28 May 2014

Week 87 - Kinabalu National Park, Sandakan, Kinabatangan River, Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia)

We were up early again the next day to try to make the first boat to Kota Kinabalu, leaving at 8am. We got to the terminal to buy a ticket only to find that the boat was canceled (we have no idea why boats seem to be canceled so often, the weather was fine). The next boat wasn’t until the afternoon and we didn’t want to sit around any longer. All 6 of us ended up buying a ticket for a speed boat to run us to Menumbuk, a small town on the mainland. We didn’t have to wait long and we squeezed in to the tiny boat for the short 20 minute trip. We pulled into Menumbok and I wished I had the camera to hand, it was a pretty stilt village with pastel coloured wooden houses built over the water. We found a bus heading straight to Kota Kinabalu leaving in an hour and settled at a cafe to wait. 

The bus got us into the town at around noon and we walked in the direction of the City Bus Station, a small car park full of minibuses. We found one going to Ranau and claimed a seat, only waiting about 30 minutes for the rest of the seats to fill so we could start the journey. The drive to the Kinabalu National Park took about an hour and a half and we were dropped at the end of a track leading to our mountain lodge. It took us 20 minutes with our backpacks to climb the 1 km over the hills to the lodge and we got there just in time for a downpour, the clouds had rolled in and we couldn’t see anything of the view from the terrace. It was a bit awkward when we arrived as we were the only people there and there were 7 women working there all sitting around in the common area eating lunch. 

We hid away in our room until they called us for dinner, Nasi Goreng, not one of Rhys’s favourite meals, just fried rice with an egg on top. Before bed we chatted to an English guy out on the balcony while admiring all the beetles and moths and playing with a very loud chatty cat. 
Moths on the balcony at our hostel, Kinabalu National Park.
Another 6:30am alarm and we were up for breakfast before a taxi picked us up to drive the 2 km to the National Park HQ. We would have walked but the road was very hilly and we had all our luggage. We left our big bags in storage at the HQ, grabbed a trail map and jumped in a shuttle bus to the Timpohon Gate. We would have loved to have climbed Mount Kinabalu but the prices were extortionate, at £200 for a 1 night, 2 day climb we just couldn’t justify it when we’re only paying 3 times that for a 17 night trek to Everest Base Camp in a couple of months. There was an option to climb in one day to reduce the cost but we just didn’t think the climb would be enjoyable in such a rush and we still had thoughts of the Pinnacles at the back of our minds. 
Mount Kinabalu, Kinabalu National Park.
We climbed a short trail to a view point to see the mountain before the clouds rolled in then spent the next couple of hours following the longest trail (not ascending the mountain) back to HQ. We stopped there for a coffee where we poked some stick insects and Rhys discovered a leech on his leg that had obviously been there for a while (he swears a pint of blood came out when he squashed it but I think it was more like a tablespoon) before wandering up to the botanic garden. As they were asking an entrance fee we decided against it and walked back down to pick up our big bags. All up, we were in the park for about 5 hours and walked about 7.5km, Rhys’s allergies had flared up so we decided to call it a day. We crossed the road for a cheap lunch then set up camp at the bus stop for the 2 hour wait for the bus to Sandakan to arrive. Luckily, it turned up an hour early. The journey was supposed to take 4 hours but with a lunch stop for the driver and bad traffic it took nearer to 5 hours. When we finally got into Sandakan we only had time to check into our hostel and grab a quick Indian buffet dinner (I ended up with a plate of kidneys, yuck) before bed.

We managed to arrange a 3 day/ 2 night trip, staying at a lodge on the Kinabatangan River, through our hostel and after a lazy start to the day were led to the pick up point at 11:30am. Thinking the bus was running late the guy from the hostel left us to wait and went back to work. 45 minutes later and the bus still hadn’t turned up and we were getting hot and sticky standing on the street corner. Another guy appeared out of nowhere and after a few phonecalls told us that the bus had gone without us and our hostel had forgotten to let them know that we’d booked on to the trip. We walked back to the hostel weighing up our options and the guy in reception made a few phonecalls are sorted out another lift. Papa Bear, the manager of the lodge was just up the road and in 30 minutes could be in Sandakan to pick us up and drive us the 2 hours to the river. It was quite an eye opening journey with palm oil plantations as far as the eye could see and a little saddening to think of the acres and acres of rainforest that have been destroyed to satisfy demand for the product. 

In the end we were only a little later than those who arrived on the bus, we were shown to our cabin, a little wooden shed on stilts overlooking the river, Rhys went for afternoon tea then it was time for our first boat ride. The boat was jammed with 14 people squashed in and the guide wasn’t that good at spotting wildlife, he was content to laugh and joke with his friends and follow the boats from the other lodges. Back at the lodge we had time to watch the sunset from the terrace over the water before dinner. The food the whole time we were at the lodge was amazing and of a far higher standard than we were expecting. We had calamari, lamb stew, home made doughnuts and baked beans among other things. 
Boat trip on the Kinabatangan River, near Sukau.
Baby macaque monkey on the banks of the Kinabatangan River.
That evening we had a night walk. We were a little surprised how few people actually bothered to show up for the walk and chose to turn in for an early night since it was all included in the price. We had the same guide as on the boat and again he wasn’t much good, it turned into more of a night march than a walk and we spotted more than he did. Back at the cabins after the walk we had a quick lap of the terrace over the water by ourselves to find stick insects and spiders.

