Viajando en Malasia Borneo a ver los monos.
I left Melbourne with my son Leigh and his wife Wendy at 1 PM Saturday , after
only eight hours flying we arrived at Brunei in Borneo at 7 PM having stepped back
2 hours in time. Brunei is a Sultanate at the north east corner of Borneo which is the
third largest Island in the world. We had to go through those confounded security
checks where I was stopped by a tall police person who was wearing a dark blue
scarf over the head tucked inside the shirt collar they looked stunning and quite
attractive , the women officers were lovely too. Unfortunately they confiscated my
old and favourite bushmans penknife and no amount of protestations from me saying
" most old men carry a penknife a piece of string and a safety pin " did any good
they even queried the large safety pin , but it was in good fun . Brunei like its
neighbour Malaysia is an Islamic country so most of the women wore the "Abaya"
and a head scarf leaving only the face and hands uncovered ,the Abayas were all
so colourful and I must say I think they are beautiful , it was also one of the
cleanest safest and happiest places I have ever been to . It is only a very small
country and as it was only the staging ground for our forey into Sarawak we quickly
walked around the whole town in the short time we were there . the next day we flew
out to Kuching in Sarawak and our stay in the forest with the Orangutans.
Sultan Omar Ali Suifuddin Mosque . By night , and with Leigh and I in daylight .
18 Answers
Absolutely fantastic Ray. The accommodation with the jungle on all sides looks simply amazing. Were there lots of "jungle" noises at night? And no I don't mean loud snoring sounds from tourists who have had one-too-many 
Oh and just picking up on your comment to Jennyo about Sandakan - have you read "A Conspiracy of Silence" by Lynette Ramsey-Silver?
Borneo the third largest island in the world is situated on the equator in the South China Sea. in the north are the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, the independent state of Brunei and in the south the main part of the island, Indonesian Kalimantan. Sarawak is the largest state of Malaysia. Sarawak is separated from the mainland part of Malaysia, known as Peninsular Malaysia, by some 400 miles of open sea. Sarawak is almost as large as the whole of Peninsular Malaysia, with an area of 48,050 square miles; its coastline is about 450 miles long. The port of Kuching in the southwest is the state capital. Kuching lies near the mouth of one of the state's many navigable rivers, the Sarawak River. The Rejang River at 348 miles is Malaysia's longest rivers; the port of Kapit, 99 miles upstream, can be reached by coastal craft., Sarawak is predominantly mountainous; Mount Murud at 7,949ft is the highest point in the state. Cloaked in dense, often virgin, rainforest, most of the interior is accessible only by river. Sarawak has a hot, humid tropical climate. Rainfall is spread throughout the year, with the heaviest concentration from November to February, during the northeast monsoon; annual rainfall averages 130-151 in. on the whole Sarawak is sparsely populated. The main centres of population are Kuching, Sibu and Miri. Sarawak is the main home of the indigenous Dayak peoples of Borneo. About half the state's population comprises indigenous ethnic groups, principally the Iban, or Sea Dayaks, the Land Dayaks. The other large ethnic groups are Chinese and Malay). The official language is now Bahasai Malay, but English is also spoken.; many Dayak still practise traditional religions. Sarawak is a mystical and magical place with an abundance of wildlife, luxuriant primary jungle and some of the most wonderful people it has been my privilege to meet and work with. This part is my personal recollections whilst serving in Sarawak. To give an abridged history of Sarawak; until 1841, Sarawak came under the domination of the Sultan of Brunei. At this time it was ceded to James Brooke in return for his help in suppressing a rebellion and ridding the area of pirates. The Brookes became known as the White Rajahs. In 1886 Sarawak was made a British Protectorate. In 1941 the current Rajah Charles Viner Brooke relaxed his absolute powers aiming towards self-government. During World War 2 the Japanese occupied Sarawak from 1942 to the end of hostilities in 1945. The following year the Rajah ceded Sarawak to the United Kingdom and it became a Crown colony. The formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 saw Sarawak and Sabah as part of that Federation. This led to Indonesia adopting what became known as Confrontation and the United Kingdom supplied armed forces to assist Malaysia in resisting an armed invasion. 84 Survey Squadron RE had from 1956 maintained field troops in Sarawak assisting Lands and Surveys in the mapping of Sarawak these troops operated in civilian clothes for the main part. When confrontation was under way the survey units now came under the Army Command and now wore uniform. The influx of service personnel had a major influence on the survey operation. Mapping was now urgently required for operations. Air support was needed for the infantry and led to helicopter bases being established. Whereas air support had been an unusual event it now became the norm. This made life a lot easier compared with river travel and climbing hills a helicopter could drop a party on the hilltop saving many hours.
