Sarawak

Semenggok Orangutan Wildlife Rehabilitation Feeding Area

Travel — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 05:09:37 -0400

Semenggok was a very enjoyable half day trip for me.

The trick is to arrive early in the morning. There are feeding times around 9am and 3pm, but there is a feeding area that is open beforehand in the morning. This other feeding area is actually a much better viewing area and allows you to get much closer. When I walked in there, Richie, the group leader and an impressive primal example of long hair and unleashed power. An orangutan is about 6 times stronger than a human. They are also the next smartest thing after a human. They are also the biggest animal to live in the trees and make a new nest from branches and leaves each night. Orangutans can also makes nests for a day time snooze.

Niah Caves - Batu Niah

Travel — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 05:09:00 -0400

The Niah Caves are 2 hours drive from Miri in Eastern Malaysia.

The Niah Caves are well worth a visit and offer a different experience to the caves found at Mulu. I actually enjoyed the Niah Caves more than the Mulu caves, but that is probably because I had seen caves with similar formations to Mulu's limestone formations before.

The Niah Caves to me were interesting because there were some nice greens and other colours that gave them an alien feel. A travelling companion called them naked compared to Mulu. There are not as many stalagmites and stalagtites offered here as in Mulu.

One of the attractions found in the Niah Caves is the painted caves. There are some reddish markings on the walls found behind a security fence. As a full scene, there is not a lot to see, but some parts of the picture are clear. My fellow cave adventurer and I walked past them the first time and only found them on the way back.

Mulu National Park

Travel — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 05:08:07 -0400

Mulu National Park offers a number of different things to do and for people of differing levels of fitness.

Canopy Walk

Deer Cave

Lang Cave
Lang Cave was a bit similar to Wind Cave. At the end is a circular path showing many coral like formations.

Clearwater Cave

Wind Cave
Wind Cave is probably the prettiest of the Caves available at Mulu. There are many coral like limestone formations offering a fairy tale type landscape.

Miri

Travel — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 05:06:56 -0400

I didn't stay in Miri for very long and made my way in and out without staying a night.

I did look at some Miri accommodation and it was quite expensive compared to other places I had been.

Miri is expensive because of the oil industry having a foothold here and the Brunei people who come over for some cheap shopping.

Miri is meant to have more of a lively nightlife and some seedy areas.

Miri makes a good gateway to destinations such as the Niah Caves and the Mulu National Park.

There is a bus available from the Miri airport, but it seems rather unreliable. Coupon's for a taxi into Miri town from the airport are 18.50 RM.

Kuching

Travel — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 05:05:25 -0400

Kuching has a very good reputation with travellers. For me, this built up my expectations too much as every traveller I came across mentioned how nice Kuching was.

When I finally arrived in Kuching, I was a bit disappointed. It is a nice enough place though. I think what people find appealing about Kuching is the nice gardens and the developed water front. The water still isn't the cleanest, but at least you didn't have to cover your nose when you walk near it.

Make sure you pick up the free Kuching tourist booklet that has some nice maps, bus timetables etc. Very well done. The visitor information center is also a very helpful place and can help you book accommodation and of course fill you in on all the things you can go see.

Bako National Park - Proboscis Monkeys

Travel — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 05:03:42 -0400

Bako National Park has a nice variety of wildlife to see and is one of the better organised parks I went to in Eastern Malaysia. Some of the wooden planking feels like it might give up on you though.

The main reason people head to Bako is to catch a glimpse of the monkeys with the big nose, proboscis monkeys. The proboscis monkeys can get quite large and hang around mangroves when the tide is low. They move between the mangrove trees and each the choicest leaves they can find. You need to be quiet when walking around looking for them because most of the proboscis monkeys don't seem to keen on people coming close. Luckily for my group, we found a proboscis monkey that seemed non-plussed when we came up to about 10 metres away.