Journey & Adventure

I don’t typically get stressed.  I typically get frustrated, then vent, then move on.  Life’s too short to stress the small stuff and at the end of the day, it’s all small stuff in the grand scheme of things. Why am I all of a sudden feeling stressed?  Who the hells knows?  I do know instead of the usual routine, I’m stressing about stupid stuff these days… So, why am I stressed?  I’m stressed because our trip to Borneo is coming up in May and the airfare has skyrocketed from $1700 pp to $6,500 pp.  WTF???    I know there is plenty of time before I need to book it and the prices will likely come down, but what if they don’t?   We have been planning and saving for this trip for 3 years.  It’s frustrating to know that what was meant to be a “trip of a lifetime”, might turn into a trip that we’ll have to “settle” on.    What does “settle” mean?  It means that i...

My husband and I have decided for our 20 th Anniversary, we would take a once in a lifetime trip to Malaysian Borneo in 2010. I can’t believe we will have been married for 20 years AND we still enjoy each other’s company - at least enough to venture half way around the world, trek through jungles, pick off leeches and dive the Celebes Sea together. I have been half-heartedly looking at websites – enough to freak out about the leeches, snakes and frogs, but I haven’t gotten serious enough about the actual planning aspect. With a little more than a year to go, today’s the day I have started to lay out my plan of attack. How am I going to get there? What do I want to see and where do I want to stay? With so many choices, it’s a little overwhelming, but in the end I know it will be worth it. Photo: Courtesy of www.orangutan-appeal.org.uk > .> `•.¸.•´¯`•...¸>

There are a couple of ways to reduce the risk of being attacked by roaming hoards of hungry bloodsuckers. The first would be my preference and would solve a world of problems – simply stay out of the jungle. I hear National Geographic has already been there, so I’m pretty sure I could find a wonderful series of DVDs that would allow me to experience everything I would have otherwise encountered by going myself – minus the actual bloodsuckers, festering wounds and traumatic memories. I don’t suspect my husband would be overly keen on the idea of traveling half way around the world, only to sit in the comfort of our hotel room and watch the National Geographic series on Borneo (not even if it was in high definition), so my second choice is to purchase a pair of leech socks. Leech socks are the perfect fashion accessory to any piece of jungle attire. Made from ultra tough quick drying poly-something which apparently deters the burrowing effect of the leech, they are...

O.K. I really need to stop educating myself on these damn Borneo leeches because I’m not finding much comfort in the facts. Anything I’ve read about them is not good. I have read all about what you shouldn’t do if one attaches itself to you. Did you know that if it’s attached to you, you shouldn’t proceed to squish it like a mosquito or spider? Because it will simply regurgitate its stomach contents into your wound and this will most likely cause infection and that infection will mostly likely lead to gangrene or fleshing eating disease. I may be exaggerating about the gangrene and fleshing eating, but just because there aren’t any published medical cases on such an affliction, doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. Don’t even get me started on what could happen if one happens to crawl in an exposed airway. So now, not only do I have to worry about not squishing one, but I also have to worry about not screaming bloody murder when one attaches itself to me for fear that a...

A s I start to plan my 2010 trip to Borneo , I need to keep reminding myself that it will be a once in a lifetime adventure. After all, I will be traveling to one of the most bio-diverse exotic places on the planet, visiting remote locations and viewing wildlife that others can only dream off. But as I begin to educate myself on the sites and wildlife of this wonderful place, I start to read about the “blood suckers of the jungle”. Not vampires, but leeches. Apparently these things are sensitive to heat and vibrations, so when you are trekking through the jungle, they will make their move and have be known to literally fling themselves in your direction looking for a meal. Ewww! Supposedly, there is no cause for concern. I am to take comfort in the fact that they will first inject me with a local anesthetic, so I won’t actually feel them sucking the life force from any exposed piece of flesh. It should be noted that I will however bleed profusely once they are fin...