Sarawak Borneo, one of the most exciting and fascinating countries I have ever
visited , and I have been traveling the globe since a young boy , the people are
Muslim and I found them to be amongst the most honest calm peaceful and
friendly people I have ever had the privilege to meet, I shall return for an extended
stay in the near future . It is close to the Equator therefore hot , very hot, but I like
the heat , we arrived late 10 PM and settled in a hotel on the banks of the Sarawak
river , and ventured out to sample the many delights of the local cuisine . Kuching
the City we were in is "Cat City " in the Malay language , there is a gigantic statue of
Cats in the City centre , as we had only 1 day here we trekked around until late to
see as much as we could before hiring a car next day and driving up into the jungle.
Please note the cultural development of the " Golden arches "
Parliament building on the bank of the Sarawak river Kuching.
Driving from Kuching to our jungle guest house was a trip of only 35 K but the
roads were surprisingly busy though quite wide mostly 4 lanes with a large verdant
strip down the middle full of exotic flowers and plants , as was the sides of the roads,
there were thousands of gardeners at work keeping it all neat and clean . The only
complaint was that they had inherited the roundabout disease in spades , they had
the largest roundabouts in the world , one could build a village on one , and if one
was to try and walk across the diameter one would need to take a cut lunch .
At last we drove up the drive to "Nanga Damai" our guest house , it was even more
beautiful than I imagined , we quickly made friends with the two lovely girls
who were to be our housekeepers , and also a lovely female dog named" Bella'
whose only need was to be stroked and have her belly scratched , how like a
female. I was in the pool before I even unpacked or inspected my spacious room
with its own balcony facing the forest on two sides and looking out over the
South China Sea.Our biggest task now was to decide which restaurant to eat in
Leigh and Wendy had ben here before so I left this weighty problem in their court.
Decision made we arrived at a restaurant on the beach at the end of its own pier.
And what a memorable meal it was , Venison , deep fried fish , a zillion prawns , and a green called "midan " which was the tips of a local fern picked fresh each day
and stir fried , drinks ranged from coconuts fresh squeezed tropical fruits , coffee
tea and then fresh fruit desert . a;ll for the staggering sum of $ 35 .US , I was going to like this place .
The Harbour on mainland Borneo where we left for Bako Island by small boat .
This is a Silver tail mono " vey common here , this particular one had just
robbed the lunch from 3 German girls , he was very cheeky I had to chase him away
but the girls did not want their lunch back , they were thrilled with the episode.
Bako National Park, 37 kilometres from Kuching, can be reached by 30-minute drive to Kampung Bako and then followed by a 25-minute boat ride. The constant erosion over millions of years, had turned Bako into a picturesque coastline of steep cliffs, rocky head-lands and many stretches of sandy bays. The erosion caused by constant waves at the base of cliffs had carved and created many of the rocks into sea arches and sea stacks. Beautiful sandstone formation featuring pink and iron patterns on cliff faces can be seen along most of the coastline. Many, who have visited the Park commented that Bako National Park is a treasure chest of fauna and flora. Naturalists will be thrilled to find a wide range of vegetations including the varieties of pitcher plants and wild orchids. The varieties of vegetation found in Borneo can also be seen in the Park's mangrove forest, mixed dipterocarp forest, peat swamp forest and kerangas forest.
Trekking through any of its 16 well maintained jungle trails is an interesting experience. Within the Park, it is not uncommon to see troops of long-tailed Macaques and silver-leaf monkeys along with giant monitor lizards, plantain squirrels, wild boars and mouse deers. The most significant animal in the Park is the bizzare long nosed proboscis monkeys found only in Borneo island.
