Misty Mountain Hop

29-31 July
Mount Kinabalu National Park is Malaysia’s first World Heritage site and is known for its high plant diversity. The misty cloud forests of this mountainous region high in the state of Sabah are a reprieve from the sweltering heat of the lowland jungle. The main attraction here is Mount Kinabalu itself, a granitic giant towering 4095 meters high over the island of Borneo. Most come to climb the mountain – a feat that takes somewhere between 2 hours and 40 minutes if you were the winner of this year’s “great race” to the top of the mountain or two days if you prefer a more reasonable pace.

Nick and I came here for the plants, not the mountain. We spent two days exploring its mossy trails searching for miniature blooming orchids and still elusive pitcher plants. We waxed botanical and dreamed up cross-breeds of the begonias we encountered. This botanical paradise was only interrupted by steep climbs, the threat of a torrential downpour, and a leech or two. We were awestruck to happen across the fuzziest caterpillars we have ever seen and a black centipede outlined in red (check out the photo!) We were especially happy to finally recognize a few genera and were very pleased to find a number of plants in full bloom!

Tomorrow we continue our tour of Borneo’s national parks and move on to Gunung Mulu National Park. There we will fulfill a Planet Earth driven desire to watch as millions of bats depart from the parks many caves! We can only hope that it is as inspiring without Sigourney Weaver to narrate!

Up and Down the Kinabatangan River, Borneo

26-July - 29-July 2010

Four days ago we set out on boat along the mighty Kinabatangan River. The river is the color of chocolate milk, fed by runoff from the daily rains. Its banks are covered in lush forests with the eyes of numerous creatures big and small peering out at visitors as they motor past. However the forests along the Kinabatangan are a battleground where Malaysia’s growing economy and the rainforest are in constant conflict. From our narrow perspective the dark side seems to have the upper hand. In many places the rainforest is a mere strip of trees no more than 50 feet wide lining the river bank, in others the palm oil plantations (take a tour of your cupboard and I bet you can find plenty of palm oil in ingredients lists) have advanced straight to the river’s edge, and in others the trunks of large trees are stacked waiting for the logging boat to take them to market. In far too few places the forest has been untouched and remains in large continuous swathes. That said, the Kinabatangan is a magical place and the four days we spent at Uncle Tan’s jungle camp is sure to be one of the highlights of our trip.

Shortly after embarking on our trip up the river we came across a large troop of long-tailed macaques – the “cheeky monkey”-- lounging on a sand bar and cavorting in the trees. Over the course of the next few days sightings of these playful creatures would become so frequent that they would almost go unnoticed. Nearly everyone who visits the Kinabatangan hopes to catch a glimpse of a wild orangutan. At one time orangutans were abundant on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, but now they are rare and endangered. Luck was on our side as our boat diver and cheerful guide swerved rapidly and put the brakes on the outboard motor, “Orangutan!” With our hearts in our throats we watched as three (2 adults and one baby) of these great apes moved through the canopy of a nearby tree. Spectacular!

Nearing sundown we made our way to Uncle Tan’s. The jungle camp is far from luxurious (just mattresses on the floor of wooden huts covered by mosquito nets, no running water, limited electricity-you get the picture) but it is very comfortable. The food was excellent and the camp staff was superb. In fact, the folks working in the camp must be some of the happiest people on earth. Each day we were greeted with smiles, friendliness, morning soccer (on a small sand field) and volleyball games, endless song and guitar music, and, at night, a big pail of “monkey juice” passed around to add to the merriment. These guys love the jungle and love to have a good time!

During our stay we participated in 7 boat safaris, and 3 jungle walks, which took place day and night. Sightings ranged from the fleeting glance of proboscis monkeys (a rare, Borneo endemic) leaping through the trees at sundown to a techni-colored kingfisher perched mere inches from us on a branch during our night walks (which our guide teased was a plastic bird he had placed there hours before) to countless flyovers by beautiful and charismatic oriental pied hornbills. The haunting calls of the Borneo gibbons (another primate) and their amazing speed as they swung from tree to tree will be unforgettable. The highlights of the trip occurred bright and early during the 6:30am river safaris on days three and four. On both days we had the great fortune to watch a single female orangutan feeding on fig fruit in a tree above us no more 20-30 feet away. The experience of watching these close human relatives in the wild was surreal (our DNA varies by only about 3%). All in all, we saw 6 primate species, numerous birds, lizards, frogs, crocodiles, and countless insects (see below for the complete list) during our trip.

Sitting here gazing at the mist shrouded foothills of Mt. Kinabalu we already miss the Kinabatangan. The lowland forest of Borneo, home to orangutans and countless other creatures, is an enchanting place that literally breathes biodiversity. As botanists, conservationists and lovers of nature, this habitat will hold a special place in our hearts. The Kinabatangan exists at a crossroads. Only time will tell what the future holds for Borneo’s orangutans, proboscis monkeys and gibbons.

