Tikal, temples and jungle

View from Temple IV, with the bigger temples coming through the forest



It was nice to spend sometime with Remy, but now I have crossed the border back to Guatemala and I am in Maya Country.
Today I got up extremely early, too early actually, and went up from the town I am staying in, Santa Elena to Tikal.
Tikal are the main Mayan ruins in this country, and one of its main tourist attractions.
I went really early to avoid the hordes of tourists who descend on it, but also cos we are in the rainy season and we are getting torrential rains every afternoon.
Double click to enlarge view from Temple V

I have been to some spectacular human creations, both in this trip and before, and I have also seen some great landscapes. What makes Tikal so special is how Nature and Human work have merged in this amazing site.
Temple of Jaguar, and please not really cute Israeli guy next to me

After the decline of the Mayans the jungle took back what it had once owned and for hundreds of years Tikal was lost. It was not until 1848 that the first scientific expedition was sent.
Grand Plaza

When I first got to the Grand Plaza I thought it was pretty impressive, but the best bit is to climb to the top Temple IV. The forest canopy extends as far as the eye can see, punctured by the top of the highest temples.
Temple V has also a great views, but the stairs are far too steep. I was starting to feel nauseous about walking down when a French guy next to me had a little panic attack, and would not move up or down, which made me snap out of my panic as someone was more scared than me.
Scary Temple V, there were two vultures on the top, probably waiting for one of us to fall down the very steep stairs

Tikal is also great for its wildlife. I managed to see Spider Monkeys, that I had not seen before, and some toucans.
Spider Monkey

It may not be as elaborate as Angor Wat but some of the views are probably the best I have ever seen.

Finding Nemo

That was some weird cloud formation...

I'm still living my new life of luxury, but have managed to squeeze some excitement into it.

I have shaved and I am wearing clean clothes...

Yesterday we went to the Tunku Abdul Raham National Park, which is only 20 minutes away from Kota Kinabulu, the capital of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We visited Mamutik Island, a tiny islet, covered by forest and little else. I spent hours snorkelling, as the fish were great, though the coral has been damaged by bleaching. I managed to see lots of beautiful, colourful fish, though I only remember the name of the Clown Anemona Fish, aka Nemo.

And today we went to the bottom of the highest mountain in South East Asia, Mount Kinabalu, 4093 meters all told. We planned this badly, so weren't able to trek to the top, but just the view from the beginning of the trek alone was awesome.

We also visited another National Park, called Hot Springs, a very strange place, a sort of mixture of Jungle and Spa, where people go to 'take the waters' or basically a jungle canopy walk. It was an odd experience, as I am terrified by heights, but I managed it.

We didn't get to see many animals though as the place was full of tourists, mostly Chinese, screaming.

One of our group had to stop at one point in the morning for a break. Turned out she had just given birth and was in some difficulties. The guide was horrified with the thought that the baby might be in her handbag and wanted to know where was the child. Then everything was thankfully, or not, explained.

The mother had simply popped, then left the resulting newborn in Singapore and headed off with her husband on their already booked holiday.

Even I was shocked by the lack of parental love they had.

Taken the waters, but waiting for the mini pool to fill up...

Tomorrow we are back in Brunei. It is a strange country, deeply religious. The Sultan has prohibited the teaching of music following some of the most strict rules of Islam, but he had the Pussy Cat Girls or Dolls or whatever they are called over for his birthday celebrations...

On the positive side though, because they're so rich, they haven't needed to chop down their forests, so we'll be going jungle trekking when we get there.