Blogs from Sarawak, Malaysia, Asia
The Wild and Dangerous Bako National Park
Published: May 3rd 2012Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Bako National Park
April 25th 2012
There are very few places on Earth that are free of the heavy hand of human life, we are able to infiltrate even the most wild of places. Bako National Park is one of the places that has managed to resist the expansion of civilisation. If you become lucky enough to land on its wild shores you may find a roof over your head and may even find a cafeteria but do not expect comfort and don’t bother bringing your soap. Unreachable by land the only way in is via boat. This has enabled wildlife to rule and it is hard not to respect this fact when you arrive. Wildlife remains wild and unlike other National Parks they will dictate what you see, when you see it and how comfortable they want your stay to be ... read more
April 21st 2012
Bako National Park is widely lauded as a haven for wildlife, where even the most amateur of naturalist can come up close and personal with the unique flora and fauna. Situated north of Kuching in the Malaysia occupied region of the island of Borneo, the tropical rainforest of Bako is nestled away, reachable only by boat. The shy and oft elusive Proboscis Monkey is one of Bako’s most illustrious residents and we had been advised that the best chance of an encounter was by taking the undulating Paku Trail. We set off laden with water, camera, binoculars and a large slice of hope along the trail which meanders around the cliff face. The rainforest that enveloped us was both wild and unforgiving. Towering trees were laced together with vines to create a matted assault course for ... read more
April 15th 2012
The acommodations in Brunei were a little on the pricey side for not so nice rooms, so we decided to splurge a little and stay at the Empire Hotel and Country Club. This establishment was apparently built by the sultan of Brunei in the event that royalty visited and needed a place to stay (considering the size of his palace I'm not sure why this was a concern, but anyways). Needless to say it was high class and we looked pretty damn spiffy walking in there with our backpacks. It was so lovely to have a really nice place for a change. It's not that we stay in dives, per se, it's just that the bathrooms aren't typically made of 20mm slabs of marble and have motion sensored lights. We spent the first day eating expensive ... read more
March 24th 2012
Mal wieder erschlägt uns die schwüle Hitze um die Mittagszeit, als wir aus dem voll Klimatisierten Flughafen von Kuching auf Borneo an die „frische Luft“ kommen. Wir waren vorher noch schnell in einem Touristenbüro um Karten und Auskünfte zu erhalten und haben dabei erfahren was wir eigentlich schon wussten, aber nicht glauben konnten, es fährt kein Bus vom Flughafen in die 20Km entfernte Stadt. Warum auch, es gibt ja genug Taxis. Doch die sind teuer. Wir überlegen und entscheiden uns erst einmal los zu laufen. Mittlerweile wissen wir, das wir mit vollem Gepäck in der Mittagshitze etwa 15 Minuten in gutem Tempo gehen können ohne dabei übermäßig viel Schweiß zu produzieren. Darüber hinaus wird der Rucksack etwa alle 10 Minuten gefühlte 5Kg schwerer. Jede auch noch so kleine Pore am Körper öffnet sich. Schultern und Rücken ... read more
March 23rd 2012
Mitten im Urwald macht eine kleine Gruppe langsam und ehrfürchtig Platz für eine unerschrocken auf sie zukommende junge Mutter mit ihrem Baby. Eine waschechte Malaiin, zwei Arme, zwei Beine, ein großer Kopf, große dunkle Augen, menschlich und doch irgendwie anders…ein Waldmensch. Wald heißt übersetzt in der Landessprache „utan“ und Menschen werden hier „orang“ genannt. Wir befinden uns im Wildtierreservat und Rehabilitationszentrum in Semenggoh, in welchem Orang Utans gepflegt, wieder aufgepäppelt und anschließend ausgewildert werden. Eine ideale Möglichkeit, diese Tiere in „freier“ Wildbahn an den Fütterungsplätzen zu beobachten. Kaum liegt das Futter bereit, schimmert es auch schon an vielen Stellen rotbraun durch das dichte Blätterdach. Langsam und behäbig angeln sich die Tiere Banane, Ananas und Kokosnuss und verputzen sie genüsslich. Sie strahlen so ... read more
March 21st 2012
