Eight years after departing for our epic around the world trip on September 8, 2011, the stars have aligned once again and we are heading out for a new 6-month adventure. Beginning in Singapore, followed by some island hopping around Bali for a few weeks, the broad plan is to spend about 6 weeks in Australia, which will include New Year’s Eve in Sydney watching the fireworks over the Harbour (check that off the bucket list). A
We’re on our way to Thailand, and have been for about a month. The problem is that we keep getting distracted with other interesting places along the way and our side trip to Singapore was no exception. 
When we arrived in Kuching, both Chris and I were sick. Chris had just started a head cold and my symptoms were getting worse – sore throat, swollen glands and congested chest with coughing.
After spending five days in the Peruvian jungle a few years ago, we thought we were prepared for the jungles of Borneo. With visions of wild orangutans, herds of pygmy elephants and troops of proboscis monkeys dancing in our heads, we made our way to the Kinabatangan Nature Lodge where we planned to spend 3 days and 2 nights exploring this natural wonderland.
After exploring the underwater world off the coast of Borneo for three days, we were ready to discover the natural wonders of the jungle. Our first stop was the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre where orphaned Orangutans are rescued and then nurtured to maturity in a 23 sq km protected area at the edge of the Kabili Sepilok Forest Reserve.
Sipadan Island is reputed to be one of the best diving spots in the world, some even say it is one of the top three, but as we found out, it can be hit or miss during monsoon season. When we learned that Sipadan Island is in the center of the richest marine habitat in the world, the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, teaming with more than 3000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species, we weren’t going to let a little rain get in the way of our fun.
It took us 24 hours to travel from the Middle East to Malaysia which included a 7 hour stop over in Jeddeh, Saudi Arabia one of the dirtiest airports we have been in. However, our carrier, Saudi Arabia Airlines, was top notch and provided service we don’t see in Canadian airlines these days, including plenty of free food and drink, cozy fleece blankets, pillows with soft cotton covers, and toiletry packs which even included a pair of socks.