Wednesday, 12 September 2012

Miri Repairs

 

Well, it’s taken a while but finally we are back on the move again. The 240 volt alternator was repaired by a local motor rewinding company and despite it not working when initially re-installed  and having to be returned for a quick zap (12volt energizer) it is now playing the game. Still not sure what caused the untimely burnout but that’s boats for you.

Back in Miri doing a beer run to the local Chinese restaurant
 We decided to buy a spare alternator so if this happens again we can swap over, while having the problem repaired, all sounded good until it arrived from England with a crack in the casing because it was inadequately packaged for international transport. We were given the option of a free replacement but with the added expense of “adequate” packaging (a crate) or $230 compensation, the original transport cost which should have included “adequate” packaging as requested. After a thorough inspection of the damage we decided to take the compo and hope it would work when needed, all the insides appear to be in good working condition.

Sent in a cardboard box with a bit of paper packing. This weighs 30kg!!!
After a poor attempt at fixing the anchor winch motor by a local company we decided to replace it with a new one from an Australian Yacht Winch Company in Sydney, where we had bought the 2 previous winches, at least this one lasted 10 years. The deal was we would return our old one for a $400 trade-in same as previously. What an ordeal this turned out to be, firstly it took 3 weeks to despatch a stock item, then, when disassembled to be greased and installed we discovered that the base plate was defective. The owner was advised immediately and we assumed a replacement would be sent, not to be as he stated to us that he was aware of the defect and believed it to be perfectly OK!! Obviously their export model or else they’re operating a sheltered workshop for the blind.

 
Who in their right mind would say this is NOT a defect.
 After a few choice words and a couple of ”idle” threats he eventually agreed to supply a replacement base plate on the proviso that we return the defective one, but refused to freight it here so thankfully Bernie came to the rescue and saved the day by picking it up and after a thorough inspection despatched it to us. It arrived 4 days later, Australia Post can you believe it, amazing!! Our old winch will be returning with the defective base plate by surface mail and will take up to 3 months to reach Sydney, fingers crossed?? We’ll deal with the outcome later.


The old spacer left shows the result of water penetrating down past the seals in the bore of the base plate, it's bad enough when the bore is not compromised. The manufacturer states that the winch should be dissasembled every 12 months. Yeh right!! Perhaps the spacer should be made of stainless steel or bronze not aluminium, prevention is always better than cure.


The anchor winch was finally installed and WOW what a difference, the motor has been wrapped with Denso tape which is a fibrous tape impregnated with grease, can handle high temperatures and keeps out moisture over a long period without deteriorating.  Let’s hope this will do the trick.
Reliving childhood
If we had the choice of places to break down, Miri was by far the best place, the marina is safe, relatively cheap and the other yachties great, we had fun in the sun while we toiled away. While waiting for the things to arrive and then re-arrive we discarded the motor bike and hired 2 push bikes for RM10 each/ week. Great exercise and a fun way to get around town, thankfully Miri is mostly flat as a tack. Jen learned to ride surprisingly only ever done it once before and after a couple of weeks rode into town to do the shopping.  She also started belly dancing classes with a growing group of woman which became a passion and a real hoot one Friday night when all the girls put on a performance with their teacher.
 
A bird's eye at Belly Dancing class
 Friday night is Miri Marina session night similar to what we used to have back in OZ, which sadly has been lacking over here till now. The women show off their culinary skills while the men drink and get waited on, just great!! Who could ask for more after a long week of haggling with locals, dealing with overseas suppliers, customs officials, freight companies, forwarding agents, and the list goes on it seems forever.  

A typical Friday night on the top deck at Miri Marina
The beer supplies dwindled down and the on again off again drama continued with another trip to the restaurant for accumulated buckets/slabs to supplement supplies. The authorities were cracking down big time even after Ramadan had finished. The outing was well worth the effort as the Chinese food was excellent and worth the trip on its own. Thankfully our rum stocks are plentiful and a good session on margaritas helps while away the time.

The girls live performance
Throughout the repairs we were researching options for a new asymmetrical spinnaker to replace the old one, the new one we wanted included a continuous line furler so rather than being smothered with a sliding sock the new sail would furl and be much more manageable and usable. We also wanted it to get a bit more windward ability in light winds so we decided on a Doyle UPS (utility power sail) with a Profurl furler. A flatter cut, heavier cloth asymmetrical sail and not as big. The Doyle loft in NZ was 25% cheaper than our old sailmaker in OZ who is now affiliated with Doyles and comparable with local Asian lofts but with a much better reputation, they also agreed to meet our time frame and deliver it to Labuan to save import hassles.

