Borneo Blog :: tarap, durian, coconut milk

Today has been epic! 

I wanted to buy a cheap tarap as a last goodbye to this amazing fruit, so Des took me to Dongonggon Tamu on his motorcycle. On the way he took a detour to a different market near Cyber City apartments close to KK airport. 

This market did not have tarap, but it had an incredible coconut milking machine! I say milk, but it was thick like cream. Oh so good. I got a 500g bag but only drank half as I was already still full from breakfast (my new favourite avocado, coconut oil and soaked walnuts). 

I put the rest in the fridge when I got back but after checking it a few hours later it has turned sour! Seriously the fridge in this hostel is absolutely rubbish at keeping milk fresh! 

So after this we went to Dongonggon and I was so disappointed to find that the tarap was more expensive than what I found in KK the previous day... However, I did find a lady selling just 1 for 3 ringgit. It's not the cheapest I've paid but it was still cheap in my opinion. It isn't ripe until tomorrow. 

As the tarap has to wait until tomorrow I decided today would be my final durian in Sabah. I had only planned on getting one, but as I'm addicted I ended up buying 4... I got a tray labeled as Musang king, but if it was it was over ripe. It didn't taste as amazing as I expected based on other people's reviews... And so I bought 3 wild durian. One after the other of course, after each one I said "OK this is the last" but it is by far my favourite durian I've ever tried so I had to eat until I was 100% completely sure I couldn't eat any more. 

I feel good though, I definitely did not over do it like in Ranau. 

Then to top off the day nicely I had a chat with my Mum :) it's been a long time since we talked, mainly because she works and I'm 8 hours ahead of the UK. 

Borneo Blog :: learning Malay at a coconut stand

I spent a lot of time at the coconut stand. I have been going mainly to eat the thick fatty coconut meat instead of drinking the water and this is the best place to go for that. 

Although they don't speak much English we can still converse. I was being taught descriptive words because there are a lot of Americans in town. It turns out they're in the military on a ship and have come to drink beer and party.. 

The reason I was learning descriptive words is because every time a western man walks past the lady says to me "wow, look at him, strong!". People here seem to think I'm after a husband. So I played along. From that moment we were pointing out tall men (tinggi), short men (rendah), bald men (botak), etc. It was definitely a fun way to learn Malay. However, that's really the only thing I can say (as well as some pleasantries of course). 

I was asked to help out sell snacks, but it was so quiet... I shouted over to many Americans to come for a coconut but they either declined (for beer) or ignored my call. 

At least I got to spend more time with this family, who are always smiling and willing to chat. I keep being invited to stay at their house but I politely decline everytime. They're Muslim and I don't think my Western dress would be appropriate... 

Borneo Blog :: KK

Where all the magic happens... 

I always lack confidence about my decision to move on to another place and I definitely felt that returning from Ranau to Kota Kinabalu. But as soon as I got on my bike and cycled down familiar roads I was happy. To feel the hot sun on my bare legs and the sea breeze brush past my face was incredible and it made me realise that I actually missed it. 

With no accommodation booked I didn't let that stop me stopping next to the sea and enjoying a tasty tarap from Ranau. It was an amazing meal sat by the rocks hearing the waves crash and seeing the ships in the distance. I love KK. It's a city, yet there's nature all around. 

My favourite things about KK are the modern amenities of a city (mall, cinema, etc) and the close proximity of the sea, beach, parks. It's a great place to be and I'd say it caters to everyone. Especially if you love karaoke hahaha 

I also like that I can speak as much English as I want and be understood. I'm terribly lazy learning languages but due to the heavy influences of the English here from the wars it's a great place to come. 

Borneo Blog :: cover up with a hijab

Today I did something I never thought I'd do, inspired by a lady I met in Thailand last year I decided that I would cover up my body including my hair. 

After almost experiencing a sexual assault in Kota Kinabalu it made sense to try it and although I felt silly it felt empowering. However, the first few comments were not what I expected. I did this to almost blend in, to go unnoticed and be left alone, but as soon as I reached the market I heard people heckling "oh my god, beautiful!" 

Personally I felt ugly because sometimes I think my hair is what makes me pretty being golden blonde and all, but that wasn't the point! I didn't want people to make a fuss but of course a white woman wearing a hijab is going to generate attention. 

As I walked around to the rear of the market, where locals come and sell their produce, I had lots of stares, smiles, giggles, etc. I think perhaps one or two people talked about me in a negative tone but I've no idea what they said because I don't speak the language! 

