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So the next destination would be Borneo we had no idea what to expect so there.Borneo is east of Malaysia Peninsula and consists of three countries, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. The Indonesia part on Borneo which is at the bottom isn't traveled very much so we were heading to the others, Sarawak is the west side of Borneo (Malaysia) and Sabah is the east part of Borneo (Malaysia) with Brunei almost smack bang in the centre- Brunei is the smallest richest country in the world. As with Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo Malaysia has a large population of Muslims but predominately Christians.
KUCHING
So off we went ready to explore this new and exciting destination. Our flight from Kuala Lumpur took us to Kuching which is in Sarawak (Borneo, Malaysia). The flight landed at night time and as it was now dark and we were in a new place we thought it best for us to get a taxi and as usual we had taken a recommendation from the Lonely planet. However 'our bible' had finally let us down and taken us to terrible accommodation which was like an old haunted school house it was so eerie, the taxi dropped us off after driving up a big long dark driveway and we seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. It didn't get any better as we saw the caretaker walking up jangling his bunch of keys and we asked " where can we get some food and a drink from?" The reply; " Ooh you don't want to go out now in the dark, go to sleep and rest until the morning". With that he left shutting the big old door behind us and we thought we were in this huge old building all by our selves as there was no sign of anyone else down the long corridors aghhhh! We both didn't say much, we didn't have to- we knew what each other was thinking- where have we come, are we going to survive the night. In the end it wasn't the ghosts or murderers that kept us awake, it was thirst and hunger!!!!
Even in the daylight the building still looked spooky so have drinking a gallon of water we checked straight out and went on the search for a better abode! Later we went to walk around the city and were quite shocked at how modern this city was, with our expectations of jungle and wild animals it was a complete surprise. It was a really nice city with lovely restaurants and a beautiful river running through which everything was situated around.
We had a few days in Kuching enjoying the sites. We then got on a local bus and went to the Semenggoh Wildlife centre. This is a rehabilitation sanctuary for the Orangutan's which was started with a few orphaned or illegally caged orangutans and now the group has grown dramatically and breading independently. The orangutans are now classed as semi wild as they are left in the jungle to fend for them selves and can choose if they want to can come back to the feeding area for food. The sanctuary prefers that they don't come back as it indicates that they are fending for themselves and venturing deeper into the jungle. And lately their visits are getting more infrequent. We however were being extremely selfish and crossing our fingers in hope that they would be hungry today and come to the feeding area to fill there bellies!
It was like something out of Tarzan as one of the keepers stood doing a call to the Orangutans and we were in luck today as within fifteen minutes the leader of the group the largest male, Ritchie, came for his feast first - and he was huge!! Shortly after you could see many more all coming swinging in the trees from all directions it was so breathtaking watching them all above your heads and in front of you swinging and jumping from tree to tree with such ease and grace. It was funny watching the babies as they hadn't quite mastered this grace and occasionally fell from the tree or got stuck- so cute though!!!
They all had to wait for the alpha male to get his fill before any would even dare to go down to the food, once he walked away they all just dived on it.
You could literally spend all day just starring at these fascinating animals, so scary how similar they are to us. I bet us girls look almost identical coming out of Brassingtons on a Friday night! We left that place totally overcome with what we had seen and almost... almost speechless!!
The main destinations in Borneo to visit are the many National parks, the first one on our list was Bako Nation Park. We had been waiting to go to this park for a few days as it was fully booked, we weren't used to staying around a place for so long and felt strange to have time to fill, we even visited a cinema and saw our first film in a long time 'Hancock'. It was there we were introduced to the strange ways that the Malayans watch a movie, they were all on their mobile phones, coming in after half an hour of the film starting and leaving sometimes ten minutes from the end- so annoying! So after a few days of itchy feet we were finally leaving the day after, so we just went out for a meal and maybe a few drinks- oh dear we went into a bar and it was full of locals and it was someone's birthday and we just got dragged into the atmosphere and the free drinks didn't help! Typical the only day we have got to be up and we get blotto! The next morning was the same same; fully regreting drinking some horrible concoction that should have had headache material written on the bottle!
We almost missed the bus to take us to the National park and after all that waiting - tut tut! We then just by the skin of our teeth got a boat to the park itself, just as the boat men were packing up -phew!! As we were so late the boat couldn't go to the shore so we had to get out knees deep and paddle with our bags held high.