A Partial List of What We Saw

Mammals

Borneo gibbon (seen 3 times)

Flying squirrel

Orangutan (seen 4 times, 6 individuals)

Palm civet

Pig-tailed macaque

Plant pygmy squirrel

Proboscis monkey

Long-tailed macaque

Silver leaf monkey

Birds (not an exhaustive list-we are, by no means, birders)

Bee-eaters

Black-backed kingfisher

Black and red broadbill

Blue-eared kingfisher

Crested serpent eagle

Little pied flycatcher

Oriental pied hornbill

Owls

Red fish eagle

Stork-billed kingfisher

White-bellied fish eagle

Reptiles and Amphibians

Comb-crested agamid lizard

Grass frog

Frogs (at least 4 other species)

Monitor lizard

Other lizards and skinks

Saltwater crocodile

Welcome to Borneo

25 July 2010
After an early morning flight we arrived in Sandakan, on the island of Borneo in the Malaysian state of Sabah. We quickly made our way to Sepilok, home to one of four orangutan rehabilitation centers in the world and the starting point of tomorrow's trip up the Sungai (River) Kinabatangan (try saying that 3 times in a row). This marks the start of 3+ weeks exploring Borneo- the third largest island in the world, a haven of biodiversity, and a place where the battle between conservation and economic development is waged on a daily basis.

After settling in to Uncle Tan's, our base for the night, we set out on foot for a visit to the Rainforest Discovery Center. The Center is home to a beautiful botanical garden, several miles of trails, canopy walkways and bird observation towers. Walking on the trails amidst butterflies and scurrying lizards we arrived at the Hornbill Observation Tower. Hornbills are large forest birds with large bills, which are symbols of the islands faunal diversity. As we climbed the observation tower, perched well over 100 feet high into the tree canopy we tried to ignore the distant thunder and darkening clouds on the near horizon (it wouldn't pour on us our first day in Borneo, would it?). After minute or two at the top, we could not ignore the approaching storm. We watched as a strong persistent wind suddenly appeared and the thunder took on a more ominous tone. Just then we notices hundreds of brown "helicopters" aloft emanating from the dipterocarp trees, which dominate the forest canopy. The seeds of these trees are perfectly suited for wind dispersal and took flight beautifully in the stiff wind. Fearing the worse we hightailed it back in the direction of the Center's headquarters-hoping for a weather miracle. About half of the way back we were caught in the storm, but we were serendipitously close to a nearby shelter-yes! There, in the shelter, we spent the next hour or so-waiting out the storm. If you have ever experienced a hard tropical rain you know that rain gear is no match (you would just sweat inside it anyway) and umbrellas offer little real protection. If it weren't for the shelter we would have been drenched to the bone an hour away from home in mere seconds.

As the storm began to pass and the thunder faded into the distance we made our way back to our guesthouse. About half of the way back we noticed three large bird silhouettes in a dead tree not to far in the distance. Upon closer inspection and after viewing their shape in flight their identification was unmistakable. Hornbills!

And, so starts the Borneo portion of our adventure. Tomorrow we visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center to learn about the resident great apes and the efforts to conserve them. In the afternoon we head out for 3 nights on the Kinabatangan River, where we hope to see orangutans and much more in the the wilds of Borneo.

If you're young in KL....

24 July 2010
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur (KL) amidst preparations for a multi-block outdoor fashion show, with one of the main stages outside our 3rd story hotel room (so much for getting some sleep before our 7am flight tomorrow morning). The city is alive with young people!! If you're young and living in KL you might be hanging out with your friends amongst the hundreds of motorbikes parked along the streets, your hair gelled into a faux-hawk and hoping for a cute girl to walk by who isn't wearing a head scarf and might actually talk to you. If you're a really cool dude, you might be break dancing or Tecktonik dancing it up on the sidewalk while hundreds of people watch in awe.

We've noticed today, more than any other day here in Malaysia, the extremes of this very diverse country. We started our day in a cool climate high in the hills and wound our way down a river valley to steamy KL. While the break dancers dance and the models walk the runway, women clad in full burka-style garments watch next to girls in short see-through skirts, and both wear dizzingly high platform shoes. The woman in this country love their shoes!

We depart early tomorrow morning to Sabah, Borneo to enjoy the flora and fauna of another extreme in this delightful country.

But for now, as Lady Gaga says,

Oh oh la la la
We love designer
I need, some new stilettos
Can't walk, down the street in those
You are, who you wear it's true
A girl's just as hot as the shoes she choose

God is kind

allah itu baik. karena disetiap ada orang yang pergi dari kehidupan kita pasti akan ada lagi yang menghampiri kita..believe it. :)

thanks god
GOD LOVES YOU..

Taman Negara, Part 4

21 July 2010

Being stuck in Taman Negara is not a bad thing. We were supposed to move on to the Cameron Highlands today, but I came down with a bit of a stomach bug yesterday and we decided to put our travel plans on hold-just in case. It seems like rest, tlc from my dear Rachel, and a blast of Cipro has done the job and I up and at em' today.

