Month: July 2016

Day 102: Leaving Malaysia

Unfortunately, we didn’t have any time for sight-seeing on our last day in Kuala Lumpur, as we had a lot of last-minute chores before leaving the country.

First, remember that credit card that got compromised in Bali? After three attempts to have a replacement card sent to us in Surabaya, Medan, and our first stay in KL we finally had success! A FedEx envelope with a secure new Citi card arrived while we were in Borneo, and the hotel at the KL Journal kept it safe for us, along with 2 extra bags of luggage! After breakfast at our favorite bakery, Igor made quick work breaking in our new card by buying a super-duper zoom lens at the Low Yat Plaza IT Mall, while Lindsay ran to the local laundromat to wash EVERYTHING in our bags (including the bags).

 

Our final pastry-breakfast in KL before finishing all our last minute chores, including testing out our new zoom lens!

We finished our chores and packing, and checked out of the hotel at 12:00PM on the dot. Our first flight didn’t leave until 5:40PM and we had plenty time to get to the airport, so we asked the hotel staff which would be faster/cheaper – the train or taking a cab? They said the train costs 110 ringgit, and a cab is “the same price” and much faster – would we like them to call a cab for us? We saw no reason to make ourselves uncomfortable for the same price as a taxi, so we said sure.

When the cab drove up, we saw the hotel manager run up to the driver and speak to him for a few minutes and exchange some cash. After we got in the car and drove a few blocks, the cab driver asked us, “How much did he say the taxi would cost you?” “110 ringgit.” We started to get nervous that this guy would ask for more, when he told us, “I only charge 80 ringgit for a ride to the airport. Never book at taxi from the hotel – I had to pay him 30 to pick you up. Here’s my card – next time you call me.” Sure enough, we passed a cardboard sign another taxi driver had outside his windshield that said, “KLIA – 90R,” and our taxi driver ran his meter during our drive to show us the true cost – the meter came out to 79R! Lesson learned – always hail your own cab in KL!

So we lost USD$7.50 from a hotel scam, but dammit, we still had the opportunity to make it back and more! When shopping for our new camera equipment, all the retailers told us we could get 14% back from the VAT refund at the airport. The Malaysian government certainly doesn’t make it easy (they are hoping you will run out of time and forgo your tax refund) – we had to visit a total of three different counters at the KLIA airport in order to get our refund. The first Global Blue counter outside immigration served no other purpose other than to tell us we had to visit the counter inside the International terminal. The second Global Blue counter then told us we first had to go to the Goods Verification counter – mind you, none of these counters were on the terminal map! At the Goods Verification counter, the government employees very carefully inspected our receipt, passport, airline ticket and the physical object we purchased before approving the tax refund paperwork. (We felt really bad for an Indian couple next to us who had purchased several pieces of jewelry – the woman had put her new diamond ring in her checked luggage, so she only got a refund for the ruby necklace she was wearing.) We finally returned to the Global Blue counter, and counted our cash refund *very carefully*. NICE TRY, MALAYSIA!

 

Igor is slowly turning into a backpacker-douchbag! He’s rockin’ a bandana and a 5-day stubble as we arrive at the airport. This hippie life-style isn’t going to stop us from getting our tax-refund, tho!

After all the running around, we only had about an hour before the flight boarded. We headed over to the Premier Pass lounge for dinner and as much free booze as we could get (no wine, just beer), as we weren’t sure our flight to Hong Kong was long enough for a meal. We needn’t have worried – we got fed on *both* the Cathay Pacific flight to HK and the South African Airlines to Johannesberg! Feeling very, very full (we’re going to gain back any weight we lost during our treks in Malaysia!), we went into a food-coma and fell asleep somewhere over the Indian Ocean.

 

Kicking back with some beers and dinner at the Executive Lounge in KLIA, before our double international flights to Hong Kong & Jo-berg

 

Checking Facebook at the Executive Lounge in Hong Kong before boozing it up on our flight to AFRICA. See you in the morning!

Day 101: Travel Day – Return to KL

We didn’t bother setting an alarm on our phones for the morning, as we knew the all the tourists getting up for the 6AM start for the Pinnacles trek would be impossible to sleep though. Sure enough, by 5:30AM the cabins were too loud to sleep through (the inconsiderate newcomers in our bunk actually turned on the lights, even though three of us were trying to sleep – RUDE!).

