Borneo! - Sarawak: Kuching

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Hi everyone! We decided to make an unplanned trip to Borneo using a cheap air Asia flight!.. So here's what we did...

A very light sleep kept us both on our toe's for our 2:30am alarm call! We set off bound for Kuching, the Capital of the Sarawak region of Malaysian Borneo. We first took a taxi to KL Sentral station where we took the AirAsia bus to KL's new LCCT (Low Cost carrier Terminal) The route was very easy which helped because we were both still half asleep! When weighing our luggage, we found out that Nik's bag weighed 19 kilo's compared to my measly 15! Know wonder she's been struggling! The security seemed a bit more relaxed at the LCCT compared to other international airports. Instead it was the Asian's on our flight that kept a closer eye on us. Some had health masks on to protect themselves against swine flu whilst other lifted their tops as a germ protector when they walked past us! It didn't help being the only Westerners on the flight and therefore all eyes on us.. The pig flu carriers! It was ridiculous, considering we have spent the duration of the outbreak in there country! Our AirAsia flight was good, particularly because we slept through much of the 1 hour 45 minutes it. We awoke to view the jungle landscape spread towards the highlands and a sharply sinuous river curve through the lush greenery. A view that Borneo is famous for and one that was already worth the 125 ringgit/25 quid that we paid for from the flight. It certainly wet our appetite for the next few days and all it needed was David Attenbrough to commentate over it. We arrived to numerous workers wearing masks to collect our swine flu questionnaires and were soon out of the airport. We had to take a cab to town because apparently buses no longer ran a Kuching - Airport link. We were dropped off at a hotel on our request but decided to try another. We took a short walk to a more central location and in the heart of China Town. We lugged our rucksacks passed many Cat statues along the way, the reason for this is because Kuching translates to Cat in Malay. We decided to stay at Borneo B + B and found the owners to be very friendly. We exploited the free breakfast before exploring a bit of Kuching, taking a stroll through China Town on the way to tourist information to help plan activities for the next few days! We looped through Little India passing numbers of spice stores displaying there goods like rainbows of scented colour. Chilli and fish was also on offer, enhancing a vibrant display of Borneo foods. After we took a relax along the well maintained waterfront walkway. Kuching isn't your stereotypical Borneo. It's a very modern and beautiful city and perfect to relax and stroll in. It's far from the deep jungle and wildlife and insect ridden region that people think Borneo as, and not what we had expected after the view we had seen from our plane window. After some grub we took a traditional boat with a roof like a gable ended house across the river to Fort Margarita, a colonial building used to fend of pirates in the 18th century. Unfortunately with another rain forest storm looming, we decided to head back across the river swiftly to avoid another soaking like in KL. Therefore we only caught a glimpse of the building and its overgrown grounds. On the way home we stopped at a few shops selling traditional wood craft such as masks, ornaments and souvenirs. The lack of sleep soon caught up with is in the evening and so had an early night.

The morning beep from my Casio watch alarm caused a premature awakening because we still hadn't caught up sleep from our early flight the day before. The early alarm was intended to wake us for a morning bus ride to the Sarawak Cultural Village which was holding the "World" Harvest Festival. (The Harvest festival is a big tribal celebration in Malaysian Borneo). " So once up and after our free breakfast of toast and jam we headed to one of the many 5* hotels in Kuching to catch a minibus there. As our time is short in Borneo, the cultural village essentially offered a taster of the traditional tribal culture and history that is found in Sarawak. The world harvest festival was a bonus and we were able to see the traditional dances from the likes of India, Sri Lanka and suprisingly "Latvia" in a "global" concert. Also on offer was to watch an iron man competition and a beauty pageant, the later taking place in the evening. The cultural village was situated at the foot of a densely vegetated mountain and near to the beach resort area of Dumai. When we arrived we were stunned at the natural beauty of the location with traditional totem poles standing out against a well maintained garden and traditional village long houses surrounding a docile lake, not to mention the cloudy mountain peak in the background. The picturesque location added a bounce in our step as we walked around the gardens to view the iron man competition. The muscle men were testing out their accuracy and puff during a blow pipe competition. A Borneo version of traditional British archery. We also visited the numerous tribal huts, varying in size, height and subsequent style. One had a staircase made by chopping stairs into an angled piece of wood which lead to a communal balcony area. It was this long house where we tried out a blowpipe for ourselves. Niks accuracy and puff was appalling! However she redeemed herself with an accurate attack on a target using a large blowpipe later in the day at the expense of a screwed up face during her short exhilation. Just before lunch we went to the World Harvest Concert, eager to see the traditional dance of Latvia. In Borneo!. However it was actually India and Sri Lanka that stole the show with their active, colourful and bouncy bollywood style moves, complete with smiling faces. The Sarawak dance was also very entertaining particularly as they accurately mimicked the movements of animals paying great attention to detail. Latvia on the other hand sent a load of old folk dancers like the Morris dancers you'll get in England! We visited a few more traditional long houses and then went back to Kuching for the afternoon. During which we visited the numerous souvenir shops and were impressed by the traditional carving skills including masks, and other cultural statues. The rain forest storm tipped it down again so we chilled out for the remainder of the night locally to our hotel.