This has enabled us to spend an extra day in Taman Negara-please hold the sympathy cards. Well, I will try to keep this short and sweet. Guess what? We went for another nice long (actually less steamy-it is a bit cooler here today) hike and absorbed more of the park's spectacular scenery. In brief, there were more plants, insects, mushrooms, flying squirrels and the like. The highlight of the day was a large spectacularly-ornamented caterpillar (nature, you amaze me).

Tonight we are off on a wildlife watching jeep safari through lands outside the park. We have a good chance of seeing leopard cats (look like leopards, but the size of house cats), snakes and possibly other animals. Wish us luck!

Tomorrow it is off to the Cameron Highlands for a taste of that natural air-conditioning that 5000 feet of elevation delivers. In parting, we really love Taman Negara and are somewhat sad to be leaving. Our first experience in intact Asian rainforest has whetted our appetites (pun intended).

putriz haha -,-

Putri says:

hahahah santai aja lah

kalo nanyain aja gak apa2 kok

I say:

hahahha iyaiya

jadiii

jawabanya?

Putri says:

heheheheh, aku gak nge add msnnya

hehehe

sori

pease

I say:

yeah oke

Putri says:

eeeh salah peace

I say:

HUAHHAHA alay

-,- candaaa

_____________

I say:

pm nya zhaffran

-_-

haha

ehh ehhh puttt...ADA LG BGS GAAAKKK ? pleasee put

Putri says:

hahahahahha alay

I say:

hahaha kagak

Putri says:

hah ?

bgs apaan ?

I say:

ada lg bgs?

LAGU

Putri says:

dasar, tulisan pake di singkat2

ada, tapi negrock

I say:

okeoke takapa

Putri says:

aku lagi males lagu sedih2

I say:

NEGROCK HUHAHAHAA

Putri says:

maksudnya ngerock

heheheh

maap

Taman Negara , Part 3

19 July 2010
Walking through the rain forest the last few days we have taken special notice of the way the forest sounds. Today we walked to a cave, Gua Telinga, and because we did not see another human for about two hours and our never-ending conversation does tend to lull while we are hiking up steep slopes in 90% humidity we both observed some new sounds and made attempts at relating them to things we have encountered throughout our lives.

As we walked today there was a tremendous number of termites, and by tremendous I mean termites marching ten rows deep for an unknown distance every couple of feet. You could usually hear them even when you couldn't see them - the sound resembled the perfect bowl of rice crispies - "snap, crackle, pop". Imagine a commercial for termite cereal! ha!

The insect sounds, cicadas and whatnot, are deafening. Half of the time it just sounds like a loud buzz, like a distant bee hive that follows you around. Or maybe like a five year old with a kazoo.

On top of the buzz there are the bird songs, most of which sound like the noises R2D2 and the guns of the troopers in the older Star Wars movies make. Others sound more like the noise that a large stone makes when it is tossed into a lake or river, splunk.

And of course, this noise never stops. And while we rambled along the tree root laden green lined path we only saw a few fleeting glimpses of birds and flying squirrels, all the while trying not to disturb the termites and the ants as large as my big toe as they went about their daily six-legged life.

The only monkeys we saw today were those using a power line to cross the river - ha! We did, however, see a dog and a cat on our walk today, both very near a settlement of the several hundred native peoples, the Orang Asli, who still inhabit these forests.

While plants are easier to see, there are so many of them that it is astounding to us. Most interesting are the many species of ginger, the rhododendrons, and the tree fruits that have fallen from the trees. They range in color, size, shape, and texture. They come in practically every color, be they as small as a tic tac or as large as a softball, round or oblong, smooth or spiny. All of these correlate to some tree, though we cannot identify which as the canopies are so high.

In short, we are infatuated with the forest of Taman Negara. We will enjoy just one more sweaty, happy day exploring the paths and hoping to see something new before heading on to the tea plantations of the Cameroon Highlands.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE

I hope you enjoy this one, I did!

The teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day, the kids came back and, one by one, began to tell their stories.

There were all the regular types of stuff: spilled milk and pennies saved. But then the teacher realized, much to her dismay, that only Janie was left.

“Janie, do you have a story to share?'

''Yes ma'am. My daddy told me a story about my Mommy. She was a Marine pilot in Desert Storm, and her plane got hit. She had to bail out over enemy territory, and all she had was a flask of whiskey, a pistol, and a survival knife.

She drank the whiskey on the way down so the bottle wouldn't break, and then her parachute landed her right in the middle of 20 Iraqi troops. She shot 15 of them with the pistol, until she ran out of bullets, killed four more with the knife, till the blade broke, and then she killed the last Iraqi with her bare hands.

''Good Heavens,' said the horrified teacher. 'What did your Daddy tell you was the moral to this story?

"Don't $##$% with Mommy when she's been drinking."

Taman Negara, Part 2

18-July-10

Just back from a mediocre dinner on one of the floating restaurants of Kuala Tahan, we debated if in our travels if we have ever encountered a more unattractive town. After much discussion, Kuala Tahan, you are the winner so far. It would seem that you would have to try hard to create a greater mess. As a side note, our hostel "Yellow Guesthouse" is the nicest place we've stayed so far and we are really enjoying our bubble gum pink room.

Enough of that and onto our current object of affection, Taman Negara National Park, located a stone's throw across the river from the Kuala Tahan "river walk." Last night we participated in a guided night walk in the national park. Our tour at first reminded us why we generally hate group tours, but ended in brilliance. The tour started in a disorganized mass, as 50+ tourists from a myriad of countries were split into a number of groups and then led down the same path-moooo! The night walk improved as we gained space from the other groups and used flashlights to spotlight various insects including a number of walking-sticks. Shortly thereafter one of the flashlights spotted a python (about 3 feet in length) snaking its way through a nearby tree. The hike proceeded to an observation platform where we spotted 5 sambar deer grazing in the distance. Toward the end of the walk we hit the lottery with the spotting of a slow loris, making its way from tree to tree a short distance from the path. A slow loris is an extremely cute, rare, nocturnal primate only found in parts of Asia. It basically is a tailless monkey with raccoon eyes. For more info check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_loris.

Today we headed out for a long hike leading from the entrance to the park, which at times resembled aerobics inside a sauna (Rachel compares the experience to bikram yoga). The hike first lead us to the much-advertised tree canopy walkway, said to be the longest of its type in the world (don't we all just love superlatives). The canopy walkway consists of ropes, wires and planks strung from tree to tree for more than 1000 linear feet, at times 130 feet above the ground. The whole walkway sways as you walk (don't look down) and is both scenic and scary. As we exited the walkway we were greeted with the viewing of what we believe was a cream-colored giant squirrel (this was one big squirrel).

From there we climbed the nearby Teserek Hill, hemorrhaging sweat and soaking in a spectacular view of the park's interior. The trail down from the hill involved slipping, sliding, steps and ropes, and emerged adjacent to the Tahan River. After a long, leisurely stroll along the river gazing at a multitude of beautiful butterflies we made it back to Kuala Tahan. Thoroughly exhausted, we have been resting in the AC ever since.

Tomorrow we plan to head out on another long hike, which leads through the Telinga Cave. Bat shit and maggots here we come!

Taman Negara, Part 1

17-July-2010

"Open your shoes, get out the boat, and push!" After only about five minutes of our upriver longboat ride into Taman Negara we were stuck. The fifteen or so passengers looked around a little bewildered, but we all "opened our shoes", rolled up our pants, and jumped over the side of the boat. The water came up to about my knees (which isn't that high, considering my height) and was running fast but very low. After only a few seconds the boat was unstuck, we all jumped back in the boat as fast as we could, and away we went on our 3 hour river trip.

As the boat powered along, we relaxed just inches from the Tembeling River in our low, wooden longboat. We saw monkeys staring curiously at us while jumping from tree to tree, a few species of kingfisher, a possible hornbill, water buffalo, and wild pigs along the way. Like our rivers back home, in some places the native vegetation --the jungle-- existed as a thin strip near the river while palm and rubber plantations stretched out on the floodplains.

Upon arriving at Kuala Tahan, just across the river (a 1 ringit boat ride, about 30 US cents) from the national park, we were amused to arrive at a floating restaurant and walk across a gravel bar to get to our hostel up above. In this town, the majority of the restaurants are literally floating and the tourists are forced to pick their way along the gravel bar to get to or from their accommodation on the hill above. In addition, the hostels and hotels are not connected by roads as much as by a series of unmarked trails overgrown with the ever encroaching forest. This is a very strange design for a town.

After settling in, we "doped up" (as Nick says) with mosquito repellent and spf 50 and went for a walk along one of the many trails in Taman Negara. It did not take us long to experience the joys of Taman Negara's rainforest. About 30 minutes into our walk, Nick felt a strange feeling on his ankle, screamed upon examination, and watched as I removed the newly-attached leech from his leg. What a wimp! We tucked our pants into our socks and avoided the freeloaders for the rest of the hike. At least leech bites are painless and they don't communicate any diseases.

The sounds of the rainforest are truly amazing. A never-ending chorus of clicks, chirps, squeaks and squawks from innumerable birds and insects greeted us with every step. At times the sounds were so loud you could barely hear yourself think. The highlights of the walk included a huge gray butterfly, a blue Selaginella (a fernlike plant for you non-botanists), beautiful fungi, and insects wearing a kaleidoscope of color on their exoskeleton. We also saw a huge tick (slightly larger than an M&M, check out our photo gallery if you dare).