We had arranged for our boat to meet us at the trail head at 10:30AM the night before, so we headed out on the 9KM walk around 7:30AM. The weather was totally on our side – yesterday when we wanted a view of The Pinnacles, it was bright and sunny, today when we had to walk in the jungle, it was nice and overcast. We made good time, passing the Chinese group who had left an hour ahead of us! To be fair, three people will always go faster than a group of 20.

Our boat was very punctual and, thanks to the current being in our favor, we made it back in about half the time our original journey took, so we had plenty of time for a shower and lunch before catching a car to the airport. (We snuck into the park hostel and “stole” showers. We felt a little bad that we didn’t pay for the lodging, but we would have felt worse for the poor tourists who would have to sit next to us on the plane!)

 

Heading back to Mulu HQ – since we were going with the current, our boat didn’t get stuck in the shallows this time, and we booked it downriver

 

Freshly showered, and wearing the only clean clothes left in our bags: my sleeping tank top and Igor’s old bathing suit – I may look like a dork, but I smell CLEAN! We have just enough time for a delicious Indian food lunch before heading to the airport

 

Boarding the plane – farewell Mulu!

The trip back to Kuala Lumpur was very long – we had a 4hr layover in Miri, which is a very tiny airport, yet they still have an “Executive Lounge”. Even though their lounge isn’t covered by our Priority Pass, we decided to buy passes anyways – there was free food and Wifi, right? Well, sort of. The food was old (the sandwiches actually had mold on them – ew), and the Wifi was pretty weak (probably didn’t help that the two girls managing the lounge were streaming videos on their phone). At USD $30, it was extremely overpriced for what it was, but the main terminal waiting area was *packed* and full of sickies, so at least we were comfortable and germ-free.

We finally arrived in KL at 10:30PM, caught a cab to our hotel, and fell into bed. Malaysia is almost over.

Using the crappy Wifi at the Miri Airport lounge

Day 100: Mulu National Park – Day 3

We wanted to get a head start on our Pinnacles trek in the morning, so we planned to be up at 5:45AM, and on the trail by 6:00AM. Turns out, a group of Chinese tourists is a better alarm clock than any smartphone app – at 4:55AM the coughing, and talking, and trips to the bathroom started. Igor was so pissed off he actually tried to, “SHHHHHH!” them! (It didn’t work.) After trying to sleep through the increasing racket for 30min, we all finally decided to go ahead and get up too.

Igor, Lindsay and Australian Alex are ready to go on time, but for some reason our guide, Ishmael, waits for the Malaysian group of 8 to start ahead of us. We’re a little annoyed, as their pace is much slower than what we would have done. After following the Malaysian group at a leisurely pace until the halfway point, each Malaysian hiker started to step aside for a break, and we plowed on ahead. The second half of the trail is significantly steeper – the last 400m of which requires the use of ropes, ladders and metal staples! – but we were so excited to get to the top, we made it to the summit by 9AM, and had the entire vista to ourselves for a good hour before we headed back down, passing the Malaysians near the top.

Of the Malaysian group, all but one of them made it to the top. The last guy – a KL police officer – got vertigo halfway through the ladder & rope section and couldn’t go any further. Poor guy – he was 15min from the top! Ishmael helped him down from the dangerous section, shaking his head later and musing, “How can he be a police offer, eh? Police must be brave!”

 

An early morning start for our Pinnacles trek – LET’S TO THIS!!!

 

We are keeping a pretty slow pace on the ascent – which allows us to spot another Twin Banded Tree Snake

 

The “Mini Pinnacles” at the halfway point. We found out later that the Chinese group (who woke us up at 5AM!) didn’t start their trek until 7AM, and gave up at the halfway point. *coughlamecough*

 

Happy to be blazing the trail – even if it suddenly got really steep

 

Climbing ladders and ropes for the last 30min of the trail was super fun! We felt like little kids playing on a jungle-gym!

The reward for our grueling hike – The Pinnacles!