Everyone had to get into the action
We finally headed off in loose company with a couple of other yachts and rather than straight to Labuan we decided to day hop along the coast of Brunei, first stop was Kuala Belait a small river community 30nm north of Miri. The next stop was at Jefri’s wall 50nm further NE, one of the Sultan’s brother’s grandiose plans which was never completed, a  great walled enclosure with only a small island inside, but a comfortable overnight stop and good protection from the rain squalls which hit us that night. The next day we arrived at Labuan and anchored close to the decaying marina which is being repaired but looked no different than it did when we were here 5 weeks ago.

 

The belly dance class grew quickly from 3 to many, obviously a great incentive to get away from the men, but just as quickly reduced as many headed off


The following evening we were hit with a 30kt squall with lightning and thunder all around we took turns to anchor watch as we got closer and closer to the marina wall. The next morning we moved over to the other anchorage near the stilt village, the water’s not as clean but a lot more room to swing. The other 2 boats joined us later in the day. That night at 0200 another storm came through and both the other boats dragged anchor, both had ‘Bruce’anchors which don’t penetrate the rubbish which covers the seabed in this harbour, good for mud but not plastic bags. Our trusty CQR bit and held well.

New building under construction on the shores of Kuala Belait, if you look hard you can see the riggers at the top of a scaffold erecting some intricate spire
 We will spend  a another  week here exploring on our rented motor bike, stocking up with cheap beer and waiting for the new sail to arrive then head on up to a few islands and Kota Kinabulu. It’s a slow trip north, but we’re not in a great rush anyway.

Heading out from behind the protection of Jefri's Wall
 Bye for now,

 
Beers and Cheers, with a margarita or 2
J&J
  
 

Tuesday, 7 August 2012

Miri to Labuan to Miri


It’s not what we planned but such is the life of cruising, that changes are inevitable and despite the frustrations one must simply go with the flow. Easier said than done for an impatient skipper.



The main cave in Niah NP, the hanging rope in the foreground is what they climb to collect the birds nest for soup a Chinese delicacy


After our trip to the Mulu NP we caught up with some friends who had just arrived and we hired a car from Simon our trusty what’s where man in Miri and headed off to the Niah NP 120km south which hosts more limestone caves which were inhabited by humans for thousands of years. These caves are not as popular as Mulu and a guide is not necessary so it’s a leisurely stroll through the dense jungle, approx 12km round trip along a timber board walk, a full days outing. It rained all the way there and our hire car a 70’s model Toyota Crown Diesel was a death trap on wheels, with one saving grace, the AC worked.

Another of the caves at Niah NP

Two days later we hired another car, the best in Simon’s fleet and headed off to Brunei for the day and a chance to renew our 90 day Malaysian visa. Brunei is a Sultanate country run by a benevolent dictator with oodles of oil and trashy western commercialism. The sultans brother Jefri became world famous for his opulent spending when head of the countries finance coffers, with many of his grandiose developments presently decaying under the intense heat and humidity. He has since been banished to Britain with only millions to spend each year instead of the billions he once had.

A round-about in Brunei - tea anyone - tacky ehh??
One of the reasons we headed to Brunei was to purchase some licorice which we have been craving for and had been told was available, we eventually found it but to our surprise was raspberry flavoured?????, even the expats have strange tastes. We also find some Arnott’s Ginger Nut biscuits made the old way, thick and hard. A real favourite, so we spent all our remaining Singapore dollars (same as Brunei dollar) and stocked up.

Boat - like structure attached to the Capital City Mosque

The marina was filling up to the point where Captain Fin was squeezing boats in between others. It was race week!! The 9th Annual Borneo Regatta, 45 yachts had entered into 4 groups, IOR racing, Class A Cruising, Class B Cruising and Multihull. Many of the cruising boats were part of the Sail Malaysia East Rally which we declined earlier this year as it didn’t match our timeframe. Some of Class A which we were part of were actual racing boats without IOR certificates, so stiff competition.
The first day was spent registering, measuring for handicap, clearance out of Sarawak, race instructions and collecting our free T-shirts.The next day was race 1 around the cans out the front which we did OK despite getting caught on the first marker when we were headed off by another yacht which failed to give way, we had to alter course and sail around behind him while trying to lay the mark, he later apologized at the hotel lobby while carrying the winners trophy. All of the boats in our class had crew fly in for the regatta so despite fudging our handicap we had a self imposed handicap of only the 2 of us. It’s supposed to be fun anyway. It was hard work competing and even though we were the fastest boat in a straight line we missed out on a prize.


