Eight hours later and we were back in the Northern Hemisphere for the first time since leaving and touched down at Singapore Changi Airport. This was around 9.30pm and we had booked ourselves on the next flight to Borneo... this however wasn't until midday the following day. A little prior research had told us that Changi airport had won the 'Golden Bed Airport' award every year since 2006, meaning its been voted the best airport to catch forty winks in. It certainly didn't disappoint as we bedded down on some sleeper beds for the night, got a foot massage, checked out the gardens... cactus, sunflower, butterfly, koi... it goes on, and messed about in the entertainment zone. Skip the duty free there's even a free cinema in the airport, plenty to do, and the ideal place to pass half a day if transiting. Sure Singapore city is nice but we'll be there on the way back so plenty of time to see the city at a later date.
So on to our next destination, Kuching, capital of the Malaysian state of Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, and known affectionately as 'Cat City'. Kuching is the biggest city in Borneo, but despite this it's still pretty easy to get around the place on foot, if you can stand the heat! We're using Kuching mainly as base to explore the nearby sights and national parks. There is however plenty to see and do in town. When it was too hot to bear outside we hid away in the Sarawak Museum which gives a great overview of the history of the state and the short history of Malaysia, the country will be celebrating their 50th year next summer. The waterfront, dominated by the golden domed municipal building, and the river which can only be crossed by a small river taxi give the city a nice quality, especially at sunset. We also took a stroll through Chinatown, along India Street, and around the very large Sunday Market. Although largely a produce market, you can buy almost anything from over 1,300 vendors, ranging from the smallest goldfish to live clucking chickens.
We also managed to catch the TV cameras from Kuala Lumpur as they were filming Malaysian Masterchef, the winners of which will go to KL for finals. It can't be an easy decision for the judges to make, as the food that we are eating here has all been superb. The temperatures are certainly rising from what we have been eating elsewhere on our travels but the flavour and freshness is a nice change from our own home cooked pasta that we were living off in Australia and New Zealand. At an average price of 5MYR (£1) per meal it's a welcome relief, and the cheapest place we've been to yet.
Two days into our stay at Borneo marked a first for us. Despite celebrating Christmas, New Year, Easter and a multitude of local festivals on the road, this was our first birthday on the road. Being half a world away from family and friends in Europe we decided to celebrate Geraldines birthday by overnighting at Bako National Park. Positioned on a headland peninsular jutting out in to the South China Sea, the park is only accessible via boat, where on arrival at low tide you need to jump out into the water and wade ashore to the beach.
Bako is home to all sorts of wildlife. The very cheeky long tailed macaque monkeys are ever present and great fun to watch as they're always up to mischief. We were lucky enough to watch a family of them grooming right in front of us on one of the walkways, a real David Attenborough moment (you can check it out here). On the second day we were fortunate to spot the much shyer (and oddly shaped nose) probiscus monkeys. We also spotted the bearded borneo pig, a flying squirrel, an ant superhighway and a fare few lizards.
From Bako we made our way back to Kuching, we've got ourselves a nice double room with (much needed) AirCon, internet, and breakfast for less than the cost of a small bottle of beer in Australia. This is what we've been waiting for...
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