The alarm was set for 5:40am the next morning to give us time for a quick coffee before boarding the boat for our morning boat ride. It was quite mystical seeing the river with mist sitting low in the jungle on its banks. The Kinabatangan River is a wide, quite fast flowing river and is the colour of coffee and the boats have to weave about to dodge the branches and trees being washed down from up river. The encroaching palm oil plantations mean that the animals are all pushed towards the rainforest lining the banks that is protected, making spotting monkeys and birds pretty easy. Although we didn’t see any big ticket items like wild orangutans or pygmy elephants we saw more macaques, proboscis and languar monkeys than you can shake a stick at. During that morning boat ride we saw a couple of horn bills and lots of different eagles and kites, all of which our guide told us the name of and I have already forgotten.

Back at the lodge we had breakfast and had an hour to kill before our next activity. We happily filled the time napping in our cabin before meeting our group, that had now dropped to 5 people for a walk to the nearby oxbow lake. It took about an hour to get to the lake and as the day was already starting to warm up, the wildlife we saw was limited to creepy crawlies. Once at the lake we dangled our feet in the water and Aljun, our guide handed us slices of bread to feed the fish, you’d swear they hadn’t eaten in months. After enjoying the tranquility of the lake for a while longer, it was time to head back. We only got a short way down the trail when the rain started. Back at the lodge, we quickly changed out of our wet clothes before lunch was served, then had another couple of hours before afternoon tea and our next boat trip. 
Oxbow lake on the Kinabatangan River.
Tree frog in the jungle by our lodge, Kinabatangan River.
We retired to the audio visual room to watch a couple of short dvds on orangutan orphans and conservation programmes in the area before another nap in our cabin. Although another 13 people had arrived, that afternoon the 5 of us were given our own boat and went out with our guide Aljun, the rain having just about stopped for the day. We were out for a little over two hours and had spotted ridiculous amounts of hornbills including the Rhinoceros Hornbill (the one you always picture in your head when someone says hornbill), Wrinkled Hornbills and Oriental Hornbills. Of the 30 types of Hornbills in the world, 8 are found in Borneo and we were happy having seen 3 on our tour. Hornbills are one of Rhys’s favourite birds and one of the main reasons we took a trip to the Kinabatangan River, that and the fact that everything in Sabah is so expensive and our hostel in Sandakan offered a really cheap deal and our idea of Borneo screams jungle and animals rather than islands and snorkeling which was the other option.
Rhinoceros Hornbill, Kinabatangan River.
We watched the sunset over the river and played cards while we waited for the gong to announce dinner. That night only 3 of us went out on the night walk with Aljun. Again, we didn’t see any mammals but lots of creepy crawlies. We decided to do another lap of the terrace by the river before bed and came across 4 or 5 different kinds of praying mantis.
Praying mantis on the terrace at our lodge, Kinabatangan River.
Another early start for our last morning boat ride and we headed out with Aljun again. The previous morning we’d seen hundreds of eagles but this morning was all about Hornbills and Broadbills. Back at the lodge we had breakfast before packing up and checking out, catching the boat across the river to the waiting bus to take us back into Sandakan. The journey was uneventful and once in town we walked back to our hostel and checked back in, waiting for a room to become free in the lounge. 
Dawn boat trip on the Kinabatangan River.
Broadbills on the banks of the Kinabatangan River.
We spent the rest of the day lounging around and doing chores, popping out for a delicious dinner at a harbour front restaurant. We bought some foul, undrinkable orange vodka on the way back to our room and after a bit more TV turned in for an early night.

After breakfast at the hostel we checked out and jumped in a taxi to the long distance bus terminal on the outskirts of town. It’s the oddest bus terminal, more like a trading estate with a little layby and an office round the back. We’d timed it perfectly and jumped straight on the 9am bus as it was ready to leave. The journey took us just over 6 hours, along winding mountain roads, back past the Kinabalu National Park. The views were stunning with rolling green hills speckled with small villages and tea plantations. Once off the bus we jumped in a taxi to Australia Place, an area of budget accommodation in Kota Kinabalau, along with another English guy, Matt. After checking in to a hostel we wandered out to get our bearings, ending up in a shopping mall for a late lunch on the 4th floor terrace with views out across the bay. Back at the hostel we met up with Matt and headed back to the mall, in torrential rain, to the cinema. Rhys wanted to watch the new X-Men film. We paid our £2.40 entrance (bargain!) and settled in. The film was pretty good even for a non-movie goer like me. By the time it was over and we were back in the room it was time for bed.

We had hoped to take a short boat ride across to a group of islands just off the coast the next day but when we woke it was overcast and humid, in Borneo, that generally means rain is on its way. Instead, we spent the day in the air conditioned shopping mall, eating on the roof terrace and replacing some worn out T-shirts and shorts. By lunchtime the weather had cleared but we’d already settled in to a chill day. That evening we wandered over to the night market on the water front. For the second time that week I wished we had the camera, it was chaotic with row after row of cheap, fresh seafood followed by fresh vegetables and then some little stalls cooking up fish while you waited. We sat down at one of the stalls and ordered a seafood feast, two different fish, some squid and a giant prawn. I thought it was delicious but Rhys wasn’t all that keen and bought some chicken wings on the way home instead.

