Some Photos

A bearded pig outside our dorm at Bako National Park.

A view of Bako National Park from the lovely beach we laid upon for hours before taking a boat back to the headquarters.

The silvered leaf monkeys we saw at Bako National Park.

The canoe shaped coffins found in Painted Cave 2 at Niah Caves National Park.

The amazing limestone pinnacles at Gunung Mulu National Park.












Hope you enjoy these photos!
-Renee

Our first two weeks have been a whirlwind of excitement! We explored Kuching, the capital of Sarawak (the western state of Malaysian Borneo) before heading off to Bako National Park. Here we saw a variety of wildlife including the silvered leaf monkey, bearded pig, proboscis monkey, flying lemur, as well as various insects and spiders that you hope to see when entering the rainforest. We had a macaque try to break into our dorm room by sliding open the screen and Brad later had half of his breakfast stolen by another one. They are very naughty, but after seeing one macaque grab two aluminum cans, climb to the roof and begin gnawing through them with his teeth, you dare not test them.

We then headed for Niah Caves National Park where we were amazed by the beautiful limestone that appears unexpectedly in the rainforest and makes you feel like you’re on a movie set. We explored Trader’s Cave where you can see the remains of roofless huts made of ironwood which once housed birds’ nest collectors (now, to prevent the extinction of the nests only locals are given the rights to collect the valuable nests, and only at certain times of the year). We then entered the mouth of Great Cave where we heard the swiftlets flying to and fro. We then continued on to Painted Cave, where we saw unearthed remains, small canoe-shaped coffins, and paintings on the wall that date back thousands of years. In fact, the earliest evidence of human life in Asia was found in these caves in the form of a human skull that carbon dating tells us is more than 40,000 years old.

Our next destination was Gunung Mulu National Park eager to see the famous pinnacles. We took a longboat up the Sungai River, and trekked 8km through leech-infested jungle to arrive at our open-air accommodations at Camp 5. Met some friendly people, headed to bed early and rose at 5:30 the following morning to enjoy breakfast before testing our stamina on the 2,000 meter hike to the 1,240 meter viewpoint. Don’t bother doing the math, just believe me that it was a steep climb.

The last 400 meters, a series of spiked rocks, ropes, and iron ladders proved to be the most difficult and exciting. It was an amazing view of the limestone pinnacles that rise out of the forest floor at different heights. Going down was exhaustive, but the swim in the river made it all worthwhile. (Side note: Brad was eager to gain a leech on the trip, I was not. Of course, I picked one up on the walk back. The sucker got through my hiking sock!)

We spent our remaining three nights in Mulu at a homestay. While at the park we also walked the 480 meters of the Canopy Skywalk and learned some interesting stories from our guide. (For example, caterpillars don’t eat the (delicious to you and me) jungle fern because if they do, they will not be able to produce eggs.) We also explored Deer Cave (said to be the world’s largest cave passage) and Lang’s Cave (home to impressive limestone stalagmites and stalactites). We then watched as millions of bats poured out of Deer Cave for their late afternoon feeding. Quite an impressive sight.

We had an amazing time in Sarawak, thanks not only to the things we’ve seen but also the people we’ve met along the way. Malaysians are overly friendly and always eager to help. Smiles and words of welcome, “Selamat datang,” are around every corner. We can only look forward to our future explorations and remain grateful for all that we have done so far.

Possibly revenge for all the macaque jokes I've been making?

I’m up with the chickens today. To be exact, I am up with that most annoying of chickens, the rooster. Screaming at the top of his chicken lungs to let all the world know “I can make loud noises!” I’m in Borneo, about 20 miles southeast of Brunei in an average home on the banks of the Sungai River. The roosters are about ten feet below the series of planks that form the floor of my bedroom. It’s 3:47 am.

Those of us that are long removed from whatever agrarian roots we may have had, which I would guess are most of us, have a somewhat distorted view of the rooster. Before today, what I knew of roosters was largely informed by Warner Brothers cartoons and commercials for pancake syrup. Roosters were the harbingers of a new day, the first of God’s creatures to herald the coming of the light, a symbol of new beginnings.

The thing is that light is about two and a half hours away. What kind of sun sentry does that make our rooster? A markedly poor one in my estimation. I’d be willing to bet that if asked one of the geckos that line my bedroom walls would have been able to tell me that the sun was going to come up at some point in the morning, and with as much accuracy. Furthermore, TV told me he/she would do so with an endearing cockney accent, as opposed to a violent screech that more than hints at a casual love affair with Misty 120s.

So the next time that you find yourself in Brunei at McDonalds (they run the world) staring into the golden brown perfection that is a twenty piece chicken nugget, feel no remorse, you may just be earning someone a couple hours of sleep.

Disclaimer: No roosters were harmed in the writing of this…but not for lack of trying. It was too dark.

We have arrived!!! We are officially in Borneo, one of the most beautiful places in the world. So far, I'm impressed and it hasn't even been 24 hours. Tomorrow morning we will be leaving Kuching and heading to Bako National Park. It is a small park, but it supposed to be the best for wildlife viewing. I'm hoping to see a proboscis monkey as well as a bearded pig! We'll be staying there for one night before coming back to Kuching and catching a boat to Sibu.

The weather here is hot and humid, just as we expected. Luckily, there is no rain. The food is delicious (and everyone speaks English so it's easy for me to get a vegetarian meal).

We've been greeted with smiles everywhere we've been and have had several people shout 'Hello!' to us from their scooters. It's very laid back here and quite peaceful. I love the island life...

-Renee

After hauling our over-stuffed backpacks to Seoul, we will be boarding a plane and headed to Borneo tomorrow. We have talked about Korea all day. In many ways, it feels like home for us. It will be strange to leave, knowing that chances are slim we will be coming back.

I expect internet connections to be sporadic in Malaysia, but I'll do my best to keep everyone updated on all that we are doing.

-Brad-