Welcome Joe!

Big news.  My friend Joe, husband of my friend Carolyn, is going to come on my trip with me.  He had expressed an interest in coming to a couple of the 'Stans with me but the timing, logistics and cost did not work for him. So I suggested he come to Borneo!  Cheaper, sooner, and he won't have to get from some random city in one 'stan to a different random city in a different 'stan on his own.  

He put down the deposit on the tour and booked a flight. So, this is happening.  Carolyn has no interest in going anywhere with leeches, let alone spending 30 hours on airplanes to do so, so Joe is coming without her.  

You may worry that Joe has signed on for one of my zany adventures without much forewarning.  Possibly true but Joe and Carolyn came to Oaxaca when I was there.  And I took them on a death defying car ride to see some cacti.  It was an excellent side trip and I think Joe appreciated my 'joie de vivre/voyager' vacation habits.  This time at least, there will be a professional driver. 

Joe & Carolyn is Zapotitlan Salinas, Mexico, 
safe and sound! 

Joe is the big news.  In smaller news, I got a GREAT deal on bug spray!

And my Borneo bird books have arrived and have been thoroughly perused. They do not have every bird in the area, just the interesting Borneo ones.  Do I take an Asia Bird Book and all of the added weight that implies?  Undecided.  

That's it for now.  

Weird airlines (thanks Air Canada).

So, I booked my flight using my Air Canada 'wallet' with our ticket money from our cancelled flights to Europe (due to the potentially impending strike that didn't happen).   

I fly Victoria to Vancouver to Inchon, Korea on Air Canada.  They were actually pretty decent.  One free bag and I could prebook my seats.  Well, I got cocky with all of that power so I decided to also reserve my seats on the Inchon to Kota Kinabalu and return flights.  My flight there is with Jeju Air.  Never heard of them but sure.  I downloaded their app.  They were kind of difficult to deal with (online) since I couldn't switch to English on my phone. Once I logged in on my laptop, I figured out that I can pre-book but I have to pay.  $10 so well worth it (5.5 hour flight in the middle of the night).  But not on my crazy foreign (Canadian) credit card.  I had to break out my PayPal account.  

Next up was the flight back to Inchon on Asiana Airlines.  I found their website.  I tried to find my flight. I used my booking code. The website couldn't find me.  I tried other ways to search. But I discovered that Asiana Airlines does not even list Kota Kinabalu as somewhere they go.  Hmm, I don't really want to be stranded in Kota Kinabalu with a worthless ticket so I called Air Canada.  

Despite my many grievances with Air Canada, their phone service people tend to be quite nice.  This time, the guy was as baffled as me. We searched their website.  He kept saying the things I had said when I searched.   'What is going on here?' being the main one.  

Eventually, instead of searching for 'Asiana Airlines', I searched for the airline code OZ.  And, low and behold, there are TWO Asiana Airlines.  And the OTHER one is Star Alliance and flies out of Kota Kinabalu.  Mystery solved.   

You can see how I ended up on the wrong site!

But I couldn't book my seats even on the right airline's website.  I called them.  Call back in January.  Okey dokey.  Gives me time to create a meme!

Did you know Borneo is not a country?

As usual, I am doing my due diligence after the fact.  Let me back up a few hours.

My friend Alisma dropped by for coffee and innocently asked where my next trip is.  I said I am aiming for the 5 'Stans with G-Adventures in fall 2025.  Since I don't remember the names of four of the 'Stans or where the 'Stans are exactly, we looked it up on the G website.  It turns out G Adventures is having a sale.  But not on the 5 Stans. 

I like sales.  And I have so much Air Canada credit due to the strike debacle for my Europe trip...  So, while we were in there, I had a peak at some trips that fit with my 'nothing planned' window in Jan/Feb.  Borneo!  

Borneo – East Sabah Adventure

I had some restraint.  I didn't book it while Alisma was still in the house.  I checked with my co-advisor, Robynne who will be back from her trip if I go in February.  My coordinator was conveniently working some overtime (it's Sunday today) so I was able to check with her.  Both were fine with me going between  Feb 12 - 22.  

Restraints were off.  I booked the tour.  I bought a flight (something like 28 hours for an 8 day trip - yikes).  Tour was on sale so I used the savings to book my own room.  Flight was 'free' so that's nice.  Banked credit is free right?  

I did some more overtime hours to help pay for all of this.  Then I ordered a Borneo Bird Book (or two...😏).  and now it is 4 hours later and it's all done.  Time to create the blog!  And here we are. 

Having learned my lesson (somewhat), I googled 'Borneo map", which is when I discovered Borneo is an island, not a country and I am in fact going to Malaysia.  The other two countries on Borneo are Brunei and Indonesia. 

I actually remembered to check if I might need a travel visa.  I do not according to Gov't of Canada travel page.  But they were kind enough to let me know that Malaysia requires that I 'exercise a high degree of caution' and for the Sabah region, where I will be specifically, I should 'avoid non-essential travel'.  I assume I won't be in the highest risk areas. Plus my G peeps will keep me safe. 

That's probably enough for now.  But I'm gonna see these guys!