21 May 2014

Week 86 - Mulu National Park, Miri, Bandar Seri Begawan, Pulau Labuan (Malaysia, Brunei)

After the Pinnacles trek and our second night at Camp 5, we didn’t sleep late as the bees were up and flying around our room. We packed, ate breakfast and headed out for the 9km trek back to Kuala Litut. We took it slower than on the first day and left ourselves time to stop and look at the flora and fauna, wincing at the muscle ache at the smallest inclines. Kishan and Daniel arrived at the boats at the same time as us and we jumped in for the short trip down river back to Mulu Park HQ. 

We checked back into the hostel in the park and headed straight in for a hot shower. As our bodies realised we’d made it, the tiredness kicked in. We had a quick lunch then spent the afternoon relaxing in the dorm trying to ignore the stifling heat. Rhys left me asleep on the floor under the fan and wandered back to the cafe to use the internet where I found him later. We had dinner with Katelyn and Taylor at our favourite cafe just outside the park before walking a short trail to see if we could spot any of the giant stick insects we’d seen on our previous night walk. We didn’t have much luck, it seems they only like the pouring rain, but we did spot a cool frog and a scary looking spider. 
Frog in Mulu National Park.
As we hadn’t yet managed to climb the Tree Top Tower we set the alarm for 5:50am and went to the security office to pick up the key. The tower was only a short walk from HQ and took us up into the forest canopy where we hoped to spot some hornbills. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side and the drizzle meant we only saw very few birds with one distant hornbill sighting. After 40 minutes we called it a day, locked up, dropped the key back and went for breakfast. As we were pretty stiff from the Pinnacles trek we spent the morning hanging around the cafe waiting for our flight to Miri. 

The flight was a short 25 minute jump and before long we landed and took a cab to our hostel. The room was very clean and modern, perfect for our first stop after 5 days in a national park in dorms. That night we wandered out to find somewhere for dinner and stumbled upon a busy bar with tables spilling out on to the street. As soon as we saw they sold Strongbow by the pint we were sold (despite it costing the same as in London). As an oil town Miri hosts expats from all over the world who work for the multinational oil and gas giants and the bar wouldn’t have looked out of place in the UK. We would have happily sat there for longer as it was a nice break from fried rice and noodles but had another early start to look forward to. 

We reserved seats on a minibus that would pick us up from our hostel at 6:30am the following day, to shuttle us across the border and into Brunei. The border was stupidly easy and we didn’t even need to get out of the van, although we did have to fill is special customs forms because we had alcohol on us and we had to have stamped forms showing we’d brought it across the border and we had to sign to say we’d only drink it in private and wouldn’t offer it to anyone while in Brunei. 

The van dropped us at our hotel in Bandar Seri Begawan, Capital Residence Suites, and we went to check in. We’d treated ourselves to 4 nights at a nice hotel as we’d spent Rhys’s birthday in a dorm in Mulu, and i’d emailed ahead to say we’d be celebrating his birthday and anything they could do to make it extra special would be brilliant. They pulled out all the stops. Not only did they upgrade us from a standard room to an executive suite that was bigger than our flat was in London (it had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a laundry, kitchen, balcony, dining table and the highlight, sofas and a flat screen TV!), but once we were in the room the manager along with all the staff appeared at our door with a birthday cake complete with candles, singing happy birthday - Rhys was speechless. If we ever go back to Brunei we will be staying there again and would recommend it to anyone. The whole time we were there the staff bent over backwards, going out of their way to make sure our stay was perfect, from offering their driver for free to take us along with other guests to see the sights of Brunei to running us to the ferry port 45mins away. 

As the room was so fantastic we didn’t really want to leave it, and along with the early start leaving Miri we decided to spend the morning chilling in our living room. We popped to the supermarket to buy lunch and dinner (we ended up cooking in every night to make the most of the kitchen and dining table) and had a quick walk around town and spent the rest of the day in the suite.
Rhys enjoying our suite at the Capital Residence Suites, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
The next day Rhys decided he wanted to stay in the room while I went to the Royal Regalia Museum. Leaving my shoes outside and my handbag in a locker I spent a couple of hours learning about Brunei’s history and reading copies of the agreements signed with the UK, before admiring all the gifts given to the Sultan from foreign countries and the chariot, outfits and other items from the Sultans coronation and jubilee. Brunei still has a special relationship with the UK following from a 19th century agreement that the British could trade freely in Brunei in exchange for providing protection from pirates. Brunei gained it’s independence in 1984 but was never actually a colony.

That afternoon, a squad of maids knocked at our door to make up the room so we wandered out in the heat to see the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. As it was prayer time and shut to non-muslims we were only able to walk around the exterior. It was very peaceful in the grounds and the building looked like something straight out of Aladdin with it’s 28 domes (it was built by the 28th Sultan).
Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
The next day we decided to walk down to the waterfront to see if we could catch a boat across the river to Kampung Ayer. Kampung Ayer is a water village that is home to 39,000 people, roughly 10% of the nations total population and is the world’s largest water village. It has it’s own schools, police office and fire station, hospital and mosque with the pastel coloured stilt houses joined by wooden walkways.