Jostling at the start line before race 1


After the race we booked into the hotel which is owned by the marina which is owned by a mega-rich Chinaman in Miri. The room was free as part of the regatta and so was the reception in the pavilion. Local entertainment and free beer just what the doctor ordered after a hard day of sailing.

Entertainment at the reception dinner

Race 2 was an overnight sail to Labuan 110nm north through the Brunei oil fields, it started at 1300hrs and after a great start and leading the fleet for a while we blew out our asymmetrical spinnaker, it took a while to retrieve and reset our sails so we fell behind and drifted along in the light breeze. We hoisted our symmetrical spinnaker on the pole the first time since leaving OZ and picked up speed again and managed to get through the oil fields just on dark so were very pleased with that.


Out in front for a while
Our dramas came to a head when we turned on the generator to run down the freezer and charge batteries. What we thought was a smell from the oil well heads was in fact the 240volt alternator burning down below. NOT GOOD!!! We doused the spinnaker so we could investigate the problem and drifted along again in a building wind which peaked at 18kts. We decided to continue on rather than turn back hoping we could sort the problem in Labuan. The night sailing was good only motoring for a couple of hours when the wind died before changing to come offshore at 90 degrees.


oops!! a spinnaker blowout - the colours didn't match anyway
We arrived in Labuan at 0800hrs without any sleep and anchored with the few boats that arrived before us only to find it was the wrong location so had to up anchor and move. It was here that we discovered the anchor winch had developed the same problem we encountered in Tioman Island, so had to manually wind up the anchor. Problem no 3 had surfaced!!!.

Back in the race again - for a while anyway, much better colours
After a couple of hours sleep I contacted the alternator manufactures and was told the only recommended agent was in Miri, why didn’t that surprise me??. We wanted to continue on to Kota Kinabalu (KK) with the regatta but could not be guaranteed a berth at the very expensive marina and we needed 240 volt power to keep our fully stocked freezer cold, our inverter can handle the loads but not for long periods. The anchorage in KK was reported to be ordinary as well. The marina in Labuan was closed to yachts while being rebuilt and the anchorage was exposed to the east.


All was well again for a while
We cleared in and out of Labuan that day and started contacting people around the world to source a new alternator in the event that the current one was irrepairable. The next morning we contacted the Labuan Marina again but they refused us entry so we decided the best option was to return to Miri.


One of the many hazards encountered enroute to Labuan and back again to Miri at night
The winds were lighter than the previous 2 days and more on the nose so we motor-sailed virtually all the back to Miri this time having to traverse the Brunei oilfields in the dark with no moon. We arrived back at the marina at 0230hrs to the berth we left 2 days earlier having travelled 220nm, getting very little sleep and a heap of problems to solve. AGHH!! the joys of cruising???

These are the Australian Kookabura America's Cup boats, not sure why they are at Miri Marina
A week has past since returning to Miri and a new anchor winch is on its way from OZ, we have sourced a new alternator (spare) in England, it should be sent sometime this coming week and the existing alternator has been repaired???? locally, reinstalled and running as it should. The asymmetrical spinnaker was beyond repair as some of the cloth was in poor condition so we sold it to a much smaller boat for a carton of beer. He is very proud to be the current owner of Dreamweaver’s spinnaker for some strange reason.


The infamous winged keel of the 80's
A new problemo arose in Miri and that was “the boat had run out of BEER” well almost anyway. Customs officers had cracked down on the sale of smuggled beer which we think was a result of Ramadan the Muslim month of fasting, so cheap beer was not available. We didn’t have time to restock in Labuan (duty free island)  thinking we could buy smuggled beer in Miri, so it was dire straits. The only way to get cheapish beer was to go down to a restaurant and buy multiple buckets (a bucket is 4 cans) and take them home. We taught them that 6 buckets equals 1 slab so we now buy them in slabs. Not sure if they really understand what they are doing or if it is legal, but we have a beer supply again.




