Feb 20, 2007 - Borneo - week 1

Arrived in Kuching, the main city in the Sarawak province of Borneo to be greeted by tour guide Robert who'd be lookin after me for a couple of weeks. Met everyone on the tour all of whom turned out to be women leavin me as the only bloke, but they was all real nice so it didn't really matter. Went to Semmengoh wildlife centre where we were hopin to see semi-wild orangutans. this basically means they live free in the jungle but still come back for feeding when theres not much out in the forest. unfortunatley it was fruiting season and none...

Nov 14, 2006 - Around Kuching

The last stop in my quick tour of Borneo was Kuching in the western Malaysian state of Sarawak. I hadn't planned on comming to Sarawak, but ended up with a bit of time after cutting my visit to Mulu short, and I heard positive things from some people I met. I have to say that I'm really glad I took the advice, because it turned out to be a really cool place filled super nice people. After flying out of mulu I grabbed a bus down to the main city in Sarawak called Kuching. It seems like all of the buses in borneo arrive at 3am, or at all...

Nov 10, 2006 - Mulu National Park (Sarawak - Malaysia).

I arrived at the airport in plenty of time for my short hop of a flight to Mulu National Park in Sarawak. With only 30 minutes until flight departure I started to get a bit apprehensive that they still weren't checking in my flight. At first I thought that there was some form of mix up. Terminal 2 at KK, from which AirAsia fly is currently in the process of being built and the check in area is somewhat of a shambles; there is little other than the check in area itself there. I wandered over to one of the counters checking in for KL and...

Nov 9, 2006 - The Jungle of Mulu

Gunung Mulu is a World Heritage Site and National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia. The highlight of the park is the enormous limestone cave network and karst structures of the nearby mountains smothered in dense green equatorial rain forest. And rain it does, at least once a day. Don't leave home without your umbrella. The park is located in an isolated section of the jungle, and the only way in is by plane or two-day boat ride. As cool as a boat ride through the jungle sounds, the plane is much cheaper (~$20USD return, booked 2 months ago) so I...

Sep 11, 2006 - Sarawak - Miri & Mulu

Mandy flew to Oz and I flew to Borneo.... After a brief overnight stop in Miri, in Sarawak, I booked last minute flights to Gunung Mulu National Park where I've been for a few days to see the rainforest and caves - all really lovely despite lots of rain - which really has to be expected in the rain forest!! I didn't know about a possible 2 day hike up to 'the Pinnacles' rock formations until I got there, but it would have taken all my time so I missed out on that. It probably would have been great so it's something for me to come back for...

Aug 14, 2006 - Miri to Bario

In order to reach Bario, a small valley settlement in the heart of the Kelabit Highlands, we boarded a Twin Otter along with 10 other folks (some returning home for a visit). The flight was relatively smooth and gave us a hazy view of the beautiful geography below. Massive rivers snaked their way through the terrain. The areas lying close to Miri appeared as patchworks of massive palm oil plantations, with palm trees in hundreds of neat little rows. As we reached further into the interior, we passed more forests, criss-crossed by arteries...

Aug 10, 2006 - Niah Caves national Park to Miri

Leaving early to beat the heat and take it slow and easy on the knees we choose the coastal road (new road). The new road avoids the hills, but not the palm plantations. Along the way a miscommunication sends us down the wrong road making our early start a little late. Having breakfast at a roadside restaurant at the proper junction, we enjoyed watching the locals get excited about durians. Along the way we pass many durian stands, but only one selling wild durians, smaller and purple coloured they are not the ones sought after by the local...

Aug 4, 2006 - Bintulu to Batu Niah

The travelling distances in Sarawak between cities or towns are considerably larger than on peninsular Malaysia. This also means that distances between food are greater. Leaving early and getting food when it's available is not optional, as one may not get a second chance on the way. So leaving Bintulu around 7:30am we set out for Niah Town. We were told that we would pass tonnes of palm plantations along the way. This did prove to be true, but it didn't come close to what we had experienced in West Malaysia. The riding took us passed lots...

Jul 29, 2006 - Selangau Reststop to Bintulu

A very, very long day (143km of undulating hills). We almost stopped at Tatau reststop for the night, only to find out there was no water (no showers, no toilets, no fun). The final 60km was all about out-riding the rain. We arrived in Bintulu as it was getting dark, going through a nearby kampung full of people on the busy street. After finding a place to crash for the night, we headed for Famous Mama's cafe for some lovely thosai, and teh-c-kosong. We went to bed knowing it was going to be a good sleep, and it was. Our camera stopped...

Jul 28, 2006 - Sibu to Selangau Reststop

Getting out of Sibu wasn't trivial. We got lost a couple of times. Eventually a friendly local came to our rescue with some straight and forward directions. The ride took us passed many clearcuts and logging stations, as well as areas displaying signs of heavy pesticide use. We also passed an entire longhouse community right off the road, likely a relocation area. It was quite beautiful and full of people going about their daily tasks, and many bathers in the nearby river. Selangau is just a couple of rows of shophouses, and a tiny local...

Jul 19, 2006 - Sarikei to Sibu

We missed a very heavy downpour of rain by a few minutes. We could see it coming and hid under a roof of a closed down bank. The rain started coming in sideways, and we ended up getting a little wet anyhow. That was our first experience in Sibu. Riding into town, it appeared quite rough at first. Looking for a place to stay took us to a least one hotel which had several signs of perhaps doubling as a brothel. Our first night in town, which we had to share with some roaches, was already out of our budget. Our second place, although slightly...

Jul 16, 2006 - Saratok to Sarikei

Sarikei has the feel of a highway town. Several large roads disect the town's numerous blocks of 3-storey high shophouses. Many restaurants closed for business between lunch and dinner, although a few stayed open. It was to be our place for the next couple of days as I recovered from my cold. The river on which Sarikei is situated appeared brown, and full of logs and branches - a clear sign of soil erosion due to some questionalble logging practices in the area. Sarikei is populated by many descendants of Chinese immigrants from the Fujian...