After sweating what felt like gallons of our body fluids we headed back to to the comfort of our air-conditioned guest house-modern conveniences rock! Tonight we head out on a guided night hike on which we hope to see more spectacular insects, and mammals if we are lucky.

They call Taman Negara's forest, Malaysia lungs, a huge intact swath of forest which lives and breathes diversity. Scientists estimate the this forest is over 130 million years old, and has remained unscathed through countless glaciations and geologic events. After our first taste, we are impressed and yearn to experience more of Taman Negara.

Perhentian Paradise, Part 2

16-July-2010

Our last few days at the Perhintian Islands was spent scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, reading, watching the nightly lightening storms, and enjoying the views of neighboring islands. We both passed our scuba tests with flying colors and enjoyed a dive to a boat wreck where we saw a school of puffer fish, a huge barracuda, a lion fish, and a few scorpion fish. We tried our best to fully enjoy ourselves and I think we accomplished our goal. Each moment was wasted to its fullest extent.

Yesterday we left the Perhentian Islands and spent the day traveling by boat and bus to reach, Jerantut, the gateway to Teman Negara, Malaysia's premiere jungle national park. This park boasts 100 tigers, 600 elephants, and a variety of other small cats, mammals, and birds. We would have to be some of the luckiest people in the world to see either the tigers or the elephants, but we do expect to see some smaller wildlife.

fit.. :)

DAH PITRI CAKEPPP....BYE PIT! dahhh dadahh..haha ko jadi aku yg sedih hhaahha -,-
gak fitt...aku tau fitt pasti semuanya sedih...

Perhentian Islands, Paradise

11 July 2010

The Perhentian Islands are as advertised. The white sand beaches, turquoise water, verdant forests, and diverse marine life provide a relaxed and stimulating atmosphere. We have spent the last few days here exploring offshore coral reefs, learning to scuba dive, walking along the beach, searching out the monitor lizard that frequents the area near our beach hut, and shooing geckos out of our bed. Enough said.

Despite this rigorous schedule, we find the time to eat delicious and spicy Malaysian food and read on the beach. We are staying at Mama’s Chalet’s on Perhentian Besar, home to the worst bathrooms but a large selection of excellent Malay dishes that we are slowing working our way though as this week ebbs on. The most notable dish to date was a mango curry that Nick ate for dinner on Saturday night. This dish was the perfect combination of sweet, spicy, and savory. It would have been plate licking material, if that type of behavior was culturally acceptable.

While we are not eating or disagreeing about which day of the week it is (somehow we have already managed to lose track of time), we are learning to scuba dive. This is a very rewarding process that is difficult and amazing at the same time. We spent about four hours today learning to control our movement while submerged and breathing bottled air. I really enjoyed sitting on the bottom of the ocean and found it very relaxing. However, it made Nick a little uneasy, being a land animal who prefers alpine air to compressed air. We have spent the majority of the time so far learning safety skills and procedures, which our instructor insists that he has never used in all of his years as a diver. Tomorrow, we will make our first “real” dive and hope to have some exciting sightings to report. However, judging from the off shore snorkeling so far, this should be no problem. In addition to reef fish (we found Nemo), we have seen black tipped reef sharks (harmless but about 3 feet long), sting rays, squid, and lots of coral.

We have four more days here before we move on to Taman Negara National Park for some jungle action. By then our blood pressure should be dangerously low.

Kota Bharu

8 July 2010

Kota Bharu (KB) is an interesting city. It is a stronghold of Malay culture situated at the NE corner of Malaysia just south of the Thai border. Infamously, KB is the heart of conservative Islam in what amounts to an already very Muslim country. It is governed regionally by an Islamist party (the PAL, which seeks to combine religious beliefs with other matters of governance) and Islamic law is stuck to pretty strictly. For example, Muslim women who are caught not wearing headscarves can be fined or even jailed. Luckily for us, these laws to not apply to tourists.

Other notable things about KB include the people’s admiration of birdsong. The residents of the city keep birds and join together for bird singing contests weekly (unfortunately we were there on the wrong day to witness a contest). So much do the people love birdsong that they broadcast chirps and squawks from buildings across the city.

Our day in KB started after a 15-hour epic train journey from Kuala Lumpur. We arrived weary and hungry and immediately sought out a recommended Indian restaurant close to our hostel. The restaurant was not immediately appealing, but we decided to try our luck nonetheless. What arrived shortly after ordering was sublime. Served on a banana leaf, we sampled spicy curry chicken, fried rice with pineapple, vegetable curry, savory, marinated pineapple and crispy, fried flatbread-yum! All of this cost about $6. As a side note, the food here in Malaysia is very cheap. Meals for both of us combined have ranged from between 4 and 13 dollars. Rejuvenated we walked to a local produce/meat market (I think I can still conjure up that smell), and a beautiful museum, Istana Jahar, which is devoted to local Kelantan culture.