This yacht was sunk in the marina for months and sold on Ebay to an unsuspecting buyer who when arrived to collect it found it sunk, was told he owed unpaid marina fees, he fled the next day never to be seen again.

Thankfully Miri is a great marina with friendly people and close to town with the aid of a motorbike, we know where everything is and hopefully our deliveries won’t delay us too long so we can continue onward up the coast. We still have several more months before the weather is suitable for us to head across to the Philippines.

Bye for now,



No Beers but plenty of Cheers,
J&J


Wednesday, 18 July 2012

Miri and Mulu

We left Santubong at the bottom of the tide with plenty of water under the keel and once beyond the barred entrance hoisted the main, unfurled the headsail and shut down the engine, we were sailing, a very pleasant beam reach, till we rounded the first headland where the wind backed to the SE and on the nose at 15kts, it wasn’t far to our next anchorage so we managed to lay a course and close haul to Lakei Island at the tip of Baku National Park north of Kuching. The anchorage was small and well protected despite the close proximity of some nasty looking pointy rocks. We explored the island’s derelict resort and several small beaches and searched for the elusive probiscus monkey without success, we heard a lot of noise but in the thick jungle no sightings. We did however spot a crocodile the previous day in Santubong as it crossed the river behind the boat. 


A sentinal guarding the anchorage at Lakei Island - that's an eagle's nest on top


Next morning was a picture post card dawn, so with a good wind forecast we headed off and sailed in a good 15kt SE for several hours before losing the wind as it veered to the SW and died. We were out of sight of land till late in the day when we reached our intended destination which was at the head of a river network which traverses for more than 100nm up into the interior of Sarawak where the hill tribes live. We decided to do the shorter inland route around Beruit Island about 40nm to the next anchorage, so we wound our way along the twisting Paloh River avoiding the shallows and surprisingly small cargo ships. The scenery was interesting but dulled by the heavy smoke which seems to be all along this coast from peat fires which burn day and night, making visual navigation difficult.


A lovely isolated beach adjacent the derelict resort Lakei Island


The next 2 days we motored from daylight to dusk with no wind and beautiful blue skies, then anchored miles offshore on the 10m line, the coast was bland, not a single fish caught although we did manage to snag a fish trap line, thick smoke and a lack of adequate shade made this section very boring. The only interesting part was on day 2 passing Bintulu Port which services the oil rigs offshore and having to dodge one of the high speed service craft.

No wonder the markers aren't where they're supposed to be

We had 35nm to get to Miri and high tide was at 1100hrs so we up anchored at 0500hrs and set off with a nice 10kt Easterly which soon increased to 15+kts and our arrival time was well ahead of schedule, the wind lasted for about 3 hrs then died again unfortunately, but some sailing was better than none. We entered the marina and found our berth where we met the very jovial marina manager Captain Finn who took our lines and helped us tie up.

Another sentinal, this one at the entrance to Miri Marina


Back in a marina again was very pleasant as the west coast of Borneo is subjected to a small NW ground swell, so unless anchored in a river you’re exposed to a constant roll which is very uncomfortable especially when the wind drops out. The previous 2 nights were bearable but a third was definitely not.


Miri Marina with a couple of restored anchors from a local wreck, must have been a big ship


Miri Marina is 4km from town and after our first day of walking in the heat we found a local yachtie who was willing to rent his motorbike to us for the length of our stay while he returned to OZ for his 28 day work stint skippering a 500t tug on the northwest gas project. When in Miri he spends his time diving on a 19th century ship wreck which he and his wife discovered several years ago about 100nm west, sunk on the Lucona Shoals. A very interesting couple with an enviable lifestyle albeit very hectic at times. They hope to do a documentary on the story associated with HMS Viscount Melbourne which sunk in 1842 when it struck a reef in a violent squall, some of the crew and passengers made it back to Singapore after several years of hardship battling the tropics and avoiding pirates.

Some local entertainment depicting traditional lifestyle in Sarawak

Miri is another town which services the offshore oil rigs and as a result prices are higher than on the mainland for most things. The Muslim population is not dominant here so pork is available in the local produce “wet” market and the quality is better than OZ as it’s locally butchered and at AU$5 per kilo a real bargain not just a treat, beats chicken chop hands down. We cooked up a pork roast with oodles of crispy crackling and feasted like kings. The freezer will be stocked full of pig when we leave here.