A full view of The Pinnacles

 

We had The Pinnacles to ourselves – plenty of time to climb around and take pictures

 

Admiring the view of The Pinnacles – you can even see the Mulu Airport in the distance

 

The real challenge was climbing back down the trail. In our older age, we find that going down mountains is all of a sudden tougher than climbing them. Aussie Alex was booking it down the trail (he had a hiking pole with him – smart), while Lindsay was at the back of the group. She wasn’t going *that* slow, but our guide Ishmael still called her “weak” and suggested we stop for ta 15min break – a point Igor likes to bring up again, and again, and again…

When we returned to Camp 5, we found the entire Chinese group hanging out near the river – someone was playing a guitar, and they were all singing and drinking beer. There were only two beers left in the camp pantry, which Igor and Alex quickly bought up and buried in some rocks in the river to cool down. We had the rest of the day free to relax, swim in the waterhole and play cards.

 

Taking a well-deserved dip in the waterhole after a long hike

 

Enjoying a “jungle massage” in the rapids

 

The beautiful limestone cliffs surrounding Camp 5

 

Playing cards & practicing magic tricks at Camp 5

 

Heading off to sleep in the Camp 5 dorms – it’s a bit cozier tonight with 4 new tourists

Day 99: Mulu National Park – Day 2

For the next two days, we booked a trekking tour to see the famous Pinnacles – magnificent karst limestone formations that can only be viewed by climbing Mt. Api, deep in the jungle. You have to start the trek up the mountain before sunrise, so we would be staying at the Camp 5 cabins.

We had all day to make it to Camp 5, so we opted to visit the Clearwater and Wind Caves on the way to the camp in the morning. Since the Pinnacle trek was a guided tour and there was one other tourist joining us (an Australian guy named Alex), we assumed our small group would stay together with a private guide. Wrong! The three of us were simply added to the large day-tour leaving the park HQ at 9AM. We ended up having a very similar experience to the Lang/Deer Caves the day before – way too many people for our taste.

 

Our group tour is full of sickies again – INCLUDING THE SAME TWO FRENCH GIRLS. Luckily, only three of us are heading to Camp 5 after the caves, so we get our own boat.

 

Quick stop at the Batu Bungan village, where the Penan people have a craft market

 

Beautiful mats and bags made from woven rattan fibers

 

Several group tours queuing up to visit the caves

 

Our first stop was the Wind Cave – not particularly big nor pretty. You could feel breezes in narrow passages (thus the name).

 

Everybody and their mother going to see the Clearwater Cave – home to the longest cave river-system in the world

 

We stayed at the back of group again, both the avoid coughers and to wait patiently for unobstructed photos. However, this tourist was taking FOREVER snapping several panoramas with his phone. COME ON! You got the shot – MOVE ON! Igor finally broke down and asked the guy to move.

 

Finally – our turn to take pictures at the entrance to Clearwater Cave

 

Lindsay rinsing her hands in the Clearwater River

 

Lush vegetation growing along the sides of a skylight

 

“Miniature Pinnacles”

 

Clearwater Cave – apparently the only place in the world where you can see this “mono-leaf” plant. Quick- book your tickets!!! 😛

 

After visiting the caves, Lindsay decided to jump into the river, both because it was already really hot, and also because she was starting to stink. Actually, we both stunk. And our clothes stunk. Worst was our backpack – the straps had been absorbing our sweat for over a month now (Northern Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia) and it REEKED. We tried washing it in hotel sinks twice, with zero improvement. We kept trying to wash our clothes in the river, but we just had to accept the fact that we would be smelly until we got back to KL and a real laundromat. To our fellow travelers, SORRY!

At 12:45PM sharp, Lindsay, Igor & our new friend Alex jumped into our boat and headed up stream for about 2 hours to the trailhead for Camp 5. After being supervised in the park for so long, we were a little surprised when the boat driver just pointed at the trailhead sign, and then got right back into his boat and took off! Guess we are on our own! The walk was long – 9KM – but very flat and very easy.

 

Finally leaving the crowds of tourists behind, and heading off into the jungle toward Camp 5

Since our boat was going upriver, it would get caught in shallow bits every now and then. The first couple of times we’d jump out and help the two drivers push, until we finally realized we’d be more helpful by simply getting out of their way

 

When we got to the trailhead for Camp 5, the drivers pointed us in the right direction, and then took off back down river. The three of us continued on foot for the last 9KM – it was a long walk, but completely flat, so pretty easy going

 

Taking a short snack break at the halfway point on the trail to Camp 5

When we got to Camp 5, we had the place practically to ourselves – there was one group of 5 who had just finished the Pinnacles hike that morning, but no one else. In chatting with Alex, we heard that the park rangers had been turning away last-minute bookings, claiming that Camp 5 was completely full. We were confused, as there were 5 rooms which could each easily fit 10 people. Then, the *private tours* started showing up. A Malaysian group of about 7 people, a British father-daughter duo (we hope!!), and a very loud 20-person Chinese group made quite a crowd. According to our math, the camp still could have fit a few more – not that we wanted any more bedmates! Luckily, we had brought earplugs, plus everyone in the camp was there for a sunrise hike, so by 9:30PM it was pretty easy to fall asleep.