After a rest at the hostel we headed to the famous night market. The market is situated in a large square and the food stalls are located in the center. Outside the food stalls are tables, and these are flanked by merchants selling drinks to each of their sections of tables. The drink merchants also provide entertainment to the locals in the form of TV or movies on screens located at their booths-not at all a bad setup. The food stalls served a variety of noodle and rice dishes, as well as many different skewer based meats – most of which were unrecognizable to us, and a variation of a crepe called a murtabak. While we had heard that this market specialized in blue rice- it was nowhere to be found. After scoping the available food I settled on a meal of chicken murtabak and delicious chicken and beef on bamboo skewers while Rachel enjoyed a banana murtabak.

From KB it is on to the Perhentian Islands, jewels in the emerald sea home to snorkeling, sun, scuba, and relaxation.

Best Big Island Hiking 2

Dear Hawaii lovers,

Good news for our recent 'Best Hawaii sunset photos'. Hawaii vacation home owners loved to share their very own sunset photos, unique in each way as you can see, and Hawaii visitors enjoyed viewing them. What is a Hawaii vacation without a sunset photo!

We are ready to 'hele on' with more Best Big Island hiking, as promised on our post 'Best Big Island Hiking1', which showed you photos of Pololu Valley and talked about hiking Pololu Valley. Here is the sequel 'Best Big Island Hiking 2', which will tell you a lot about Waipio Valley hikes. This order is not according to its relevance. It's just that we had to start with one Valley. Believe me both our Big Island Valleys, Pololu and Waipio Valley, are of unique beauty and are a Big Island hikers' delight.


Waipio Valley located on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island of Hawai'i, is the largest and southernmost of the seven valleys on the windward side of the Kohala Mountains. Waipi'o is a mile wide at the coast and almost six miles deep. At the coast there is a beautiful black sand beach. On either side of the valley are cliffs reaching almost 2000 feet affording views of cascading waterfalls during the rainy season.

How can Big Island visitors explore Waipio Valley? the easiest way is driving your car on Hwy 19 to Honokaa where life seems to have stood still with all the the small retail stores along Main Street. After your Honokaa town tour, follow the signs to Waipio Valley which you can't miss as Waipio Valley Lookout is at the end of the road. Fun part is even if you come on a cloudy day, as we did when I took these photos last year, you will always be able to snap some great photos of Waipio Valley from the Lookout with the steep coastal cliffs as a backdrop.

Provided you are in good shape, you can walk down into the valley but remember you have always to make it back up and it's steep. Only 4x4 can make it down into Waipio Valley. The valley will reward you with some amazing views and adventures. Waipio Valley is also a favorite spot for local surfers who love to ride the tough surf there. The higher, the better! That's when the TV reporter says 'Don't try this at home!'. Better stick with the horseback riding or Wagon tours. Most of them pick you up at Waipio Valley Lookout, take you into the valley and start the adventure there.

Our favorite Waipio Valley hike has always been White Rd hike in the past. A hike which starts at some cattle meadows with stunning views of snow-covered Mauna Kea summit in winter and leads through singing bamboo, 'jungly' forest with wild colorful impatients, bottle brush trees and lots of ferns along the trails. After a modest hike of about 45 minutes, the scenery suddenly opens and you can just stand there in awe and utter 'Wow'. You will be standing on a small narrow trail of the valley rim, high above the valley, allowing magnificent views of the ocean and the waterfalls across the valley. Hikers' boots recommended when going further!

Unfortunately, White Rd hike, which has always been a special recommendation in Big Island hiking books, is now only available through HawaiianWalkways hiking tours, which made arrangements with the land owner. We don't know what exactly happened but the owner of the private land does not allow the general public to use this trail anymore. If you are not a lover of guided hiking tours, you may still access Waipio Valley rim from a different route starting in Waimea. Waimea residents, who love to hike, will tell you.

That's it for today with Big Island hiking Waipio Valley. What's your best Big Island hiking experience? Let us know. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations

p.s.

Please, also visit our 'July Carnival of Aloha' which is hosted by Evelyn from 'Homespun Honolulu' and brings together our Hawaii blog ohana.

Tags: Big Island vacation, Best Big Island hiking, hiking in Hawaii

Thumbs up for Popiah, Thumbs down for durian.

7 July 2010 – 8 July 2010 Author: Nick and Rachel

As I write this post the train car jerks its way into northeast Malaysia, screetchhhhhhhhhhhhh! Yes, there it is another tropical tree branch scraping the side of our sleeping compartment on what is so-called the “Jungle Train.” We boarded the train late last night and are headed for Kota Bharu on the east coast just south of the Thai border; this region is the heart of Malyasia’s conservative Islam and the gateway to the Perhentian Islands.