Der Bako Nationalpark liegt auf einer Halbinsel direkt am Meer. Gesäumt von Mangrovenwäldern und erodierten Felsen, steilen Klippen und dazwischen liegenden wunderschönen Sandstränden befindet sich ein Stück Urwald. Mit dem Boot angekommen geht es auf Entdeckungstour. Ich habe gerade die ersten zwanzig Meter Dschungel erobert, da stehe ich in einer Wasserwand. Es läuft und tropft, die Kleidung klebt am Körper. Der Schweiß strömt einfach nur so aus mir heraus. Es ist wie baden gehen, ohne ins Wasser zu springen. Gut, dass ich mir eine Flasche Wasser mehr mitgenommen habe. Den Wasservorhang vor dem Gesicht zu Seite wischend gewöhnen sich meine Augen an das schummrige Licht und sehen sich um Baumstämme windende Lianen, riesige und klitzekleine Blätter, eine grünes undurchdringbares Wirrwarr. Irgendwo dort hinein führt ein kleiner, mit Wurzeldickicht gepflasterter Weg. In de... read more
February 3rd 2012
The longest journey of our lives so far - Tongatapu-Auckland(overnight in airport)-Melbourne(re-routed)-Singapore(stayed for one day/night)-Kuching - ended with minds and bodies intact and all bags present and correct, remarkably enough. A new country (Malaysia), a new landmass (Borneo), a new (old) hemisphere (northern, just) was the reward for over thirty hours in planes and airports. Kuching means cat; it's the capital of Sawarak, Malaysia's largest state. There's even a large statue of cats in the city centre. But there are no more cats here than anywhere else we have been. There is an abundance of places to eat, however, something that we sorely missed in sleepy Tonga. Sarawak Laksa is a morning favourite, a spicy noodle soup with prawns and chicken. It's up to you to mix the paste with the juice from a calamansi (like ... read more
November 6th 2011
When the gates of Bakun Dam closed and water levels on Rajang River fell dramatically, panic set in up and down the river and even spread to the Sarawak Tourism Department. Was the Rajang finished as a tourism attraction, is there another river to direct tourists, will there be no more access through Pelagus Rapids, will schools need to close because students cant get to them. All this on top of the unmitigated man made disaster of the recent logjam - due to uncontrolled logging - which only served to highlight the plundering of the river If there is an alternative river to put a tourist boat on in Sarawak other than the Rajang, it can only be the Baram, near border with Brunei. So it was to Miri I headed to check out what the ... read more
November 6th 2011
I started my Borneo adventure in Kuching and even though I flew in at night, once I'd settled into the hostel and found some dinnerI already had a good feel about the place; it ended up being one of my favourite places in Borneo. Its sat right on the Sungai Sarawak and sprawls along its banks with a quaint, laid back feel. It was also the place where I first saw semi-wild orangutans swinging through the trees. Semonggah Nature Park rescues orangs from the pet trade but also has babies that have been born at the park and the orangs are free to roam but know where they can get a free meal twice a day if wanted. At sunset, I cruised along the river with friends from the hostel; it was so calming and soporific ... read more
Kuching, the town where you forget time... and everything else!
Published: November 2nd 2011Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Kuching
November 1st 2011
Hi everyone, Last time I was leaving Sibu to go in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak. Kuching has a laidback atmosphere and it is really easy to forget about time, date, hour… everything! The symbol of Kuching is a cat, which made me like the town even better! The first day, I visited the Sarawak museums: from the natural history museum to the ethnographic section, including a wooden fossil exhibition and finishing by the history of Sarawak, I spent my day trying to remember all the information (attempt failed obviously), but that was a nice way to start my visit of Kuching. In the town I found some Chinese streets, colonial buildings, a lovely river with a riverfront absolutely great to walk on during the evening, some temples, some really good food (as everywhere in Malaysia, ... read more