24th May
We took a sweaty walk to Kuching's Sunday morning market, a chaotic maze of stalls selling fresh fruity produce, fish and poultry amongst other things. It was enjoyable to mingle in with the weekly bustle and view and smell the variety of food on offer. We walked through the damp and fishy floor to watch locals haggling for a prize catch of anything from silver looking angel fish to shark and stingray. The fruit reflected the colourful displays of vendors singing their cheap tunes either side of the pathway. Chillies looked scrumptious in the baking and bright sun whilst organic grapes oozed a juicy appeal. I however went for Pumpkin, thinking that its orangey insides were infant that of a Mango! The shady pet area was a useful spot to dry our drenched backs, yet the dogs and rabbits on sale still looked hot and bothered. Shady umbrella's also assisted in cooling us, but it was noticeable that they were intended for the fresh fruit particularly when I bashed and scalped myself on them. Our next destination was to relax in the beautiful park surrounding adjacent to the complex of museums parallel to "Mederka Square." It's shaded park benches hid from the sun using tall girthy trees that reminded us of ones back home. The colonial museum buildings also enhanced a British feel. We grabbed a curry along the pedestrianized walkway in Little India before heading back to our hotel in time to visit the Semenggoh Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. We squashed on small minibus seats for the journey and I was feeling a little pessimistic of the quality of the centre compared to the wonderful experience we had at Bukit Lawang, Indonesia. This continued after seeing lifeless Crocodiles in small cages then walking down a stone shingled pathway in the "heart" of the jungle to a distant feeding platform. It was the older tourists dressed in complete jungle gear including sun hats, checked shirts and socks pulled up high that waited desperately to catch a sight of mans nearest cousin. We had to change location next to a public toilet at the car park to find the Orang-utans, but in fact this didn't promote a negative atmosphere for the excited tourists as we all caught a glimpse of 3 Borneo Orang-utans. A beautiful sight with two females of which one was carrying a child with the same love and affection as we had witness at Bukit. Nik and I both snapped away as they sat on low branches a few metres above ground and in close proximity. The noise of the mother hitting a coconut on the tree drowned out the admirable chatter of people and both our eyes were glued as the baby slurped down the coconut juice. It was very entertaining and well worth the 25 ringgitt/ 5 quid round trip. Nik and I enjoyed sharing pictures back on the riverside waterfront of Kuching with a chocolate ice cream. Nik was proud to say that the babies electrified afro hairstyle resembled her ginger locks in the morning! We enjoyed the rest of the evening taking a walk beside the green lit riverfront and a chilled night. An early set off for the next morning to the Baku national park in search of the illusive droopy nosed Proboscis monkeys.

