Of all the places we were going to on this trip, I think Borneo excited us more than any place else, so with our time running short we decided to cut out some places we were planning on seeing in mainland Malaysia and go directly to Borneo. We were on the bus from Tioman to KL in the hopes that once we got to the capital we would find an internet café and book some cheap tickets to Kuching for the following day. We were just an hour or so away from KL when the bus started having problems and it pulled into a petrol station. There was a broken air hose and we were told that it would take at least one hour to fix it. We knew we were close to the airport, which is 70 km south of KL, so we jumped off the bus, into a taxi, and less than an hour later, we had two tickets on an Air Asia flight to Kuching. We had a 4-hour wait (which we used at the internet kiosk in Burger King) and after a 2-hour flight, we landed in Borneo.

Borneo. The name alone conjures up images of deep dark jungles teeming with all manner of insects and, judging by the number of mosquitoes at baggage claim, it was going to be even worse than expected. Luckily for me, the mosquitoes were just looking for fresh blood and after one bite they left me alone. It must have been a mass exodus of mosquitoes at the airport as thankfully they have not been a problem since then. Admittedly, we were not staying in places where you expect too many mosquitoes as we were both suffering from ear infections and decided to go to Damai Beach and relax for a while.

Once again I was able to dig into my pool of Holiday Inn points and we stayed 3 nights at the Holiday Inn Resort Damai Lagoon (50 km north of Kuching), but it was tough since we were having ear issues and we could not put our heads in the water. The first 2 days we did not even go into the pool, but on the 3rd day we decided to risk it as it was quite warm and the pool was so tempting. After the second day, we decided to talk to the nurse at the resort and she recommended that we see a specialist, but that is its own story.

After 3 days recovering at the beach, we were still not 100% so we booked another 3 nights at the HI Resort Damai Beach, right next door to the Damai Lagoon. Damai Beach was having a promotion so I was able to use fewer points and it was actually a nicer resort. In Damai Beach we wasted no time before hopping in the hilltop pool, which was very quiet and from the pool we could look out over the ocean and watch the birds of prey live up to their name. The resort also had a mini-golf course where Amie grudgingly played a round with me and I must admit it was not great as some on the holes had warped boards so they were almost impossible to play. Not being quitters though, we struggled on. What else were we going to do in the middle of the day when it’s nearly 100 degrees? I suppose we could have spent the day by the swim up bar in the pool like we did the day before, but boy that’s tough work.

It was nice to kick back for a few days where we could stay up all night watching soccer or the NBA playoffs on ESPN and then sleep in and take turns making the tea in the mornings like we do back home. Meals at both Damai resorts were always a little unpredictable as you never knew how long it would take unless you got the buffet, which we resisted until the last day when they had the Headhunters’ BBQ and we were made to wear traditional hats made from banana leaves. At the BBQ, Amie got to try a durian while I stuck to the usual. This was not what we had planned and it was definitely not the Borneo we had expected but on the road you take what comes and make the best of it. Yes, we wanted wild animals and jungles but I’m sure they are right around the corner.