Borneo is a marvellous pace to visit. The people are exceptionally friendly, the towns and cities are lively and safe, the landscapes are captivating and there is plenty of wildlife to see.
We flew to Kuching via Kuala Lumpur and settled into the Hilton which was very comfortable and close to the riverside nightlife. We are used to being in Asian cities but Kuching is different to many of them in two major respects - no litter and very calm motorists.
View from our Kuching hotel window:
It was cloudy and rainy at times in Kuching but warm and sunny as we travelled northwards. The building with the golden roof is the parliament building. We were not surprised to be told by our guide that rather than build hospitals, the local politicians decided to build themselves a fine parliament filled with Italian marble.
The Sarawak Cultural Village, about 25k out of Kuching, gives you a good insight into how the nomadic jungle people such as the Bidayuh, Iban and Penan used to live. Some still do live nomadic lives, though most seem to be settled in villages and they are not headhunters any more. Rumour has it that during WWII Aussie soldiers paid the headhunters for every Japanese head that they brought them. Nowadays, they earn money by taking tourists upriver in longboats for example.
We drove from Kuching for under an hour to reach the Sungai River, sailed downstream and into the South China Sea to the Bako National Park. After landing on the beach we had a tricky jungle walk - tricky because of the tangles of tree roots and the spiky plants. En route we saw proboscis monkeys, scores of macaque monkeys, silver langur and the bearded pigs which were making quite a mess of the grassy area around the hostel.
After a very enjoyable time in Kuching we took a short flight to Mulu and stayed at the excellent Mulu Marriott, close to the Gunung National Park. From this point on the weather was warm.
Our plane at Mulu airstrip
This one can give a human a very painful bite
An afternoon walk through the jungle brought us to the Lang Cave with its spectacular display of stalactites and stalagmites. We then trekked to the Deer Cave, which is the largest cave passage in the world. It is named Deer Cave because deer enter to lick salt from the rocks. Between 2 and 3 million bats live in the cave system and they come out at dusk to feed. We were expecting to have bats flying all around us but they flew very high in long swirling ribbons to try to avoid the prowling bat hawks who were looking for their own evening meals.
We 'dined' at Larry's across the river from the Marriott. Slightly chaotic but good fun. Tasty food and drinks for two - £12. A snip! Larry gave us all a sample of his home made hooch. I needed a Tiger Beer to take the taste away!
Next morning we had a superb journey by longboat along the Melinau River to the Clearwater Cave and the Cave of the Winds. The river was quiet, peaceful and beautifully smooth. We stopped mid morning at a Dayak settlement to meet some local people before continuing upriver to the caves. The Clearwater Cave system stretches for over 200k. We did the short version. I had a swim in the river and it is here that I may have contracted the Leptospirosis that knobbled me when I got back to the UK.
A picnic after the swim
Unusual to see a stick insect in the daytime. This one was quite large.
A green lizard spotted as we traversed the Mulu Canopy Walk, which is the longest tree based walkway in the world. Top middle in the photo.
From Mulu we flew to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah for an overnight stay and the following day took a short flight to Sandakan.
First stop in Sandakan was the Sepilok orang utan rehabilitation centre. The one below is 10 years old and supposed to have gone off to live in the wild but she hangs around the centre and entertains the tourists.
A wild orang utan. We did not see any in Sarawak but saw several in the wild on our travels in Sabah.
A sun bear, also ready for return to the wild. Conservationists capture the bears from people who have kept them as pets.
We had to walk between the waterside houses on stilts in Sandakan to get to the jetty for the ride across the Sulu Sea and into the gigantic Kinabatangan River.
Lunch stop at the beautiful Abai Jungle lodge en-route to Sukau.
We were told that the #1 proboscis monkey in each group seems to always be in a state of excitement (if you know what I mean). It definitely was not me who excited this fellow.
We chugged our boat in close to the river bank to watch this group of macaques having their early morning breakfast.
Below: The remains of a very large crocodile with two monitor lizards in attendance having their morning snack. The smell wasn't very uplifting!
It's not all carnage...
The Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge did not provide the best accommodation of the trip but the staff were friendly and helpful and the days spent there were amongst the best of the trip.
Back in Kota Kinabalu we were supposed to take a steam train down the coast to Papar but it was u/s and so we had the electric with a stand in driver. I don't think I did a bad job.
Excellent Chinese Meal at the Sri Melaka in Kota Kinabalu
On 24 Feb we said goodbye to KK and took the ferry to Gaya Island for a three night stay at the Gayana Eco Resort. We had a luxurious 'Palm Villa' with all mod cons. Our glass floor allowed us to see the tropical fish swimming below. I did some snorkelling and a jungle walk to the 300m top of this entirely forested island but we spent of the time having a well-earned rest.
Our villa (left)
A cold shower after a warm swim.
Uninvited guest at our plunge pool.