If I had to choose 3 words to describe yesterday they would be: food, cave, and monkey (no, we did not eat monkey in a cave). In the morning we hopped on a bus to the Batu Caves, located just outside of KL. The Batu Caves are a massive opening in jungle-clad hills, officially discovered by a British explorer more than 120 years ago. Since then the big hole in the limestone mountain has been colonized by Hindu shrines, a more than 100-foot golden statue of the god Muruga, and hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of monkeys. The whole place is pretty spectacular, with 272 steps leading to the highest portion of the cave. The climb takes you past dozens of shrines and cathedral like cave ceilings, well over 100 feet above. The real stars of the show, however, are the monkeys. They greet you immediately as you start walking up the steps and are pretty shady creatures (what would you expect from fellow primates?). They beg for food, scratch themselves, pose for pictures (really!), and clap their hands. In the meantime, they climb the caves vertiginous slopes, fight (I swear if they had weapons they would use them), make baby monkeys, and bear their teeth to tourists that get too close for comfort -stay back.

Back to KL, it was time for lunch. Oh glorious popiah how do we love thee? Popiah are a traditional Malaysian cross between a crepe and an eggroll, and they are delicious. Picture a thin, crepe-like wrap in the form of a sushi roll filled with hot sauce, cucumber, carrot, sautéed onions, peanuts, deep-fried egg whites (popiah are kinda crunchy), garlic, and delicious sauces. How the popiah (and Malaysian food in general) is not popular abroad is a mystery to me. Feeling full, adventurous, and in need of dessert we decided to try durian for the first time. Durian is a large, spiny, tropical fruit, common in SE Asia, and famous for its exquisite flavor and horrid smell. We decided to try our durian in the form of a cream filling inside a pastry. I bought two, we finished ¾ of one. Durian comes as advertised. The taste is quite good as long as you can get past the smell. I think they smell like either dirty diapers, or that wonderful odor that emanates from a full garbage truck on a hot day. Enough said.

And, so it is on to NE Malaysia. After spending the day in Kota Bharu we head out for a 7 night stay on the paradise-like Perhentian Islands, where it is nothing but sand, sun, snorkeling, and, for us, scuba diving certification.

Oh, and yes for you weather freaks out there, we are now the proud owners of 2 brand new umbrellas (about $3 each). Starting at about 1 pm yesterday it started raining cats and dogs and it hadn’t stopped when we left town. Also, I will eat a little crow. KL, you are as hot as the sun.

Jungle Train View – Rachel

Waking up before sunrise after a good night’s rest on the “jungle train” we awaited the scenery that we could hear through the night as it scraped the sides of the train. As the sun rose my heart swelled with joy as we peered out over miles and miles of seemingly pristine rainforest and the meandering Kelantan River below! From our first class berth on the train, we watched as dozens of species of trees carpeted with vines whizzed passed our eyes. We took in hot pink orchids, bright green ferns, pendulum birds’ nests, and monkeys jumping from tree to tree. We discussed the possibility of seeing a glimpse of the rhinos, elephants, leopards, and tigers that reportedly inhabit these forests and imagined them peering out at us as we longingly looked for them. We were shocked as large limestone outcrops, so high that the tips were shrouded in the mist, appeared in front of us. Alas, we soon learned that our 9:30am arrival time was merely a suggestion as we pulled into the station at around 12:30pm.

Hot and Steamy in KL

6 July 2010 Author: Rachel

We are really getting a feel for KL! Or should I say, it is infusing our pores with its diesel soaked humid air. And what can I say – I like it! We started off early today in hopes of making it to the Lake Gardens, Chinatown, Merdeka Square, and Little India, with a quick stop over to get Nick one of those doughnuts he saw yesterday. Our first stop was to the “sentral station” to purchase tickets on the overnight “jungle train” we will be taking on Wednesday (7/7) to Kota Baru. After that we wandered over to Lake Gardens – a large forested park – and were instantaneously lost. Luckily, this area houses the National Mosque which was relatively easy to locate because it is a very large building.

On arriving at this beautiful umbrella domed building, we saw that it was open to visitors! Because I was inadequately dressed, I donned a very stylish lavender hooded cape and was allowed to view the outer portion of the mosque.

From Kuala Lumpur

We had a very nice tour and learned a few things about Islam. The most interesting to me -- which has nothing to do with Islam specifically-- is that they had posters up with a family tree showing how the Torah, the Bible, and to Qur’an are all reporting similar stories and are actually one story. But of course every group thinks they are correct. Why can’t they all just get along? Anyway, those hooded capes are pretty hot, so we moved on to Chinatown.

Walking from place to place in KL is not the easiest task. It appears as though you are heading in the right direction and then you hit a six lane street with no crossing in sight. There are two choices in such situations: one is to walk up or down the street until you find a delegated cross walk or pedestrian overpass while the other is to wait for the right moment and RUN!!! Both methods work fairly well, though one is safer than the other.