 

Once we reached Camp 5, a dip in the cold river is absolutely necessary – both to cool down and to clean up! There are showers at Camp 5 as well, but after an hour in the river, we felt clean enough.

 

Camp 5 is in a stunning location – beautiful views of the limestone cliffs and a scenic river

 

We got a little downpour in the late afternoon, which literally brought leeches out of the woodworks! We had read reviews that Camp 5 and the trek to the Pinnacles was notorious for leeches, so we were very careful to watch where we stepped

 

Camp 5 has a large kitchen, and private tours offer full catering service. However, we picked the cheap route – paying for just the entry fee and guide through the park, meaning we had to carry-in and carry-out all food. Once again, Lindsay and Igor must subsist on ramen. At least we bought a few different flavors this time!

Day 98: Mulu National Park – Day 1

We are off on our last Malaysian adventure: Gunung Mulu National Park – one of the most remote (and expensive!) parks in Malaysia. There is no road into the park – all tourists (and amenities, food supplies, etc.) must be flown in. When we got to the airport, we saw that once again we would be flying a tiny propeller plane (which is running 30min behind schedule – apparently that is average for Mulu). Thankfully it is a short flight, as we seem to be attracting sickies everywhere we go now. Sure enough – we see the same two coughing French tourists from Niah boarding the plane. Very tempted to start handing out cough drops to all these people.

 

Propeller plane taking us to Mulu National Park

 

Breaking out the surgical masks to protect us against Patient Zero. It was a short flight – no snack, but they did provide a box of chocolate milk!

Once we reached the park HQ (a short 5min taxi or 20 walk from the airport), we checked into our bungalow. Since it was only 11AM maid service hadn’t cleaned the room yet, but at least we could store our bags in the room instead of the unsecured luggage room.

When planning our activities for the day, we quickly learned that most of Mulu requires a guided tour – none of the caves are open to unguided tourists, nor are the multi-day hikes. We booked the 2:30PM tour to see Mulu’s most famous cave – Deer Cave which is home to millions of bats that exit the cave at sunset each night. With our remaining time, we took a short walk to the Paku Falls – one of the few trails one can do solo.

 

Mulu National Park – or last jungle adventure for several months

 

BUGS.

 

Paku: another contender for the “world’s smallest waterfall”

 

It may be a tiny waterfall and a really shallow pool, but it was so hot and muggy out that we NEEDED a swim

 

The water felt frigid compared to the steamy air, but we had to force ourselves to go under – the refreshment would be worth it!

 

The Paku Falls was also filled with little fish that nibbled at the dead skin on our feet! A jungle pedicure!

 

We had time for a Nasi Goreng lunch stop at the park’s café before our cave tour

We met up with our tour at the HQ only to find out that once again, these park tours are absolutely crowded. We were in one of two groups of about 20 people each – our group included the two sick French girls who stuck to the head of the group next to the ranger (we are noticing that the French always need to be FIRST). We stayed safely in the back of the group to avoid their germs, thereby missing out on any wildlife or plants the ranger pointed out.

It was a 3KM walk to the two caves and “Bat Exodus” viewing area. After taking us through both caves, we were on our own to find a place to sit, and then walk back to the Park HQ on our own. Since the bats would not be leaving the caves until sunset, we were warned that the walk back would be in the dark, so we needed a torch (sorry, flashlight).

 

At the back of the group. We’ll never know what this pretty red flower is, but I doubt we’ll lose any sleep over it

 

Who needs the ranger? We can spot stick-bugs and lizards on our own, thanks

 

The first of two caves on our tour. Since there were so many groups heading to the big cave, our guide took us to Langs Cave first, which is a really pretty show cave that is well-lit to show off the beautiful rock formations.