Legacy of offshore oil extraction, no wonder the beaches are empty
The sights of Miri are few and far between so after several days touring on the motorbike we booked a 3 day 2 night trip to the World Heritage listed Mulu National Park which is home to some of the world’s largest and longest limestone caves. It’s only accessible by 30min plane ride or 2 day boat trip as it’s located in the middle of thick rainforest. We stayed at the Royal Mulu Resort as the cheaper accommodation was booked out months in advance, so we treated ourselves to a comfortable stay in a large room with all the trimmings.

Another sentinal at the entrance to Deer Cave
The cave tours required a guide which our package included so along with another Chinese/malay couple from Kuala Lumpur after checking in and a quick lunch the 5 of us set out the first day for a 10km round trek to 2 caves.  The first cave was named Lang Cave after the white man that found it only 40 years ago, the local Penan tribes people had been here long before, extracting guano deposits left from the millions of bats that inhabit the caves during the day and collecting swiflet bird nests from the high ceilings which is a Chinese delicacy, the second, named Deer Cave after the mouse deer that went there to drink the bat urine laced water from the stream that flows through the cave. After the caves we went to an observation deck to witness the stream of bats leaving the cave on dusk but due to increasing rain the bats refused to leave their dry roost so we missed the mass exodus.

Hey is that Grant up there???
The next day the 5 of us headed  upstream in a local river boat to visit a Penan “traditional” village enroute to the next 2 caves, Wind Cave and Clearwater Cave. The satellite dishes attached to the dwellings belied the term traditional but the village did contain a Longhouse which was destroyed by fire last year. A longhouse is a multitude of adjoining apartments under a single roof where a whole village lives in a communal environment. Homestays in village longhouses is a high tourist attraction in Borneo apparently but personally not our cuppa tea. The villagers keep dogs contrary to the Muslim people who despise them and these dogs are mangy, smelly, horrible things so spending 1 or more nights in their company would be more like hell than a holiday.  
Our transport up river to the caves with Lou our guide and fellow passengers
Wind Cave had some fascinating formations created by a constant draft flowing through but it was Clearwater Cave which was the best, with a river running through the centre highlighting the extent of time for the cave to evolve into its present form. This cave is 178km long and links to many other caves in the region.  
Entrance to Clearwater Cave looking out
Our final day was spent traversing the rainforest canopy along a 300mm wide suspension walkway 40m in the air. This canopy walk extends for 400m, is the longest suspension viewing platform system in the world being attached intermittently to the largest trees in the area. The design is similar to the suspension bridge we built 17 years ago at our old Tanawha property, ours being 1m wide however and much more stable. The canopy was interesting but along with the rest of the rainforest we viewed, there was a noticeable lack of wildlife. Like the rest of Asia so too has Borneo depleted its stocks of wildlife species. Lucky we went to the Singapore Zoo earlier this year to see them.
One of the giants within the jungle





One of the critters in the canopy
Back on the boat again and still a few things to see and do here in Miri before we head north so will cover all that in the next blog. 
Bye for now.


Beers and Cheers from the Miri Sailing Club with a Kilkenny of all things

Tuesday, 12 June 2012

Borneo


Well what a great time we had at Tioman Island. It would easily rate as the most social place we have been too so far. Maybe it was just the company we had for the month we were there. Every night was spent partying at Captain Kerk’s and after many beers we would gravitate down to one of the great restaurants for a meal and a couple more beers. Being a duty free island certainly has its advantages.

One of the many social events - on this occasion celebrating Giovani's birthday

We arranged to do some diving with a local dive company that was recommended by a long term Aussie yachtie who arrived last year with the rally and went no further. The dive company took us to the best dive sights with another pommie couple and we did 4 dives, thoroughly enjoyed it, small but plentiful fish life and some excellent soft and hard corals, many we haven’t seen before as they don’t live on the GBR. We were very surprised to see many small coral trout same as back home living and breeding in the marine park so hopefully the numbers will increase here as well.

Reeno and his crew were great to dive with

I did a 30m wreck dive on a local coastal patrol boat that was purposely sunk to create an artificial reef, it’s only 12 months old so hasn’t developed much as yet but as you can see it can provide some amusement. The boat has been opened up enough to swim through the entire length.


