http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Malaysia , Sarawak en-us Sun, 19 May 2013 15:57:17 +0000 Sun, 19 May 2013 15:57:17 +0000 After the brief sojourn to the Kelabit Highlands I took the short flight back to Miri and continued with another 2h bus ride to Batu Niah the nearest town to the Niah National Park yet another one of Malaysia39 Unesco World Heritage Sites and home to its famous multimilleniayear old limestone caves.Of course Batu Niah isn39t exactly right at the National Park39s doorstep and so it http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Miri/blog-786308.html From Miri LP recommended a detour southeastwards back towards the Limbang division of Sarawak state towards the piece of land separating Brunei. Unfortunately this journey can only reasonably be done by flight as it entails crossing rugged terrain. Given my time and budget constraints I had to choose between checking out the famous caves of Gunung Mulu National Park and the Kelabit Highlands http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Bario/blog-786306.html And so from one oilrich region to another.After just three quick days in the Bruneian sultanate it was time to move on southwestwards in my trip along Northern Borneo. So I bade farewell to Chiong and Sab and took the 4h bus across the border to Miri in Sarawak perhaps the more important of the two East Malaysian states. Larger and endowed with even more natural resources than Sabah Sarawak http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Miri/blog-785693.html Many of our fondest memories of our travel life seem to revolve around boat trips. Whether sailing on a felucca around Elephantine Island on the Nile launching small candlelit offerings while watching the Arti festival near Varanasi on the Ganges River rounding a corner and watching hundreds of wintering egrets take flight from the dense green foliage on the banks of a tributary of the Amazon I http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-783658.html This is the first of what will hopefully be many blog posts on some of the things I am most passionate about. I thought it would be a good idea to start close to home and tell you about the Gunung Mulu National Park. For me the national park is one of the most stunning places on the planet and I am genuinely honoured that I am able to live on its doorstep.Located near Miri Sawarak in Malayasian http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Gunung-Mulu-National-Park/blog-783361.html Borneo just the name itself sounds exotic and exciting. Pictures of immense jungles untamed rivers wild animals and primitive tribes of headhunters living in longhouses decorated with shrunken human heads flashed through our minds as we left the safety of our quiet suburban house in Melaka Malaysia and made our way to the bus station to begin our journey to the wild part of Malaysiathe http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-782378.html When planning our time in Borneo one of the places we said we must visit was Bako National Park as we had heard the wildlife there was sublime not to mention the various junglelike trails throughout the park and we were looking forward to a bit of an adventure again. Once we had booked our accomodation for the park in Kuching at the National Park and Wildlife office you have to do this befor http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Bako-National-Park/blog-780318.html Borneo to most people conjurs up images of lush rainforests exotic creatures rare animals and tales of jungle treks. Well this is exactly what we encountered whilst in the region of Sarawak the largest state on the Eastern side of BorneoMalaysia. We chose the city of Kuching to base ourselves in for our stay here as it was both convenient and easy to get to most places that we wanted to see http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-780099.html Semenggoh Wildlife CentreSemenggoh Wildlife Centre was established in 1975 to rehabilitate injured orphaned or confiscated illegally held wild animals. The centre is situated just south of Kuching in Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo in the small Semenggoh Nature Reserve. The reserve covers about 6.8 square km of rainforest and is really beautiful but really small.Semenggoh centre has cared for ov http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Serian/blog-776736.html 1520 MarchKuchingSleeping late at the Lime Tree hotel in Kuching is just not an option the breakfast is too good to miss. Sarawak Laksa fresh papaya and great coffee I am not prepared to forego. I have promised the Lime Tree as much limelight as I can muster in this blog as they really deserve the honours. What a fantastic little hotel. So advertising done on to Kuching.Kuching is the capi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-776499.html I only spent one day in Miri due to time constrictions with my travel plan but upon my arrival I immediately wished I39d allowed a bit more time. My friend and I decided to hire a car and visit the Niah caves an hour outside of town. The caves are considered one of the great wonders of Sarawak and we felt it would be time well spent.We arrived at the caves around 1030am got a map and rented http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Miri/blog-773991.html 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 an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-773298.html Hi allWith legs back in perfect working order it was a taste of culture for me today.I started off on a 45 minute trip to the Sarawak cultural village. This village is a living workshop. Sarawak was once inhabited by many different tribes most of which live deep within the jungles of Borneo. Within the village you can experience a taster of the locals in a variety of dwellings including the Chi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-772560.html 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. Obvi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-772384.html My second day in Sarawak and I am still conserving my energy for now.This morning I started off at a restaurant called Chong Choon where I had rather a hunger on. I sampled Kolo mee Sarawak speciality of noodles minced pork and stir fried pork Roti Kahwin and a KOPI very sweet coffee with condensed milk.Following this I thought I would treat myself to a massage to sooth my aches and change http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-772019.html 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 sce http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-771888.html We were up at 6am for the 7am bus to Semenggoh Park. It is possible to take a guided tour but they39re considerably more expensive and there39s still no guarantee that you39ll see anything. 45 MYR vs 16 Since it39s 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 ar http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-771537.html I had the misfortune to visit Bako on a rainy day. As in it rained all day. I left Kuching on the second bus and arrived an hour later. After buying a poncho to keep dry three other people and I were herded into a boat. Of course we somehow were assigned the boat with no cover. We were told to choose a return time and hoping for better weather later in the day we opted for 4pm. You can http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Bako-National-Park/blog-771536.html I spent my first day in Kuching just wandering around town getting the lay of the land and ended the day with a riverboat cruise. A woman from my hostel and I bought our tickets before 3pm and they were nearly half price buy them after 3pm and the price goes up.The boat left at 530. We rode up and down the river while a voice narrated what we were seeing. Much of Kuching is on the river so http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-771535.html Whenever I heard the term longhouse I envisioned a really long building that people lived in. But as I learned on my tour that39s 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 usu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-771534.html