Borneo: Untapped Jungle Paradise

After 4 days in Kuala Lumpur, we flew to the eastern island of Borneo.  This is the 3rd largest island in the world and divided between 3 countries: Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia.  Borneo is less touristy than the Malaysian peninsular which I really enjoyed.  We released our inner Amazon women and went hiking through lush rainforests to secluded beaches and kayaking through the jungle.  That was a great workout; my arms were sore for some time afterwards.  We went to the orangutan wildlife sanctuary to see the "wild man of the forest."  This sanctuary prided themselves in allowing the orangutans to live in a wild and natural habitat but allow visitors the opportunity to view them.  Every morning, the staff put out breakfast for the animals to enjoy if they choose to.  If they didn't, this was taken as a positive sign because the monkeys are less dependent on the food. That morning, we saw close to 10 monkeys climb up and down trees and swing back and forth from vines.  So cool.  The monkeys climbed down to the breakfast platform before promptly stuffing several banans in their mouth and guzzling down water bottles.  The adult monkeys were covered in a long, reddish-brown coat while babies were cloaked in short, orange fuzz.  Orangutans are native only to Borneo so this was an amazing experience to see. 

Borneo was a great time to relax and enjoy nature.  Our hostel had a giant deck that faced a mini jungle so Marianna and I spent countless hours with new friends playing cards and hanging out.  The majority of people we met were from Sweden and taking minimum 3-4 months to travel.  I even met a girl who was planning on backpacking for two years (traveling alone too).  I really admire these people because I do not know anyone who would take this much time off to backpack and simply enjoy.  They either postponed work or college to indulge in this fantasy/adventure which I think is great for them.  I hope I can be just as brave after I start working one day to follow suit.  As much as I love Borneo, it's time to discover more of Malaysia.

Thaipusam

Roughly 2 weeks ago, Marianna and I landed into the mysterious, rainforest covered land of Malaysia.  We left Shanghai at 5:30 AM, caught a bus to the neighboring city of Hangzhou, flew out of Hangzhou into Kuala Lumpur, and safely landed around 9 PM.  We didn't properly hop into bed until 3 AM so needless to say we were tired from the long day of traveling.  The next morning, we woke up bright and early to attend and observe the Thaipusam festival.

Thaipusam is an annual Hindu festival that draws in millions of people who pay respect to Lord Muruga.  If a prayer or a wish made the year before is granted, the believer will go through a special cleansing and tribute to give thanks on this holiday.  A quick google image search will give you an idea what sort of sacrifices these devotees undertake.  Saying I was overwhelmed  by these images is an understatement.  These people showed their love in various forms of self-representation.  Some chose to hang small ornaments or objects on hooks off their backs and arms.  There were feathers, oranges, and gold coins to name a few.  Others speared their cheeks with long, shiny rods, accompanied with pieces of fruit on the end.  A few people were carrying smoking clay pots in each hand, flesh only buffered by a few layers of leaves. I was told that inside the pot was burning cow dung.  And then there was the great kavadi, a huge shrine perched on the shoulders of the believer, made to be carried up the 272 steep steps to the Batu Caves.  They are like giant headdresses, standing 4-5 feet up in the air with multiple platforms.  Each platform is adorned with rich-colored ostrich feathers and shiny, gold objects.  Some even have chains hanging off the platform and embedded into the arms of the believer.  Kavadis came in all different shapes with all different ornaments and pictures but I'm guessing the average one weighed around 40 pounds.  It was an incredible sight to see; thinking about this now still gives me slight chills.    And the craziest thing of all is that none of this self-mutilation actually hurts the person.  The piercing of the cheeks, back, arms does not draw any blood; it's said that all pain is removed by their god.  When I looked into the faces of the devotees, they seemed to be in a different world.  Their eyes were rolled back and they shook their heads to music only they could hear.  I have dozens upon dozens of pictures but won't be able to upload them until I'm back in China.  Although I was very tired that day, all fatigue vanished and replaced with wonder and amazement. It was truly moving to see what humans can and want to perform for their beliefs and religion.

Visitors walking up the hundreds of steps to the holy Batu Caves

Beautiful peacock feathers were in abundance at this festival.

Inspired and amazed,

Jac

The 5 People You Meet during Backpacking

Hello!  Reporting from Malaysia now.  It's been an awesome filled 2 weeks of backpacking and I try to relish the good and bad each day.  Backpacking has a lot of perks, such as viewing the city like a local, eating at the dirt-cheap hawker stalls, and acquiring lots of stories along the way.  My favorite is the access you have to all the wealth of information found in people, places, and culture.  During my time here, I've already come across a number of different people that you are unlikely to find at your work office.  I've affectionately categorized these new friends into 5 rough categories:

1.  The Student
      My friend and I fall under this category.  These people usually have the shortest vacations (although it doesn't seem like it) compared to everyone else.  I've met people who are 6 month, 1 year, even 2 year backpacking adventures.  During school vacations, students take advantage of their 1-2 months and haul their backpacks around for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

2.  The Classic
     These people define the word backpacker.  They usually have looong dreadlocks, long, flowy pants, Birkenstocks, and an assortment of oddly-wrapped packages poking out from their enormous bag.  Their world traveling stories always puts your traveling adventures to shame but are so darn interesting.  They've gone to every nook of the earth from Bangladesh to Hungary and have done awesome things like climb Everest or gone swimming with sharks.   

3. The I-Need-A-Break from Life
    These people are also quite popular on the backpacker route.  They have worked a number of years and suddenly decided that they need a break to rediscover life's passions.  This can happen anytime from mid-twenties to mid-eighties.  They either need an opportunity to recharge or just start over.  After their vacation ends, they decide to actualize their dreams and do a career 180. 

4.  The PARTIER
      We met a few of these in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital.  These people have the energy of a 17 year old and minimum 8 livers.  They do not require any sleep and are the life of the party.  For example: we met a nice Malaysian girl, working in media, who went out with us to a local club.  She took us out at midnight, ordered a scary amount of drinks, dragged Marianna and my tired bodies home at 6 AM, and then proceeded to wake up at 9 AM for her MBA class.  That takes skill.  She didn't even take a nap the next day! 

5.  The One More Guy
        This is the person my mom fears I will turn into =P.  But no worries, I promise to not live in China forever.  This person has innocent intentions when he/she travels to Asia.  However, these plans keep on getting extended just by a mere day.  The days turn into months and months quickly slip into years.   Before you know it, he/she has set up a new life with no plans of returning home.  This person loves SE Asia so much that he simply never left.

There are so many great characters here.  Everyone has a great story and can teach you something, if you take the time to get to know them.

Loving Malaysia,
Jac