Blogs from Sarawak, Malaysia, Asia - page 2

Just back from a two day trip staying at Kurakura Homestay, a guesthouse in the upper Sarawak river - a tranquil jungle paradise surrounded by Borneo rainforest. This is a longhouse built by themselves four years ago. Lars (Norwegian), Liza (from Bidayuh tribe), their 3 year old daughter Froya (who we named "Macaque" during my visit), two wonderful cats and three chickens surrounded by wildlife and wilderness. An absolutely wonderful trip. The family, together with Liza's cousin, Phyllis, made me feel so welcome and allowed me to experience a perfect place to stay with culture, local life and food. If you ever have chance to stay in this area this trip is a must. Although, selfishly I would like to keep it a secret. A 5 star trip advisor report truly deserved. The jungle guesthouse takes ... read more

Where oh where has the sun gone? It has been raining here for last 48 hours, giving me time to catch up on some reading. I have read quite a few books since being away but only one to recommend so far - Therapy by David Lodge. Following a second massage, at last I can walk down steps without having to side step! My legs finally feel part of me again and the climb will soon be a distant memory. Obviously never forgotten. Ahhha! Thinking my English had failed me, I have finally solved the Tiger Beer mystery - three or four as part of a promotion for 12 ringgit (just over £2) or Happy hour - 2 for price of one. This became clearer last night when I visited Ruai, an Iban bar, before dinner. ... read more

Now in Kuching (cat city), Sarawak, Borneo. I am excited to try a new cuisine, as Sarawak has its very own specialities. Had a horrible flight over with lightening literally lighting up the skies beneath the plane. After an hour of circling, horrific turbulence and pan pipe music to distract us, we were finally permitted to land. When we left the flight, waiting for luggage, I saw quite a funny scene - a cat box on the conveyer belt, with meows bellowing all the way round, waiting for its owner to retrieve him/her. Poor thing. I have never seen anything like it before. Still feeling weary from my mountain trip I was pleased to arrive at the Riverside Majestic, where I will be based for the next 11 nights. Apart from a small trip out to ... read more

Whenever I heard the term "longhouse" I envisioned a really long building that people lived in. But as I learned on my tour, that's not the case. A longhouse is really several houses next to each other and sharing walls as well as a common veranda in front of all of them. The houses are small and most living is done out in the common area, fostering a sense of community. Longhouses are usually shared by extended families. We traveled to a longhouse community near a river about an hour from Kuching. We were treated to the local alcohol (wowza!) and warmly welcomed a few people; most people just ignored us and went on with their daily lives. Several longhouses were connected by stairs, creating a village, almost like Venice in the rainforest. The floors were ... read more

We were up at 6am for the 7am bus to Semenggoh Park. It is possible to take a guided tour, but they're considerably more expensive and there's still no guarantee that you'll see anything. (45 MYR vs 16) Since it's fruiting season, many of the rehabilitated orangutans are eating fruit in the trees and not coming down to feeding platforms where we await them with our cameras. We arrived at 8am and walked to the viewing area. Around 820 or so one of the workers said we could see the orangutans. The few of us there lined up to see. It wasn't just an orangutan. It was the big one, the alpha male, Ritchie, and another smaller (teenager?) one up in the trees climbing about. The workers gave them some fruit and we watched them for ... read more