Expat Gadget Hunt

I have a real love for gadgets and I find that they improve my life disproportionately compared with their actual value.  I love, for example, browsing the Lakeland UK catalogue and always find something I 'need' in amongst their pages.  Their stores (there is one near my mother in law) are heaven on earth! 

Life as an expat is all about compromises.  Some things that are an absolute necessity in your home country are just not available abroad so you have to bring them with you or just make do, particularly when they get lost in a move. Every destination has its own difficulties but, by way of compensation they often teach you about gadgets that you never thought you might need which then become an integral part of daily life.  

When we moved to Kazakhstan our landlady furnished us with a ‘thermopot’ instead of a kettle.  What was the point, we thought, about having a pot of boiling water always at hand when a kettle (we used a stove top one in the UK) is just as easy.  How wrong we were, the trusty thermopot gives us hot water at a press of a button, I now find myself getting impatient for the time it takes our parents’ kettles to boil when we go to visit them, so much so that we bought our own pot.  My other must haves from various postings include my Turkish coffee maker (I rarely drink coffee but when I do I like the hit to be intense), my rice cooker, my breadmaker (sadly presently locked in a UK container) and my lovely Kenwood. 

The department store sells neck rings, because what
mother wants to take their baby swimming without one
... but knife sharpeners prove elusive.

Living in Malaysia there are a number of things that I use every day that I thought would be easy to find. How wrong could you be?  When we first arrived I went to the department store to look for a knife sharpener as our previous one was a mysterious casualty of the move.  None of them were available for sale in the shop; I asked and even showed pictures and was told…’not here’.  I looked in the supermarkets, in the gadget shops, in the vegetable markets, in just about any and every location I could think of. 

In the Chinese department store I found covers for the
well dressed washing machine...but no knife sharpener

During my time in Miri I found so many weird and wonderful things for sale but never came across my simple knife sharpener.  I am not fussy, I would have been happy with a whet stone, I even thought about using my front step but all the stones in the garden were marble so no luck there!  

In the mall I can see to my beauty needs with sheep placenta and
eyelid tape .... but my knives were destined to remain blunt.

Finally the day before we moved to Ipoh I found the object of my dreams in a new delivery to the Japanese 5RM (£1) gadget shop  – I am now the proud owner of a knife sharpener, who would have thought that a simple quest could have taken 9 months.  I was almost disappointed when it was over.

Hedgehogs for sale in the covered market...
but no knife sharpeners.

Nevertheless other projects remain.  My hob here is gas (I dislike cooking on gas) and I need some simmer plates to control the temperature a little better.  They are nowhere to be found; my sister has a set in the UK, but they are an old set of mine purchased in the Netherlands, she had searched for these elusive gadgets for about 5 years before I made a gift of them.  I suspect, therefore, based on prior experience, that by the time a set turn up I will be living in a house with a lovely, easily controlled (if expensive to run), electric hob.

My chairs can be fashionably shod...
knives are not so lucky.

My other quests are for a static, vertical vegetable peeler and a cheese slice, also casualties of recent moves.  I know I could use a knife for both but I prefer a peeler for the vegetables.  The one I have at the moment is set on a swivel and I just don’t have the knack to use it properly and quickly.  I am sure there must be a static one out there somewhere, whenever we go to a new city I make time to search in the department store for my desired objects.  Rather like a treasure hunt the children have been promised a big surprise if they spot one for me before we return to the UK for a family wedding at Christmas time. 

The supermarkets sell this joyful concoction,,,
but no knife sharpeners

Where cheese is concerned this is a topic of cultural culinary tension in our house.  My husband puts thick, knife cut, slices of cheese in his sandwiches.  I think that is wasteful – hard cheese should be sliced for this purpose.  I have searched high and low but to no avail.  My sister and father have been tasked to search for a slice in the UK.  If none can be found I shall have to ask my uncle to bring one to my sister’s wedding in December, possibly together with some simmer plates.  

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Paradise in Sarawak

While Miri itself is more of a staging post than a destination within Sarawak it is very close to some lovely, tranquil beaches lapped by the South China Sea.  We are not overly fond of beach holidays in and of themselves (we never really manage to just sit and cook) but think they are wonderful places to take the dogs for a walk.  Our house in Miri was in a beautiful garden suburb but it was plagued by so many street dogs that we could not easily take them for a walk. The beach then, was their opportunity to stretch their legs and even go for a swim. (Always bearing in mind that there are many people here in Malaysia who cannot touch or get close to dogs so we have to keep them under close control near people at all times). Our English dog had seen beaches and the sea before but there was something truly magical about being able to introduce our Kazakh Steppe dog to the water for the first time.  

