"Cat City"- farewell Borneo...

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We landed in Miri and headed for the long distance bus station, where we caught a night bus to Kutching, the capital of Sarawak. Kutching means 'cat' in Bahasa so I had high hopes for some kind of feline paradise. It turns out that while there once was an abundance of stray cats littering the Kutching streets, they have since been 'relocated' and all that is left in there wake is a few strange cat monuments and a cat museum. Still, it's more than can be found in most cities!...

We arrived in the very early morning and wandered Little India and Chinatown before finding a gorgeous little home-stay to check into. After a quick nap in air-con bliss we hit the streets and explored the town. Kutching it turned out, is a really lovely city and is the oldest remaining city in Malaysian Borneo. Following the war, many of the country's cities were destroyed and have since been rebuilt in the classic American grid formation that lacks the character to be found in Kutching's winding network of streets and alleys. Little India and Chinatown merge to create a bustling market of curry and soup houses, while the riverfront is home to a huge wet market and a long street of handicraft shops and cafes. Further into the tiny city you come to the typical Malaysian strip of malls and you are not disappointed, there are at least six of them! It's a busy but clean and pleasant city and I was glad to be calling it home for a few days rest before moving on.

The following day we headed to the bus station and boarded the bus that should take us to the orangutan sanctuary. Of course it got a flat tire having not even pulled out of the station, so our plans changed. Instead we took an hour long bus ride out to the suburbs and visited Malaysia's largest crocodile farm. In actual fact it was more like a small zoo and it was really good craic. They opened in the 70's following the capture of a huge saltwater crocodile that had been terrorising a local community and needed a good, secure home and, from there, kept on growing. They are now home to hundreds of crocs, some of which are sold for their skins and meat and others of whom (the really big ones, caught in the wild) are simply rehoused there for the public to see and learn about. Feeding time was a seriously impressive sight as the crocs are fed chickens that are suspended above their heads and they are made work for the catch. Some of the crocodiles are 10+ meters in length and you can see how powerful they are as they leap from the water and tear at the chicken. Once caught, the smaller crocs are bullied by the larger ones for the food. It was so unusual to see crocodiles so lively and healthy in captivity.

The next day we successfully msade it out to the orangutan sanctuary and on our arrival we warned that this one was not like the one we had visited in Sabah. The guide told us that the orangutans here receive less physical contact during the hand rearing stages and are more aggressive and wilder than their Sepilok counterparts. We wandered the 2kms into the park where the sanctuary is situated and expolred the grounds, waiting for feeding time. We need not have worried we wouldn't see any orangutans! Before feeding time had even begun and nowhere near the feeding platform, a mother and her young baby swung down into the car park in search of bananas! We were told to keep our distance because she can be grumpy but it was difficult as she strolled over to us and sat watching us from only a meter or two away! Everyone backed off but it was an amazing sight. She fought playfully with her baby over the bananas and wrestled with coconuts for the juice inside and we were all captivated. Then we got a call from another ranger to say a young male had arrived and we all went to watch as he swung down from the trees and explored the HQ in search of the hidden fruit. When the feeding platform was eventually opened we had already seen three! But we walked through the jungle in the hope of seeing more and a huge alpha male greeted us. He was twice the size of any of the others I had seen and had those large cheek pads that separate him from the younger males. He swung gracefully down to the platform and quickly ate all the fruit that had been left out!
After a while we realised we would have to go and left, with some great photos, for the bus back. It was the best 80c I have ever spent.

The next few days in Kutching were spent exploring the city and the surrounding area and relaxing before moving on to Singapore and out of Malaysia. We found an amazing sushi restaurant and I happily made my way there as often as Declan would allow us!!
The family running our home-stay was really lovely and we had full run of the t.v and their living room, so evenings we spent saving money for the week ahead, watching my poor quality, pirate d.v.d's (10 for E4!).

Our last night came and we bid farewell to Borneo as we taxied through the city towards the international airport for our seventh flight of the trip...

Next Stop: Singapore!

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