Grand Palace Hotel Miri

... a four bamboo poles with some straw out on the roof with a large amount of ****, rubbish, dogs and chicken surrounding them. The little kids came running out shouting 'Helo' and seemed surprised to see tourists but I guess we must have looked strange with our enormous backpacks on in the forest! <br>As soon as we got into the town, a local guy offered us a lift back to the junction for only 15RM, we also arrived there in time to catch the bus up to Miri. No ...

Miri was just a stop off point to get to Brunei, so we were only here for one night, but oh what a night. We started to realize that Chelsey is becoming a star-studded attraction, which quickly got Kevin thinking about new business ideas. Kevin started to get a little depressed as noone wanted to pay any attention to him. <br><br>At first we thought the country ...

... that seemed Ok. I did take a wander around the town and it wasn't as bad as first appeared, all the loacls were really surprised to see a foreigner walking about the place and the ones that spoke english all asked me what i was doing in Sibu. There wasn't to much to see in the town, it was a kind of industrial place with lots of shipping and timber places dotted along the waterfront. I did find a place to grab a beer but didn't stay for to long as people kept staring at me (but not ...

... on a white-knuckle ride across the river. Sights of the royal palace were from some distance, but the Omar Ali Safuddien mosque, complete with gold-plated dome, was pretty impressive, especially with a foreground of stilt-house accommodation much preferred by the locals. Up the river into the mangroves and our first sighting a couple of proboscis monkeys, seen only in Borneo. Strange creatures with a drooping red nose. They are shy and can be difficult to find. Our driver has ...

... no position to negotiate. When we arrived at the hostel Natalja was already there! It was good to catch up again and also we got some tips on Niah Caves from her and a nice English guy whose name we never got (he was a bald, self-confessed reformed football thug!). After a good night's sleep, Niah Caves it was. The hostel did an organised trip, which was actually just a minibus taxi that waited around at the caves and took us back again. We went with ...

... malheur et donc il a été très enmerdé. (En fait, tout ca c'est le guide qui le traduisait au fur et à mesure). Et on te dit qu'il y a une règle en principe dans ce pays, il faut offrir quelque chose a celui qui t'a rendu l'argent. Et du coup tout le monde te regarde, genre t'as pas respecté la règle. Sympa en plein milieu du mariage. Et toi, t'es comme un con, t'as aucune idée de combien il faut donner et à quel moment. Et en plus, après le gars ...

... desk in Kuching told us that there was one at 12:45. We got there only to find out from a helpful local that there wasn't another ferry and that we had been misinformed. The helpful local's name was Chong and he drove us to the bus terminal where we bussed instead of boated our way to Sibu. We are very much enjoying our time in Malaysia. Everything is so easy because the prices are cheap and the locals are so helpful and kind. Borneo is a very lovely place.

... It was a wonderful water trip for us as we were able to see how the locals actually live along the riverside. Wind Cave: After about 20 minutes, we reached the enchanting Wind Cave, nestled at the end of the tranquil dark green river. Here, ultra huge and tall trees greeted us and there were many tables and chairs set up for visitors to rest before the steep climb up to the cave. We ascended up the cave after some snacks ...

... five days trekking in the jungle on what's known as the headhunters' trail. So no contact for a bit. Miri's a nice enough city, with the usual friendly Malaysian types. We've even been recognised from the paper by a friendly food stall owner who then insisted on taking us back into town after dark from the beach for no money. This is not something I remember from other trips to Asia! The food at the beach ...