As soon as we got to the water we were approached by Wann, a lovely tour guide who offered to take us on a short 1.45hour trip through the stilt water village and out to the mangroves. It was much cheaper than any other trips we’d seen and sounded like a good deal so after the boat captan Mark showed up we boarded and set off. Wann was full of interesting facts and we learned a little about the Istana Nurul Iman (home to the Sultan of Brunei and the biggest palace in the world with 1,788 rooms, 247 bathrooms, a 110 car garage, 5 swimming pools and an air conditioned stable for the Sultans 200 polo ponies), the main mosques in Bandar, the water village itself and the mangroves. We were lucky enough to happen upon a troupe of Proboscis monkeys and a mangrove snake along with 3 eagles. The trip ended up lasting more than 2.5 hours and by the time we got back to land we felt like we’d done our quota of sightseeing for the day and walked back to our suite to turn up the aircon. 
Kampung Ayer, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
We had one last day in Brunei and after a lazy start, arranged for the hotel’s driver to drop us at the Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, Brunei’s largest mosque, a couple of kilometres out of town. We donned robes and explored. The driver had to carry on to the airport before returning to pick us up and we ended up waiting around for an age in the heat, there’s only so much you can look at at a mosque. Back in town we decided to visit the main central Mosque again since it was visiting hours, the exterior was far more impressive than the interior and you’re not actually allowed to do much more than peer in the door.
Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
We had one last blissful night in our suite before it was time to check out and head back in to Malaysia. We really enjoyed Brunei, although we didn’t actually do that much (and to be fair there’s not a whole lot to do unless you want to pay a fortune to venture into the rainforest that covers 70% of the country), the people were very welcoming and the city was clean, modern and relaxed. Compared to Aceh, the only other place we’ve been with Sharia Law, Brunei is far more laid back and seems far more open to other religions and ways of life. 

We booked the driver to take us to the ferry terminal at 7am. The driver was there, as were we but another two guests had decided to join us and were 30 minutes late. Not a great start. When we finally got to the terminal we bought our tickets, cleared immigration and climbed aboard. About an hour later and we were still sitting in port and they told us the boat had been canceled. The next boat wasn’t until 1pm, 5 hours later. So we had 5 hours of sitting at the ferry terminal, there not being anything to do in the vicinity, along with the German couple from our hotel and two Dutch guys. Finally, after having to get our terminal fee tickets reissued at the last minute we boarded the 1pm boat and were on our way to Pulau Labuan.

By the time we arrived in Labuan, a duty free island off the coast of Sabah, we’d missed the last boat to Kota Kinabalu. Our other option was for a boat/taxi/bus combo and we realised it was more hassle than it was worth and we were better off staying in Labuan for the night. Commence the search for a hotel. Rhys walked around, leaving me with the luggage, to try to find somewhere and we realised accommodation was really expensive with not all that much bang for your buck. After a Canadian couple living in Labuan stopped to give me advice, Rhys returned and we set off to another area on their suggestion. This time leaving Rhys with the bags I wandered off and found somewhere closer to our price range and we checked in, along with the German couple. By the time we were settled in our hotel we only had time for a quick explore, (there didn’t seem to be much to see in Labuan other than some duty free shops) before dinner and a beer on plastic chairs owned by a Chinese restaurant, spilling out into the pedestrianised street outside our hotel. Dinner was delicious and cheap and we went to bed content.

14 May 2014

Week 85 - Bako National Park, Kuching, Mulu National Park (Malaysia)

From Kuching we caught a bus to Bako Village where we were dropped at the National Park boat terminal. We didn’t have to wait long before our boat was ready and we headed out, passed the houses on stilts, around the headland to the Park HQ. Pulling into the bay we were welcomed by a stretch of golden sand hemmed in by towering limestone cliffs and backed by lush green jungle. 

