Diving

I have just been reunited with my wetsuit, fins and mask and I cannot believe how excited I am that I am off diving again :-) All I need now is to clear away all the snot that is in my head, I love Borneo but it does not seem to have the same affection for me :-(

Gone diving!

Orangutans

The proboscis monkeys were weird and wonderful, the macaques were mischievous and plentiful but the orangutans are powerful, masterful and just a little bit scary. I wasn't quite in the wild to see them but at a rehabilitaion sanctuary where these endangered animals are looked after before being released back into their dwindling natural habitat. It wasn't quite the wild but it was as near as and they certainly were not in cages. The single orang pictured above was stood in a tree greeting visitors as they arrived into the sanctuary - I think he would have gladly accepted peoples tickets to stamp them in, and then the mother and baby were just sitting on the boardwalk rail happily being photographed. The mother then decided to escort visitors along the boardwalk to the feeding station, stopping ever 5-10m to check that everyone was still following her - don't get too close though, those arms of hers are very long and very powerful - try telling the Japanese that! The feeding platform is used to support the orangs natural feeding, offering them fruit and milk. Once the orangutans have had their fill (and most of the tourist have left) the macaques take over the platform and the orangutans who obvioulsy don't like a huge audience also come along to feed. A great experience.

Mount Kinabalu

The cloud clears

A rainbow over the mountain
A river hike
Obscured by the clouds

Back to Sabah and this time it was just a short one and a half hours flight from Kuching to Kota Kinabalu - goodness knows how long it would have taken me if I had decided to go by bus! Time enough for a fuel stop and a reflexology foot massage (ouch!) in KK and I am on another bus and heading inland for Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain between the Himalayas and the island of New Guinea at 4095m. Not that I have any intention of climbing it - I like to hike, but I don't like hiking up so much and in this humidity it would be shear hell for me. With the park entrance at over 1000m the temperature is refreshingly cooler than elsewhere and down right cold at the 4095m mark no doubt. I do however feel like I need to have a little rant about the park set up, there haven't been too many rants over the last 9 months so I feel quite justified for a little one now. I was going to stay in the park itself, however they wanted RM120 for a dorm bed. Now, we are not talking huge amounts of money here, (for ease of calculation 1USd=4RM), but in comparison I have been paying on average RM50 for a private room with bathroom. I thought maybe it was because it was last minute and close to Easter so I just chose to stay outside of the park - not too difficult, a lovely private room with bathroom and a balcony looking out to the mountain for RM80. I then went on a very nice hike through the forest and following a river. I arrived back at HQ, very hot and sweaty and needed a drink. I then thought I would have lunch and chill out in the park for a while. However, lunch in the cafe was RM50 - 5 0 as I repeated to the cashier. I have been paying an average of between RM5 and RM10 for very decent food which often included a drink. So I think the private company that is running all the accommodation, food, guides and hiking permits for the park is taking the Michael - big time. I hate to think how much it costs to climb the mountain. I head back to my hotel and balcony and have a very nice late lunch there. As if the mountain felt my angst it later showed itself from behind the clouds and put on a spectacular display as the sun set and a rainbow formed - now that was worth paying for.

Bako National Park

The pitcher plant
Another beautiful Borneo sunset

My proboscis monkey

Secluded beaches

View points

Forest walks

Mud skipper - the missing link

No entry

Ocean front

These guys hung out around the human food

This is another one of those moments where I will let the pictures tell the tale. Needless to say with limestone, sandstone, rainforest, mangroves, wetland, dryland, and ocean the Bako National Park has a lot to offer. The guides are very informative and helpful and can point out a lot of stuff, but I have to say there is something quite magical about wandering the rainforest paths alone, listening to the sound of the forest and then coming across your very own group of proboscis monkeys. As my photo is not so great and it is a female rather than a male I have added in this link so you can see how weird and wonderful these monkeys are: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/5257/gdc5.html

Kuching

Multi coloured multi storey car park
The cat is king
Kareoke competition
Museums

Chinese temples

China town

Museums, churches, mosques, Chinese temples, taoist temples, palaces, city halls, white rajahs, British colonial buildings, the most colourful multi storey car park I have ever seen, Saturday afternoon kareoke competitions, cinemas, good food, markets, honour to the cat and a name that sounds like the old store till from Are you Being Served, what is there not to like about Kuching.

No Rush

As I fly out of the rain forest I need to decide on my next destination and how to get there - no real planning going on here, just heading in a general direction. I opt to head to Kuching, which is pretty much at the far western end of Sarawak, and is either a short flight away or an 8 hour bus journey, with an over night stop followed by a 5 hour boat journey. Guess which I picked. Wrong! As I was in no rush I opted for the bus and boat journey as I felt I would get to see more of the countryside and I actually rather like the bus journeys, and I am in no rush. The bus was very comfortable with wide recline able seats, a decent temperature, though the air con seemed to work over time at the end of the journey and I needed to put my fleece on, regular 2 hourly toilet and food stops and James Bond movies all the way - I resorted to my ipod as you could not hear the sound track. It was an enjoyable journey with much of it finding its way through the rain forest, only interrupted by a few towns and along the way there was clear evidence of the logging industry with huge lorries hurtling past and big logging camps/factories piled high with wood. There was also a large number of longhouses en route - the traditional wooden habitats of indigenous peoples, which is a long house with individual living rooms but with one communal veranda where all the entertainment and merriment occurs. The wooden structures however were often stood in decay with a brand new concrete structure taking its place - just like a row of town houses. The journey was quite tiring and I booked myself into a hotel at the bus station in Sibu. A heavily Chinese populated town which left me searching for food in an area where the eating houses only displayed their offerings in Chinese. Looking very lost and stupid some kind soul must have took pity on me and told me (in Chinese) just to point at something someone else was eating. I ended up with a herbal soup - it was very tasty but I may have been trying to cure something that I didn't have. It was very reminiscent of the eating houses in Ecuador where I didn't know what I was ordering, but at least there there were pictures. Next was the boat to Kuching. Which I missed - oops! I should have asked as my guide book said there were 2 boats at 7:30 and 12:45 but there was only one boat at 11:30. Oh well, another night in Sibu, but this time in the town itself, with more aimless wondering and a lovely discovery of a bottle of ribena - the drinks here all seem to be very sweet. I caught the boat the following day and traveled the river with more signs of logging and across the sea to Kuching. A journey that could have taken an hour or two, that turned into a journey of three days. Oh well, good job I am in no rush.