Hi there,
* Just got back from Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Having been to Malaysia around 50 times before -- but never to Sabah -- East Malaysia was refreshing. Any more laid back and the locals would topple over backwards. Kota Kinabalu reminds me of a pre-boom Singapore, with the additional interesting overlay of people from all corners of the South China Sea (many illegal, but that's another story).
* I dropped everything when invited by historian Lynette Silver to cover the inaugural tour to retrace the original route taken by the POWs on the infamous Sandakan Death Marches. We covered a 120km section of jungle and mountains over six days, with the mercury around 39 degrees Celsius in the shade. Luckily for us, we were well fed and watered by the team of guides from TYK Adventure Tours. Look out for the resulting story in The Weekend Australian some time soon, plus Asia Pacific Harrier, and others.
* A special 'Terima Kasih' to the great folks at Sabah Tourism (especially Dato Seri Tengku Adlin and Datuk Irene Charuruks) who invited us as VIP guests to watch their Merdeka Day Parade. It was a treat to watch the Sabahans celebrate Malaysia's 49th anniversary of independence with such fervour.
* If you don't know the Death March story, read 'Sandakan: A conspiracy of silence' by Lynette. It's an horrific WW2 episode. Apart from that, I'm also reading Redmond O'Hanlon's 'Into the Heart of Borneo'. It's easy-reading and full of long houses, headhunters and flora, fauna and tropical botany (unlike me, he does know his ash from his elm bough!). I picked up Tony Hawk's 'One Hit Wonderland' in the local bargain bin. He's the guy who went round Ireland with a fridge. An inspirational brand of madness! And, for father's day, I was given the book on the Peking to Paris rally, where they retraced the 1907 route in vintage cars. Wonderfully passionate and eccentric stuff.
* A short feature of mine on the Cook Islands ran in Holidays with Kids Magazine last month, and on September 5, the New Zealand Herald ran my piece on getting a driving license in the Cook Islands. They also ran a review on GONE TROPPO, and there were five signed copies up for grabs in a reader contest. Expatriate Lifestyle Magazine in Malaysia also ran a three-page profile on GONE TROPPO, and the mag will be offering some signed copies as a reader competition soon.
* Fah Thai Magazine -- the inflight for Bangkok Airways -- ran reviews on my Hardship Posting three-volume series.
* July's OUTthere Magazine, the inflight for Rex (a regional Australian airline), ran my feature on Barramundi fishing in Kakadu National Park up north. A little more challenging when you're surrounded by 18-foot crocs. Which reminds me: condolences to Steve Irwin's family. I visited his Australia Zoo in April and he certainly came a long way for a bloke from the back of beyond Brisbane.
* August was the AGM of the Australian Society of Travel Writers, which was an extraordinarily fun (and, yes, excessive) get together on the Gold Coast. Went shark snorkelling at Sea World, which was brilliant fun, and enjoyed a liberal sampling of the Gold Coast's restaurants and bars. Which got me thinking: what is the collective noun for a group of travel writers ... a contra? A freeload? Let me know if you have any better suggestions!
* A bit of fun. We put a band together for a fund-raising evening at my daughter's school. Called TANTRUM, we rocked the hall with a set of sure-fire party favourites including AC/DC's TNT, The Proclaimers' 500 Miles, a few Blues Brothers tunes, Mustang Sally, etc. Yours truly, on rythmn and lead guitar, went dressed as Paul Stanley from Kiss, the only drawback being getting all that long hair stuck in the guitar strings (a problem I don't normally have!). We were immediately booked to play at the local soccer club dinner dance.
That's it from me. Till next time, cheers!
Stu.