Bako National Park, an area north of Kuching where rocky headlands, secluded beaches and mangrove swamps separate the South China Sea and thick Borneo rain forest. Needing at least a day to explore one or two of its mapped and signposted walks, we took early transport using local bus and speed boat to begin at the parks headquarters. We got the speedboat with a Dutch couple and Aussie guy in order to share the fare. As the muddy estuary widened we were met by a flat sea that blended immaculately with the sky and could only be separated by the imposing jungle headlands or marined wooden posts used for fishing. Upon arrival we jumped off our boat onto a deserted and brown sandy beach at low tide with distinct sandy wave ridges and varying species of crab shuffling into their burrows. Our first walk was the Paku trail, a prime location for spotting a Proboscis monkey as it parallels watery mangroves and shoreline trees. We shared the trail with our boat friends and whilst getting to know each other a little we immediately spotted a huge Proboscis male walk passed us through the mangrove. This unexpected treat made me shout in shock. A reflex I couldn't control! Before we knew it he had passed and we failed to clearly see his distinctive facial features. The undulating walk was easy, the route was well indicated and the tree roots acted as staircases where needed. We quietly plodded through the jungle hoping to see a clear cut view of a Proboscis. The harsh squeals of smaller monkeys were a minor distraction to what we had come to see. Shortly around the corner we spotted about 5 Proboscis momentarily in the open before swapping to unvisible branches. Nevertheless we bagged our first real spot of their phallic style nose before they had gone. Only the throaty chatter like pubic teenage boys hinted of their location. Desperate for a picture of their droopy noses we hesitantly continued our walk which ended at a rocky bay with a small silty beach. We particularly enjoyed the company of our Dutch friends who called the monkeys "Hibiscus." We trekked back to the start area where Nik spotted a mother Proboscis monkey carrying a baby. We took a break along the mangrove board walk were I took a squelchy stroll through the salty mangrove mud, still in content without a good shot of a Proboscis.. The mud was littered with crabs varying in colour and weaponry. Having no luck, I headed back to Nik who was worried I had been eaten by a crocodile once I had gone from her sight. I was actually well aware of the mangrove surroundings and constantly looked around in case I was being hunted by a croc! Our second walk was longer, approximately a 5 km return journey, starting with a steep, sweaty ascent through jungle followed by scorching heat through open land and no escape from the midday heat. The distance to the end destination was marked regularly and the time in jam/hours was also recorded. Jam was at the forefront of an ongoing joke with our Dutch friends, (But you had to be there!) The unbearable walk was well rewarded with a beautiful remote shoreline view and a discrete beach, powerful limestone headland and tropical sea. Nik and I raced into the warm sea water for a paddle shared only by a another couple in the distance. We had been told of jelly fish and crocs along the coast and I squielled when something touched my leg! Only to my relief it was Nik! The walk back to the jetty was just as sizzling and for once we had hoped that the distant thundery rumble would pass over to cool us down. We were about to set sail for home when Nik spotted about 5 Proboscis jumping in the trees and enjoying a cool windy air from a storm which blocked sight of the shadowed mountains across the sea. Finally we could clearly see there famous face as they nibbled on leaves and grabbed branches in a covert attempt of hiding from us! Despite their peculier features, the monkeys were very beautiful and somewhat human like. It really made our day to see them up close. We left the park a little early to avoid a soaking from the heavy storm swiftly approaching. Only the wind had conjured up some choppy waves that spilled into our speedboat to soak us anyway. The bus ride back to Kuching was a sleepy one. A consequence of walking in the intense sun and blistering heat. Back in Kuching we had a well needed wash and then ate with our friends along the pretty waterfront. The proboscis was the cherry on the top of our experience in SE Asia.

Having checked our flight details to Singapore, we mistakenly realized we had 2 days left in Borneo rather than the 1 initially thought! Fortunately there was enough to do in Kuching with a variety of good cultural and historical museums on offer, our Dutch friends treated us to a free lunch seeming to understand that our money needs to go far! This was very gratefully received and we also spent the day with them, visiting the various museums and generally joking around. We met a guy who taught "Sepak takraw," a volley ball like game using your feet to volley a wooden rattan ball over a net. He taught me some kicking moves and was happy to show off his sumpreme agility with a back flip! I ended up a dripping and sweaty mess as a consequence of playing in the midday heat and was happy to visit another cultural museum that had a good air-con system! After the museums we went to get a drink but ended up staying in a KFC because a very intense rainstorm continued to pound down on Kuching. Interestingly the KFC only employed Deaf workers so we ordered our finger lickin chicken using sign language. Soon enough, and after lots of laughs, the day had passed. We ended with a delicious Chinese meal located near our hotel.

27th May
We left Kuching and the beauty of Borneo for our final destination in SE Asia; Singapore. We travelled to the airport at around 4pm and much of the time before consisted of a lazy morning, followed by a relax along the Sarawak rivers waterfront. Our flight to Singapore was delayed by half hour, but we let AirAsia off because our flight was only 22 quid! Our time in Singapore will be in the next blog. Borneo Like much of Asia was amazing. Lets hope Singapore rounds off an awesome SE Asia experience.

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