We arrived in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, and it is simply unique. Kuching has an unusual name - the word means "cat" in Malay and there are many statues of cats dotting the city. Kuching is very welcoming towards visitors, but people don't put on an act for you and tourism is not their main focus. The city just goes about its own business in a relaxed manner and it's pleasant to be a part of it. Kuching is a cosmopolitan city, and it's reflected in the faces on the streets. While the population is predominantly Chinese and Malay, Kuching is home to people from all of Sarawak’s 26-plus ethnic groups.
The city centre is small and walkable, the narrow, bustling streets crammed with shops selling things from the mundane to the exotic. There are beautiful Chinese temples, a stunning Mosque, colonial-style architecture, and a beautiful waterfront with a daily market. We found a restaurant on our first night which (although a little out of budget) had the best meals we've eaten since starting our travels. Steak with mushroom bernaise sauce, mashed potatoes and vegetables...my mouth waters just thinking about it! We had 3 amazing meals there, everything we tried on
the menu was great and there was a lounge with a big screen TV and couches setup to watch the olympics. We spent time walking along the river, visiting the market and exploring the city centre. Our primary reason for going to Kuching was to get a visa from the Chinese consulate there but upon arrival we were told the embassy was only available to Malaysian residents. The girl mentioned it might be easier to just fly back to the US to get the visa which was comical. This means we will need to make a separate stop to Kuala Lumpur but I'm happy we landed in Kuching as we would have never explored it otherwise.
We spent a day at the Semenggoh Orangutan sanctuary, just 15 minutes outside of Kuching. For over 20 years, the wardens here trained young orangutans, who had been orphaned or rescued from captivity, how to survive in the wild. The success of this programme has left the surrounding forest reserve with a thriving population of healthy orangutans, who are now breeding in the wild.
When you visit Semenggoh, you still have the opportunity to see some of their successful graduates, semi-wild orang utans and their babies. Although they spend most of their time roaming the forest, they sometimes come back to the Centre for a free meal. We arrived early, about 2 hours before the scheduled "feeding time" where wardens set out fruit and milk for oranguatans who might come for the feeding. It's not guaranteed that you will see any orangutans at all. As we were
waiting for the feeding area to open, one orangutan came swinging in from the trees...then another...and another...until there were over 10 swinging over our heads! We even saw "mama", their oldest graduate at 37 years of age who seems to run the place. She sat down on the bench in the same spot we were sitting, rather than staying up in the trees. The wardens brought out fruit and set it around the trees and we just watched the orangutans swinging around us in awe, it felt like we were in a chapter of the Jungle Book! :) The scheduled 3:30 feeding time also brought the crowds and as we walked the trail into the jungle, we couldn't move, any sight of an orangutan brought mobs wielding cameras and we couldn't take it. We left the trail and went back to Kuching, thankful we had such a great experience before the crowds arrived.
Matt had met a guy named
Sean who was an experienced guide in Bako National Park so we took him up on his offer of a guided tour. Bako contains a wide range of vegetation - containing 7 different ecosystems. Bako also contains a rich variety of wildlife and a coastline covered with small bays, coves and beaches. We had a 45 minute bus journey and then a 30 minute boat ride before arriving at the entrance to the park. Upon arrival we saw the we saw two bearded pigs walking around park headquarters,
hopefully a good sign of things to come. Further down
the first trail we saw the rare and unusual proboscis monkey, they are difficult to spot and you’ll usually hear the crash of vegetation before you are able to locate them high in the trees. Probiscus monkeys are a funny site, big pot bellies, big noses and their
fur is white on their bottoms (making them look as if they have a diaper on). We continued down the trail and saw alot of interesting plant life, it was especially interesting to see all of the carnivorous pitcher plants. We stopped at the end of one of the trails to sit on the nice sandy beach and relax for a while. There is a rock you can climb up to with beautiful views of the beach below. We hiked back to the park headquarters for lunch, one cheeky monkey stealing a can of coke and running for the trees where he peeled it open, poured it all over himself and then licked it off... We spent the remainder of the day watching the probiscus monkeys and then boarded a boat to go home.