Long, deserted and unspoiled beaches

Seeing the water for the first time

The end of the beach!

Within or just on the outskirts of Miri you can get to the popular Luak Esplanade and Hawaii Beach where you can rent a cabin for the day, these areas tend to be teeming with people, however, and we prefer a little more quiet.  From as little as 20 km out of town there are short dirt roads that take you down to the beach with enough space to park the car before getting out to enjoy a walk.  We never had any problems finding somewhere to go for a roam.  A few months ago, however, we decided to drive a little bit further on towards Benenu. 

It is easy to get down on to the beach

Pantai Bungai is being developed as a small resort with
places to buy food and engage in adventure activities

Pantai Bungai is not yet busy, the beaches are pristine and
seemingly endless

Shortly before the town, about 60km from Miri we saw a turn off for Pantai (beach) Bungai.  We drove down to find possibly the most beautiful beach we have ever seen.  The local government is capitalising on this and have built a small bazaar where you can buy cold drinks and snacks, a children’s playground and a stage for open air performances.  This is still mostly under construction but I suspect it will not be long before tourists are flocking here in their droves, it is certainly heavily promoted in Miri tourist literature although none of our friends had ever heard of it or made the trip down.  People do, however, already come out here; a little further down the road the Santai Sijiak Café offers snacks and refreshing mocktails.  The friendly owner arranges banana boat rides, caving, abseiling and nature walks both for groups and individuals.  A local homestay also offers rooms for people who want to stay the night and there are more accommodation options in Bekenu. 

Pals cooling down in the water

The beaches are quiet enough to allow the dogs off the lead

The beach stretches in a crescent around a bay and there are a number of small fishing settlements along the beach.  It is possible to walk up to some cliffs and even, if the tide is out, walk along their base to look at the caves inside.  Check the local tide times before doing this though, the beach shelves gently and the tide comes in very quickly.  We spent many (though not enough), Sundays walking up and down the beach giving the dogs a treat and enjoying the sun before grabbing a drink and a snack and heading home to Miri.

Off duty fishing boats kept away from the water

And some that have not lasted so well

  

Exploring the cliffs (before the tide comes in)

There are a few places in the world that, to me, are evocative of what I believe paradise to be.  One was a small place on a quiet river in Nigeria where two houses were nestled in beautifully kept grounds and we could swim in the river.  Another is Lake Bohinj in Slovenia.  Pantai Bungai joins these two places in my mind and, now that we have left Sarawak, our walks there are one of the dominant memories that spring to mind when I think of our 9 months in Miri.  

Paradise!

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The Empire Hotel and Country Club, High Tea on the Shores of the South China Sea

We found the Empire Country Club quite by accident.  Our moving and packing schedule from Miri to Ipoh was fairly rigorous and the move came as a short notice shock to the children who were just starting to settle in Miri.   A few months ago we read that there was an ASEAN dinosaur exhibition coming to Brunei just a short drive from Miri.  The children, who love dinosaurs, asked very politely if we could go to see it.  While we normally avoid this type of stuff like the plague we thought it would make a perfect treat to reward them for their good behaviour and excellent help with the packing.

dodgy dinos

The exhibition was set a few kilometres from the capital Bandar Seri Begawan in the grounds of the Royal Brunei stables set in a park that is, for all the world, rather reminiscent of the Royal Parks of England and where the (beautiful) horses have a standard of living that many people in South East Asia would envy.

Inappropriate  Pandas

The exhibition itself could have been viewed as a disappointment.  It consisted of a few animatronic models that looked as though they had been used for a 50s B movie.  They were, for the most part, anatomically incorrect and the information about them was scanty.  The children enjoyed the visit but saw it for what it was, a pastiche, and they pointed out more errors than they learned facts.  The displays were also, somewhat incongruously, peppered with pandas! We did not manage to work out why this was and everyone we asked just looked at us rather blankly.   Having paid more that US$60 to get in we stayed for an hour to try to get our monies worth before escaping to buy some food feeling that we had rather wasted one of our precious pre-move afternoons.  We were going to drive in to Bandar when we saw a sign for the Empire Country Club.

