Posts Tagged ‘10km from Kalabakan’

Day 360. 98km. 10km from Kalabakan to Tawau

Posted: May 4, 2016 in Cycling, Malaysia
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‘Do you want this? My chicken is too spicy?’ Will pushed his meal towards Clement to eat.
‘It’s fish,’ replied Clement.
Will blushed. In the last week he has mistaken both pork and now fish for chicken. They must have interesting chickens in Ireland.

Endless palm plantations

Endless palm plantations

Today I passed 32000km from Eindhoven. I’m getting dangerously near the end..

32000km

32000km

Palm plantations, palm plantations, as far as the eye can see. Covering the rolling hills to eternity. The road remained challengingly up and down until 30km before Tawau, so a sweaty affair, cooled off once by a torrential downpour.

Endless palm plantations

Endless palm plantations

In Tawau it was time for an air-conditioned hotel, and a day off waiting for the boat to Indonesia. Bliss.

Day 359. 47km. Mile 33 Kalabakan – 10km from Kalabakan

Posted: May 3, 2016 in Cycling, Malaysia
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‘If you want to see the endangered species, you need to go to the logging areas,’ he said. ‘There are security guards there, and the poor people can’t poach the wildlife and send to China for medicine.’
Sitting on the balcony looking over the organic farm in the middle of the Borneo forest, we were nearly brought to tears several times. Our time in Borneo never ceases to amaze.

Our lovely host

Our lovely host

We heard of kidnappings and criminality near the Phillipines. We heard of sustainable logging, palm plantations and how they are bringing people out of poverty. We also heard stories of arranged marriages of very young women – personal stories that touch the heart.

Today was also a day of scaling great heights. For me, the modest ascent to a tree house perched at the top of a very tall forest tree. For Clement and Will, the more adventurous climb to the top of a telecom tower.

The tree house

The tree house

View from the top

View from the top

Looking down

Looking down

Clement at the top

Clement at the top

All in all, we didn’t cycle much, but the kilometres done were hot and hilly. We found it getting dark in the middle of the palm oil plantations before the coast, and are sleeping in a plantation village, drenched in sweat in the sweltering heat.