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Published: March 27th 2006
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Kuching
Sunset across the river on our first night in Kuching Hello all!
We have been having a very exciting time here in Borneo! We arrived in Kuching on Tuesday after getting a bus from Singapore to Johor Baru and then flying from there (much cheaper although we did have to go through immigration a silly number of times!). We are staying in a hostel called the B and B Inn which they are in the middle of painting, which would be fine if they put up wet paint signs all the time, but they only use them in places, so just when you think it's safe to sit, or touch - you get green fingers and a blue bum!
Kuching is a really lovely city, clean and relaxed with lovely handicraft shops and waterside cafes. We spent the first couple of days visiting the museums and relaxing. The visitors centre then put is in touch with a guy called Abbah who came round to our hostel to tell us about his longhouse trips. After a few minutes he had us convinced and so we gave him a 200 Ringet deposit. Which on reflection seemed a bit keen having only known him for 5 minutes!(luckily he turned up two days later
mother and baby
Monkey see, monkey do! to take us on the trip). On Friday morning we went to the Orangutan Sanctuary half an hour from Kuching which was AMAZING!
Having wanted to see Orangutans for so long I wasn't disappointed. When we eventually arrived at the centre (after the bus broke down and we had to get a random minibus) there was a mother with her baby right in the main area of the centre, and whilst we were there another two mothers turned up, one with two baby Orangutans - awww. Watching them eat the fruit and milk was incredible - they are so ambidextrous and intelligent, we saw one happily bashing a coconut against the tree to break it open. Having watched them for a while we were then taken further into the forest to a feeding platform. After waiting a while there was a rustle in the trees a few hundred metres and then a young female came swinging through up to the platform to feed. A couple of minutes later the trees started to rustle again, and then sway violently and this MASSIVE Orangutan appeared through the foliage. Watching them swing through the trees was so brilliant; they are so heavy
It's Richie!
Richie swings into town! the trees bend and sway from side to side, they build up momentum and then launch onto the next one. This big Orangutan was the dominant male which means he had the massive cheek pouches on his face, and all the other females avoid him when they have young Orangutans with them. The funniest thing was when the ranger informed us this massive creature's name was Richie! Fran and I couldnt stop laughing!
Later on that afternoon we had a bit of a nightmare when Fran's card stopped working in all the banks but we eventually got through to HSBC to sort it out after two hours of trying! Fran was not happy when the woman on the phone told her it only toko a quick phone call to sort such problems out - argh!!!
On Saturday morning the afore mentioned Abbah turned up and we set off along with 7 other people- (a belgian couple, three Irish, a guy from North hampton and a finance exec from London)- to the longhouse on the river Skrang. We took a mini bus for 4 hours untill we transferred to a boat. The journey up the river through the Borneo
In the jungle!
Scenery from the boat ride to the longhouse jungle was beautiful. The light was filtering through the huge trees dripping with vines (just like those from tarzan) and the noise from monkeys, birds and insects humming and whistling all around us was just so loud I couldn't believe it. The river was scattered with fallen trees and plants that made for dramatic scenery as we sped along in our longboats with the skipper bailing out water as we went! The journey took about an hour and a half and then we arrived at the place that was to be our home for the next two nights!
The Iban people live in these long wooden/metal houses which have one long room with smaller ones off it. They are living in the twentieth century, with T.Vs and radios, but they choose to live in traditional houses in a large community. Although, they do still have the skulls left over from their headhunting ancestors hanging up from the ceiling- eek!
We were introduced to the chief, a tiny man with lots of tatoos and very big earlobes and then wandered down the house looking at what the people were doing- making bamboo mats, carving, drying rice and pepper. Unfortunately they
Longhouse Life
Daily scene from the longhouse. couldnt speak a word of English so communication was difficult! In the evening we had a delicious meal washed down with lots of rice wine and then a traditional tribal dance which they made us join in! Sleeping arrangements were very basic - a matress on the floor in the main body of the house which wouldnt have been too bad if it wasnt for all the insects, cats and dogs wandering about over our feet #shudder#. Fran and I were very brave however, unlike steve the big macho Australian who started shrieking in the middle of the second night when a cat paid him a visit. I think he scared everyone else more than himself!
On the second day we were taken into the jungle on a trek where we were shown plants and draggebn up and down slippery, vertical mud banks where I nearly fell off a couple of times. One occasion I was only saved from a 5 metre drop into the river by a strong tribesman who caught me firmly by the buttocks and held me against the bank untill I could scramble back up. Later on as we were wading through the river he
Barbeque!
The boys waiting on their lunch! got so fed up of me falling over he gave me his galoshes - what a great guy! All I can say is I was very glad to be in one piece when we returned! The highlight of the day was our bamboo cooked dinner served in bamboo mugs, palm leaf plates with bamboo cutlery. One of the tastiest barbeques I've ever had - although I did avoid the pigs head!
On the final day we were taught a bit of fishing and then had one final swim in the river before returning back to Kuching. In all it was a great experience, but I am quite glad to be out alive!
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