One lady selling flowers came over to talk to me whilst I ate a really good papaya, she thought I was a local until she saw my face and then she was excited to practice her English. She very kindly gave me her English-Malay book because she thinks I should learn Malay. My dedication to languages is appalling but I do like this country and will probably visit regularly so it's only right to at least try! 

So after the market I went home and stayed home for the rest of the day. It was the hottest, clearest day today so I couldn't stand the heat in the clothes and hijab. I took it off around 3pm because I was just sweating profusely. 

It was definitely an interesting experience and I got excited about the different colours, accessories and clothes I could wear, but after posting on my Facebook page and having someone comment about the body I realised I don't want to cover up. Sure I should be more considerate and respectful of other cultures and religions, but I'm all about being natural. Let me quote Dane who replied to my post 

"I see nothing wrong with our bodies as they naturally are, and I think if someone has some sort of problem simply seeing another persons body, then they most likely have mental/emotional issues, or at the very least some strange ideas running through their mind. I think perhaps it would be better for these people to deal with their issues rather than have everyone cover up so that these people can happily ignore their issues and never have to face it... In fact I think covering up is what causes so much of the problem in the first place, it kind of makes a problem out of nothing, if everyone grew up seeing other peoples bodies all the time, it's highly unlikely they would have a problem with it, but because people cover up, then its becomes a big deal if people uncover themselves."

Borneo Blog :: Tai Chi, the other woman, Ranau

I woke up to a message from Des asking me if I wanted to go to the beach with him and his son Ronald (another spooky coincidence, my dad is called Ronald...). I am pretty sure I hadn't even put my socks on and he was at my hostel already! I was feeling rather shaky this morning so I needed to eat something. It's the Sunday market on Gaya Street, right outside my accommodation so I didn't want to break my tradition of tarap for breakfast so I got a huge one! Little did I know Des was buying me durian! 

We drove to the beach and Des showed me some Tai Chi moves after I played in the park of course lol. Ronald was too shy to show me how strong he is on the monkey bars so I just hung upside down from them instead! Eventually he showed me, wow for 7 years old he has great upper body strength! 

Ronald was so shy! 

I met Des' wife and then his in laws, which was slightly awkward given that he just takes me on the back of his motorcycle, leaves me standing alone feeling like I'm his mistress lol awkward... 

After I packed my things Des picked me up in the car and drove me to the bus station! Seriously this man has done a lot for me considering I'm a stranger. After a few snaps he left because his wife's car couldn't start and he was attending a course at 2pm, when my bus was leaving. I waited almost 2 hours. I cannot believe how slow the first hour went but then the rest of the time flew by. 

V for vegan!
When I look at photos I wish I'd have a more stylish appearance... 

The bus took around 2.5 hours and the roads were so windy but the driver drove quite fast around the bends and I felt sick because of it plus the air freshener that he sprayed at the bus terminal in addition to the automatic ones the goes off every 10 minutes. It was so easy to find my new accommodation though. 

The guy who is in the house, Sampson, was so kind when I arrived, he drove me to the market so I didn't get wet cycling and he did a quick tour of the down. Very quick actually because this town is so small!

The durian here is so cheap. I bought one with a slightly red tint on the spikes, it was very pale inside and when I tasted it I almost died... Creamy, check, good flesh to seed ratio, check, tootie fruitie flavour, check. Wow. I was so happy because I only paid 4 ringgit for this beauty. 

And now I am here, sat writing this after munching on some iceberg lettuce, some pretty strange tasting tomatoes and a very crunchy carrot. Someone is practicing their drumming which sounds awful and I have that weird energy feeling I've had all day. As if my chakras have been activated and they're waiting for me to do some deep meditation. So I'm going to floss, brush my teeth, poop and go to bed. Perhaps tonight I will go to the astral side... One can try! 

Borneo Blog :: short and sweet

Today I'm very tired after a sleepless night. The dorm was filled with 4 snorers last night so I ended up having a midnight durian feast and then felt tired enough by 2am to sleep, although I did need to listen to some meditation music in order to mask the sound of the snoring.

Needless to say I had a very late morning, I got up just before 11am and have a very chilled out day. I spent about 1.5 hours at the coconut stall eating a young coconut and a sprouted coconut, then I ate papaya! 

I watched The Wedding Ringer at 3:15pm, which was funny. I love going to the cinema to watch films and as I've mentioned before, to just forget I'm in a foreign country where people stare at me because I'm Western. I don't like being the minority, this is the only downside to travelling outside Europe. 