BAKO NATIONAL PARK
Now this was more like the Borneo we had expected, surrounded by jungle with the ocean in front and mangroves to the side. The cheeky little monkeys running everywhere, a wild bore roaming around, huge monitor lizards running past and straight away we were taken to be shown a highly venomous pit viper snake hanging around some trees near to our lodge- ace, sleep well tonight! The main attraction, the Proboscis monkeys were no where to be seen as it was late they go deeper into the jungle. We got changed into our trekking gear and went off onto a night jungle trek it was quite entertaining as soon as the guide stopped, we were all like what is it? And most of the time it was a stick insect or frog- might start selling tickets for Johnny's garden!
The next morning we were up bright and early, breakfast was entertaining with the small cheeky monkeys. It was a game of cat and mouse or human v monkey as usual those horrible little monkeys were everywhere steeling everyone's food and belongings. They actually had to have guards armed with catapults to fire at the retched things. So off we went on our trek through the jungle, it seemed we were in luck again as ten minutes into our walk we came across the Proboscis monkeys in the mangroves. What weird looking animals, they are nicknamed the Dutch monkeys as they have a huge red nose that seems to dangle down, a long body and an extremely long tail but fascinating to watch this rare breed of monkey.
The Proboscis monkeys are quite shy esp compared to the cheeky monkeys, so we didn't get to see them for long until they went off, away from glaring eyes and flashing cameras. We they continued on the trek through the jungle which was really exciting and probably a bit worrying just the two of us navigating our way through the thick forest. We saw many plants and creatures all we hadn't got a clue what they were but some spectacularly strange looking things. The only thing which we knew the name of was the fantastic pitcher plants, we thought we had done so well spotting one then the next thing we knew they were everywhere!
Eventually we came to a deserted beach but no sun bathing and chilling out today we stopped in the shade to eat our 'snappin' and continued on, the sun was now blazing down on us and water running low so we didn't want to be one of those search and rescue stories so we headed back, pleased as punch with our selves feeling like a pair of Dora the explorers. It seemed we were in luck again as we headed back to base camp and right on the beach front were a group of the Proboscis monkeys. There were some seats directly beneath they and the monkeys stayed put, so we sat watching them play directly above us. Vikki was in a conversation with a lady we had met when suddenly the heavens opened from above, well a Proboscis monkeys bladder did ha!! What a shot it had and what a big bladder, Vik had a good soaking with the vile smelling pee- not many people can say they have been peed on by a Proboscis monkey ay Vik ha ha!!! After a good shower, we were completely shattered after not doing much physical exercise for months so a few cold beers was all we could manage.
MIRI
After returning back to Kuching we had organised a flight to Miri, flying is the most widely used transport to get around Borneo as the roads are either poor or non existent between the main stops, so thank goodness for Air Asia and their cheap flights!
We found a hostel in Miri, the owner was a Chinese Malayan who on first impressions was so rude and had a house full of cats, but we were desperate for a room so took it regardless. There isn't a great deal at Miri apart from its the main stop off to Mulu National Park and also in driving distance to Niah caves, which was the first trip we took. Again we had quite a trek through the jungle to get to the caves but this time we had company with two German girls and a French guy who we had met at the hostel. The first cave was huge and sooo smelly, the putrid stench took your breath away it was Guava that we could smell which is bat poo. There was a thick covering all on the bottom of the cave floor, if we thought it was bad then we had to feel sorry for the men which were collecting it into huge bags to sell- it's supposed to be excellent compost. I don't know what's worse collecting the stinky stuff or having to carry the huge heavy bags back through the jungle.The other way of making money from the caves is to collection swiftlets nests. This is a really dangerous job, which is evident once you see the precarious bamboo scaffolding and poles going directly to the ceiling hundred of feet up and no ropes used just muscle and luck! The swiftlets nest fetch good money and is the main ingredient in birds-nest soup, which is loved by the Chinese who swear by it to keep youth and vitality.
As we ventured further into the caves it became apparent why a torch was essential, it was pitch black and with slimy bat poo everywhere it was quite difficult to get your footing so thank goodness for a few hand rails dotted about. Well that's until the French guy shone his torch on one of the rails and there were loads of the most discussing massive creatures- like giant cockroaches' but with an-tenors half a meter long aghhh!!! So we all let out some load girly screams, hope we didn't scare the men on the bamboo poles-oops! The last cave was the 'painted cave' which had ancient art from 40,000 years - think that is were all the Wedgwood girls did their training!