To pass the time until we could check in, we took a short 800m trail, Telok Paku, that would take us down to another beach. Marmite sandwiches packed, once we arrived in the cove we found a sheltered alcove under the cliff and ate our picnic surrounded by entertaining hermit crabs. While we ate, the rain rolled in and we ducked back under the forest canopy to head back to HQ. Once we reached the mangroves near camp we heard rustling and turned to see a group of Proboscis monkeys, my new all time favourite monkey. Proboscis monkeys have these phallic looking noses and pot bellies and make great honking noises. We spent a while watching them before heading to our room. Luckily for us, no one else checked in to our dorm and we had the room to ourselves for the 2 nights. 
Proboscis monkey, Bako National Park.
We didn’t waste much time changing in to our hiking boats before we wandered out again. This time we took the 5.8km Lintang loop. The trail started in the jungle with the path strewn with tree roots before reaching a plateau that looked like something out of Jurassic Park. Although we didn’t encounter much wildlife it was a nice walk and we were tired by the time we made it back. We had a quick dinner in the canteen while admiring the bearded pigs and the cheeky long tailed macaques hanging around, before it was time to go out again, on the guided night walk. Just as we were getting ready to head out someone pointed out a flying lemur in the tree right outside our room and we were lucky enough to see her jump, gliding from one tree to the next. There’s something very special about being in the jungle in the dark, listening to all the night creatures going about their business and even though we didn’t spot any more mammals we did come across a scorpion, pit viper, nesting swifts and tonnes of stick insects and some glow in the dark fungi. We fell into bed shattered and ready to sleep.
Rhys hiking in Bako National Park.
When the alarm went off for an early walk we were delighted to hear rain hammering down on the tin roof, we turned off the alarm and went back to sleep resurfacing in time for breakfast. More bearded pig spottings and baby macaques and we headed off to complete a short 4.6km trail, Telok Pandan Kecil with a detour to Besar viewpoint. The trails were easy with sections of boardwalks and sand terminating at cliff top views of the bays below. As we’d seen much more wildlife around camp than on any of the trails and because most of the longer trails were closed for maintenance, we decided to spend the afternoon in the vicinity of HQ. We sat in the canteen and watched the monkeys and pigs (a macaque rudely stole Rhys’s beer and threw it on the floor), walked a short trail through the forest and ended the day with a beer out on the boardwalk overlooking the beach and the mangroves. 
Silver leaf monkeys with their babies, Bako National Park.
Perfect spot for an evening beer, Rhys overlooking the beach, Bako National Park.
We had a lazy start again the next day and other than a few short walks along the beach and to the mangroves we spent most of the morning at camp letting the animals come to us. We had a boat booked for 11:30am for the 10 minute return trip to the village where after a short wait, we boarded a bus back to Kuching. We checked in to the same hostel and headed back to the laundry. We had a few more errands to run before Rhys headed back to the hostel, leaving me to visit the Art Gallery and Sarawak Museum. The gallery was tiny but the museum was interesting with half of the 2nd floor given over to information about longhouses and a small longhouse reconstruction. As we’re only in Borneo for 4 weeks we’ve decided to focus on the natural wonders and the wildlife rather than the cultural places and it was good to get a feel for the different tribes and their way of life.
Limestone formations on the beach, Bako National Park.
We ate dinner at a cheap Chinese food court before having a few drinks at the hostel to celebrate Rhys’s last day as a 28 year old. At midnight he was too excited to wait longer so I gave him his cards (Rhodri and Fay bought some from family at home) and sang him happy birthday. We’re not doing presents this year as we’re trying to make our money stretch as far as we can so i’ve promised him a doubley good present next year for his 30th.

Although it was Rhys’s birthday we had a flight to catch and called a taxi to take us to the airport. The little propellor plane was on time and we touched down in a tiny airport in Mulu National Park, on the Brunei border, at lunch time. We watched the baggage handlers throw our bags around a bit before bringing them to the one room terminal building, grabbed them and jumped in a shared car to the Park HQ. It was immediately obvious that Mulu has far more funding than Bako, the buildings and paths are sturdier and you get the feeling that it caters to more mid-price tourism with some luxury huts as well as the huge dorm we were in. 

We didn’t have long before our first guided walk, to Lang and Deer Cave was ready to leave. It was one of those trips were you really don’t need a guide but where one is compulsory. After a 3.2km walk along a boardwalk we arrived at the entrance to Lang Cave, certainly not the biggest cave in the park but one of the prettiest with a spectacular display of stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, shawls and rimstone pools, created by standing ground water seeping into and dissolving the limestone below.

After Lang Cave we turned our attention to Deer Cave. It was mind blowing. Deer Cave is the second largest cave passage in the world (the first was recently discovered in Vietnam) with a maximum height of 148m (that’s one and a half times the height of Big Ben, or, 3 times the height of the Statue of Liberty) and width of 169m. The cave was just so big and photos do not do it justice. There’s a pathway that takes you the length of the cave ending at The Garden of Eden, an area where the roof caved in creating a sheltered, fertile garden now full of jungle and waterfalls - was another tour entirely. We wandered through, marveling at the sheer size of the cave, peering up into the darkness above us, before emerging back at the entrance and being directed to the exodus of the bats viewing area. 
Deer Cave, look closely, you can see people.  Mulu National Park.
We waited for about an hour and started to think the bats weren’t going to make an appearance and then they came. It was incredible, thick ribbons of bats swooping out of Deer Cave and across the sky, 3 million bats, just woke up and off out to find food. We spent about an hour watching them as twilight fell and a storm rolled in with lightening filling the sky and thunder cracking in the air, echoing off the limestone cliffs. It was magical and a great way to spend Rhys’s birthday afternoon. That night, after Rhys blew out the candles on his birthday cake (I have no idea why but ornate steamed layed cakes are all the rage in Kuching and are sold on every street corner), we arranged to meet two of the guys, Daniel and Kishan who were joining us for the Pinnacles Trek later in the week and who had been on our cave tour. We had a few birthday beers for Rhys and played cards until it was time for bed.
Exodus of the bats, Mulu National Park.
By 8am we were in the restaurant for breakfast and we had a few hours to spare before our 10am tour. Rhys headed to the dorm to chill and I walked the 1.7km Night Walk Loop, spotting a giant squirrel and a couple of hornbills on my way. At 10am we joined our guide and walked back into the forest to the Skywalk Canopy, 480m of hanging bridges 10-30m off the ground (the longest tree based walkway in the world). As the day had already started to heat up we didn’t see much wildlife other than a few pygmy squirrels but enjoyed being up in the canopy. On the way back to HQ we detoured around a short Botanic Trail before it was time for lunch, just as a heavy rainstorm hit. We missed the worst of it and spent the afternoon sheltering from the rain, sorting food and packing our bags for the Pinnacles Trek.
Rhys on the Skywalk Canopy, Mulu National Park.
We had booked on to a night walk that night and met our guide to search out some nocturnal creatures. As soon as we left HQ it started raining but determined, we continued. We got about 500m into the forest before it really started to rain, we were drenched within seconds and I mean, drenched. As we couldn’t possibly get any wetter we didn’t see the point of turning around and continued for an hour. Although we didn’t spot any mammals there was a small owl and the hugest stick insects we’ve ever seen, each about a foot long, clinging to the boardwalk handrail against the deluge. Back at the hostel we hung our wet clothes, took warm showers and climbed in to bed.

