Well, here I am back in Danum, back from a week in the primordial forests of Malua. This means I can take a shower and use a washing machine, although both with only cold water. In Malua, we bathe and wash our clothes in the river, which has been rather clear as the weather has been conveniently dry. With the rain comes the mud and the bath, well... it becomes a mud bath. It is also less appealing to wash the dirt and smells off of your clothes when the water is darker than a Frappucino.

Despite my initial trepidation on the culinary options presented before me on the eve of my trip last week, I am well fed. The night we arrived there was a big party, which means lots of chicken, Karaoke and plenty of sweetened ethanol, playfully yet justifiably referred to as Petrol. I definitely had more than my share and began to actively forget (or was it disregard) how not to interact with Muslim women. Deciding to stock up on protein for the week, I ate plenty through the night. The next day we gorged ourselves on Pork Sausages, as the muslims did not find Phillippe's gift from Switzerland all too amusing, and we didn't want the meat to go bad. He brought enough for an entire party, which then ended up being just the two of us. Eating that much sausage made me seriously consider joining islam and denouncing pig.

It is now my 9th day in Malaysia and I have already managed to get sick three times, that's once every three days for those of you not too keen on doing the math. It looks like I'm off to a good start. (A quick disclaimer to the reader: I tend to generously and quite openly discuss my bodily movements. I do not mean to be vile or crude, but the faint of heart that prefer a sterile prose environment are encouraged to read at their own caution.)

The first case of mal-heur came in the form of Diarrhea in Kota Kinabalu on my first day in South-East Asia. I should have listened to my better judgement than to eat fish at a port where the water smells like a latrine. But on my first day I wanted to be open and experiment: Fish, squid, shrimp, and ... well I'm not quite sure what the rest was, but it was very good. So good that my stomach digested it a little too fast. The problem occurred in the bathroom at the airport as we were heading to Lahad Datu, and appropriately timed, just as Phillippe stuck his head into men's room to say we have 5 minutes to board the plane that originally was cancelled due to "technical issues". The bathroom was a clash of the old and the new worlds. It wasn't the Asian hole in the ground, it was a real western toilet, but had no lid, you had to sit on it, but there was no paper around, just a hose to spray yourself with and it seemed most people missed quite liberally, as the entire stall was dripping wet. I quickly sprayed myself as accurate (though not very precise) as I could and hopped through security to our flight. Food digested, problem solved, I was back on the health track again.

My second illness had the food coming out the other end and was accompanied by a blistering headache. I discharged all the food I had eaten on my first night in Malua after the party, and had to spend most of the day resting. Granted it was a Sunday, a wonderful day for resting. A few painkillers, a cold shower, and a nice swim in the river was a lifesaver. Needless to say from that experience I have lost the urge to participate in all of the local activities and will probably leave the ethanol to the Malaysians, or was it methanol?

Finally a few days later I came down with a cold. Here, in the haunting deadly blistering tropical humid heat, I get a cold. Sniffly and lethargic I was working in the shadehouses, almost passing out. At one point I actually tried to record our measurements while drifting off into a comatose state. Talented as I am, it actually worked, but I quickly realized it was not such a good idea. I have since gotten better, but the locals in Malua are all sneezing and coughing now. Oh well, so it goes. Travel to foreign countries, meet new people, and infect them. Isn't this what Europeans are good at? We've been doing it for centuries...

My days are spent measuring tree growth at least six hours a day. Diameter, height, branches, leaves, herbivory, etc. At first it was a bit tedious, but now I found a groove and a sort of zen tranquility, and I learned how to count in Malay. I can actually do slightly more than count and even though it seems to me that my knowledge of the language is progressing very slowly, I need to remind myself it's only been nine days. It's a fun language and I am excited to learn more.

It appears I left my USB cable for my camera in Switzerland so I am not able to update with pictures yet. I will purchase a memory card reader next time I go to town that enables you to connect memory cards, such as that from the camera to the computer, so I should be able to upload some pictures soon.

Ok, it's time for dinner, the first time I eat here in Danum, I am really looking forward to it. I saw the chef Justine a few hours ago getting ready, mashing potatoes for quite a large group of people with a mortar and pestel, the size of child's fist. I guess that's why they start cooking 5 hours in advance. I appreciate their hard work and so will my belly...

eRiK wrote (07/14 12:03:07):
Do you need us to send you a USB cable? Do you have a mailing address in this primordial dominion?

Martin Stenflo wrote (07/14 22:00:27):
I thought the idea of a card reader was a pretty cool thing to get anyway, but then out of the midst of nowhere, well actually in my big bag of pens, I found my USB cable. I knew I wasn't that foolish - to travel to the other end of the world without a USB cable. Unthinkable...

So give me a few minutes and you will see some pictures!

Martin Stenflo wrote (07/14 22:01:51):
Oh, looks like the comments need a little ammending... like a return character (or two) at the end of each comment. Let's see if my hacking skillz are good enough to achieve that...

Mama J wrote (08/16 06:26:08):
I'm writing this without a password. Let's see if it works. I just wanted to suggest that you date each new text you write. That will make the sequence and time span more clear. I find the text,photos and video very interesting, informative and entertaining. I want to know what sounds you hear at night as you lay in bed in your open hut. Are you ever curious or afraid enough to not be able to go to sleep?

Your comment:

Name:
E-mail/HTTP:
Remember Me