Hello Travel Buddies,
I flew from Brunei on a direct flight to the Malaysian State of Sarawak, still on the Island of Borneo. I am in Kuching, the principle city of Sarawak and a pretty bustling community with many sites and activities within easy reach of the city. I arrived late in the afternoon but was able to arrange for two days of tours that evening. I am close to the downtown area so it was an easy walk the first night to find a shop to get a new USB Memory for my computer and get back into the business of sending out emails and pictures. Then dinner at a Malay restaurant, Black Pepper Chicken and rice with Iced Tea for 9 Malay Ringgits, about US$7.
The first morning I was up early, 05:30 so had my first cup of coffee in my room before my alarm went off. The Lime Tree Hotel is small, modern and very handy, they also serve a good breakfast at 07:00 so I was fed and ready to go when the tour bus driver arrived at 08:05, 15 minutes early. Tours require 2 person minimums but I was lucky enough to connect with a tour already booked by two people from another hotel. My driver took me to the Bako National Park entrance by myself, the others in my party would have a different ride from their hotel.
The Park entrance is just a car park and building in a small town outside the city. Behind the building is a Jetty on a river for the boats that actually take everyone to the Park. If there is a road to the park I never heard of it or saw it on a map. As I waited for the others to arrive, I spent my time on the pathway around the building watching Sunbirds feeding on Hibiscus flowers next to the car park. I spotted two species on the one bush; I hoped that would be a good omen for the day.
While waiting I met Joe who would be my guide in Bako, I asked about the birds I was watching and he didn’t know anything about them but went inside and brought out a park ranger who was a bird specialist who told me more about them than I could remember.
Soon the van with my two tour companions arrived; Graham and Sue were about my age from England, I was relieved since I knew I wouldn’t be left in the dust while hiking with them. Once Joe had signed us into the park, the four of us boarded a small open boat with canvas awning for rain and sun protection. The boat sped down river, through the village; past homes, shops and car parks on the right hand shore which had the road and on the left side were homes built over the water on stilts with lots of boats moored and pulled up into boat houses or beside the homes, there was no road on that side and people crossed the river by boat to their cars to go to work or into the city.
The ride down river was between Mangrove and mud flats to the bay where the driver maneuvered around fish traps and nets in the shallows near shore. After about 40 minutes we passed sandstone cliffs and formations to a wide open beach. There the boat came close into shore, turned so the 85 horsepower engine was towards the beach and backed in as close as he could get then the driver and Joe got out to pull us in closer. Then with shoes in my backpack and pant legs rolled up I waded ashore. We walked across the wide sandy beach to a walkway, still barefoot, that led to the Park headquarters. Next to the walkway was a paved area with bench and water taps to wash our feet and put on our shoes. We caught up with Joe in the Park headquarters building where we had a few minutes to relax before our hike began.
The first stop of the hike was on the front lawn where a large wooden map of the park showed the 18 trails that crisscross the park and showed the expected time to hike each. The shortest was expected to take an hour and a half, the longest 7+ hours; the three of us were relieved Joe planned to take us on the short route. Before we got to the trail though, Joe led us through the grounds of the headquarters. Unlike most guides I’ve had in my travels, Joe was not a non-stop talker, he always answered our questions but didn’t spend a lot of time telling us what we were doing next or why. Leading us behind the main building, he turned off the raised pathway on to a narrow path leading to a rundown building where he told us to wait while he went around the building and into a small cluster of trees in a swampy area behind it. He then came back and told us to follow him, he led us to the edge of the swampy patch with a concrete drainage channel and told us to walk along it. The channel had two 4 inch wide sides separated by a 6 inch wide ditch, we walked with one foot on either side. Sue at first refused to go but after much coaxing she followed Joe and Graham and I followed her. About 10 feet along the ditch Joe pointed out a Large Green Snake resting on a limb of a small tree, about eye level 10 or so feet from us. The snake was about 3 feet long, blending magnificently with the green foliage. It was a Wagler’s Pit Viper, one of the two venomous snakes in the park, the other being a cobra. Luckily it was the only snake we saw that day, but it drove home the point to always look before reaching onto a tree branch for a handhold.
Back on the pathway, we diverted again through a fence to the area with the workers living quarters, there Joe slowed and pointed to the trees; above and around us were several Silver Langur monkeys. We were warned before getting into the boat that there were no guarantees to see any wildlife, but most visitors to the park do see some. With a Pit Viper, Silver Langurs and a couple of new birds I already felt the cost of the tour was worth it. Back on the pathway, we didn’t go 100 yards before a commotion in the trees to the left of us turned our attention to a group of Proboscis Monkeys; a large male and several females. The Proboscis is the star of the show in Boku National Park, considered one of the best places in Borneo to see the endangered species. It gets its name from its prominent nose that can be truly gigantic on large males.
Also along the trail, still on the headquarter grounds we walked within a few feet of a Wild Boar calmly feeding next to the pathway. All the animals are wild and seem to know that within the park and especially close to the headquarters they are protected, farther into the forest they are more wary of humans.