So before I sign off for the night I hope you take the time to watch my video of the adventure I had with my new friend. This was the best day of my travels so far and I hope I've made a friend for life! 

My amazing motorcycle tour

Borneo Blog :: possibly the best day of my travels so far...

Wow, what a day. I've seen more of Borneo today than I have over the last 17 days! It all started earlier this morning. I had my bikini on ready to go to the islands but I wanted to pick up my t-shirts from the print shop before hand so I started walking over. I hadn't realised it was 9:30am and I'm pretty sure the shop didn't open till 10am so I was summing up whether I should just sit outside and wait or have a coconut instead. 

The coconut won because I didn't have one for breakfast and it's a good job I went else I would not have met Des, aka Chew. He's a 52 year old Malay from Kuala Lumpur and let me tell you I was so shocked when he said he is 52! He looks at least 10 years younger in my opinion. He loved that comment so bought my coconut for me! 

What a man he is. Well travelled, knowledgeable in raja yoga, tai chi and vegetarianism (his mother is 90 and is a thriving vegetarian!). I don't think he is vegetarian though,but when he was with me he only ate fruit and salad (with mayo but still no meat). He is married and has a son, but not biological (this man has some great stories!) 

So we talked for a long time in the morning and instead of going to the islands I'd agreed to meet him back at the coco place at 2pm so he could show me some waterfalls and watch the sunset high in the mountain on his motorcycle. Well of course when someone mentions motorcycle I'm in. I get such a thrill from riding motorcycles, although this was not the case as a child, I was frightened of my uncles bikes. 

Well I was early and had another coconut whilst I waited. I ended up having a conversation with an American stay at home dad. It's crazy how many people I've spoke to recently, my dream definition was right! 

I'm going to cut it short because I need to research the place names and it's way past my bed time so here goes, 8 hours condensed into a few sentences. 

We went up to the mountains, it was gorgeous, so many trees. The buildings looked very Americanised in my opinion. The river was stunning. The first waterfall was lovely but I got attacked by mosquitoes. We ate durian and then left. Onto the second waterfall. I got such a numb bottom on the bike so I started doing butt clenches to try to build up my muscle and natural padding! The second waterfall was also amazing but we didn't stay long. We ascended a really steep hill for the views of KK at sunset. 

When we got to the top there was cloud cover everywhere. We were in a restaurant and had ordered some fruit juice and salads. The juice was delicious by the way, pineapple, orange, celery and apple. I suggested that we both close our eyes and imagined the cloud moving away so that we could see the sun and KK below. After 2 minutes or so I say enough and within 10 minutes the clouds started clearing! We had some amazing views of the city but unfortunately the clouds covered the sunset. I was so amazed that it worked and it solidified my belief that what we think has a lot of power. 

After the food we head back down. Des showed me many places, the tour wasn't over. We went up another steep hill closer to the city, he took me to his shop and showed me his house and then we watched a water fountain show. 

I have had one of the best days of my life. I saw my first firefly and fell in love all over again with motorcycles, KK and the generosity of a stranger. 

I am so blessed to have met Des and I appreciate everything he did for me today. I think he was sent to me to show me that not all men are a waste of space! 

Borneo Blog :: coconut sprout!

Wahoo today I finally had a coconut sprout. I heard about this when I left Thailand in July 2014, I had watched a video by Sweet Natural Living on YouTube and was so amazed that you could eat a sprouted coconut (truthfully I had never even pondered the idea that coconuts sprout, but obviously they do so new trees can grow!) 

I took some video footage but that won't be up on YouTube for a few days. For now check out the pictures. Oh and I didn't take one before the guy smashed into it! 

So the story of where I got the coconut from is like this, I cycled to the wetlands centre about 5km away (up some hills and then down again with some AMAZING scenery) but it was shut. I didn't realise it's closed on Mondays. I decided instead of going back and sitting in the hostel I would stay out in the bike and try to find fruit to forage. Desperate to fulfil this goal and being surrounded by lots of different trees I thought there must be something to pick. 

I cycled around another 2km and found this large lot with coconut palms and banana plants. I looked on the ground and there they were, many coconuts. Some had massive holes in them and the land didn't look like it belonged to anyone in particular so I walked over to the sprouted coconuts, picked 2 up and took them back to my bike. I decided to only take 1 in case they were no good and I had stuff in my basket already. 

When I had finished cycling and taking in the scenery I went to the coconut stand and asked them to cut it open for me. They're so friendly and kind and did it without hesitation. At this point there's a large group of people drinking coconuts and they're pretty much intrigued to see what's happening so there's a lot of attention on my coconut! 