Mosaics in the most expensive hotel building in the world

We had both read about this place as it was infamous for almost bankrupting the oil rich state.  It was built, originally, as a private residence but when the costs of construction could not be met it had to be taken over by the state and turned into a hotel.  It is, perhaps, one of the most sumptuous buildings I have ever seen, rivalling the Hermitage  which is not surprising given the amount of money it cost to build.  It manages (just) to appear luxurious rather than kitsch but it teeters very close to the edge.

Stunning Carvings

The main hall is an echoing chamber of marble with mosaics laid into the floor and the stairwells are studded with tiger eye.  Pavilions in the beautifully manicured grounds utilise some of the most magnificent wood workmanship and around every corner there is a new visual or tactile treat.  The grounds are extensive and comprise a number of different gardens, at least three (to our count) swimming pools and a number of alcoves and beaches.

one of the many swimming pools

The accommodation blocks were added to
make the residence into an hotel.  Rates are, we understand, quite reasonable.

By the time we arrived the hotel was serving high tea and Mr EE and I decided that we deserved a treat for putting up with the dinosaurs.  We have never eaten so prodigiously, for half the price of the dinosaur exhibition we were treated to tea, delightful sandwiches, petits fours, scones with cream and jam and sparkling juice.  As soon as a plate even looked like running out a replacement was magicked out of thin air.

Traditional high tea...

After high tea we took a stroll around the beautiful grounds and enjoyed all the magnificent craftsmanship the hotel has to offer.  We watched the sun set over the South China Sea, one of the last opportunities we would ever have to enjoy such a view, and wandered back to the car through the complexes of guest rooms.  These were rather less spectacular (at least on the outside) than the original building and its annexes and looked for all the world like the university college accommodation annexes we had lived in during our undergraduate degrees.  We returned to the car for our 2 hour drive back to Miri and our rather denuded house.

...with more food than four people could ever eat.

The whole experience was unexpectedly delightful and an oasis of calm in what had been a hectic few days (I defy even the most seasoned expat not to be stressed by a move with three weeks from notification to completion). It left us feeling completely refreshed and recharged and we rather regretted that we had not visited before.  I suspect, however, that familiarity would breed, if not contempt, then diffidence.  Our unexpected traditional English treat in an unusual location was just what we needed at that time and it could never be as good again.

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Mulu

We are moving to Ipoh on the peninsula tomorrow.  Our stuff was packed last week so rather than sit around an empty house we have been spending the time out and about enjoying an explore of our portion of Borneo.

Mulu - cut off by the surrounding hills

One of the things we simply could not leave without going to see was the Caves in the Mulu National Park.  The only time we could shoehorn it in was in the last few days of our time - fly up on the Monday, back on the Wednesday morning before packing our final bits and pieces and sorting out the final admin for our move to Ipoh Wednesday afternoon and flying Thursday morning.  Hectic but we felt that we absolutely had to see Mulu.

The entrance to Lang's Cave

Mulu is remote, set in the far North of Sarawak not far from the Brunei border it is a short 30 minute flight from Miri, the maps suggest that you might be able to drive and boat up but knowing how the roads can peter out and how long a short journey can take in the interior we thought the flight was the sensible option.

Deer Cave with the famous 'Abraham Lincoln' Profile

Mulu is set in a huge natural amphitheatre in a range of limestone hills and as you land in you feel like you are entering a lost world. The World Heritage Site/Natural Park was only recently gazetted and although there are now permanent settlements the tribes in the area (mostly Penan) were nomadic until that time (1970s).

A small bat hole in Lang Cave

Bats Leaving Deer Cave at Dusk

The first day was spent enjoying a short 3km (I say short but it is so hot and humid that a 3km walk takes almost an hour) through the jungle to the Lang and Deer Caves.  The national park is designed to be completely accessible and the majority of the paths are along boardwalks.  This makes them safe for large volumes of people and allows motorbikes from HQ to go to and from places quickly if needed.  Although we had Mini EE in the baby carrier we could have used her buggy for a large part of the walks.  The older two children enjoyed the walk and our guide, Mr Rick was fantstic with them, taking the time to provide a lot of background information on the park, caves and wildlife.  It turned out that he had shared uni digs with some Kazakh students in KL and impressed the children by speaking to them in Russian for a while.