At 9:15am we met the rest of our group for our 3 day trip to the Pinnacles and piled into longboats to take us up the Melinau river to two caves, Cave of the Winds and Clearwater Cave. We stopped briefly on route at a disappointing Longhouse village, Batu Bangan (the traditional wooden Longhouse had been burned down years ago and was in the process of being replaced by a concrete structure). We wandered around a souvenir market and were grateful to climb back into the boats to the entrance of the caves. 
View from the boat on the Melinau River, Mulu National Park.
Cave of the Winds is a dry river passage with the ‘Kings Chamber’ at it’s heart. We’ve never seen stalactites and stalagmites like it, stretching for metres from floor to ceiling like tree trunks in the forest. Clearwater cave was equally impressive with a river still raging through it’s depths (the river runs for 180km through cave passages) and huge notches carved out of the limestone walls. 
Cave of the Winds, Mulu National Park.
We ate a quick lunch at the cave entrance before jumping back in the boat to drop us at the trail head at Kuala Litut, leading to Camp 5, having to wade in once to push the boat when it got stuck in the shallows. There were 8 of us attempting the Pinnacles the following day and we all headed off into the jungle together. The trail was easy, a 9km well walked, mostly flat path following the river to the camp. The heavens opened and the ponchos came out leaving us little chance of enjoying the scenery and instead we walked fast and made camp in 2 hours with only a few stops to pull of the leeches. As soon as you entered camp you were met by a swarm of bees, attracted to your sweat and the only option was to wade fully clothed into the river. Once we’d wrung out our clothes and chosen a sleeping mat on the raised sleeping platform in our partitioned, open to the elements area, it was time for a cup of tea. A few games of cards and a delicious instant noodle dinner (does sarcasm come across in type?) and we padded off to bed ready for our 5am alarm call.

We left camp after a quick breakfast at 6:15am to tackle the Pinnacles. Our guide led us for the first 900m where we rose 400m in altitude to reach the ‘mini Pinnacles’. It took about 45 minutes and it was tough. I was dosed up on paracetamol and was battling with a cold which didn’t help matters, by the time we reached the mini Pinnacles I was worried I might not make it. We had a good break while we waited for the everyone to regroup and Sebastian made the decision not to go further. We hadn’t realised that the success rate was so low, we thought making it to the top was a dead cert until we started to talk to people who had done it who told us in their groups only about 50% made it. The next 300m took us up another 200m in altitude over 30 minutes to the halfway point where we left water to collect for the journey back down. 

We continued to the start of the ladders, another 800m and a rise of another 400m in altitude. By then we were all tired but making good time and excited to have nearly reached our goal. The final 400m with 200m altitude rise was exhilarating. With 16 ladders to clamber up along with near vertical rock faces to be scaled, all slippery from rain (we are in the rain forest after all), a loss of concentration and a fall could have resulted in serious injury. When we finally emerged at the view point we were ecstatic, hot and very sweaty. It had taken 2 hours 50 minutes fitting us nicely into the ‘fit’ category (according to Mulu literature, fit and experienced climbers should make it in 2-3 hours). 
View of the Pinnacles, Mulu National Park.
Me at the Pinnacles viewpoint, Mulu National Park.
Our hiking group at the Pinnacles viewpoint, Mulu National Park.
We had a very early lunch at the top while looking over the natural wonder, a cluster of 45m high limestone needles that cling to the side of Gunung Api (Fire Mountain), took hundreds of photos and prepared ourselves for the journey back down to camp. The trip down was just as difficult, even when you’re past the ladders and ropes, the paths are strewn with tree roots and very slippery, sharp rocks that mean you have to concentrate for every step of the way. We both took hard falls, Rhys landing hard on his bum and me falling awkwardly on my ribs and wrist. Even with the slips we made good time and were back in camp by 12:30pm, the full walk with stops taking just over 6 hours. Straight in the river again we rinsed out our clothes and had the rest of the day to chill at camp. It was too hot to sleep and we were at a bit of a loose end, but between cups of tea and cans of coke cooled in the river, we did get talking to a research student who was catching and cataloging dragonflies and damselflies. 
Rhys descending from the Pinnacles viewpoint by ladder, Mulu National Park.
I was glad when night fell and the bees went to bed and we could eat dinner, play more cards and head to bed ourselves. We had a great group, Daniel and Kishan and Katelyn and Taylor were all about the same level of fitness as us so we walked together for most of the day and shared in the buzz of having reached the top. Although Kok walked at his own speed he made it up and back to camp in good time and Sebastian conquered the Mini Pinnacles and was refreshed and chilling in camp when we returned. Although the trek was only 2.4km each way we climbed 1.2km in altitude and it was a real challenge, rather than being an enjoyable, scenic walk it was a hard core physically trying climb.