We took a flight to Kota Kinabalu, which is the capital of the Sabah region of Borneo. It's not all that appealing of a town, mainly a port city but there was some nice shopping and a lively market. We tried to see a movie but didn't like the choices, when we started to leave we could hear the crash of bowling pins and walked upstairs to find a full scale bowling alley. We couldn't resist playing a few games and had a great evening, we didn't expect to be bowling in Borneo :). We arranged our travel to Semporna which is a 7 hour bus journey (which in asian time means about 12 hours). We broke down once along the way but it wasn't long before another bus was arriving to pick us up. We stopped for lunch along the way and met a fellow passenger named Muhammad Ikbhal, an old man with a cane with flowing white robes and a long white beard to match. He sat down and introduced himself, he was from Peshawar, Pakistan and working in
Borneo over the next two years. Generally, when we meet someone who is muslim the first question is almost always "How many children do you have?" and when the answer is no children, the answer isinevitably "Why???" :) He has 7 children in Pakistan, all but 2 are now married. We had an interesting conversation with him and he offered for us to stay at his home in Borneo, if only for the night if we would like. The offer was tempting and in hindsight I wish we had taken him up on the offer but we had a paid reservation in Semporna and were anxious to get there after the long journey. At his stop he turned to say goodbye and we watched him join at least 10 people waiting for him, wishing we had taken the chance and exited the bus. The rest of the bus journey was long and uncomfortable, the air conditioner worked as a refridgerator and we were huddling together trying to keep warm. Next bus ride we will be better prepared with warm clothes!!
We are now in Semporna, the entry point to Sipadan Island, one of the best dive sites in the world. Matt signed up for his Divemaster course so we will be spending the next 3 weeks on Mabul island.
We arrived in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, and it is simply unique. Kuching has an unusual name - the word means "cat" in Malay and there are many statues of cats dotting the city. Kuching is very welcoming towards visitors, but people don't put on an act for you and tourism is not their main focus. The city just goes about its own business in a relaxed manner and it's pleasant to be a part of it. Kuching is a cosmopolitan city, and it's reflected in the faces on the streets. While the population is predominantly Chinese and Malay, Kuching is home to people from all of Sarawak’s 26-plus ethnic groups. 
The city centre is small and walkable, the narrow, bustling streets crammed with shops selling things from the mundane to the exotic. There are beautiful Chinese temples, a stunning Mosque, colonial-style architecture, and a beautiful waterfront with a daily market. We found a restaurant on our first night which (although a little out of budget) had the best meals we've eaten since starting our travels. Steak with mushroom bernaise sauce, mashed potatoes and vegetables...my mouth waters just thinking about it! We had 3 amazing meals there, everything we tried on 
the menu was great and there was a lounge with a big screen TV and couches setup to watch the olympics. We spent time walking along the river, visiting the market and exploring the city centre. Our primary reason for going to Kuching was to get a visa from the Chinese consulate there but upon arrival we were told the embassy was only available to Malaysian residents. The girl mentioned it might be easier to just fly back to the US to get the visa which was comical. This means we will need to make a separate stop to Kuala Lumpur but I'm happy we landed in Kuching as we would have never explored it otherwise. 
We spent a day at the Semenggoh Orangutan sanctuary, just 15 minutes outside of Kuching. For over 20 years, the wardens here trained young orangutans, who had been orphaned or rescued from captivity, how to survive in the wild. The success of this programme has left the surrounding forest reserve with a thriving population of healthy orangutans, who are now breeding in the wild. 
