Log/Pic 19 Indonesia

So I arrived in Bali and stayed a few days in Kuta. It had a nice beach and lots of surfers. Many people wanting to drive me somewhere or sell me everything from hammocks to blowguns. Others offered their services from massaging me, doing my nails, or cleaning my ears-some wanted to do all at the same time! I needed to get away from the constant harassment.

I went to Lovina. I stayed at a home-stay bungalow on the beach for $5 per night-including breafast! It was nice and relaxing looking out at the Bali Sea and the black sand beach. Iwent on outrigger canoes to see dolphins for sunrise and to snorkel. I went diving a couple of days off Menjangan Island on the NW side of Bali.

Next I headed to Tulemben. I spent Three nights listening to the ocean just outside my bungalo and lots of shore dives on the U.S. Liberty shipwreck just off shore.

Then I went to Padang Bay to catch a five-hour ferry to Lombok's Gili Islands. I stayed three nights on Gili T and three nights on Gili Air. I dove off both these islands and also Gili Meno. I saw lots of sharks, turtles and a three and 1/2 foot sea cobra.

Lastly, I took a boat to Lobok, then a motorized buggy to a little airport, then took a flight back to Bali's capital. I had a 12 hour wait to catch a 2:30 am flight to Jayapura, Papua (the farthest eastern Indonesian island). From there I started my journey to Papua New Guinua.

Log/Pic 18 Malaysia

So here I am in Labuk Bay. Malaysia is split in two parts: referred to as either west and east Malaysia, or Malaysia and Borneo Malaysia. West Malaysia is divided into 11 states and Borneo Malaysia is divided into Sabah and Sawawak. Sabah is where I am. This is the northeastern area. I dove off some islands off the coast. We flew to Sandakan admiring the great views on the flight of the coast, the palm oil plantations, and the famous Mt. Kiabalu.

I went to this proboscis monkey sanctuary about an hour away from Sandakan. This place was a wildlife haven. The main attraction of course was these terribly ugly monkeys. I had seen them on Discovery Channel but they were even more ugly in person. This first photo is a closeup of a two-year-old that came right up to us. He seemed to have no fear, but didn't like to be touched. He would later steal a pack of Oreos and scurry up the closest tree and eat them just out of our reach. When he came back down to the platform, his face was covered in crumbs. He would jump from a tree to the building roof, enter through the bathroom window, peek around the corner until the coast was clear, and try to steal more food. An otter standing guard would chase him away.

Twice a day the sanctuary would put out food and the monkeys would begin appearing from the jungles, swinging and jumping from tree to tree. It was amazing to watch and hear them approach.

This is a male. His protrusion is much longer.

Mom and baby heading back to the jungle after feeding.

I spent a long time petting the otter that hung out under the platform. They fed him fish and it would eat the head while three dogs patiently watch. When it was finished, the dogs would eat the fish tails. The otter mad a weird squeaking sound when it was content. It would later chase the dogs around, jump in the stream that flowed in front of the platform, then come back to me for some loving. His soaked body was so slimy.

This dominate male was freaking out when another male from the other group of monkeys across the way started howling and violently went running down the boardwalk.
While taking photos of the monkeys, these birds decided to pay a visit. They would later land on Punda's head and gently try to eat my eye. One bird, the staff said, was called a Jungle Minor.

This monkey was displaying his protrusion(s) for the camera.

I took about 25 photos of them jumping from tree to tree. This is the only one that didn't come out blurry, obstructed, or too dark. This was a terrific, wild place and I definatly got my fill of the long-nosed proboscis monkey.

Tomorrow Punda goes back home and I'm heading to Indonesia. For the next few months my adventures will be pretty much dive related. As I log my dives from Sapi and Gaya Islands in malaysia, my calculations indicate that I have spent three weeks of my life underwater. Maybe I will reach a month before I leave the pacific!

Log/Pic 17 Brunei

So this is Brunei. Actually the official name is Negara Brunei Darussalam. It is one of the smallest countries in the world and is located along the northern tip of Borneo. It is 67% Muslim and here are a few of the mosques we visited.
This country is run by a sultan named Sir Hassanal Bolkiah. At some point in the 1980's, he was the richest man in the world-primarily from oil. His picture hangs in hotels, restuarants and pretty much every building we entered. His photo also hangs on the outside of many major building and on quite a few billboards. He takes care of his people and I have never heard a negative thing about him; in fact, he was the topic of many conversations. They were all celebrating his 60th birthday while we were there.

This mosque was on the river front, as were several others.

This is a section of the river village. We took river taxis like this one to to the villages and walked on the docks talking to people, admiring their houses, and watching boat-makers. We stumbled upon what looked like a school, so we went in.
And this is what we saw; a group of Muslim children attending a short ceremony. The current headmaster (the one who invited us to attend the ceremony), was retiring, and a new one (the man who invited us to share a meal with them in what appeared to be the teachers lounge), was taking over.

One man took photos of the ceremony so we thought it would be o.k. too.

Aside from the school being on stilts over a river surrounded by dilapidated river houses, the inside looked very similar to the schools we know!
As the students filed out after the event, each took the retiring headmaster's hand and placed their forehead on it. At first glance I thought they were kissing his hand.
The first half of the student's day is spent in regular studies. Then they leave for two hours and upon return, they study religion until 5:30. Note the boys up front facing their religious instructor and the girls in back BEHIND PARTITIONS!

Punda and I took a ferry back and forth from Malaysia to Laboun Island, and then another to Brunei. The ferry ride alone was great, so were the river taxi rides throughout Brunei. We went to the American Embassy there so I could get more pages for my "new" passport. It was my first U.S. embassy-although I didn't see any Americans there. It was great to visit a country where everyone loved and respected their leader.

Log/Pic 16 Borneo

So I'm in Borneo and I had a chance to visit some long lost relatives from the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve. This first picture is my uncle, next is my aunt, then some 3rd and 4th cousins. Punda and I hiked some trails and went to a morning and afternoon feeding at the Sepilok Rehabilitation Center. We stayed at the Sepilok Jungle Resort. This place also had a trail along the reserves borders. The owner of the lodge took us on a hike there. The grounds were wicked jungly with bamboo, flowers, ponds, turtles, lizards, birds and wildlife everywhere. I felt at home here.










There were other monkeys around us like this macqua, but when the orangutans where around, nothing else really mattered.