MULU NATIONAL PARK
This was the place where we had been most looking forward to as after a drunken conversation with someone we had met we discovered that this is where Sarah's idol, David Attenborough had filmed the famous bat exudes! We left Miri on a tiny plane and flew over to Mulu National park, the sight beneath us was a depressing one as there was mile after mile of forest that had been cut down and in place neat row after neat row of palm oil trees. It was a relief when we finally came to the forest- thank goodness it is now a protected National park! We thought we had stayed in the worst accommodation but we were shocked to find even more diabolical standards at a 'home stay' - we lay on the metal beds with no running water or electricity in the pitch black listening to the rats running above our heads- umm that not what I call homely! Thank god it was only for one night.
The National park was fantastic and the Deer cave (also known as bat cave) didn't disappoint, with the worlds largest cave entrance and is home to 27 species of bats. The cave is truly spectacular as you walk through the entrance that takes you into the different chambers you really do feel like your on another planet. The bat exudes was a sight we will never forget, as you sit on a platform outside the huge cave entrance and suddenly the millions of bats start to fly out. They can sometimes come out in one gigantic group and other days (like today) they exit in a continuous swirl, which looks like a stream of smoke blowing out of the cave. Unfortunately no amount of photos we took could do this justice but David Attenborough did a pretty good job if I remember right! The Chinese lady from the hostel whom we had booked this trip through had turned out to be really nice and after a night out with her she convinced us to not only go to the National park but also climb the Pinnacle. A few drinks later we decided this was a fantastic idea- so the question was, what the bloody hell is a pinnacle?
We met our guide that day who was a really interesting man, his ancestors were part of the original head hunter's tribe and he said that in their family long house they still have all the heads hanging in the wicker baskets- better not get on the wrong side of him!
He later gave us a briefing on climbing the pinnacle, we were realizing that we may of taken on more than we first imagined. He was asking us if we had water carriers - err no, glucose/ energy bars- err no, wet gear- err no, the final straw came when he enquired about our footwear and Sarah pulled out her walking sandals, his eyes nearly popped out of his head and his colleague burst out laughing- so not appropriate then! As you can see we were completely clueless and unprepared.
The following day we made our way to the 'camp five' which is at the base of the pinnacle so that you are there first thing in the morning to start the climb. After a lovely ride on a long boat through the river in the jungle, we stopped off at some more caves and villages on the way then finally had to get out of the boat and start on foot through the thick forest to get to the camp.The walk there was difficult enough so the two of us started to panic as we knew this would be a walk in the park compared to climbing the pinnacle.
The camp five was a beautiful site, with a crystal clear river funning through and mountains surrounding it. The river provided a much needed cool down and wash. We had dinner and tried to have an early night as we had to be up for five thirty - what are we doing agh!!!The morning came and no turning back, the guide provided Sarah with a pair of his cousins shoes which were too big and the sole flapped off but he assured me they would be better than my open toed sandals. We had to climb a mountain first to get to the pinnacle. From the first ten minutes of climbing (not walking, there was no path, it was all rocks and tree roots) we were already feeling the burn. It was a steep climb, changing from 60-90 degrees all the way, luckily we kept having stops as we ascended. After a long hard slog we reached the top of the mountain and there was a mammoth vertical piece of limestone - oh so that's what a pinnacle is. It was 45 meters high, some ladders and ropes along the way to help but certainly no safety net to catch us if we fell from this vertical rock- don't look down!! Once we had finally made it to the top exhausted the view was enough to make up for all the hard work. The guide then informed us whilst having a much needed energy snack that this was the highest pinnacle in the world and that half of the people who start the climb don't ever make it - pat on the back girls!! But what we didn't know is that going up was the easy part, going down was the hardest test of all. Not only was it excruciating on the knees but dangerous as you slipped down the loose rocks and slippery tree roots. But 11 hours in toatl and we made it, limping into the camp, dead on our feet, what an achievement!!
It took almost a week and a few tubes of deep heat to be able to walk normally again! So we were back in Miri looking for cheap hotels in Brunei on the internet... umm we did say cheap hotels didnt we!!!
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