There is little left to say of our trek into the Maliau Basin. As the insurance was paying after leaving the hospital we all checked into the lovely Jessleton Hotel. Sadly the doorman in white shorts and solar topi has gone, along with the little bar and the old Chinese barman who made the best Singapore Slings in the world.The following evening were bought a meal by Captain Jack and his boss at Jotih's Banana Leaf Restaurant, which reassuringly had not changed since I ate there with Kit all those years ago.
After having her foot x-rayed it was found that Alice had not broken any bones but damaged tenons as soft tissue that would still take months to heal; by the time she been fitted with a cast and was finally able to walk again Alice was ready to go home. Before her cast she had discovered an amazing talent for hopping. Madison and I moved out into a cheaper hotel before seeing Alice leave, then passed a couple of days in KK, both of us taking the same flight to KL where we parted; Madison back to the USA and me to Bangkok then home. Our last two days were spent shopping for oleh-oleh and eating out but somehow the time was tinged with the sadness of parting and the knowledge that our adventure was over. We ate durian from the durian sellers who can be found the walkway near the central Post Office. Although there are lots of new buildings and Kota Kinabalu is a lot cleaner and tidier - I only saw two rats! - it was nice to see the old familiar places still there.
It had been an extraordinary and most wonderful time despite the accident and the exhausting trek, and I am so grateful to Madison and Alice for without them I would never have made it into the Maliau Basin.
After having her foot x-rayed it was found that Alice had not broken any bones but damaged tenons as soft tissue that would still take months to heal; by the time she been fitted with a cast and was finally able to walk again Alice was ready to go home. Before her cast she had discovered an amazing talent for hopping. Madison and I moved out into a cheaper hotel before seeing Alice leave, then passed a couple of days in KK, both of us taking the same flight to KL where we parted; Madison back to the USA and me to Bangkok then home. Our last two days were spent shopping for oleh-oleh and eating out but somehow the time was tinged with the sadness of parting and the knowledge that our adventure was over. We ate durian from the durian sellers who can be found the walkway near the central Post Office. Although there are lots of new buildings and Kota Kinabalu is a lot cleaner and tidier - I only saw two rats! - it was nice to see the old familiar places still there.
It had been an extraordinary and most wonderful time despite the accident and the exhausting trek, and I am so grateful to Madison and Alice for without them I would never have made it into the Maliau Basin.