Boiling in Borneo and busting it over to Bali

So not quite as successful with the title of this one but you get the jist. Hello! My plans have started to fall by the wayside, unfortunately to the detriment of my bank balance but I am trying not to think about this too much (have spent double my daily budget so far but it can only get cheaper from now on, I am PRAYING).

So I spent a night in KL, before flying to Kuching in Borneo. I ended up going with one of the Irish guys from the Perhentians (Alan), which was a very nice turn of events indeed. We stayed in a very nice hostel, and spent a few days wandering round the town looking for meat on skewers, visiting a marvellous market with pets for sale, looking around some very rubbish museums (one of the highlights was a tiny photograph of a bike with the caption: 'bicycles are still used in Sarawak today'), and lying down to sleep at every possible opportunity (outside museums, on a square of grass surrounded by roads, on steps next to fountains - I blame the heat). Also went to an Orangutan rehabilitation centre where the orangutans are semi wild, and do their own thing most of the time but come along at feeding time for tourists to gawp at. I enjoyed that a lot and it was cheap! The entry fee was about 60p. We then waited for about an hour and a half for the return bus to turn up, before a kind man in a mini van told us we were waiting in the wrong place and drove us about a mile down the road to the right place. That was good, especially as the bus stop was by a market where we were able to buy more meat on skewers. Also visited Bako national park and spent a night there. Did a couple of treks, including one that led to a very beautiful secluded beach. Had a little swim in the sea and when I came back some monkeys had chucked my stuff around but luckily all they took was an empty food bag. I was supposed to head up to Kota Kinabalu, but unfortunately I somehow failed to organise myself properly to do that. Probably should have done that since I had a flight booked out of there, but never mind. I then made an impulse decision to go with Alan to Bali, where he was meeting his friends I met on the Perhentians. Trying not to think about the cost of that. We flew to Bali and then the next day got a slow boat and then a mini van and then another boat to an island called Gili Trawangan. The whole journey took about 8 hours. Gili T was very beautiful and relaxing. I was quite charmed by the little horse drawn carts jangling around the island all day long. Ate lots of good fish and delicious Gili Gelato, drank lots of local rum and generally had a relaxing old time. The accommodation was fairly disgusting (the toilet only flushed if you filled the cistern up with the shower first, there was no sink and they didn't bother to empty the bathroom bin before I arrived) but it only cost me 3.50 a night so I just tried not to spend too much time there.

After the Gilis we headed back to Bali. We splashed out on the fast boat for that as it only took an hour instead of 8 but it was awful. We were sat near the back and the fumes from the 5 engines, lack of fresh air and the ridiculously bumpy journey left me feeling terrible. We spent the last couple of nights in Kuta as it was near the airport. Kuta has a bit of a bad rep (I think it's like Ibiza for Australians) but I thought it was ok. Lots of surfers and market stalls, and a beach for me to lie on so I was happy. Went out in the evening for one of the guy's bdays and found a place that did free drinks between 10 and 11 and had free food. Took advantage of that!

Am now back in KL for the fourth time, and am having a day of catching up on emails. Parted ways with the Irish guys this morning after 3 hours sleep and got a 6am flight. I'm getting two buses to Thailand tonight at 9pm. The whole thing will probably take about 24 hours. I will stock up on snacks after the last hungry bus journey. Looking forward to Thailand though.

Send more word from blighty and from your fine selves.

Lots of love xxxxd