After watching tiny fiddler crabs in the mud flats near the boat jetty on a small stream we crossed a raised wooden walkway across the stream and through the mudflats and mangroves. It was well worn and I wondered how long even the local hardwood would last in that climate and conditions, it felt strong as we walked over it but didn’t look very sturdy.
Once past the mangroves, we started up the dirt track into the forest. At the junction where we turned onto our trail, the path went straight up the side of the hill, I had a mental flashback to my hill climb in Brunei. Joe assured us the track we followed would be easier, lots of ups and downs but not nearly as demanding as the other trails. So we turned off to the left. The trail was mud and sand between tree roots, picking where to step became a full time job. I continually reminded myself to look at every root and branch I wanted to grab onto for support while going up and down the undulating trail. At steep spots there were wooden steps, some 6 to 8 inches high and others up to 18 inches, “God I Hate Steps, All Steps”.
Shortly after we entered the forest Joe, who was always looking side to side and into the trees, stopped, took a few more steps then stopped again. He pointed up to the right and motioned for us to look there. After a few seconds I saw a rustle in a tree about 50 yards away and there was a Long Tailed Macaque. It wasn’t as good a view as the earlier monkeys but none the less, we were treated to seeing all three species of Monkey in the park; not everyone is that lucky.
After more than an hour on the trail, and after a particularly hard uphill stretch, Joe told us that after we climbed one last section that went up and crossed behind a massive boulder, it was all downhill from there. As we struggled up the last uphill part, gingerly finding footholds on the wet sandstone and muddy tree roots, we came to the narrow gap between the boulder and the hillside it had broken away from many years ago, we looked down at the steepest part of the trail. The wooden steps could accurately been described as a ladder. Then it was down to a level, soggy steam bed, but before we could rejoice over the level ground we heard the sound of waves and knew we had made it to the end, finally. A hundred meters further on the forest opened up to a wide sandy beach. There Joe offered us a surprise, options for the return leg of the journey: A; Walk back along the trail we just came in on. B; for 20 Ringgit (about US$8) a boat would take us back to Park Headquarters. C; for 35 Ringgit (about US$11) a boat would take us on a short sightseeing trip along the coast then back to the headquarters. It was a quick vote as the three of us all opted for plan B.
We had a 30 minute rest on the beach, as several more groups of hikers found their way out of the forest, most climbed the rocky shore to one side or splashed in the shallow water off the sandy beach as several boats appeared around the headland. Evidently boat rides back are a favorite of hikers.
We waded out to the boat and as it turned the headland, we could see the headquarters building a few hundred meters along the shore. At extreme low tides there is a fourth option available, to walk along the shore but that was not available to us since the water washed up to the cliffs most of the way back. Joe just laughed as it dawned on the three of us just how close we were to the starting point after an hour and a half of climbing through the forest. But we were not disappointed, the short boat ride was well worth the price.
The tour included buffet lunch in the headquarters Canteen with choice of several Malay dishes with rice and also included fried or scrambled eggs (leftovers from breakfast) and French fries. I stuck with fried rice, a couple types of chicken and veggies. Graham chanced some scrambled eggs and French fries and fried chicken. He also bought a round of beer for the three of us; not cold by Australian standards but tasted great.
Since we hadn’t walked back, we were about an hour and half ahead of schedule so we could wander the grounds, take another short hike into the forest, or head back to the park headquarters. Since we had seen all the wildlife we were likely to see, we took the option of going back. The same boatman who brought us from the trail head took us back. It hadn’t been as tiring a trip as I experienced in Brunei but was a good outing. Even with the rigorous hike, I was satisfied with the exercise, I needed that, and I had seen a few new birds along with the wild animals, especially the Proboscis Monkey.
Back on the dock, I paid the boatman the 20 Ringgits for the ride from the trail and gave 20 more to Joe as a tip. I was well satisfied and felt he had really done a great job. One driver was there to take the three of us to our two hotels. Not five minutes into the drive back to the city it began to rain, if I’d needed proof we made the right choice in returning early that was it. We were already soaked to the skin by perspiration from the hike in the hot humid forest but standing in a torrential downpour would not have made for a pleasant walk. Once at the hotel the rain let up so I didn’t get rained on as I said good bye to the driver and my two hiking companions. Talking on the way back we discovered we were booked for the same tour the next morning so I expected to see them again.
Back at the hotel, I holed up in my room most of the afternoon catching up on the trip report from Brunei; with the USB memory drive I was again able to do my blog. I am now only one day behind in writing.
It rained all afternoon so at 6 PM I went up to the roof top bar and had a couple Gin and Tonics, just for medicinal purposes to fight malaria you understand. I didn’t feel like walking in the rain to a restaurant so I ordered a hamburger from the hotel café. Sitting in “Limelight Lounge” eating a hamburger from the “Sublime Café” at the Lime Tree Hotel (Do you sense a pattern), not a bad way to end a rainy day in Kuching, Sarawak Malaysia.
Next I’m off to see the “Man of the Forest”; Orangutan.
Enjoy the Journey
Scott
Sent from Windows Mail
Scott's Journey to Ithaca 