 

Igor was getting bored of cave formations (after the amazing caves of New Zealand’s Waitomo and the solitude of the Niah Caves it’s hard not to have high expectations)

 

Lindsay was still impressed with Langs Cave – the cave “cauliflower” and “elephant’s ears” were really pretty

 

The famous Deer Cave – arguably the biggest cave in the world. (Depending on how you measure – by volume, by height, or by length?) From this angle, one of the rock walls looks like Abraham Lincoln in profile – see it?

The entrance to Deer’s cave – no doubt, this is the biggest cave we’ve seen yet. Also the most stinky – not only is the place filled with guano, there’s also so much bat piss on the floor that the name “Deer Cave” came about because deer go into the cave to drink the salty pee. EEEEWWWW!!!!!

 

Lindsay admiring the size of Deer Cave

 

The rear entrance to Deer Cave – it used to continue further, but a section of the cave fell in, creating two separate caves and an opening called the “Garden of Eden”. There is a night-vision camera near the rear of the cave that records the Bat Exodus from within – video is streamed outside near the viewing platform. Unfortunately, as we were at the back of our group, we didn’t heard our guide say this – we found out days later from a fellow tourist.

 

After leaving the Deer Cave, we joined the throngs of people waiting in the stadium-style sitting area for the Bat Exodus

 

So, we expected the bats to just come flying out en mass at sunset. In fact, little groups come out, creating spiral formations, one after the other. It’s a cool sight – just not what we were expecting.

 

While the veiwing platform was jam packed when we arrived, it started to clear out after the first group of bats. We actually recognized the first two people to leave – it was the French brothers Thomas & Olivier from the Miri dive! They left poor Susan behind (she was one of the last people to leave the platform – she looked very comfortable enjoying nature *alone*) – we could just imagine their commentary as they left: “These bats are shit. The French invented bats. I am le bored. Let us go drink some wine.”

 

Walking back through the jungle in the dark. Parts of the boardwalk have lighting, but most is pure darkness. Luckily we have torches, so we can spot the odd Huntsman spider and stick bug.

Our rainforest bungalow – our last moments of air-conditioned luxury before camping in the jungle. Gotta savor ever second!

Day 97: Niah National Park

While we had originally planned to stay overnight at Niah, we discovered it is a relatively easy day-trip from Miri. Our hotel started serving breakfast at 6AM, so we were up at dawn and on our way to the bus terminal by 7AM. Our taxi rolled up to the bus station with minutes to spare for the 7:45AM bus to Bintulu, which we would take for an hour and a half, jumping off at their scheduled bathroom break in Niah Village. From there, we hired a local car to drive us the last 2min to the park entrance, and arranged for him to pick us up again at 4PM.

 

An early breakfast buffet, then off to Niah National Park, via the Bintulu bus

 

Planning our route for the day – we can hit all the caves by afternoon, no problem

 

They don’t seem to believe in bridges in the Malaysian parks – yet again, we take a boat for 1RM per person to reach the trails

 

The first cave is a 3KM walk from the river, but it’s on a boadwalk, so it’s really easy going. Igor loves that he can admire the view, and not worry about watching where he is going.

 

The limestone formations peeking out between the trees are stunning – these pictures don’t really do them justice – the trees seem to be growing directly out of the rock! It looks very prehistoric – like the “dawn of time”

The first cave is the Traders Cave – where merchants used to set-up temporary marketplaces to cater to the masses of people who came to the caves to harvest swiftlet nests. It is very open, airy and cool – a very comfortable cave (also no bats, so no guano)

 

Reading up on Traders Cave, before moving on to the Great Cave

Traders Cave is MASSIVE – you can totally fit a little village in here

The Great Cave – Niah National Park

The entrance to the Great Cave – a stairwell leads deep into the darkness

 

Ascending into the depths of the Great Cave

 

The Great Cave is home to thousands of swiftlets, who make tiny nests out of their saliva. For some reason, the Chinese like to eat these, so twice a year these caves are full of brave souls who climb up bamboo poles to collect the empty nests

 

Many of the poles remain in place throughout the year – they look so flimsy – we can’t image someone actually climbing one!

 

A natural skylight lets a beautiful beam of light into the cave

 

We get to the black-out section of the cave (where you can’t see any natural light), Lindsay is very disturbed to discover the path is populated with tons of weta-like bugs – HUGE crickets that keeping jumping across our boots! Grossgrossgross…

 

Safely out of the Great Cave, and on our way to the Painted Cave, another 500m or so through the jungle – where we spotted a cleverly camouflaged Green Tree Lizard – we see you!!!