Jen dwarfed by a giant gorgonian coral


We did a hike with another couple through the thick jungle over the ridge to the next bay, took about 2hrs and a gallon of sweat which we replenished at a local café. The rainforest was full of huge trees and strangler figs, a small waterfall and some local inhabitants. Our return was less strenuous but more terrifying in the back seat of a taxi which was more like a roller coaster on the steep winding concrete road.


Hiking through the rainforest


After a month it was time to move on otherwise we would have joined Brian as a long timer, and our livers would have shrivelled to nothing.  As it was we both suffered from dehydration after diving in the hot water. We headed off SE around the bottom of the Indonesian islands which are hostile towards yachties and also known to harbour pirates that have reportedly hijacked ships in the past. Well it is the South China Sea after all.


Here's proof that fish sleep - a large cod taking a nap in a clam shell

The trip from Tioman Island to Santubong near Kuching is 350nm and took 3 days, 2 nights. Thankfully after clearing the main NE shipping channel between Singapore and Japan the first night we encountered 2 huge thunderstorms which seemed to stalk us for hours, the first peaked at 36kts and the second 44kts, thankfully they came from the SW so we could ride them forward and we had prepared early by reefing the mainsail. The temperature dropped by about 10 degrees when the rain started and we felt cold for the first time in a long while. The lightning associated with the storms was unbelievable and we were very lucky not to be struck being the only structure around for miles.


Soft corals make the bottom look like a garden

The next day the skies cleared and it was very pleasant right through till we reached Borneo, we had planned our trip across to coincide with the full moon so with the clear sky it certainly made up for the previous night.


A 50mm long nudibrach, wicked colours 

Our first anchorage in Borneo was in a small cove at Tangung Datu, which is on the border with Indonesia’s state Kalimantan. The next was at Pulau Satang a small island where many turtles come to lay eggs, we did see some turtles on our trip across but unfortunately no fish which surprised us.



Reeno posing on top of the wrecks mast


It was only 6nm to Santubong so we left the island to cross the bar at Sungai Santubong to coincide with the incoming tide, just as we approached the final turning point we were forced again to do circles as another whiteout hit us before we could reach the anchorage, this storm was 35kts but only lasted about 30 minutes. We are becoming more accustomed to these violent but rapid thunderstorms and in a way appreciate them as they cool us down which is a pleasure in this incessant heat. Our latitude at present is 1˚ 50’ north, so hot and stormy is the norm.


Hard coral gardens


Santubong is the preferred anchorage rather than going up the Sungai Sarawak to the city of Kuching about 20 miles away. The anchorage is in a quiet river adjacent a private fish farm, the latter provides a small jetty to leave the dinghy, assists with fuel and water supply, they will even arrange to get your laundry washed. We shared the anchorage with one other yacht, a French couple who had arrived from Cambodia a couple of weeks previous, we then shared a ride with them into Kuching so we could clear back into Eastern Malaysia after clearing out of Western Malaysia in Tioman and renew our 90 day visa.
910m high Gunung Santubong from the boat

We hired a motorbike for our weeks stay to give us a bit of freedom rather than trying to rely on a very unreliable bus service or very expensive taxi, it’s a very pleasant ride on some very good roads, much better than expected. It also helped in searching out the diesel servicing centre we needed to find so we could purchase a new priming pump/filter unit for the genset, which had developed an annoying air leak. A small piece of rubber diaphram had disintegrated in the heat rendering the pump inoperable, and allowed air to leak into the fuel line. It appears that everything made of rubber or plastic has a very limited lifespan here.


One of the gaudy government buildings in Kuching

Kuching (malay for cat) is situated on the banks of the Sarawak River and has a lovely waterfront area with good restaurants and souvenir shops with carvings and local made crafts, we spent half a day perusing the area. Santubong is just a local village which comes to life every July with the International Rainforest Festival, a 3 day event which attracts many people from all around the world. It also has an Arnold Palmer designed golf course attached to a rather large resort which appeared empty when we went past.

Spices of all kinds available on the footpath
The wind and storms come in everyday from different directions which makes predictions near impossible so it’s a matter of going with the flow for the time till we get further north. We’ll check out some of the famous river inlets on our way up to Miri in Northern Sarawak and try not to lose our heads in this renowned headhunter territory.

Beers and Cheers,
J&J