Couchsurfing...best thing since sliced bread!

We're quickly realizing that couchsurfing is going to be the best thing ever! It took us about two hours to get from the airport to Keith's house, and by the time we got there we were absolutly exhausted! However, after settling in a bit we went out to get some grub and buy some groceries.
Things here in Melbourne are very similar to things at home, and to be honest, we felt like we were going grocery shopping in S'toon. We bought some bread, veggies, tuna, and soup...sweet potato pumpkin soup! That was the one thing that's a bit different...they have lots and lots of pumpkin! Pumpkin soup, pumpkin pasta, you name it! But the soup was delicious, and we'll probably try the pasta and stuff too!
Anyhow, when we got home we crashed on the couch and woke up when Keith got home from work. Keith's awesome, and so are his roomates: Amy (from England and travelling like us for the year) and Mereck. Not long after they got home, some of their friends started to show up and we all sat around and chilled. Everyone here is super laid back, and they all have a wicked sense of humour - quite sarcastic and a bit dry - they're hilarious! A lot like back home in the sense that they all like to beak one another.
Anyhow, we ended up going out to a couple different pubs where we met more of Keith's friends and got a taste of the local night life.
We ended up sleeping in til 1pm today, and it was fantastic! Keith gave his bed up to us, and it's the most comfortable bed we've stayed in yet! They've also extended their invitation to us to stay until Sunday, so we're probably going to take them up on that. It'll save us over $100 each, so that's just fine by us!

Gotta Love Malaysia Airlines!

Well, after cancelled flights and delayed flights, we've finally arrived in Melbourne and it's 9:45am! We're pretty exhausted, but we're super excited as well, so we're going to go venture out! We also have our first couch surfing experience tonight (www.couchsurfing.com - check it out if you haven't heard of it!) We're staying wiyh a guy named Keith Berry, username KECBERRY. You can check out his profile and stuff if you'd like! We'll be sure to keep you posted!

Fun Facts of Borneo

1) There is cow print everywhere!
2) Absolutly everybody has a cell phone.
3) They don't believe in garbage cans, garbage is everywhere!
4) We are definately the minority! There is every non-white race possible.
5) They love kareokee! They even have K-BOX! A walk in kareokee station.
6) Normal toilets are hard to come by, as well as toilet paper. They use squatters instead of toilets.
7) Lots of people speak english.
8) You can eat for a dollar Canadian.
9) KFC and McDonalds are everywhere!
10) Buy One Free One signs instead of Buy One Get One Free.
11) Cows are often found on the roads, and not contained in fences.
12) We have had our picture taken more times in the last 3 weeks than we have in the last year....by random men with their cell phones.
13) Everyone owns a nice car even if they live in a shack. Same thing goes with a sattelite dish.

