Learning to Breathe

We have been in the Perhentian Islands for almost a month now and I am finally getting used to the heat (sort of). Or maybe it is now so common that I have given up commenting/complaining about it. Our days have settled into a routine with Justin leaving about 7.30am to go to the dive shop, help set up for the day, dive and learn the dive master skills, while I sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast and spend the day relaxing, reading, writing, and swimming or diving.

Storm coming, Perhential Islands.

I have started my open water dive course which has been fun, if a bit nerve wracking getting used to breathing through a regulator. Learning to breathe underwater is amazing. I am not enjoying learning all the emergency skills but I love the actual diving itself. I even saw a Hawksbill Turtle on my second ever dive. It was so close I could have touched it. There are many small coral reefs around here and so much sea life to see - angle fish, parrot fish, coral fish, clown fish, groupers, damsel fish, fusiliers, sergeant major fish, blue-spotted stingrays, sharks and many many others. I'm even learning the names of the different fish. The coral itself is amazing with huge fans, whip coral, barrel sponges, anemones and massive clams. Sadly I don't have photos of any of these things so you will have to look them up for yourselves if you want to know what they all are!

Justin about to go for a dive.

Still a bit young to dive yet. The dive shop owner's cute son.

Unfortunately diving at the moment is on hold for me. We had to go to the mainland for a money run, as there are no ATMs, banks or eftpos/credit cards on the island and everything is done with cash, and while there I went to a GP as my ears were hurting and it turns out I have an infection in one ear and  blood clot in the other! Until my ears are better I can't put my head under water. So for the next week or two I will be land based and learning to breathe with patience and not get frustrated. I still have one more dive to complete before I am qualified and let loose on the water by myself.

Leaf insect, about as big as my hand.

Instead I have been reading a lot. I have just finished Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel and it's sequel Bring up the bodies. Both books are about Thomas Cromwell's rise to power, Henry VIII and how England became protestant. Both books are very well written and both have won the Man Booker Prize. Yay for kindles and unlimited book carrying ability.

Spotty lizard trying to get in our window.

A small monitor lizard, only about 1m long.

I have also been looking at a lot of wild life. We currently share our room with some ants that trek through our room daily and we have to be careful not to leave clothes in their way otherwise we get bitten when we put the clothes on as Justin found out. We also have at least one gecko in our room, but we don't mine that so much as it eats the mosquitoes. There are many different types of lizards on the island, most of which I can't name but one sort are monitor lizards. Most are about a metre long but there is one that is 2-3 metres long and a foot wide without including it's legs poking out. No one has measured it accurately as no one wants to get too close. And every morning there are two squirrels that run across our balcony and roof finding fruit to eat.

Here are some sunsets:

Exhibit 1.

Exhibit 2.

Exhibit 3.

Finding a Home

After KK we travelled south to Kuching. Kuching used to be a colonial town which was once given to a guy named James Brooke by the Sultan of Brunei for suppressing a rebellion and quelling pirates. Brooke became the Rajah of Sarawak and it was passed down through 2 generations before it became part of the British Empire.

Room for rent, but I'm not sure how to enter the door?

Main Bazar, Kuching.

Kuching itself is a mix of colonial, Chinese, Malay and modern concrete architecture. It has a river running through it, one side has most of the town and the other side is poor housing with many of the houses on stilts.

City side of the river, Kuching.

Other side of the river, Kuching.

There are many different national parks and things to do all within an hour drive from Kuching.

One day we went to Sememggoh Wildlife Centre where they rehabilitate orang-utans back into the wild. They feed the orang-utans twice a day and you can visit during this time. The orang-utans can choose to feed themselves in the large forest or come and get extra food when they want it. We only saw one orang-utan but it was really great. He had massive arms and ate his fruit hanging from one arm while playing.

I'm coming for the food! Semenggoh Wildlife Centre.

Mmmm bananas (with medicine inside).

Just hanging out.

We also went to Bako National Park and spent the night there. The only way to get there is by boat. We went for several walks and saw heaps of butterflies, dragonflies, geckos, bats, really large spiders, macaque monkeys and proboscis monkeys. We also got to see a pit viper, a very dangerous snake. Our guide was an ex-army jungle survival specialist who showed us heaps about the plant life and pointed out carnivorous pitchers plants and other delightful things like natural viagra. Although he got us to chew it before he told us what it was!

A very venomous pit viper, Bako National Park.

It was recommended to us that we go to the Perhentian Islands to do some diving, so after a day of endless taxis, planes, buses and boats we made it to the islands. They are beautiful but really hot! Anyway Justin has just started doing his dive masters course which takes about 4-6 weeks and I want to learn to dive too so we have settled here for the next month or so.

Pitchers plant, Bako National Park.

We started off in a nice, clean, cheap bungalow away from the water that only had a fan but today we have moved to another place that has air conditioning as it is super hot during the day. The temperatures are 33-34 degrees C but with the humidity it feels like it is in the high 30s. Everything gets covered in sweat as soon as the sun is up and I am getting sunburnt even with lots of sunscreen on. This new place has a great view of the water and some islands, but the room also comes with ants and a gecko. Ah the joys of the jungle.

Geckos on the ceiling, Perhentian Islands.

The sea life here is very abundant, and sharks and turtle sightings are common. Although I haven’t seen those yet, I have seen heaps of fish while snorkelling. So many it is hard to describe. They come right up to you if you are still and peer at you trying to fight out what exactly you are. Justin also saw a snake! Not in the water, but on the path. I start my open water dive course in a few days so will update you all later.

A few more photos from Bako National Park:

The sand comes in and kills the trees.

Hermit crab.

Proboscis monkeys with their long large noses.

Macaques with a baby that is less than 4 months old (they turn grey at 4 months).