Leon, 13 April 2010
Netherlands , Rotterdam 13°

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Good morning everybody,

For the faith full readers.. I haven't kept up my blog over the past three weeks. But we had quite a tight schedule with a lot of flying.. oepsss (yes I broke my golden rule) and as I was travelling with somebody else I didn't want to spend ages behind the net as well.
So let me give a small resume of where we went and some impressions before this blog comes to and end.
After I picked my friend from the airport we flew the following day to Kuching to visit the lemanak longhouse tribe. The lemanak are also called Sea-dayaks as they are living alongside the river. We where welcomed with a traditional dance and where introduced to local costumes and traditions. As it was a kind of off-season we where basically alone there with the guide which made it a special experience. The second day we learned about the bush live and how to shoot with a blowpipe. After Kuching we continued our way to Kota Kinabalu where we stayed on the nearby Islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman marine park. It was quite a nice experience as we camped on the beach with hardly anybody around giving it a special feel of being on an Isolated Island. From Kota Kinabalu we flew to Semporna for a small diving trip adventure near Sipadan.
From Sipadan we took the bus to Sandakan to pay a visit to the Sepilok Orang Utan Reserve and the Jungle Camp experience of Uncle Tan. The Jungle trip was really a highlight of our trip, although it was also said to see that most of the Jungle around that area is disappeared due to the palm oil plantations. But what they did is that they kept several spots of Jungle which are conteced with strokes of jungle alongside the river known as the corridor of life allowing the animals to go from one spot to the other spot. Also because of this we where able to see a lot of wildlife as the animals didn't had much space compared to untouched rianforest. We saw Orang Utangs, Proboscis Monkeys, Horn bills flying over the river and many more wildlife. From Sandakan we flew back to Kuala Lumpur for a nice night out and from there we continued our way to the Cameron Highlands. In the Cameron Highlands we went on a trip to see the Rafflesia flower which is one of... or actually the biggest flower in the world and blooms only once in a while. Being in the cool climate of the highlands was really nice after the steamy climate of Borneo. From Cameron Highlands we continued our way to Taman Negara National Park which is the oldest rainforest in the world dating back 130 million years ago. The humidity was so high that within 2 hours I was completely soaked. Also the Taman Negara park has one of the biggest canopy walks trials in the world which of course we had to explore. The next day we went to the Perenthian Islands of the east coast of Malaysia. This was truly a beautifull area where you can easily spot turtles swimming around, sharks looking for there fresh meals and lots of other beautiful fish and marine life.
After the Perenthian Islands we flew back to Melakka to finish our trip there. Melakka is an old colonial town so plenty to see and to do.
Yesterday morning we landed back safely at Schiphol where our and my journey came to an end.
It's strange to be back home again after 6,5 months and now I have to find my new rhythm again... finding a new challenge and make new plans which I already started doing of course when I was on the road. What made the biggest impression on me... ? Is the openness and the kindness of the Asian people, always willing the help and to give a smile. The most interesting experience for me was the 10-days meditation course in Thailand and the most beautiful places I visited was the Great Wall of China, Angkor What and the total travel experience of being free and meeting and get to know a lot of people and gain new ideas and insights made it to an unforgettable journey. I also really would like to thank my family, friends and readers who have been following me on my journey. It really supported me to have reactions from around the globe and from directions I never expected. Today I'm still with my sister and will move back into my own house again later on this week. I would also like to thank Tristan for keeping an eye on my house over the last three four months and I'm very thank full for that.
Now its time to continue where I have stopped 6,5 months ago.
For the coming weeks I have to get organised, find a new job and see where this new road will lead me to.
Again, thank you all for your support and see you around someday.