I was sooooo happy when he revealed the spongy interior, the locals here think I'm crazy for asking if I can eat coconuts that have sprouted. If they can understand me they laugh and say "no, no, no its for planting". Well actually it's very common for raw foodists to eat coconut sprouts so I'm right and you're wrong on this one! 

Well this is how it tasted, the outer part was crispy and the inner part was very moist. It was slightly sweet and had a very subtle flavour. I was following the directions as suggested on YouTube to wipe the spongy bit on the oily meat and wow it was incredible. 

Honestly it's flavour was very subtle unlike a durian, but I'm actually appreciating that more than durian. I think I may have lost my appetite for durian because of all of the better tasting fruits like tarap, rollinia, etc and because it can be quite potent and unsettling in my stomach. I tried to Google the nutrition of coconut sprout but I've not found anything yet.  I'm mainly interested in the fat intake. I think I'd rather eat a coconut sprout than durian but I should be careful about the fat intake! 

If you've ever tried coconut sprout what did you think? Do you know the nutritional components of this tasty meal? Do you want to try one now I've (possibly) introduced you to it? 

Let me know your thoughts. 

Check out my YouTube video I posted today about ciku (so many different spellings, chiku, chikoo) 

Borneo Blog :: snoring and Sunday Market

I almost forgot that I need to blog tonight. I'm feeling a bit out of it due to a lack of sleep last night. There's a very overweight (probably classed as morbidly obese) Malay man staying here for work and for the first time he slept in the same room as me. He snored all night and it was so disturbing. I ended up getting out of bed after 1:30am and headed to the kitchen to watch videos. 

I saw that there were people setting up their stalls for the Sunday market around 2 am, that's just way too early! I went back to bed around 4:30am and I seriously hoped I'd sleep, but his snoring was so loud and consistent that I ended up listening to a smooth jazz radio station and falling in and out of sleep. 

What I (re)learned from this experience is that I dislike people who snore, I love the saxophone (it's got a really sexy sound) and I prefer my own room with no one else in it! Right now I could not see myself in a relationship with anyone sharing the same bed or the same room! I much prefer to sleep alone at all times. 

Sunday is my favourite day because of the market right outside the door! So for breakfast I just walked outside, found a coconut seller and then had a look around before deciding what to eat. 

I bought 2 huge bunches of red bananas for 5 ringgit each (under £1) both with 15 fat bananas on, a large tarap for 5 ringgit (this was my breakfast as well as 2 red bananas that broke off in transit), I got 1.5kg of rollinia (sweet heavens my favourite), 3 coconuts, jicama, cucumbers and a butter fruit. I ended up topping up my vegetables and some papaya from Central Market. I spent about 50 ringgit and I'm sorted for a few days! 

Having spoke to people in the market about where the fruit comes from the 2 main places are Ranau and Tenom so I definitely need to explore these places. 

I will keep you updated, but for now I'm leaving it here. I have to floss and brush my teeth (a chore and a bore). 

Goodnight! 

Borneo Blog :: jungle durian and cinema

Yesterday it was suggested to me that if I want to really experience life here I should work for a day. I contemplated that and thought about the fruit and vegetable market. I wouldn't mind spending a day in the life of a fruit seller. Well right now I'm not looking at doing it anytime soon, but it was a great suggestion. 

What actually happened today was a day in the life of KK's entertainment. 

Firstly, I slept till 7am, longer than normal because I over did it by running and cycling yesterday. I woke up with a slight sore throat and feeling like I needed to rest, so I drank almost 1 litre of water in bed before getting up and had coconut water, flesh and then a 3.5kg watermelon for breakfast (this is my routine here). 

I did the usual upload of YouTube video, checking emails, Instagram, etc and I moved rooms in the hostel. (3rd time!) at 11:30 I went out to the market for lunch. I bought loads of bananas for 3 ringgit and then I ended up buying champedak for tomorrow and some packaged jungle durian! 

I didn't photograph the durian but it was so pale it was almost white. 

I sat along the harbour where the night market is and enjoyed the views of the islands and boats. That's when a local man (always a man) came over to interrogate me. It's always about being a single female. Thankfully he was working and got distracted by a group of people so I escaped after finishing my big bag of bananas (I gave him some too, I am friendly but I wish they'd leave me alone). 