7 May 2014

Week 84 - Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching (Singapore, Malaysia)

First thing when we woke up, we asked to move rooms to escape the snorer who had kept us up all night. Our new dorm was empty and blissfully quiet. We hung around the hostel for the morning and Rhys made the most of having a quiet room and stayed in bed watching TV until dinner time. I ventured out to find the Kong Meng San Phor Kark Monastery. Luckily I missed the downpour and arrived at the temple complex as the weather was clearing. It was a huge place with only about 5 other people there. I spent an hour wandering around, soaking in the calm Buddhist ambiance before it was time to head back to find Rhys. For dinner we decided to head back to China Town, to explore a little more, admire the posh and super expensive chopsticks and eat cheap dishes in the food courts. China Town is a far more touristy area than Little India, it’s full of restaurants and hotels catering to more mid-range tourism and has souvenir shops selling hundreds of ugly magnets and cheap kimonos.
Kong Meng San Phor Kark Monastery, Singapore.
We had another slow start the following day and didn’t leave the hostel until 11:30am. Since we first arrived in Singapore a month ago we’d talked about the Southern Ridges Trail, a 9km walk from the Harbour Front, up to the top of Mount Faber, over the Henderson Wave Bridge, through the Telok Blangah Hill Park and on through a forest walkway to Alexandra Bridge, Hortpark, a canopy walkway and ending at Kent Ridge Park. All the tourist literature we’d picked up suggested it was a highlight of Singapore with panoramic views of the city and wildlife encounters along the way, we were a little disappointed. Although a nice escape from the city, it wasn’t mind blowing, the views were mediocre at best and it was too hot for wildlife to make an appearance. We got excited when we arrived at Hortpark which seemed to be a small botanic garden but further investigation revealed it to be a half empty space with some moss on a roof pretending to be a ‘roof garden’. We finished the walk in Kent Ridge and walked to the MRT station through the eerily quiet science park, it was Labour Day, a national holiday and all the office buildings were closed. We were starving by the time we got to the station and spent our last dollars on lunch then had to track down an ATM to be able to buy an MRT ticket.
Me, resting at HortPark, Singapore.
Back at the hostel we had a couple of hours to waste until we had arranged to meet Rebecca, a girl we’d met in Myanmar (and one of the best travelers i’ve ever met, the off the beaten track situations she gets herself into result in some of the funniest stories that make me wish we were as nonchalant as she was about travel!). Rebecca was staying with her friends Laura and Liam, and after meeting them at The Prince of Wales, an Australian owned pub, they took charge and we went to one of their favourite Indian restaurants nearby. Liam ordered a feast for us all to share and every last dish was incredible. We said our goodbyes and rolled back to the hostel. 

We had a bus ticket booked the following day to cross the border into Malaysia and back to Kuala Lumpur. After coffee we grabbed our bags and walked down to the Little India Arcade to wait. The bus left 30 minutes late and the 5 hour journey ended up being nearer to 8 hours, Rhys was not a happy bunny. First, one of the guys on our bus got held in immigration leaving Singapore so we couldn’t leave and the bus driver ended up (while everyone else looked on at us expectantly) making me and Rhys go back up to immigration to complain and ask for our bus to be cleared. Finally we were on our way again only for the bus to ‘break down’ 30 minutes further down the road. We waited an hour for a replacement bus and then stopped constantly so people could use the toilet or so the driver could make a phone call or just generally wander about, stretching his legs. In the end the bus dropped us off a couple of hundred metres from the bus terminal and we had a sweaty 20 minute walk to our hostel in China Town. It was gone 7pm by the time we finally checked in and we had no time to shop as we’d intended. We had a quick wander around the stalls of China Town and ate at Rhys’s favourite street food stall.

We were up early the next day to give ourselves time to pop to the shops to buy the bits we needed before our flight to Borneo. By 9:30am the shops weren’t open and we decided to give up and chill for an hour before leaving for the airport. The airline we were flying with, Malindo Air, had very recently changed terminals and forgotten to tell anyone so we went to Sentral Station with fingers crossed that i’d found the right information online and we knew where we were going. 

