Blogs from Sarawak, Malaysia, Asia - page 7

We left the Sabah region by plane from Kota Kinabalu to fly to Mulu in the north of the region of Sarawak and not far from the border with Brunei. The plane stopped en route at Miri on the coast and we had to get off briefly to clear immigration into Sarawak and whilst we were off the plane they decided it was broken. After a few hours it could not be fixed and there were no more flights so we were put up and fed curtsy of Malaysian Airways in a 4 star hotel on the beach at Miri - a result!!! Miri looked very prosperous on the route in from the airport but the town was described to us by one of our party who went to see it as a dump - glad ... read more

Bantang Ai Longhouse – accessed only by boat this was such a peaceful setting overlooking the lake. A longboat ride down the Lemanak river took us to a traditional Iban longhouse. The Ibans were a fearsome tribe of head-hunters in days gone by but fortunately are farmers today! We were greeted with the ceremonial Ngajat dance followed by lunch, rice wine, whiskey and unexpectedly a bit of an Iban party! The whiskey was flowing a bit too freely with our longboat crew. To say we were pleased to arrive back at the hotel without the long boat capsizing was an understatement! A bit more of an adventure than we were expecting! The day finished with a short rain forest nature walk and the dip in the pool. We are trying our luck with the Orang Utans ... read more

Early start to head back to Kuching today and again visit Semenggok on the way – would we see some Orang Utans this time? Saffi, our guide was hopeful provided the weather held good………..only one word for it – awesome – mission accomplished, we have had some fantastic days but difficult to better that. What a way to celebrate the Luner New Year!... read more

Early breakfast and speedboat to catch a flight to Kuching in southern Borneo to go in search of Orang-utans! We are leaving a hot sunny morning behind……….Flight to Kuching was good with stopover at Bintulu. If you are ever in Kuching you must go to the Top Spot, fantastic sea food for 111 ringgits (£22). Don’t be put off by the lift to the top of a car park! Also time for a haircut - 8 ringgits (£1.60) - and with a scary cut throat razor!... read more

Another yummy breakfast with something to please each of us. Eggs to order for Wayne, traditional Vietnamese for me, pancakes for Nic and lots of fresh fruit for Tash including a little lime salads in shot glasses. A city walk to replenish Tasha's Choki Choki supplies (tubes of chocolate goop that she apparently first discovered back home but can't get any more - she was very excited to find some yesterday in one of the supermarkets). We got some giant pretzels, booked a sunset cruise then after Starbucks Nic headed back to the hotel while Wayne Tasha and I went to the museums. The private museum that charges for entry is not worth the time or money to see a few chunks of petrified wood in mouldy rooms. The museum of Natural History and the Cultural/Ethnological ... read more