After a longer than expected walk, we made it Jalan Petaling, the main street of Chinatown. This covered pedestrian street is full of Luis Vuitton, Prada, etc. etc. knockoffs. The side streets are packed with dark food stalls, meat and vegetable markets, and other random shops. This whole area is saturated with a strange mixture of delicious and disgusting smells. After eating a yummy spicy noodle dish, Nick and I made our way up to Little India via the Central Market and Merdeka Square. At the edge of Merdeka Square we discovered that there is a giant fountain made of sculpted carnivorous pitcher plants! Nick and I rested on a bench by this fountain for quite awhile, so long in fact that we were videotaped as part of some game show…? Trying to escape the video cameras, we made our way to Little India. This area was similar to Chinatown, however it appeared to sell more practical items and was less touristy. We were pretty tired at this point and began thinking about heading back to the hostel for some rest.

Before making it back after our 7 to 8 mile trek, we stopped at the doughnut shop and Nick got himself a German chocolate doughnut - I was happily drinking an iced coffee from The Coffee Bean. By the way, KL is a very diverse city where the integration of Asian, European, Middle Eastern, and American cultures have produced delicious food, outdoor markets, tall buildings, clean streets, packs of motorbikes, and more shopping malls than I have ever seen!

Highlights? We went in our first mosque, I saw my first “wild” monkey roaming the streets, and I learned that I really like Persian kittens.

Kuala Lumpur, Day 1

6-July-2010 Author: Nick After setting foot on Malaysian soil yesterday afternoon we took a taxi (curiously cheaper and faster than taking the train) to our hostel, located in the central part of the city. After trying to decompress from the day in the air and jet lag we set out to get our first taste of the city.

Before we talk about the first tastes, how about some first impressions. Okay, so it is hot and humid (it is supposed to be these two things), but, surprisingly it is not too bad. I expected worse. Second, KL is really modern, clean, and seems pretty prosperous.

Okay, onto the food. We headed straight to a food court located at the bottom of a mall recommended by the guy at the front desk of the hostel. Food stalls and courts are reputedly very popular with the locals and this place was pretty crowded. Basically, you have your choice of just about any Asian food you can (or can't) imagine. Needless to say, it was hard to choose and our stomachs are going to have to work hard to do the cuisine of KL justice. We both settled on spicy soup/noodle dishes. Mine was a traditional Malaysian chicken laksa with spicy, coconut broth and both known and unknown spices. Rachel's was very similar but without the coconut or chicken. So, so delicious! So spicy! Being full and tired we resisted the urge to try one of the many durian (large spiky fruit with famous smell and taste) flavored deserts and marveled at a donut shop with more variety than imaginable. You are probably thinking, "what more can they do with a donut." My answer to you is think of both sweet and savory, and eastern and western flavors. We will be back to partake. How much did this dinner cost? $4 for the both of us!

After dinner we walked in a jet-lagged haze to the city center to gaze at the massive, twin Petronas Towers, which at over 450 meters tall are two of the tallest buildings in the world. At some point we found ourselves back at the hostel and collapsed.

Today, it is off to explore more of KL, its sights sounds and tastes. Little India and Chinatown here we come.

T Minus 13 Hours and Counting

3-July-2010 Well, the day has finally come! This whole experience of planning for this trip is vaguely analogous to climbing a mountain-complete with preparation, physical and emotional toil, and a spectacular goal that initially felt so far away and is now just within reach. In just a few hours we will board a Cathay Pacific plane in San Francisco bound for Kuala Lumpur (KL for short), Malaysia with a brief stop in Hong Kong. The flight, 14.5 hours, non-stop, in economy class (sounds like fun!), will take us across the Pacific and to a land of ancient cultures, diverse tropical forests, and mountain highs. On the afternoon of July 5th we start our exploration of Asia in steamy KL, rich in culture and cuisine. Some folks say that in Malaysia produces (as a result of mixing elements of Malay, Indian and Chinese cooking) some of the most exciting, inventive and unique food in the world. My mouth is already watering. We plan on spending (eating) approximately 3 days in KL before heading north to the Perhentian Islands, jewels in the sea off of Malaysia’s NE coast. To say that preparing for this trip has been stressful would be giving the whole experience short shrift. The combination, of packing, last-minute saving, finishing up our duties at work, packing, making purchases, planning, and moving out of our apartment has been far from relaxing. The reality of leaving our friends, families, and comfortable and relatively-carefree lives in Sacramento has been difficult to handle emotionally. We will definitely miss our friends and families over the next 10 months. Saying goodbye to all of you (a process now weeks in the making) continues to be heartbreaking. Nonetheless, I can envision all of the stress and emotions of the past few months vanishing as the sun sets on the Perhentians, Rachel and I gazing over smooth granite boulders, turquoise water, and pure white sand. Yesterday, we packed our bags, tried them on and walked around the house a bit. They feel good, filled with a variety of things we think we’ll need over the next few months, and surely a few things that will get ditched along the way. We will carry with us not only cameras and clothes, but also the memories of all of you that are close to our hearts. We promise not to ditch our memories. And so, here we sit, ready to embark on this journey. We are ready to follow our dream, and eagerly looking forward to savoring and experiencing more of the world together. Blast off!