 

Unfortunately, the cave paintings have not been preserved very well, and are now roped off. In addition to the rock art, the Painted Cave was also the site of any archeological discoveries, including human burial grounds. More information about the pre-historic human inhabitants be found in the museum at the trailhead (no pics allowed, tho).

 

After a great day exploring caves, Lindsay and Igor take a carefree walk back to the river. Igor wasn’t paying attention to where he was going and almost stepped on a snake lying on the boardwalk! It was bright red, yellow & black, so we decided to err on the side of caution and assume it was highly venomous. We showed a picture to a park ranger at the main office, and asked him if it was poisonous. “Yeah, yeah, it’s poisonous. It also flies.” We decided the guy was being a dick, until we got back to the hotel and Googled it – apparently the Banded Flying Snake can “glide” in the air by flattening it’s ribs! It’s also mildly venomous (not going to kill a human)

The trip back to Miri was a very annoying ordeal – first a pair of sick French tourists asked if they could split a cab with us (Igor was relieved when a second cab pulled up for them), then we missed the 4:30PM bus to Miri because the local we asked for directions wanted us to take company’s bus, not the rival. We finally get on the jam-packed 5PM bus, seated directly behind a couple who couldn’t be bothered to stop their three toddlers from screaming and jumping around the bus seats the entire drive back. We are sure someday we will have screaming kids like said asshole parents – today we are glad that these little monsters aren’t going back to the hotel with us.

 

Not our kids. THANK GOD.

Day 96: Diving in Miri

Our original itinerary didn’t include any scuba diving in Malaysia, but we had so much fun at the Great Barrier Reef and in Komodo Island, we just couldn’t wait to go again. We decided to sacrifice a night in a national park in order to make a day-trip with Coco Dive in Miri, as this was the only location with decent sites for Open Water Certification (we are kicking ourselves now for not going for our Advanced Open Water back in Australia – we’re missing out on a lot of great sites simpy because we aren’t allowed to go deeper than 18m).

When our flight landed at the Miri Airport at 8:30AM, we grabbed a cab and headed straight to Coco Dive, where we would be joining another group of three tourists as well as two divers working on their instructor certification. We headed to the boat around 10AM in order to hit three dive sites: The Kenyalang Wreck (our first wreck!), Siwa Reef and “Nemo City”.

We had a pretty good group – very international: our guide Amia was originally from Spain, but had been living in China for the past 5 years working as an engineer, when she decided she had had enough and started travelling in Indonesian and Malaysia and became a diver instructor. The other tourists included a Thomas, a French guy who lived in KL with his Malaysian girlfriend Susan, plus his brother, Olivier who was visiting Malaysia. While Susan was in our group with Amia, the other guide, Liling, was in charge of the Frenchies – two Advanced divers who were quite a handful. You know that superiority complex that the French supposedly have? These guys had it in spades: “Zee French invented everything. We inventing scuba.” “Why can we not go back into zee water? In my day, we did not have decompression times – you just keep going until you get a headache, zen you stop.” “‘Zis visibility is shit. In France you can see 50 meters.”

 

Meeting up at Coco Dive in Miri

 

Boarding the boat and heading out to sea – past the giant seahorse that guards the marina

 

The Kenyalang Wreck – a former oil rig that is now teeming with fish! We just assumed “wrecks” were usually old ships, but this was even better than a reef – so much sea life concentrated in one spot was really cool!

 

Our guide, Amia, pointing out a giant clam on the rig

 

Igor and Lindsay glad to be back in the water, playing with our new GoPro!

 

Igor trying to “pet” a friendly batfish!

 

Lindsay exploring the Siwa Reef, our second dive site. Sadly not as exciting as the wreck or the reefs we saw in Indonesia

 

Our final dive site – Nemo City – which had TONS of clownfish

 

A great day for a scuba trip!

When we returned to Coco Dive, we had a small, late lunch at their sister hostel, then got driven to our hotel. Our reservation wasn’t supposed to start until the next day, but luckily they had vacancy in one of their suites, so they upgraded us – score!