So I was going to a new mall. It looks shiny and still being built, but I thought it must have a cinema. I walked around and it was just so empty. I don't see why they would open it up when the majority of the units are empty. Feeling like it was a waste of time I decided to go to the shops opposite. I found a place to get some t-shirt printing done and then I discovered the super mall, Central Plaza I think it's called. 

8 floors up and there's entertainment central. So this is how the locals unwind. Karaoke booths are everywhere, arcade games dominate the floor and a 20 lane bowling alley (I'm pretty sure it was 20) entices you in with special offers (for 15 ringgit I can play 3 games, that's under £1 for a game!). 

Hallelujah. A cinema! I have been wanting to watch a film in a cinema for months. I actually hadn't planned on watching a film today but it was as if the universe had planned it for me, so I ended up buying a ticket to watch Into the Woods. 

The cinema is 5 ringgit on Wednesdays and it's ladies day on Monday so that's 5 ringgit too. I sat in a swanky theatre for less than £1 and saw an amazing film! Oh and I also took my fruit in with me, so I ate the durian and stunk out the room with the champedak hahaha. The film is a must see. It's a wonderful musical and Meryl Streep is phenomenal, such a beautiful witch and her costume was to die for. If I were a witch I'd want to look like her with blue hair! Oh and Johnny Depp was a sexy fox.

So after the cinema I wanted to go home. I looked outside and it was raining like there was a flood from the sky... It's still raining and it's been over 2 hours! I think it started when I got into the film around 2:30pm and the clouds are still covering the sky now. Needless to say I got soaked, but I loved it. There's nothing better than tropical rain. It's times like this that make me feel most alive and most human. 

I prepared my salad when I got home and now I'm sat in bed writing this. All that's left to do is floss, brush teeth, compile my YouTube video for tomorrow and sleep! So on that note I'm ending this post here. 

Thanks for reading and I wish you all a good morning/afternoon/night. 

Borneo Blog :: heaty and cooling foods

I first heard about this when I was in Thailand stuffing my face with durian at the World Durian Festival in Chanthaburi. The locals would tell me that I needed to eat mangosteen after durian because durian is a "heaty" food whereas mangosteen is cooling. 

I disregarded this information as pish tosh thinking it's an old wives tale and I'm Western so it doesn't affect me. Well it turns out that when you let something important slip through your mind it comes back at some point. 

Yesterday I had my first ever "Ionic Detox Foot Therapy" session in KK plaza shopping centre, at 15 ringgit or 10 ringgit to be a lifetime member plus 13 ringgit a session (and after 5 sessions you get 1 free, essentially the membership is free if you pay for 5 sessions anyway) it's a bargain. Apparently it retails at $40-$60 in Australia! 

So you stick your feet in a foot spa that releases ions that go through the 2000 pores in your feet, into your system to your organs, which apparently releases the toxins and free radicals. The water changes colour, depending on your health you may get bubbles and floating residue. 

As you can see the water in mine went slightly orange, lots of dark bubbles and many floating bits. I went into this without any research. I believed everything I read and everything what I was told. When I got home I did some research and a lot of it was negative saying the colour change is from the device (probably true) and it's all about scamming you out of money. I paid tuppence so I disagree with the last comment. 

I was told my cholesterol was normal, my liver function is good (because I sleep from 9pm till 5/6am so my body has enough time to repair itself over night) but my kidneys are a concern, I'm not drinking enough water and my body is very heaty. 

It was back, that heatiness. I decided that it must be significant. I have noticed a lot during my stay in Borneo that when I eat durian I get really hot and I sweat more. It makes sense. Plus she was right about the water intake. I had been listening to other raw foodists talk about water consumption, someone I was living with said we don't need to drink much, then the guys I stayed with in La Palma also said they don't drink as much anymore, so I reduced my intake from 5l a day to 1.5-2l max. This resulted in a lot less peeing (on 5l a day I was peeing 1-2 times an hour, sometimes 3 and I would get up at night to pee). 

I have been researching these cooling and heaty foods, it's the balance of yin and yang in Chinese medicine. It's very interesting and I'm assuming that as I'm in a very hot country my food intake should be predominantly cooling. So if I have durian I need to eat a cooling food after or drink coconut water! Or simply not eat durian... Yeah right! 

I still need to do some more research and perhaps compile a list of the foods I am likely to eat. 

I am going back to have more Ionic Detox Therapy (buy 5 get 1 free right!) so I'm hoping to implement a new meal plan and see whether my toxicity improves! 

Have you ever tried this type of therapy? Are you interested? Do you think it's a money making scam or is there some truth in it? Let me know your thoughts :)