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Borneo was something of an unknown entity for us; never firmly on the travel itinerary, but directly on our route between the Philippines and Indonesia. After a little background reading we realised just how unlike anywhere else in South East Asia Borneo is, and an excursion here (no matter how brief) could be really special. So, decision made, we booked a flight from Manila to Kota Kinabalu.
KK is the largest city in Sabah (Eastern Malaysian Borneo) and the gateway to Kinabalu National Park - home to Mt. Kinabalu (at 4095m, the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea). There's not much to see in the city itself, but it's a pleasant enough place to stay for a couple of days, featuring plenty of laid-back traveler hang-outs, modern shopping malls and tempting coffee shops. On our first full day in town we visited the Mountain Trekking Office, intending to gather information on climbing Mt. Kinabalu. However, once inside and chatting to the surly salesgirl, it quickly became apparent that we wouldn't be able to scale the mountain. Recent wheeling & dealing by the government has resulted in a single company being in control of all the accommodation and amenities within the National Park, and you have to book through them in order to climb. With this safe monopoly on business, they've been able to introduce ridiculous policies and fees - you now have to spend at least 2 nights in their overpriced accommodation, and use 1 of their completely unnecessary guides, in order to climb. Combined with various entrance and conservation fees, this puts the cost of scaling Kinabalu close to $300 per person. As if this wasn't enough, you also have to book weeks in advance! So, no climb for us - very disappointing. The remainder of the day was spent moping around various shopping malls in an attempt to raise our spirits with a little retail therapy. James perked up considerably when he stumbled across a vast video game arcade, and we were both cheered up immensely courtesy of a fantastic sunset.
Next morning, we decided to visit Kinabalu NP anyway - no mountain climb, but it's still a beautiful spot with plenty of walking trails around the base. Still wanting a challenge, we opted for the longest possible trail - 6km long, but fairly easygoing. The rambling, jungle scenery was great, and we were also treated to a genuine rainforest downpour; leaving us soaked to the bone, but feeling like proper explorers, by the time we finished the loop. Another popular tourist draw in the National Park, second only to the mountain itself, is Poring Hot Springs. Situated 40km from Park HQ, Poring boasts natural hot springs (obviously), a towering canopy walkway, more trekking trails, waterfalls, and a butterfly farm. We spent most of the next day in the complex; stomping through treetops, ogling at exotic Lepidopterans (thank you, Wikipedia) and splashing out on/into our own private hot spring bathtub. By the evening, we were back in KK and sampling the multitude of freshly-prepared, mouthwatering seafoods on offer at the vast food night market (one of the best yet!).
After all this excitement, we rewarded ourselves with a day of slower-paced activities, namely more shopping mall/arcade action, and further exploration of the culinary treats on offer at the night market. Suitably rested, we set off early on Day 4 in KK, with a trip to one of the numerous islands just off the city's coastline. Some of these islands have become a little overdeveloped and cramped, but we headed to one of the quieter options and enjoyed a relatively peaceful afternoon dedicated to swimming, snorkeling and sunbathing.
Thus ended our time in Sabah, and we flew to the primary city in Sarawak (Western Malaysian Borneo) early the next morning. Kuching is slightly larger than KK, but lacks any single, stand-out tourist draw of the same magnitude as Mt.Kinabalu. Instead, there are a wider variety of smaller scale attractions, all within a couple of hours drive. Safely landed & settled, we ventured into town, guidebook in hand, ready for some proper exploration. Initially we went a little overboard on the religious building front, with visits to Hindu, Muslim & Sikh places of worship. But, then we took the day in a completely different direction, heading downtown to the city's large Planetarium. A sign posted in the tourist office had informed us that a show was screened here everyday at 3pm. The gob-smacked expressions on the faces of the snoozing staff who greeted us, suggested that not many other people had paid attention to this advertisement. This theory gained credibility from the completely empty 300 capacity theater. But, at least we had the pick of the seats, and the show was better than expected (surprisingly narrated by a very passionate Ewan McGregor - maybe they were going for the Star Wars angle!?). A big storm was brewing by the time we left the building, so we rushed up the neighbouring observation tower for citywide views before the clouds closed in. However, by the time we stepped out onto the observation deck the rain was already pounding down, and it was blowing a gale. We were immediately shepherded back into the lift and down to ground level for 'safety reasons'. Mother nature then proceeded with a display of her astonishing power - deafening thunder claps dead over head, followed instantly by blinding flashes of lightning - welcome to Sarawak! Once the storm subsided we managed to squeeze in another cinema visit (7 Pounds - Will Smith in a reasonable, but thoroughly depressing, performance) before returning to our guesthouse for the night.
The first of 2 nearby National Park visits took the starring role in the following day's activities. Guning Gading National Park is an hour and a half drive from Kuching, and one of the few places on the planet where Rafflesia can be found. With a diameter reaching 1m, Rafflesia are the biggest flowers in the world. Sightings of such Flora in the park still aren't guaranteed though, and blooming periods can be haphazard. However, this time we got lucky, and 2 of these giant flowers were in bloom, right next to each other, during our visit. The impact of seeing such an incredible plant was only enhanced by the accompanying stench - apparently insects are attracted to the smell of rotting flesh! Nice. Once we'd had our fill of big, stinky flowers, there was just enough time to trek to an impressive waterfall, before heading back to Kuching.
