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Kuching>Orang utan > Bako

Weather? 7am in the morning, 73 degrees, 100% humidity [I'm not making this up, saw it on weather.com]. After a nice sleep, we wandered around Kuching, had some coffee at an outdoor market with some locals and a few rats, and then headed to Semenggoh Wildlife Center. The main attraction was getting to see Orang Utans come in from the rainforest for feeding at the rehab center. We were not disappointed, and were able to see at least 10, with a few more high up in the treetops. While these animals were once native throughout much of southeast Asia, now they only live on the island of Borneo and one other island [which unfortunately I cannot remember, java?]

We came back to the hostel exhausted, decided to take a "nap" for a bit, and then woke up this morning at 6am! In really pushing ourselves to plan ahead, we actually have the next three nights booked. So out of character! Off the Bako National Park for one night and two days.

Singapore>Johor Bahru> Kuching

Just arrived in Kuching a few hours ago, after a long mix of subway rides out of Singapore city to the top of Singapore country, then take a bus 10 minutes, go through immigration out of Singapore, get back on a new bus for five minutes, and then off again to go through Malaysia immigration. Then, burst into Johor Bahru, greeted with culture shock....going from ultra-clean and perhaps sterile Singapore to much chaotic. We were greeted every 10 minutes by street vendors trying to sell us pirated versions of American music and movies. After a quick lunch at a islamic indian open-air restaurant, off again to grab an Air Asia flight to Borneo, landing in Kuching. This will be our launching pad into multiple verdant National Parks. Very tired, off to bed at our hostel. Bye for now...



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Little India, Little China, Little Singapore

Hi there from the other side of the world. Settling into our first full day in Singapore by walking through Little India. We hit the ground running yesterday, staved off jetlag, and made some tracks around Singapore.

Hit Chinatown, considered the heart of Singapore. Also, started out our post-airport day with afternoon tea at Raffles Hotel, which continues to have strong links to Singapore's British colonial past. Everything is very walkable and clean. Singapore is also notorious for their severe laws [death penalty for drug trafficing, 10 yr to life for same-sex sex]. We almost fell on the wrong side of the law by nearly [warning, next part is not safe for kids and at work] drinking a bottled 100% juice drink on the subway [sorry for all of you out there that just a lost respect for us :)]. Anyway, just as I was about to crack it open, noticed that it would have been a $500 fine. close one! Anyway, in the interest of being parsimonius, here are our top list of surprises so far-

1. Although Singapore is very strict, and in turn incredibly clean and safe, we have seen no police since we left the airport.
2. Since people drive here on the left, we are also regularly reminded to pass on the sidewalk to the left.
3. Christmas decorations are everywhere, including the plane on the way here! There's huge christmas trees, tinsel, and "merry christmas" everywhere, for a place that is hardly Christian-dominant.
4. After Thailand, I thought I could take spicy food with the best of them. I met my match in Sichuan pepper, which blew me away! It numbed out my mouth, drew me to my knees, and caused me to desperately reach for another pull from my Tiger [singapore beer]. Apparently the Chinese use it in every meal, to help them tolerate the spicy foods, but I thought the medicine was worse than the illness.

Anyway, also went to an amazing hindu temple last night, took copious pictures while Darcy got a much-needed massage. We are in Little India now, just toured an amazing mosque. Off into the streets.....

The Eagle Has Landed in Singapore

We just got off the plane in Singapore, and are partaking in some free internet access in the airport. It's now Monday at noon. Trust me, once you get to Monday, it's going to be awesome.



The flights were uneventful and pleasant enough. We had a 14 hr flight to Hong Kong from San Fran, and then a three hour flight to Singapore from HK. We heard that Singapore Airlines were very nice, and they did not disappoint. The in-flight movie service was on-demand, and you could pause/rewind movies. The food was good for airline food, and relatively comfortable for sleeping in a sitting position.



Anyway, we are off the find our hostel, and then down a few Singapore Slings at Raffles. I'll send links of things we do later, this computer won't let me. Cheers! Darcy and Ryan

Watch this Space

Hi there, we will be posting updates from our trip to Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. Check back often!