“Welcome to the Jungle” (Guns’n’Roses)

After 24 weeks and 3 days it was time for the group to split, with 8 of us (including 1 crew) heading to Borneo and Brunei, and the remaining 11 (after Carolyn had left us a couple of days earlier in Kuala Lumpur) headed to Singapore and then on to Australia, Hong Kong, or back to the UK. It was hard to believe that we had been away for over 24 weeks, and that people who had been strangers but were now like family would no longer be around, so there were a few tears shed by various members of the group as the Borneo crew headed off in a mini-bus to Johor Bahru airport for the short flight to Kuching in Sarawak, Borneo.

But perhaps I should start with the farewell that we had had the night before. What started as a sedate dinner at a nice café (but, let’s face it, was never destined to remain so) ended up with Mike T performing his now world famous song “My Lovely Truck”. For those who have never experienced it, it is hard to describe, but suffice it to say it was an experience that no-one in that bar will ever forget, no matter how much therapy they attend. Hopefully Rich will upload the video so you can see for yourselves on his blog… Brace yourselves… We had also had a round of the first truly drinkable “Odyssey Blue” cocktails (perhaps because Pete had not been able to add tequila into the mix), and had worn party hats and scared off other diners with our frequent and ferocious use of the party blowers that had been provided for Mike H’s birthday.

And so to Borneo. We arrived into Kuching late one evening and headed straight out for a quick drink to have a chat about what was to come in the next couple of weeks. As Pete has not been here before, the trip is largely exploratory, although guided by experiences of friends of his who have been here before. After a night in a dorm (must have been a bit of a surprise for the guy in our room to wake up with 5 girls asleep around him!) we headed off to explore the town of Kuching (but not before moving to air-conditioned twin rooms it must be said!). The town is based around a river and has several colonial style buildings, together with some Chinese temples and a strange fascination with cats (there are several large cat statues around the town).

Michael S, Elaine, Jen and Jo at the water feature in front of the War Heroes Monument in Kuching:

In the afternoon we headed off to the Orangutan sanctuary and were lucky enough to see 7 orangutans feeding - they are truly amazing creatures (the first of several amazing creatures we have already seen in our 4 days here) and it was fascinating to watch the interplay between the adults and the children, and the adults themselves (including the female who, protecting her baby, gave one of the males a very decent punch!).

The mother with the good punch picking up some take-away for dinner:

The next morning it was off to Bako National Park which involved a trip on a local bus (very bouncy!) and then a boat ride to the park HQ.

Michael S, Jo and myself on the boat to the national park:

After a quick lunch and putting our day packs into storage we headed off on a walk through the jungle to find a beautiful beach which was populated only by some large Dutch tourists.

On our beach, the Borneo crew - Rich, Alexa, Michael S, Elaine, me, Jen and Jo (with Pete behind the camera):

With Elaine on the beach:

Fortunately there was a boat on hand to take most of us back to the main HQ, and an afternoon was spent chilling and reading books until we heard that there was a large group of Proboscis Monkeys near the jetty and we headed down there and were lucky enough to see them feeding and moving through, including a huge male with the characteristic massive nose.

Mr Proboscis Monkey:

After a little more chill time we eventually headed to the beach to watch the amazing sunset, had a bite to eat (fortunately without the nasty monkeys that had haunted our breakfast as they stole food off our plates!) and headed out for a night safari.

The sunset:

Given my experience in Chaing Mai I have to say that I was a little hesitant… but there was no need to be, as this was a true night walk through the jungle with a great guide who was able to find things that we never would have seen without him! Highlights included the green pit viper (not a highlight for me, it must be said, still hate snakes), noisy frogs, amazingly intricate stick insects, and the fireflies under a starry, moonlight sky.

The girls readiy for a night safari, complete with head torches!:

Froggy:

Stick insect:

Horrible green pit viper (thanks to Rich for this photo, no way would I have been this close!):

The next day I headed off early with Pete (Rich, who had agreed to come along the night before decided to sleep in, who would have thought??) and we walked up and over a massive hill, through jungle and then scrub reminiscent of Duke of Edinburgh hikes in Australia, and then finally descended down to what turned out to be our own private beach! We had expected crowds to arrive, but no-one appeared other than a couple of water-shy tourists with big cameras, and a very patient boatman who was kind enough to take us back to the main centre after we had spent a couple of hours reading and trying to decide whether the animal head that we saw in the water was a crocodile, otter or water monitor lizard… We liked to think otter.