Malaysia (March 2008)
Although I had been very careful not to be attacked by pesky leeches, I found one on my right forearm! I wondered if it had climbed up the hiking pole. So, I ended up involuntarily donating blood at the "Danum Blood Clinic'! We continued climbing through the forest:
We soon reached the ancient burial ground - almost vertical cliff with many caves - probably excavated by man. Because of the heavy early morning fog, the site looked even more sacred/mysterious. There was a coffin made of hollowed-out log.
The guide told me that it was customary to place a blowpipe inside the coffin. I climbed up a steep wooden ladder to a ledge on the cliff to find parts of human skeleton.
Because of the thick fog I could not enjoy supposedly the magnificent views from the lookout point! That was very disappointing. On the way back, we made s short side trip to Jacuzzi Pool, a small pond with a waterfall.
We then rushed back to the lodge where everyone else was getting ready to depart. I took a quick shower, making sure that there were no other leech enjoying my blood! I packed the belongings and joined the rest of the group to say good-bye to Danum Valley.
We took the same logging road back to Lahad Datu. Again, we were passed by many logging trucks, carrying valuable logs.
With all the traffic and noise, there wasn't any wildlife near the road, but we got to see a butt end of a pig-tailed macaque.
We soon reached the ancient burial ground - almost vertical cliff with many caves - probably excavated by man. Because of the heavy early morning fog, the site looked even more sacred/mysterious. There was a coffin made of hollowed-out log.
The guide told me that it was customary to place a blowpipe inside the coffin. I climbed up a steep wooden ladder to a ledge on the cliff to find parts of human skeleton.
Because of the thick fog I could not enjoy supposedly the magnificent views from the lookout point! That was very disappointing. On the way back, we made s short side trip to Jacuzzi Pool, a small pond with a waterfall.
We then rushed back to the lodge where everyone else was getting ready to depart. I took a quick shower, making sure that there were no other leech enjoying my blood! I packed the belongings and joined the rest of the group to say good-bye to Danum Valley.
We took the same logging road back to Lahad Datu. Again, we were passed by many logging trucks, carrying valuable logs.
With all the traffic and noise, there wasn't any wildlife near the road, but we got to see a butt end of a pig-tailed macaque.
After a 2-hour ride, we reached the Lahad Datu Airport, a very small airport, and waited along with many local passengers for our flight back to Kota Kinabalu. A 50-minute flight to Kota Kinabalu took us pretty much across Sabah from the southeast coast to the northwest coast. On the aircraft there was a pouch for Muslim Prayer Leaflet. I was curious to examine the leaflet, but all had been taken.
Even without assistance from Muslim Prayer, we reached Kota Kinabalu International Airport, a large airport, without any incident. As we had a couple of hours before our flight to Kuala Lumpur, we explored the modern airport and had a quick meal.
Another short flight brought us to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
We were spending our final night in Malaysia at Pan Pacific Hotel that is directly accessible from the airport via a sky bridge.
We were so glad to be able to check in and freshen up after such a long travel day! As everyone else was leaving on a mid-afternoon flight next day back to Los Angeles and I was taking a midnight flight next day to Narita and then to San Francisco, I exchanged a fond farewell with everyone after the dinner at the hotel.
Day 16:
I slept in a bit, but I took a train to downtown Kuala Lumpur in the morning to make sure that I would have an opportunity to visit the Skybridge at Petronus Twin Towers.
After enjoying the sights and sounds of Kuala Lumpur City Center for the last time, I returned to the hotel at the airport and got ready for my midnight flight to Narita, Japan.
Day 17:
The Japan Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur arrived at NRT early in the morning. Since my flight back to SFO from NRT was in the late afternoon, I had a day room reserved at a hotel within the airport complex. (Since I had visited Japan on numerous occasions, there was no need to stop over - especially on a long trip like this one.)
The overnight flight from NRT to SFO was uneventful, and I slept well as I had a business class seat. It was another very memorable tour with so many varied activities. I especially enjoyed scaling the summit of Mt. Kinabalu!
Please visit the Photo Galleries and Video Galleries for more photo and videos from this trip as well as from other trips.
Even without assistance from Muslim Prayer, we reached Kota Kinabalu International Airport, a large airport, without any incident. As we had a couple of hours before our flight to Kuala Lumpur, we explored the modern airport and had a quick meal.
Another short flight brought us to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
We were spending our final night in Malaysia at Pan Pacific Hotel that is directly accessible from the airport via a sky bridge.
We were so glad to be able to check in and freshen up after such a long travel day! As everyone else was leaving on a mid-afternoon flight next day back to Los Angeles and I was taking a midnight flight next day to Narita and then to San Francisco, I exchanged a fond farewell with everyone after the dinner at the hotel.
Day 16:
I slept in a bit, but I took a train to downtown Kuala Lumpur in the morning to make sure that I would have an opportunity to visit the Skybridge at Petronus Twin Towers.
After enjoying the sights and sounds of Kuala Lumpur City Center for the last time, I returned to the hotel at the airport and got ready for my midnight flight to Narita, Japan.
Day 17:
The Japan Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur arrived at NRT early in the morning. Since my flight back to SFO from NRT was in the late afternoon, I had a day room reserved at a hotel within the airport complex. (Since I had visited Japan on numerous occasions, there was no need to stop over - especially on a long trip like this one.)
The overnight flight from NRT to SFO was uneventful, and I slept well as I had a business class seat. It was another very memorable tour with so many varied activities. I especially enjoyed scaling the summit of Mt. Kinabalu!
Please visit the Photo Galleries and Video Galleries for more photo and videos from this trip as well as from other trips.