Swimming, beach combing at low tide and sunset watching are popular activities along the sandy bays of the Park. Bako National Park is truly an ideal place for nature lovers and eco-minded adventurers.
If you ever have the time and are reasonably fit then a visit to Borneo would be the highlight
of your life , take my word for it , there are not many pristine places left in the world.
We spent our first day in pursuit of the Proboscis monkey which is found only
in this part of the world in the "Bako National park" which meant a drive towards
Kuching then a 30 minute drive to Bako Kampong , payment of a small fee to enter
the park which is on an Island accessed by a boat , we had asked a couple from
the czech republic to join us who were the only other guests at Nanga Damai
the five of us paid our entry fee , only a few dollars , walked to the pier and
hired a boat to sail off to the Island 35 minutes away , it was low tide when we
arrived so we all had to disembark in knee high water and wade ashore ,very
romantic, on shore there was only a few wooden buildings of the national park
we had to register because this was a pristine environment and quite wild , the
trail over the mountain to the side where the Proboscis monkeys were was very
steep and even for experienced bush walkers as we were it was quite a trial . All
the way along the track we were pursued by monkeys , mostly "Macaques " but
on arriving at the most beautiful secluded beach we saw the "Proboscis" it is
only the males which have the giant noses and the poor darlings looked almost
embarrassed as if they knew that we were observing them because of their facial
appendage .
My companions wading ashore ,Leigh as usual is first to arrive.
The boats awaiting our return.
Nanga Damai means " home of peace " in the Iban language. and that is exactly what one gets peace tranquility and safety plus a little love thrown in .
Nanga Damai is situated at Damai on the Santubong peninsula, on the steeply sloping foothills of Mount Santubong (903m), approximately 33 km from Kuching. The house is right at the very edge of Gunung Santubong National Park, and is surrounded by dense primary jungle on three sides. The front of the house overlooks the South China Sea, with panoramic views of the mountains of Southwest Sarawak.
It is about 20 minutes walk from the beach resorts of Damai and the Sarawak Cultural Village, and about 5 minutes drive from the Damai Golf Club, and 10 minutes drive from the seafood restaurants of Buntal village ( Kampong ).
That sounds like a wonderful trip, Ray. Thanks for sharing!
These few photos do not really do justice to the beauty of this place , and it is hard to
convey to you the noises of the jungle at night it was almost a sin to fall asleep
and to ignore the sheer beauty and excitement that was all around . The beaches
were so brilliant , small rocky coves , and nobody around just the three of us to
explore this area . there were terrific bush walks in the jungle or just walking around
the beach coming upon secluded little coves it was just magical , I shall return
soon and spend a long time here hopefully not alone this time .
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We moved from our guest house into the tree houses in a jungle complex at the edge
of a forest on the shores of the South China Sea, the houses were about 30 feet
up in the air and contained a large bedroom , double and single bed , small
ketchenette, bathroom , air con and a verandah looking over the beach , quite
luxurious , but the downside was the height, once up you don't want to come down ,
and once down well you get the picture , and I found it lonely at night , next time I
take a partner ( any offers ) . There were monkeys all around , and birds flying
and feeding everywhere , sitting on the verandah in the evening watching the
sun set over the China Sea with birds and monkeys chattering it was very romantic .
Less than 1 hour away from our guest house was the Semenggoh wildlife centre
where we drove to visit the Orangutans , the park rangers had set up a feeding
platform about 20 feet away from the viewing area , they called out "Orang Orang"
and before long they came crashing through the trees , the thing one notices about
them first is that they are ginormous , massive , the Alpha male is quite terrifying,
we were told not to look directly into his eyes , it was not his eyes that worried me it
was his teeth and those enormous arms , but what an experience they are such
wonderful creatures yet we are destroying them , a great shame.
The waters here are so calm and warm , one can just walk slowly into the waves
without that feeling of cold gripping you , it is also quite safe unlike the beaches
back home , anyone care to join me here next year ?
the women officers were lovely too
And the pictures of them???
Thanks for all this Ray.
Ian.
Wow! What amazing shots. Keep 'em coming Ray.