We Went, We Saw, We Conquered! - Mt. Kinabalu

On Thursday night of the 23rd, we took a bus out to the headquarters at Mt. Kinabalu where we stayed the night. Even though it was only the base of the mountain, the climate was a bit chilly and much different from what we were used to back in KK.
We started our ascent of the mountain around 10am on Friday the 24th. The climb started at 1880m, and from that point on all we saw were stairs! The climb to the base camp was 6km, and took us about 6 hours. I've never experience physical activity like that in my life, and it was such a relief to reach Laba Ratan, the place where we stayed the night. On arrival, it was chilly and rainy, so we had ourselves a hot supper and some Milo (something like hot chocolate), and went to bed around 8pm.
We bundled ourselves up as best we could for bed, but it still wasn't enough to keep us warm. Not quite sure what the temperature was at that point, but when we started our ascent to the peak of the mountain at 3am it was around 10 degrees.
The climb to the top of the mountain was done in compete darkness, and it was a crazy experience. The day before had been all stairs and rock, but the climb to the peak, which was 3km and took about 3 hours, was done mostly being led by a rope.
The sun started to rise just as we neared the peak, so once we got to the very top (Low's Peak at 4095m) we had an absoluty gorgeous view of the surrounding area. It's quite unexplainable how it felt to climb a mountain and sit at the top, knowing you're at the highest point in Southeast Asia. It was somethign I'll never forget, that's for sure! And the view....breathtaking!
Anyhow, it was quite cold at the top and the wind was a bit fierce, so we started our decent around 6:40 am. It took us about an hour and a half to reach Laba Ratan, where we had some breakfast and geared up for our 6km descent back to the base of the mountain.
The decsent took about 3 and a half hours, and it was especially hard on the leg joints! I'm more sore today than I've ever been in my life, and stairs have never been such a challenge! However, it was totally worth it as I can now say I've climbed the highest mountain in Southeast Asia!
From the base of the Mountain we headed to the Poring Hot Springs, which were about another hour drive from Mt. Kinabalu. The springs were a bit of a disappointment, but we still got to soak our muscles in some hot water, which was great! We also had the most comfortable sleep since we got to Borneo, so that was worth the stay in itself!
That brings us to this morning, where we did a canopy walk, which was in the poring hot springs park and is the highest canopy walk in southeast asia (and yes, that means we had to climb stairs to get to it. It was cool and definately worth it, but at the same time I'm not quite sure what we were thinking!) After the canopy walk we took a two hour taxi back to KK. That brings you up to the minute! All we're doing now is avoiding stairs and getting ready for our flightto Melbourne, which leaves at 6am tomorrow!

Biking and Kayaking

On Thursday the 23rd we paid to go on a biking and kayaking tour, and it was money well spent! We were picked up from our hostel at around 8:30am, and were transported about an hour south of KK. At this point, we were given mountain bikes and we were led on a 17km biking tour throughout the countryside. The scenery was fantastic, and it felt so great to be on a bike again! However, it was about 30 degrees, so we worked up quite a sweat!
The end of our bike ride brought us to a river, where we traded our bikes in for infaltable kayaks! Our 11km kayak downsteam was awesome, and we both had a blast! Our guide was great, and we spent a good majority of the ride downstream having one big water fight!
At the end of our kayaking we were given a hearty lunch of friend chicken, bun, coleslaw, and fruit. We had worked up quite an appetite and it hit the spot! We arrived back in KK around 3, at which point we started getting ready for our trip to Mt. Kinabalu....

Diving

We're still alive and kickin' in KK, and Brin and I have both successfully completed our open dive course with Sabah Divers. It was quite an experience, and we're looking forward to exploring other dive sites around the world!
The last thing on our list of things to do here is climb Mt. Kinabalu, but due to limited accommodation space on the mountain we are unable to climb until Monday the 27th. As a result, we have a few more days here than expected, so we're looking at doing some sort of jungle trek or something. We'll keep you posted!

Locals & Shopping

Since returning from the Longhouse, Brin and I have been taking it pretty easy. There are still 3 activities that we're looking into doing: an open dive course, climbing Mt. Kinabalu, and going to the Mulu National Park in Sarawak to see some of the world's largest caves. However, there are many different ways to go about these activites, so we're taking our time to try and find the cheapest!
Yesterday Brin and I went to another new island called Island Manukan. It was our least favourite of the three we've been to, and also the least entertaining...I forgot to mention that at Sapi Island a fish bit me on the leg! One of the locals later informed me that it was probably because my white skin looks like bread (which is what the tourists feed the fish!). After getting back to shore one of the locals, Sanny - who works in the ferry terminal- asked Brin and I if we'd like to meet him and a friend for supper. We agreed, thinking it would be a good opportunity to get to know that people and culture of KK better.
Sanny and his friend Dino picked us up from our hostel and took us to a seafood market right by the ocean. We had shrimp and a local fish called Pugud, both of which were very good. Afterwards we walked through the markets and Brin and I fired away questions about what everything was. We tried out a locally grown fruit called Nangka, and enjoyed it very much. It was awesome having our own personal tour guides!
Next we went to a beach, and it was absolutly amazing walking along it at night! The nights here are only slightly cooler the days (so probably 27 or 28 degrees) and the water is equally as warm! It was amazing! We also tried some of the local beer called Bahar, Lihing. It is made from coconut and rice, and it ended up being too strong for Brin and I to drink, as it was 30% alcohol!
Today Brin and I went to the post office to see how much it would cost to send a parcel home. It ends up being only about $26 Cdn to ship a 20kg parcel home, so straight to the shopping mall we went!! Shopping was lots of fun, but it is almost impossible to find bottoms to fit, as the people here are SO tiny! However, we did stumble upon some maternity stores...

