War on Puppies!!

Lambir Hills

I have so many review reports to write at the moment it is putting me off writing these days! Yes I do love my job most of the time but these reviews are so repetitive it is making my life so boring! I must say though I am enjoying being at home this week as over the last few weeks I seem to have been on the go all the time. Last week I spent a very lovely few days in Miri, Sarawak staying with a friend who also happens to be a project manager. We were supposed to be running a course but a participant didn't arrive and it was postponed. Miri is very up market compared to Tuaran and KK really. There are lots of hotels, restaurants on the beach and orang putihs due to the oil rigs and proximity to Brunei. The most exciting thing we did ( I know how sad is this) was go to a cafe for a western style breakfast. You could order pork bacon and sausages (yes there are chicken substitutes here), many different sorts of bread, eggs benedict, smoked salmon etc...Andrew you would have loved it!

Yes I even took a photo!

After our copious breakfast we went for a trek in the Lambir Hills nearby which was lovely and we met no one and climbed to the hill, Bukit Pantu , where we had an amazing view and watched the clouds of the rainforest drift by.

Naughty puppies!!

 This week back at my kampong house the news is that war has been declared against the three puppies who live next door. They have had all my cushions, sarong covers, table-cloths, washing all over the garden and then the final straw was that they chewed one of my running shoes which was up high on the window sill to avoid the puppies. They think they can come into my house at any time and wander around. John was very good at shouting "No puppies in the house" which frightened them, but I realise that I have absolutely no authority when it comes to dogs. I have resorted to chasing them with a broom but they know I'm only half -heartedly doing it and continue to come back. You see they are so cute and they love me and run to greet me when I come home and I'm just a big softie when it comes to puppies!!

Water- buffalo too!

   

Farewell to Andrew and the Tickners

Leaving on the boat from Manana

I can't believe how quiet my house seems after returning from the airport. It has been over five weeks since I have been on my own and I've just said goodbye to Hazel and Pascal tonight after their short, but exciting, visit to Sabah. Andrew left on Friday on his way back to East Timor and despite how far it is from France it seemed very "normal" to be able to welcome our best friends to Sabah. Hazel and Pascal took it all in their stride even though it was their first visit outside Europe. We managed to do a huge circuit of Sabah involving a combination of me working and then taking two days leave and the weekend.

Mount Kinabalu

 Hazel had bought the Lonely Planet Guide to Borneo which was great for filling in details and facts and interesting also to read what they thought about places I knew quite well. Anyway we slept in chalets, lodges, dorms and a longhouse which were all charming in their own way and I think Hazel and Pascal seemed to appreciate each one for their different virtues. We managed to have a very lucky and thrilling time at the Kinabatangan River managing to see orang-utans, elephants and proboscis monkeys, not to mention hornbills, kingfishers,snakes and a tiny crocodile. If that wasn't enough for one day we went to the Gomantong Caves and saw a mother and baby orang-utan travelling through the trees and then another one on the way back. It was more that we could have wished for and I'm so glad we saw them. Having seen five orang-utans in the wild we decided to skip the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre in Sepilok and just go to the new Sunbear Sanctuary and then finish the afternoon with  a visit to the Rainforest Discovery Centre which we could have easily spent a day in.

Aperos at Sabah Tea Garden

A teenager elephant

On the way back we managed to stop in Ranau and even wander around the wonderful Saturday market and say hello to my vegetable stall lady. We returned to Tuaran having travelled many kilometres but in the week I think Hazel and Pascal managed to see the mangroves, sea, beaches, mountains, rivers and jungle and many mammals, birds, fish, insects and reptiles. 

Proboscis monkeys

Sunbear

Hazel and Pascal and their three children have lived near us in Normandie for many years with our children growing up together. Hazel and I would do gym classes together every Wednesday and have a weekly catch up of what was going on in each other's lives. They are a part of our family and also a very talented couple .We all love going to  their house as not only is Hazel an excellent cook but grows her own vegetables and has a wonderful garden. Pascal is an expert on the barbeque, a carpenter by trade and continually perfecting the house and garden too with deckings and garages etc....they make us feel tired thinking about all they achieve!! They also happen to be the kindest, 

loyal and most steadfast of friends we could have and they have helped us out out on too many occasions to count. Bon voyage dear friends and see you soon in Normandie,,,,, only 5 weeks before the wedding!

Paganakan Dii  Resort Sepilok

Welcome to the world and a water village in Kudat

Susan and Fiona at the Tip of Borneo

Only hours old!

This post is going to be rather late or early if you didn't notice I didn't write one last week. I sadly said farewell to Susan and John today and the three weeks that they have been in Sabah seems to have flown and has been really good fun. I feel that they're "family" now, as they would say in Ireland, and I'm sure we will meet again soon. They are on their final leg of their 3 month trip visiting KL, Malacca and then finally Singapore for the 9th April departure. We had a lovely week combining business and pleasure up in Kudat and there was a very exciting event up at Simpang Mengayau on Sunday - Howard and Lorinna (our hosts) welcomed their daughter into the world. Lorinna was working until late on Saturday night in the Tip Top restaurant and then by lunchtime on Sunday the baby had arrived. As far as I know, she has no name yet but I have seen her and touched her beautiful soft head.

A wonderful birthday cake made for me by 7 year old Michael

  


Whilst Susan and John explored the beaches and cafes and drank beer, I did actually go to work and I had a very interesting visit to a school situated at the edge of a water village in Kudat. I asked about inviting the parents in the village to the school for a story workshop and before we knew it there were two teachers, Mike and I heading off down the walkways. Of course Mike and I did feel very self-conscious as we were probably the first orang putihs to do so but at least we did have a purpose and had the two local teachers beside us. The walkways were full of rotten planks but as we carefully watched where we stepped everyone else  purposefully strode ahead. It was like every village with little shops and restaurants; some very poor houses and others beautifully cared for. The mounds of rubbish around in the sea was quite horrific but I suspect they have continued to just throw their waste into the sea as generations have done before and no one has provided or thought of an solution with the ever growing use of plastic.

Wonderful flowers in amongst the rubbish

Today another exciting event is happening. Andrew is flying in from KL and is going to be staying for 2 weeks which also coincides with Hazel and Pascal's arrival next Saturday. So I must get on and at least tidy up and get the sheets off the line. Happy Easter to all of you who celebrate it and I have managed to find two cream eggs for tomorrow so all is well!

"Would you like to come and tell a story?"