Amazing Formations at the Entrance to Clearwater Cave

Rock Formation in the 'Lady' Chamber of Clearwater Cave

There was plenty to see in the caves, Lang Cave has some beautiful rock formations and Deer Cave is absolutely huge, one of the largest caves in the world.  The floor is covered in guano from the huge bat colonies that roost in the ceiling (the colonies are so large that you can see them from the floor as they make the roof dark in comparison to the surrounding rock).  The guano attracted the deer who gave the cave is name.  The nomadic Penan used to come to the cave to hunt venison, sadly a treat no longer available today.  We walked through the cave to a second entrance called the Garden of Eden which is window onto an enclosed world hemmed in by the mountain.

Roof Collapse in Clearwater Cave

After the tour we returned to the entrance of the cave and the 'bat observatory' to wait for the famous change of the guard where the swifts who roost at night and hunt by day return to their nests and the bat colonies stream out to hunt for insects up to 100km away.  It had rained quite a bit during the day so it was too damp to tempt many bats out, we saw some swarms but nothing like the intense ones we had hoped to catch.  Following the bats we walked back through the jungle at night listening to the insects and frogs calling to each other.  At times we saw some cross our path and caught glimpses of glow-worms out in the bush.

Shards created by the action of bacteria

The following day we travelled by boat to a Penan village, here most of the homes enjoy satellite TV and concrete longhouses are replacing the traditional wooden varieties, a government clinic ensures that people get access to healthcare, vaccinations etc and that all births are registered so that children can work legally when they are grown (unregistered births are a big problem in Sarawak and there are significant Government initiatives to try to combat this).  While the villagers still hunt the local women sell handicrafts and many of the people work in the tourist industry - a big change from the nomadic life their parents and grandparents led.

The village is a mix of the old and the new

Tourism is big business for the local people

Villages along the Melinau River

The boat then took us on to Wind Cave, it was possible to walk here from the park headquarters as recently as a year ago but the boardwalk collapsed and is in the process of being re-built.  Consequently this cave feels more remote than the Deer and Lang Caves.  Wind cave is named for the breeze that flows through  and has caused the rock formations to bend.  The cave connects to the Clearwater cave but  it is not possible to go through except on an adventure tour (not suitable for small children).

Swimming in a forest pool

The main entrance to Clearwater is up a flight of 198 steps (Master EE and I counted) and this is yet again breathtaking.  Clearwater is the longest cave system in the world and it feels simply gigantic.  The main cavern was formed by a powerful river which still runs through the base of the cave.  It is deep and fast even in the dry season, adventure tours guide people through the system but it requires a swim of 1.2km, a huge distance particularly underground.  The river still floods and fills the cavern to about the half way point so in December, January on a small portion of the walk around the cave is possible.

It is possible to get very close to the local wildlife

After the tour of Clearwater and back at the bottom of the stairs we were treated to a packed lunch and an opportunity to swim before going back to Park HQ.  There we opted to climb a viewing tower to look out over the canopy, this is an alternative to the famous Canopy walk which was booked out.  We then took the chance to walk the Botany trail, a smaller loop off the main walk with excellent information boards showcasing the plants and giving detailed information on the biology of the rainforest, then back to the hotel and another swim before packing for the flight the next morning.

The park botany walk is a good way to see and learn about a lot
of forest species

Some of the plants are breathtaking

We stayed at the Mariott hotel which is the luxury offering in Mulu, we had hoped to stay in the park but all the accommodation was booked out for Easter.  The hotel were, however, very accommodating, permitting the five of us to share a max 3 occupancy room.  We ate at a little canteen across the river which has an agreement with the tour guide we used (you are required to have a guide for all visits to the caves, we had our own but it is possible to join a larger group if you wish).  The food was excellent and the welcome extremely warm.  As is usual in Malaysia our baby was taken off us and entertained so that we could enjoy our meal and, once they had finished, the older two went off to play with the children of the family.

Making friends

The guides were excellent with the children, they
were a goldmine of information and never once
talked down.

Mr EE and I had dreamed of going to Mulu for at least 20 years so this trip, a birthday present for me, was a bit of a trip of a lifetime.  The park itself is manicured and managed and is very tame, there is no hacking through the undergrowth needed.  While this is a shame in some ways it is wonderful in others, it meant that we could take not only the older children but Mini EE as well, she will not remember any of it but she loved going into the caves and was intrigued by the contrasts of light and dark.  The forest was also a completely new experience for her, of course because she will not remember it we have the perfect excuse to come back again in the future and hopefully next time take the 3 day hike to the famous pinnacles.

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