our jeepney were 17 people and two chickens. We stopped to pile a shitload of animal feed on the roof and then we were off to Roxas (with a quick stop to drop off a delivery of a shitload of animal feed).

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Port Barton, Philippines: Rum in the Sun

Boat Beach Port Barton Palawan Philippines
The beach in Port Barton.
We were informed that the jeepney to Port Barton left from Puerto Princesa‘s San Jose Terminal at 9am. We ate breakfast and took a tricycle to the terminal (P60/$1.45). When we arrived, we had a couple of buses to choose from. We were excited at the prospect of taking our first jeepney, but the buses were a lot bigger and more comfortable so we took the 9:30am bus to Port Barton (P200/$4.80, about 4 hours). Before the bus pulled out of the station, a large Filipino man read some bible verses for us and prayed for our souls (and asked us for a donation for the privilege). We were off! [Cue the obligatory dance music]

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Puerto Princesa, Philippines: Hello, Palawan (goodbye, hot water)!

As we made the descent into Palawan we sensed we’d made the right choice.
We flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Manila, cleared customs with our bags, and continued on to Puerto Princesa City on the island of Palawan. We chose to spend two weeks in Palawan to relax on some white sand beaches and do some island hopping. By the time we arrived at Puerto Princesa International Airport, we hadn’t slept for 24 hours. We had booked an airport pickup and a couple of nights with Dallas Inn (P600/$14.40 double bed room with private bathroom, P300/$7.20 per person for dorm). We exited the airport and scoured the pickup drivers for our name on a board. No luck. Our flight had arrived late and we didn’t feel like waiting around for who knows how long, so we jumped on a tricycle for 50 pesos/$1.20. When we arrived at the guest house, they told us that someone had been sent to pick us up. Not really sure what happened there. Aside from the airport pickup debacle, Dallas Inn is arguably the best backpacker accommodation in Puerto Princesa (make sure you book ahead).

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