Its been an incredibly busy week, but again I've left myself very little time to fill you in, as my stay in Kota Kinablu is rapidly nearing an end :-s





I'll have to try to catch up properly when I'm back in the UK...!

So, in summary:

* Most rewarding experience: Visiting burnt-down Iban village with caring Charlie Chan - helping to provide much needed water supplies, housing materials and basic medical care to the locals.



* Best scenery: Beaches, cliffs and jungle at beautiful Bako National park.

* Best wildlife: Wild, timid proboscis monkeys at Bako and amazing, astounding, agile Orangutans at Semengoh rehabilitation sanctuary.

* Biggest "wow" moment: The overwhelmingly magnificent Deer cave, at Mulu National park, one of the largest caves in the world, and the stunning, refreshing water for swimming at Clearwater cave.

* Most terrifying moment: Being chased by the "beast of Borneo"/an angry wild boar, through the pitch-black overgrown jungle during an exciting night hike with Dan.

* Most interesting/heart-breaking hospital cases: A poor man who had been the victim of a 'Hit and Run' - horrific wounds and multiple unstable, open fractures :( and another man suffering with a horrific, blistering and infected skin condition 'Pemphigus vulgaris', who had been rejected by his family due to his condition and disfigurement.

* Most disappointing moment: Losing all of my pictures from my 8GB SD card... really hope I'll be able to recover them once I'm back in the UK. Unfortunately attempts here have been terribly time-consuming and frustratingly futile.

* Most fun experience: Getting totally drenched while racing through a torrential tropical downpour in the middle of the dense Borneo jungle, leaping through puddles and over giant tree roots.

* Most "urgh" moment: Horrible body aches, exhaustion, diarrhea, nausea and fever :( Still feeling a tad fragile, but hopefully I'm on the road to recovery now....

* Best dinner and dancing: At the Kinabalu yacht club, after sea-kayaking and swimming with my wonderful "Malaysian mum", Kartini.

There are many more special memories and even more special people who have touched my life over the past week (from the hospital, from church, from Lavender lodge, from Sarawak and from the Hash harriers), but time does not allow me to elaborate now.

Hopefully, I will have some time once I'm back in the UK (wishful thinking perhaps - we arrive back into Heathrow at 6.30am and need to be in Addenbrookes hospital at 9am, agh!)

Until next time then, I'll love you and leave you. With love, Em xx

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelo