Kota Kinabalu is the capitol of the Malaysian State of Sabah. It was our first stop on a near 2 month stay in Borneo. We spent 10 days (4 - 14 Jan) and Kris had plenty of work to do so I got out and played. I spent 2 full days (6 dives) around the islands that form the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park located just off shore. The islands are a popular local dive spot and a big tourist attraction for all the pale westerners to turn themselves into crispy critters on the beach. The viz was 10 - 15m and the water around 27oC. I saw pipefish, giant cuttle fish, green sea turtle and lionfish among the highlights. I had noted the bad smell of my wetty, the poor viz and coral bleaching & rubble but figured the recent and regular flooding of the rivers and high water temperatures were perhaps to blame. I found out later the viz was litterally shit: the city has a bad sewage system so it all floats straight out past the islands! Hmmm I feel for the divers that work there every day.
Speaking of sewage the Malay toilet (or Tandas) can't be left without special mention. My first visit to a pulic loo left me in a total state of shock. This link http://puffergal.tripod.com/2004/250104.html explains it all beautifully but basically I paid my entry fee and was confronted with a dunny set in the ground and a hose to clean off with so without any tissues in my bag I did my best: overspray is inevitable for the unpracticed (even after growing up in the bush) drip dried and used the hose to wash my feet!
My other KK activity was to climb Mount Kinabalu. This was something we both wanted to do but with time running short and limited booking it conspired that Kris stayed in KK and I did the climb without him. I hooked up with a nice dutch couple and a pair of swedish brothers my age. Both pairs were on a big backpacking journeys. The dutch couple were fitness instructors and the brothers were just mad and I let them convince me into taking the harder Mesilau trail with them as a guide is compulsory and it is cheaper to hire one as a group. WELL it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life and that is no exaggeration. The total treck is 20km and starts at around 1800m climbing up to 4100m. The mesilau trail is more recent and is mainly used by researchers with only 150 tourists passing on it a month compared to about the same figure daily on the regular track. It was very beautiful (mountain squirrels, great views and pitcher plants a plenty) and worth the long steep climb. It rained the entire time and went from a balmy 25oC at the start to 10oC when we reached the upper camp for dinner and a brief sleep before getting up at 2am to start the climb to Low's Peak to be there for sunrise. It was a grey and rainy affair but as you can see I was just so elated to have made it up there it didn't matter! My legs were so exhausted and I had a cold so I spent our last couple of days in KK watching midday movies and limping around (actually barely moving!) but it was nice to do nothing for a little while!

Me and Pa :oPYes I am procrastinating... I am supposed to be putting together a talk but came across this little gem and couldn't resist sharing it! This was taken nearly 5 years ago at Witton Bluff where my family were doing the Honours thing with me collecting my favourite featherstar. Dad and I learnt to dive together earlier that year and now he is kicking my ass gradually working towards his dive master cert.
Now I've had my little journey back in time at the expense of you all (just call me Grandma). Thanksgiving was a treat... our hosts were lovely and the kids hyperactive and we stuffed ourselves as expected with turkey, sweet potato, beans, stuffing, cranberry sauce etc. The main thing that stands out to me with thanksgiving is the american penchant to eat desert as part of dinner and then have it again after. From my thanksgiving experiences it has mainly been jelly and cream (yes it goes on the plate between your meat and mash!) but at the Wilson's I experienced a dish made of cream, marshmallows, mandarin, pineapple and coconut. It was great... but not with the green beans and onion thank you!

Gimme coffee, Gimme Starbucks!!

Ahhh starbucks! A phenomenon we have all heard of but the experience is something to behold. It is such a natural part of life here that I forget to mention it to people but having just had my fix I am feeling inspired.
Starbucks coffee is, I believe the life blood of America, literally. This liquid flows through the veins of every american; when I go for a walk before noon most people I pass are gripping their Starbucks cup as if it is the only thing that will get them through the day. Ranging from Tall (a mug) to Venti (a bucket) with any variation you could wish for. The autumn flavour has included the 'pumpkin spice latte' and tonight with Christmas on it's way we were greeted with gingerbread, egg nog, mint and other colourful flavours of the season. Kris, who has never been a coffee drinker (and still isn't outside of Starbucks) will now suggest grabbing a coffee and now he has discovered the 'venti vanilla latte' there is no going back. This is still an occasional treat for us as the smallest coffee starts at $3.50, but they know they have people hooked! A revelation Kris and I had when we were in NYC a couple of weeks ago was that Starbucks has taken over McDonalds in being one of the few stores you find on EVERY block. In fact McDonalds seems to be ousted from this niche entirely! But the beauty of Starbucks is that the stores are not such an eye sore and they practice environmentally and economically friendly business. Now I am ever the skeptic but unlike any other store I have been into here they recycle, use recycled products and use fair trade products which I believe is part of their success but maybe it is mostly just their DAMN GOOD COFFEE!

 

We went on a brief camping trip to Assateague Island this weekend with our good friend Lawson. After living in Alaska for a year Lawson has just moved to DC driving the whole way (note the number plates which are a great source of pride, and conversation!). Assateague is a sand barrier Island that runs along the coast from MD to VA and is famous for its wild ponies. Along with the ponies we discovered that (along side the native white-tail) they have the japanese Sika deer imported by the scouts (exactly... what the f&*@???) but they are now a great alternative for hunters. We missed spotting the rare fox squirrels but had a lovely walk in the rain today and saw the ponies. The camping was thankfully dry and we had a fire with toasted marshmallows and went to sleep to the sound of sea and horses... lovely!

These are Bambi's friends, the sika... taking one for the team!

 

Assateague Island

 

Oh! Bambi!

 

My first ever carved pumpkin! I scooped, designed and carved this baby myself. It was a messy, fun and rewarding experience. Thanks to the Kays family who are gearing up for their annual pumpkin carving party tomorrow.

We were in Philadelphia before we came to Albany. Philly is cool and we had a great time in the museum and with friends there. The museum is one of the oldest in the country and the mammal collection is in the basement. There are great things in the collection and it is like working in a wine cellar - I loved it! Kris got a cap there with a dinosaur on and he looks very boyish in it :oP The traditional food (besides the cream cheese!) is a 'cheese steak' which is basically a steak sandwich. Unfortunately we did not try this delicacy but the american diet has no shortage of such cheese filled, artery hardening, heart attack inducing cuisine I didn't feel I was missing too much!
Tomorrow we are off to NYC to visit our good friends Conan and Ellie and spend a couple of days in the vast collections of the American museum... I love to visit NYC!

No, we are not standing in front of a picture we are in a cave under a waterfall with Albany and the autumnal woods in the backgr.ound 

These colourful warty specimens are amazing! 

A gourd totem at the Indian Ladder Farm (and apple orchard) 

Oh my gord!!

Ok, so I haven't looked at bebo for a while so I thought I'd give this a go. The northern autumn is really celebrated here and in a big was as with everything else in the US. There are giant orange pumpkins a plenty, banners on houses with autumn themes, decorative corns and gourds and squash of all shapes and sizes. Halloween is only a few days off and every kid is getting a costume and pumpkins are being carved. Here is a taste of the frenzy from Albany NY...