Borneo Day 1

We arrived at Perth International Airport at 9pm for a 12.45 departure. The plane was delayed so we had a chance to spend some time in the Malaysia Airline Lounge. It was a pretty small lounge but the service was good and the bar was adequate but the selection of food was limited. To get access you need to pay $40 or be a One World Emerald or Saphire.
After a 6 hour flight with Malaysian Airlines we were greeted by our tour guide who drove us to Le Meridean hotel.
Borneo is part of 3 countries (Malaysia, Indonesia & Brunei) Head hunters or warriors roamed Borneo for many years before the English changed this and tuned many locals into Christians.
When we arrived at the hotel I noticed that it was right on the beach. The view was interesting with a big shed for the night markets and old boats chugging by. Not what I would call a beach.
Breakfast at the hotel was buffet. Would probably have been better if we were earlier or we only picked dishes that were fresh. The memorable thing was an eye opener. Mine was a mango and chilli shot.
We had a bit of time to organise ourselves before visiting the Orang Utans at Rasa Ria Nature Reserve within the Shangrala Resort. I guess it is a must see but not too different to the zoo.
On the way back we drove through a hawkers area. Our guide told us that he normally does not take tourists there so I insisted that we go. I tried BBQ Coconut (Kelapa Bakar) which is a medicine used by the locals to reduce cholesterol. I also tried one uncooked but it was not as nice. It was so nice that I could have one of these every day. I also had coconut pudding that was mixed with gelatine. It was amazing. The last thing we had was Tapioca cracker with honey and coconut sugar. Was like a natural chip.
It was a very humid day so I went back to the hotel at about 4.30pm to refresh myself before heading off for dinner at Kampung Nelayan (meaning village seafood). They had traditional Borneo tribal dancers performing. This is the only restaurant that still does this so worth a visit.
For dinner we had Chilli Soft Shell Crab. It was ok but not mind blowing. We also had Ostrich in black bean sauce. Don’t think I have ever had Ostrich before and it was nice. A bit like beef. We then had Chicken in Pandan leaf. It was not my thing. Too many flavours for me. The Fish was a local freshwater fish cooked in sweet & sour sauce. It had a very distinctive fishy taste. My fav dish was the Saba vegetables in oyster and garlic sauce. We also had some local Prawns but lets face it. Prawns are prawns. We did however use Chinese tea & lime to clean hands.
Looking forward to day 2 of our journey.
To keep following the blog on Borneo go to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7