We were directed to a KLIA bus (with some discussion by the ticket guys about whether we should be going to KLIA or LCCT) and spent the next hour wondering if we were going to end up at the right place. A sign confirming Malindo Air had moved to KLIA2 was by the turnoff as we drove past and continued on to KLIA1. We assumed it would be easy to get a shuttle between the two terminals. We assumed wrong, we were passed back and forth between buildings and bus stops before finally finding the right spot to wait for a shuttle. Finally we pulled up at the new building. KLIA2 isn’t quite ready for passengers yet, it feels like they built a shopping mall and someone had the bright idea of sticking an airport on the back, there are hardly any signs and it’s a long walk to the check in counters. There was nobody there yet everything took twice as long as it should and all the staff working in the shops were so bored they were desperate for you to drop by. After the strange, and not overly enjoyable experience of the airport, the flight was smooth and left pretty much on time.

The view from the plane as we came into Borneo was stunning, lush green forest crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers and tributaries meandering through the landscape in the shadow of some awesome mountains. We arrived in Kuching and were out of the airport and in a taxi in no time. After checking in to our hostel on Main Bazaar, a touristy street running along the south side of the river in the centre of town, we wandered out to explore. We were blown away with how touristy it was, there were more tour offices and souvenir shops than you could wave a stick at and so many Westerners strolling along the esplanade. We took the opportunity to pop in some antique/jumble shops and zoned in on a beautiful, weathered, bronze, 3.5kg Buddha head statue. Back at the hostel, an old 19th century converted Chinese shophouse, we sat on the floor cushions in the common area drinking beer and thinking about the statue. 

When we decided to head to a food court for dinner we ended up sitting at a table clueless as to how and what to order, seeing our confusion the guy on the table next to us helpfully took us under wing and recommended some plates and ordered for us, it was delicious and cheap. It was Saturday night and there was a festival by the riverside with cars with more neon lights than you’ll find in Las Vegas and lots of food stalls. We tried some deep fried snake, grabbed an ice cream and headed to bed.

We decided to wake early the next day to get the 7:15am bus to Semenggoh, an Orangutan sanctuary where we hoped to see Bornean Orangutans, having seen their Sumatran relatives the previous week. The journey took just under an hour and, along with about 6 other westerners, we arrived, paid our entry fee of £2 and walked the 1.3km to the park HQ and the feeding platforms. Semenggoh was opened in 1975 to care for orangutans who had been orphaned, injured and kept as illegal pets, although the park looks after a wide variety of animals it is the orangutan rehabilitation programme that has made it a star tourist attraction. The orangutans live semi-wild in the jungle and as the space has reached capacity, the park no longer takes in new arrivals.

We’d left ourselves time to walk some of the trails around the park but everything seemed to be closed off so we figured we’d just spend more time at the platforms. When we arrived, 30 minutes before the official feeding time, there were already 2 orangutans there. It’s not fruit season at the moment in Semonggoh so the orangutans are appearing most days and are fed more of a variety of foods than in Sumatra, we felt like they were more reliant on the feedings than in Sumatra, the variety taking away the urge to forage for more interesting food in the jungle. When the food came out, so did the orangutans, swinging in to gorge on the bananas, papayas and coconuts. I think we saw about 10 different apes including a 33 year old male, Ritchie who is the alpha male and who, we were warned could get aggressive. We spent about an hour and a half at the feeding platform at HQ and at the main feeding platform, a little deeper in the forest before walking back to the bus stop to head back to Kuching. Surrounded by coach loads of tourists who were shipped in for 9am, I think it was fair to say the experience didn’t match up to Sumatra.
Grandma Orangutan, Semonggok, Kuuching.
Ritchie enjoying the bananas, Semonggoh, Kuching.
Ritchie leaving the feeding area, Semonggoh, Kuching.
Back in town, we had a much needed nap, went to admire the Buddha head statue again and mooched around some more souvenir shops, eating dinner at a river side cafe.

The next day we thought we’d spend some time exploring Kuching itself. We had a lazy start before popping in to a few Buddhist temples and then catching a boat to run us to the north bank of the river. We wandered up to the Fort Margherita (which was under restoration and closed) and stumbled through a meadow to get views of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building, a bizarre building opened in 2009 that sort of resembles an Islamic circus tent. It turned out we couldn’t continue our walk along the river front so struggling with the heat we cross back over the river and back to the hostel. We had more time to think about the Buddha head statue and came to the decision we’d regret not buying it if we left without it. We haggled to a good price and ended up buying a couple of other little bits and a packing box to shop it home. That afternoon, Rhys stopped in the hostel to watch a movie and I popped over to the Textile Museum, it was rather small and uninformative but had some nice pieces. Since we spent so much on souvenirs we had a cheap dinner, kebabs on the riverside. 
One of the many beautiful Buddhist temples in Kuching. 
Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building, Kuching.
We had thought to do a tour the following day but were shocked at the prices and decided against it. The cycle tours only took you to places you could see by foot and the reviews of the longhouse tours made them sound so extremely touristy that they really didn’t appeal (not for £20 each anyway - for an example, we spent £4 each seeing the orangutans, a tour cost £18 each). Instead we had a chores day. We went to the hairdressers and had immense head massages (Rhys loved it, sacrcasm...), went to the post office to send our parcel (it weighed in at 6.75kg, £40, oops!), went to the bank, did laundry and packed for the following day. While we waited for the laundry to finish, I left Rhys on a bench by the river and stopped in the Chinese Heritage Museum, an interesting exhibition giving a good insight into the Chinese immigrants that had such an impact on the history of Kuching.