Since it was the 4^th of July, we wanted to do something American to celebrate! We tried to find a place that sold American beer – unfortunately Budweiser is not one of the many US brands that makes it to Malaysia. We tried to find an American chain – but for once even McDonalds was nowhere to be found! We finally grabbed some burgers at a Malaysian fast food joint – sadly that was as close as we were going to get to a Independence Day BBQ.

 

Enjoying sunset and fast Wifi from our hotel suite

 

Burgers and fries – a tiny taste of home on the 4^th of July

Day 95: Semenggoh Orangutan Reserve & Sarawak Cultural Village

For our last full day in Kuching, we made the most of the day by packing in two day trips, each in different directions from the city. First stop was the Semenggoh Orangutan Reserve. Honestly, we only visited the reserve to see how it compared to Bukit Lawang in Indonesia – it came up short, as we knew it would. After all, it was a more legit wildlife refuge, where tourists were told to keep a safe distance from the orangutans – unlike Bukit Lawang where semi-wild orangutans held your hands hostage for food.

 

Catching the No. 6 bus from the city center at 7AM – full of fellow Westerners, all headed for the Semenggoh Orangutan Reserve

 

From the Semenggoh entrance, it’s a 2KM walk through the reserve to the wildlife center.

 

The feeding platform does not open until 9AM, so we spent an hour wandering around their education area, where we read up on orangutan behavior in general, as well as the specific information on the animals in the reserve. This is the one aspect we felt was done better than Bukit Lawang – the data tey kept on the individuals in the park was really cool to know.

 

The wildlife reserve also housed two – rather large! – crocodiles. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any information on these guys, so we have no idea why they were there. In fact, we initially thought the second croc was a plastic fake – he looked too big to be real! On second glance, however, we realized his mouth was suddenly open, when it was closed before – freaky!

 

At 9AM, a park ranger corrals all the tourists and tries to announce the guidelines for the viewing platform. Igor’s face says this is going to be a shit-show

 

About a hundred tourists gather on the platform to see 3 orangutans (young male, and a mother and baby) come and pick up food from the platform. Since orangutans are not “social” apes (they are solitary, rather that travelling in family groups), it’s rare to see more than one at a time. Also, all the food is left on the platform all day long, so the orangutans know they can return later in the morning when other orangutans (and the tourists!) have left. Seeing 3 in an hour is actually a really good day for this place.

   

Walking through the Bamboo Garden on our way back to the return bus at 11AM

 

Lots of pretty flowers along the road – the reserve actually had several different gardens on the premises (Orchid Garden, Ethnobotanical Garden, and a Fernarium!), but for some reason they were all closed.

Once we got back to Kuching, we booked it across town to the Grand Margherita Hotel, which runs a minibus shuttle to the Sarawak Cultural Village, which is next door to their sister property, the Damai Beach Resort. We made it just in time for their 12:30PM shuttle.

The Sarawak Cultural Village is a “living museum” showcasing the traditional homes, clothing and crafts of the 7 main ethnic groups of Sarawak, Malaysia: the Bidayah, the Iban, the Penang, the Orang Ulu, the Melanau, the Malay and the Chinese. Igor kept calling it “Disneyland” – I would say it was a little closer to Epcot Center. It was a very cute, educational activity (each guest got a “passport” book where they could collect stamps from each cultural house), with a big dance performance finale schedule for 4PM, right before the park closed.

 

Taking the shuttle bus from the Margherita Hotel to the Sarawak Cultural Village – where everyone gets a “passport” to Malaysian culture!

 

The village is set up a lot like a Disneyland, with “performers” set-up at each cultural house. There is a morning and afternoon “performance”, each culminating with a dancing spectacle. We arrived at 1PM, early for the afternoon performance at 2PM, so we had time to grab lunch. While Igor got his trusty Nasi Goreng, Lindsay got adventurous with a banana-leaf chicken and lychee bubble tea – yum!

 

First stop on our cultural tour – the Bidayah Longhouse

 

Inside the Bidayah Longhouse we see (and hear) traditional wooden flutes, and “war gongs”, which the tribe would use to signal an alert

 

The second cultural home – the Iban Longhouse

 

The Iban Longhouse is basically a whole village on a raised platform – as you walk along the corridor, each door leads to a different artisan. One woman showed us how her people make clothing out of the bark of a tree, by pounding the fibers into “barkcloth”. In the next room we see a short dance demo.