When you visit Semenggoh, you still have the opportunity to see some of their successful graduates, semi-wild orang utans and their babies. Although they spend most of their time roaming the forest, they sometimes come back to the Centre for a free meal. We arrived early, about 2 hours before the scheduled "feeding time" where wardens set out fruit and milk for oranguatans who might come for the feeding. It's not guaranteed that you will see any orangutans at all. As we were 
waiting for the feeding area to open, one orangutan came swinging in from the trees...then another...and another...until there were over 10 swinging over our heads! We even saw "mama", their oldest graduate at 37 years of age who seems to run the place. She sat down on the bench in the same spot we were sitting, rather than staying up in the trees. The wardens brought out fruit and set it around the trees and we just watched the orangutans swinging around us in awe, it felt like we were in a chapter of the Jungle Book! :) The scheduled 3:30 feeding time also brought the crowds and as we walked the trail into the jungle, we couldn't move, any sight of an orangutan brought mobs wielding cameras and we couldn't take it. We left the trail and went back to Kuching, thankful we had such a great experience before the crowds arrived.
Matt had met a guy named 
Sean who was an experienced guide in Bako National Park so we took him up on his offer of a guided tour. Bako contains a wide range of vegetation - containing 7 different ecosystems. Bako also contains a rich variety of wildlife and a coastline covered with small bays, coves and beaches. We had a 45 minute bus journey and then a 30 minute boat ride before arriving at the entrance to the park. Upon arrival we saw the we saw two bearded pigs walking around park headquarters, 
hopefully a good sign of things to come. Further down 
the first trail we saw the rare and unusual proboscis monkey, they are difficult to spot and you’ll usually hear the crash of vegetation before you are able to locate them high in the trees. Probiscus monkeys are a funny site, big pot bellies, big noses and their 
fur is white on their bottoms (making them look as if they have a diaper on). We continued down the trail and saw alot of interesting plant life, it was especially interesting to see all of the carnivorous pitcher plants. We stopped at the end of one of the trails to sit on the nice sandy beach and relax for a while. There is a rock you can climb up to with beautiful views of the beach below. We hiked back to the park headquarters for lunch, one cheeky monkey stealing a can of coke and running for the trees where he peeled it open, poured it all over himself and then licked it off... We spent the remainder of the day watching the probiscus monkeys and then boarded a boat to go home.
We took a flight to Kota Kinabalu, which is the capital of the Sabah region of Borneo. It's not all that appealing of a town, mainly a port city but there was some nice shopping and a lively market. We tried to see a movie but didn't like the choices, when we started to leave we could hear the crash of bowling pins and walked upstairs to find a full scale bowling alley. We couldn't resist playing a few games and had a great evening, we didn't expect to be bowling in Borneo :). We arranged our travel to Semporna which is a 7 hour bus journey (which in asian time means about 12 hours). We broke down once along the way but it wasn't long before another bus was arriving to pick us up. We stopped for lunch along the way and met a fellow passenger named Muhammad Ikbhal, an old man with a cane with flowing white robes and a long white beard to match. He sat down and introduced himself, he was from Peshawar, Pakistan and working in 
Borneo over the next two years. Generally, when we meet someone who is muslim the first question is almost always "How many children do you have?" and when the answer is no children, the answer isinevitably "Why???" :) He has 7 children in Pakistan, all but 2 are now married. We had an interesting conversation with him and he offered for us to stay at his home in Borneo, if only for the night if we would like. The offer was tempting and in hindsight I wish we had taken him up on the offer but we had a paid reservation in Semporna and were anxious to get there after the long journey. At his stop he turned to say goodbye and we watched him join at least 10 people waiting for him, wishing we had taken the chance and exited the bus. The rest of the bus journey was long and uncomfortable, the air conditioner worked as a refridgerator and we were huddling together trying to keep warm. Next bus ride we will be better prepared with warm clothes!!
We are now in Semporna, the entry point to Sipadan Island, one of the best dive sites in the world. Matt signed up for his Divemaster course so we will be spending the next 3 weeks on Mabul island.
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