Longhouse Experience

We headed out of KK around 1:00 on a mini bus up to our longhouse at Kampung Bavanggazo. Due to some miscommunication on our part, the 2.5 hour bus ride turned into a 3.5 hour bus ride. However, it wasn't a big deal as we had all the time in the world, and it actually allowed us to see the sights of Kudat. Kudat had a town-like atmosphere, and we got an up-close look into what life is like there.
We arrived at the longhouse at about 4pm, and were greeted by a woman who spoke very little english, her son Herodic, and coconuts to drink out of!
We were served rice and four other dishes of different vegetables and chicken for supper. It was very tasty! After supper Herodic served us rice wine, which is made locally, and it was absolutly fantastic! Then the women and children performed several dances for us. The best was the Bamboo Dance, which was performed by the kids. Brin and I were invited to join in, and it turned out to be more of a work-out than we thought!
After the dancing was done, Brin and I played some games with the kids, and I brought out my photo album from home. The pictures of snow and snowmobiles were of great interest!
The next morning Brin and I were served deep-fried bananas, hard-boiled eggs, and some other deep-fried goodness for breakfast! It was all very good, and it filled us right up!
Herdoic picked us up around 1:30 and took us to the bus station so we could catch a ride back to KK. He was kind enough not to charge us for the ride, and he also bought us some bananas to take with us! The kindness we received from Herodic seems to be a reoccuring theme troughout Borneo. The people here are so friendly, and most will go out of their way to help out.

Island Girls!

Megan Says: We've continued to just relax and take in the scenery, and the past two days we spent on two separate islands off the coast of Kota Kinabalu. The first island was called Sapi Island, and the second was called Mamutik Island. I'm amazed at the colour and clarity of the water...it's just like what you see in all the travel broshures! And I also couldn't believe the fish. You don't have to go wading very far before you have a whole school of colourful, tropical fish swimming around you!
The weather on the islands is quite warm, and believe it or not, I sweat just laying there. But I love it! The best part of my day yesterday was laying on the beach listening to Jack Johnson with the sun shining down on me, and the waves lapping in the backround. It was heaven!
While the days are hot and sunny, there's always a guarantee of rain to start around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. It really is a farmer's dream! So last night Brin and I went to the mall and watched the movie The Departed. Good flick for anyone who's wondering. Anyhow, Brin and I are checking out of hostel today, and we're taking a bus up to Kudat, which is on the north eastern tip of Borneo. We're going to go spend a night at a traditional Longhouse.

Brin and Megan - An Adventure of a Lifetime

Brin and Megan - An Adventure of a Lifetime
So, after 38 hours of travel (including a 14 hour flight from LA to Taipai) we're safe and sound in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo. The weather here is humid, and about 30 degrees, and we're planning to go to an island today to keep cool and enjoy the scenery.
Most people speak english here, which is nice, but some communication is difficult. Our first hostel was a bit of a dive, as it had no hot water, flooded toilets, and no other people staying there! As a result, we checked into a new hostel today and it is much better. The showers are hot, the rooms are clean, the toilets work, and there are other travelers here! We've already met a guy from Chicago, and we're going to go out bowling tonight. In a couple days we're going to get the ball rolling and go do some sightseeing, but for now we're quite content getting accustomed to our surroundings and getting a bit of R & R!