Wood, water and wedging clay

We've been in KL for a week now and are getting itchy feet (literally in Maja's case, as she's had a foot infection). So we're flying tomorrow to Borneo.

If our plan comes good, we'll be spending a few days with a real jungle tribe that is well away from the normal tourist routes. They are keen for visitors to pass on their knowledge of wood carving and other traditions because the young all head to the cities to get mobile phones and such modern totems. I've always wanted to go to Borneo, learn wood carving and visit a jungle tribe. Now I can do all three together.

If we make it back out of the rainforest, we plan to head to the islands for diving (Maja), snorkelling (Aron and I) and paddling (Ariel). Maja hopes to dive on Sipadan - one of the best dive spots in the world, but permits to go there are limited and the monsoon is fast approaching. (Here's a map). Otherwise there are many other good dive sites in the region. As well as turtles and orang-utans, proboscis monkeys and hornbills. Oh and I would really like to climb Mt Kinabalu - the biggest rock in Malaysia, and six-year-old Aron may be able to come too.

After Borneo (Sarawak and Sabah), I hope to spend a week doing pottery in Malaka before we leave - probably for Indonesia. We will try squeeze in what looks like an amazing train journey that runs at a crawl from the north of peninsular Malaysia down through the national park rainforest to near KL.

I want to thank Jasmine again for all the help she has given us. As well as driving us around KL, she has provided the jungle tribe contact and says she'll put me in touch with the Malaka pottery. And she's put up with a hectic foreign family with Zen calm.