Another early start was required the next morning, in order to catch the morning Orang-Utan feeding session at Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. Visiting an Orang-Utan sanctuary is high on the list of must-do activities for most visitors to Borneo, and for good reason - they are truly enchanting creatures. We were lucky enough to see 6 or 7 of our ginger-haired cousins (including a tiny baby!) and it was a real treat to watch them playing, eating and swinging in their astonishingly human manner. The feeding session was over far too quickly, and we were back in Kuching before the morning was out.
For a small city, Kuching offers an impressive array of eateries - from basic, street side local fare, all the way up to exclusive, multicultural restaurants (where pounds spent per meal can sometimes reach double figures - shocking!). We decided to branch out a little for lunch, heading to an upmarket organic cafe for some healthier grub. It was surprisingly tasty, and not 'just lettuce' as James had feared. Too much time in the afternoon was then spent on a fruitless search for an Indonesian Guidebook. Guides to more obscure locations like Italy, Canada, or Chile, were available in abundance, but nothing covering Malaysia's closest neighbour! Admitting defeat, we turned to our hotels private bar for comfort, and successfully raised our spirits over a few drinks, good conversation and high stakes pool/table football games with the friendly owner and a nice Australian couple.
Following such exertion, a slower start was required for the next day, and we didn't achieve anything of note until catching the afternoon bus to Bako National Park. Bako is completely different to Guning Gading; only accessible by boat, it's a lush oasis right on the North-West coast, boasting untouched beaches, a lush jungle interior, and fantastic wildlife. The latter accolade was our main reason for visiting: Bako is one of the few places in the world where it's possible to see Proboscis Monkeys in the wild. These very odd simians (I didn't need Wikipedia for that one!) sport bulging pot-bellies and floppy-conk cartoon noses (think Gonzo from the muppets). They have to be seen to be believed - hit your google image search buttons now! Whats more, Proboscis Monkeys are found exclusively in Borneo, so we didn't want to miss our chance of seeing such an intriguing animal. It was late afternoon by the time we'd checked-in at Park HQ, so we dumped our stuff in the dorm and took the shortest possible walking trail to 'Paku Beach'. Set in a small cove and framed by sheer-cliff faces and overgrown jungle, this beautiful little beach occupies an incredible location, and was completely deserted when we arrived. Hannah's handbag and most of our clothes were promptly dumped on the sand, and we sprinted for the sea. Within a few minutes, a couple of curious macaque monkeys appeared out of the trees and made a beeline for Han's bag (some tasty peanuts were contained within!). James left the water to 'scare' the monkeys off, not expecting to be chased back into the sea himself within a few seconds. Now growling loudly, with teeth bared, these little guys turned out not to be so cute and harmless after all. With a severely bruised ego, but determined to reassert his male dominance, James picked up a big stick and successfully ran the monkeys (now his sworn enemy) back into the jungle. Job done, James smugly returned to the water, safe in the knowledge that his girlfriend had just witnessed exactly how big and touch he is. The victory celebrations turned out to be premature however, as the macaques soon returned - 5 times their original number! James jumped around and waved his big stick for a while, but when the monkeys started getting tactical - using complicated distraction techniques and intricate flanking manoeuvres - we decided that maybe it was time to retreat and give them back their beach.
Taking the trail back to Park HQ at that exact moment actually turned out to be a great decision; halfway back we heard rustling in the trees above and, looking up, realised we'd stumbled upon a group of feeding Proboscis Monkeys. We watched, completely engrossed, for nearly an hour as they sat, legs spread, lazily chomping on leaves and berries. With their rotund midriffs and long, floppy noses, they are a truly bizarre animal, like evolution's private little joke, and we felt extremely lucky to have such a rare and natural encounter with them. The day only improved with another awe-inspiring tropical thunderstorm, and James was in heaven when he discovered that the young lads running the Park Cafe were big 'Winning Eleven' fans (the Asian version of Pro Evo, for those not cool enough to know) and he spent a good couple of hours glued to their tiny black & white TV.
We set out early the next morning (our last day in Borneo!) on the Park's most popular walking trail; 6km long, covering a wide range of vegetation and taking in some stunning viewpoints over the surrounding islands. The terrain was only mildly undulating, but we were now in proper tropical jungle territory and, with the sun beating down mercilessly, it wasn't long before the two of us were soaked through with. Still, another lucky sighting of Proboscis Monkeys made it all worthwhile, and left us sweaty but smiling. There was just time for a very necessary shower before we took the boat and bus combo back to Kuching. Another quick freshen up and feed at our favourite guest house of the trip so far (if you ever go to Kuching, stay at Singgahsana Lodge!) and we headed to the airport for our evening flight to Jakarta, thus marking the end of a very short trip to this stunning island. We'd only scratched the surface with regards to what Borneo has to offer, and our 10 days here flew by far too quickly. But the incredible experiences we had and the unique wildlife we encountered, has left us with the serious intention to return when we're older and (hopefully) richer.
We're currently so far behind with these blogs that, in real time, another 4 amazing weeks in Indonesia has already been and gone (we're now back in Malaysia for our final 2 weeks). However, James is under strict instructions to keep each of these entries well under novel length, so we'll have to leave the Indonesian adventures for another week or so. Hopefully, you'll all find something to fill your days until then.
Bye for now xxx
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carol Ross
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Monkeys v James
Hi both, Would love to have seen James antics on the beach!! Yet another place that sounds wonderful, see you soon love Mum xx