Borneo

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On Friday 18th we flew from Johor Bahru in the South of Malaysia to Kuching in Borneo. We arrived quite late at night and we had a bit of déjà vu when our taxi driver didn’t know where the hostel was that we’d planned to stay in (like when we flew into Hong Kong!). On the first day we walked around Kuching getting our bearings and also went to the tourist information office to find out about things to see and do in the area. While we were there we ended up booking to stay in one of the National Parks. So on Sunday off we went on a local bus to Bako National Park. When we finally arrived and registered at the park office we got on to a tiny boat that would only hold 6 people and started off up the river. The scenery was beautiful and along the river banks were local huts, mangrove swamps, forested cliffs and wooden posts holding fishing nets. We arrived at the accommodation office after about 30mins and were told which room we were staying in. There were macaques all over the place, quite a few of them with little babies hanging onto their bellies. At first I thought they were cute but then they stole Nicks dinner off his plate, were pulling at our window trying to get in and broke into our kitchen and raided the fridge! It was all quite funny but made us a bit more cautious of them. Also when our room mates got back from their first walk they looked like they’d been beaten up, apparently they got chased by monkeys and had to jump into a hole! We went for a quick walk to a beach which was nice although we were warned not to go swimming as it was jellyfish season. On our second day I opened the door to find a massive bearded jungle pig outside our chalet, apparently it just wonders round the complex and is kind of like a pet. We also spotted a green snake in the tree outside our chalet, but it hadn’t moved in the 4 days we were there which made Nick think it was a fake. We set off on a 10km walk to a waterfall; there were lots of different areas of vegetation along the way and some good views. It was strange how one minute you’d be walking through rainforest and the next you’d be out in the open where it was quite barren. After 2 and a half hours of trekking we were all hot and sticky so the waterfall came as a welcome relief, although the waterfall itself wasn’t that impressive. Once we’d cooled down we decided to walk the extra 15mins to the beach, although the closer we got to the beach the more we started regretting our decision as it was a very steep downhill slope! The beach was nice and secluded (obviously everyone else had more sense) but it was too hot to lie in the sun and Nick found a massive jellyfish, so there was no way I was going in the sea! That evening we sat on the balcony playing cards and a bat kept flying round and round our balcony catching flies and then a firefly landed on the table so we turned the lights off and watched it until it flew away. On the third day we just did a few small walks and saw a few monitor lizards. On the fourth day however we were told to head to the beach by our neighbours, so down we went and found quite a few silver leaf monkeys sitting in the trees, a couple of them had little orange babies on their bellies that were so cute. They didn’t seem bothered by us and just carried on sitting and eating, they were better looking than the macaques and weren’t as cheeky. After taking a lot of photos we started another 10km walk, firstly we went to Kecil beach which had an amazing view over the emerald blue South China Sea. It looked so inviting but we didn’t stop long as there was no shade. We then walked the Lintang Loop back to the hostel, there were loads of pitcher plants lining the route which were really interesting. They attract insects with a sweet smell and then catch them in a liquid where the insect dissolves and the plant gets its nutrients. When we arrived back at our room there were loads more silver leaf monkeys just sitting around in the trees, I went out to take photos and in the distance saw a Proboscis monkey (they have the long noses and are native to Borneo apparently). We really enjoyed our time in Bako but unfortunately ran out of money so had to go back to Kuching, on the return boat trip we even saw a crocodile! The day we arrived in Kuching some friends invited us to go to Semenggoh Wildlife Sanctuary with them, it was 23RM (£4) but we got to see orangutans! We arrived at feeding time and went straight to the feeding platform, in the distance we could see the trees moving and orangutans coming toward us. Then we turned around and there were a few more coming from the other direction. There were 5 orangutans at the first platform including Richie the big daddy and a mother and baby! It was so cool just watching them and the baby was so cute! Then a couple of them came right over to the path next to us so we were literally feet away! After a while just watching them playing around in the trees and munching away on the fruit we went to another feeding platform; there was probably another 7 orangutans there. Some of them were opening coconuts with their teeth which made you realize just how strong they are. We only had an hour there but it was amazing being around them and just watching them play and eat.

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