 

After the dance demo, we see another artisan creating the beaded collars the dancers were wearing

 

The last craftswoman we meet is using a traditional loom to weave a ceremonial belt – or Pua Kumbu

 

The Penang hut was the least interesting to us, mostly because this tribe (which is nomadic and uses poison darts for hunting) is so similar to the Orang Asli that we saw in peninsular Malaysia, the faux recreation could not compare to the real thing.

  

The Orang Ulu house was the prettiest of all the traditional homes, decorated with beautiful designs

 

Visiting the Melanau Tall House, where some performers are practicing a dance

 

Lindsay joined in with the Melanau Bamboo Dance, where dancers have to jump in between bamboos sticks that are slapped together in a rhythm. If you are out of beat, your foot will get caught in the sticks – ouch!

 

Taking off our boots to visit the Malay Town House

 

Two Muslim women sing and play the drums for us in the main room of the Malay house. We definitely get the sense that this is more of an “aristocratic” or wealthy Malay house- not a “typical” house

 

The final house – the Chinese Farmhouse

 

A Chinese woman explains that her people originally came to Malaysia as farmers – two very successful crops were pepper (stealing share from India imports!) and swiftlet bird’s nests

 

At 4PM, we headed over to the theater (which thankfully was air-conditioned, as we were really sweaty by this point), for the big dance show! Each of the cultural group presented a traditional dance – it was very professionally done – to the point where it felt like a commericial for visiting Malaysia.

This song was seriously stuck in our heads for the rest of the trip

 

Just before the final number, the dancers asked for volunteers from the crowd to join in – poor Lindsay got suckered into going on stage – a bit of a joiner today!

It was an activity-packed day – by the time we returned to Kuching, we were exhausted. We ordered Nasi Goreng room-service, paired with a bottle of Prosecco we picked up the night before.

Day 94: Semadang Kayaking

With an extra day now in our itinerary, Igor did some fast planning and booked us on a day-trip kayaking in the Borneo Highlands, along the Semadang River. Not the most exciting activity, but we had great guides, lovely weather, and a fun day on the river – who could ask for more?

Our tour operator, Semadang Kayaking, picked us up at 9AM and drove us to the starting point in the Borneo Highlands, about an hour outside the city. Funny coincidence – both couples in our 6-person group were staying at the same hotel as us. Guess we picked a popular spot!

 

Geared up and ready to hit the water!

 

After a short safety briefing, we are off! We are kayaking with the current, so it is a very leisurely ride.

 

A quick side-trip to a little waterfall. Our guides suggested we sit underneath it for a photo, when suddenly the waterfall seemed to lose power? When Lindsay turned back to investigate, the water came rushing down! Igor climbed up afterwards – turns out one of the guides was sitting at the top of the waterfall, blocking the stream until the opportune moment – sneaky!

 

Heading down the river – it’s a sunny day so Lindsay has to break out her dorky wide-brimmed hat. At least it covers the mullet

 

Delicious lunch break in the small village of Kampung Danu

 

Taking a short walk through the village before getting back in the water – Look! A pineapple tree! A pineapple bush? OK, a pineapple PLANT.

 

Feeding protected kelah fish from the bridge in Kampung Danu

 

Our guide taking an “accidental selfie” before snapping a picture of us. The guides actually their own waterproof camera and gave us a CD with pictures from the day, included with the trip. Unfortunately, our tablets don’t have DVD players, so it may take us a while to see how the pic turned out, but nice to have a second set of pics!

 

Swimming break, 2KM before the end of the trip

 

Kayaking down the Semadang River in Borneo

 

Awesome day for kayaking

We got back to the hotel in the late afternoon, took a quick shower (since we forgot to bring a change of clothes, we were sitting in river-scum the whole drive back), and headed out into town. We were hoping to find a bottle shop to pick up some wine – and we totally lucked out! After stocking up on wine and snacks, we headed out for some cheap, tasty eats before heading back to the hotel to enjoy a bottle of Aussie Merlot.

 

Dinner at John’s Place – a local place with a very Western name. Not sure the reasoning for the name, since we were the only Westerners there, but the food was good – and cheap! – so no complaints!

 

Fried rice, local-style – with sunny-side-up egg and spicy shrimp – plus fruit juice AND a beer – all for USD $5! LOVING Malaysia!

 

Successful trip to the local grocery store! Getting’ ma drink on and writing some blog in our hotel room