Leaving Singapore and arriving in Kuching was easy. It was all very organized - making it easy for the flash packers that we are (now that I have 3 dresses to choose from). In Kuching, however, things were a bit different. It seemed that the town was still on holiday time - not many shops were open. We wandered around looking for bus stop for a bus to Bako. It was so frustrating, no signage to be found, yet LP states that getting to Bako is "a cinch"
Wandering somewhat aimlessly, we came upon Magenta Restaurant and JB sprung up a conversation with the owner, Dino. After a few words, a spark was lit. Dino said that he would like to buy us a beer, this way he could continue chatting and avoid going into the kitchen. One beer turned into two, then "You must be hungry, let me fix you something to eat" offered Dino. Next thing you know we are eating a fabulous romaine lettuce salad with crispy chicken, hard boiled egg and a nest of curled carrots on top. The dressing was reminiscent of a sweet Thai chilli sauce. This was followed by a seafood pasta al olio. Unbelievable. And earlier that day I remarked to Jon that I was craving a pasta dinner. Hmm, maybe I should wish for bigger things! The dinner ended with a sample of creme brule after Jon told Dino that it was my absolute favourite (which is true, he was not making that up).
Dino is an interesting man. He has been trained in Europe, owned a few restaurants, he was even paid a visit by Anthony Bourdain and crew. He shared his stories of restauranteering, showed us pictures, introduced us to his friends from Austraila and offered to get us in touch with "Gracie" who has something to do with the visits to the Ai Batang area and long houses. He felt like a friend and we had only been there an hour or two. We had such a great evening, again it all happened because our flight was cancelled. Serendipity I say!
We woke early on Friday morning to get to Bako. We were both pretty tired, but I was really pretty excited. We caught the bus at the side of the road, just like everyone told us and it dropped us off at the Bako Park Office by the jetty. So, it was a "cinch" after all. Once at the jetty, we grabbed our back packs and made our way to the Park HQ.
The walk to the HQ was like walking through a Disney World exhibit made for me. I was grinning ear to ear, recalling all the daydreams I had had of seeing primates in the wild; it had all the promise of a Jane Goodall experience and it was already beautiful. Frogs were singing away, crickets chirping and birds calling. Super tall palm trees lined the walkway, their long, spiky trunks reminding us that nature is king. As if to soften the effect of the intimidating spikes, we could hear the waves of the South China seas hitting the shore. Heaven on earth.
Signing into the park was also a cinch. Our room wasn't ready yet, so we did a little shuffling of items and headed for the trails. Our plan was to do a 1.5 hour hike, then have a relaxing afternoon followed by an early dinner and then take part in the night hike. We walked (hmm, not sure if that is the correct verb) the Tigor Pandan Kecil; this is a path that ends at a beach which has a nice view of the South China Sea.
The hikes at Bako are pretty well laid out and have varying terrains. The beginning of most of the trails starts with hiking up steps, over rocks and roots, and in between little streams that flow down the hill. In no time, a nano-second really, we are in full sweat. The covered areas are cool but very high humidity. As you get higher, there are plateau areas that are in full sun, the temperature difference is huge. These plateau areas are called padangs and are usually in full sun, and hot dry, intense heat. As you enter this area, the sweat from the humidity of the dense forest evaporates, then you sweat from the heat of the sun. Either way, you are completely drenched from the moment you begin. We hiked to a beach and walked around in awe. Huge volcanic boulders line the bay, streams of fresh water, tinted Fe-red, trickle down to the sea and the sand is decorated with patterns that the sand crabs have made whilst making their homes. It was all so very beautiful. A swim would have made this hike a dream hike, but recent sightings of a crocodile on this very beach meant we would have to settle with dipping our toes in (although even that is not recommended).
As if a day of hiking in 'hiking-sandals' (my Keens), losing the sole of one of my shoes, feet aching, calfs and quads screaming for ATP wasn't enough for one day, we decide to do a night hike. The walk was mostly on a raised boardwalk so it was pretty easy. We saw a lot of really cool, and quite large insects, lots of spiders, frogs, a snake, some swiftlets in a cave and even a scorpion. The entire time we could hear the loud noise of frogs, crickets and cicada all singing their hearts out to find a mate. It was a great night hike - Jon loved it; he was pretty good at spotting the wildlife too!
The following day, we woke up to proboscis monkeys feeding in the trees above our lodge. We watched them as they moved around the trees, jumped onto our lodge roof making quite the loud noise. It was such a nice treat to see them so close, we must have been about 10 feet from them. They are such beautiful animals. They put on a quite the show for us and then they slowly made their way deeper into the forest. Ah, what a great start to the day.
We decided to do the Lintang Loop. The park people refer to this as the short loop, that's what I call false advertising. We were totally fatigued, drenched with sweat and it still took us about 5 hours! The trails of this hike were sometimes water run-off trails with pitcher plants lining the sides, sometimes the trail went under huge boulders covered with moss, or a small pathway that dropped off several hundred feet on one edge. A lookout point allowed us to view across the sea to Sanbutong National Park. At low tide, it was filled with people collecting bamboo clams. We were told that there is a special skill in collecting these clams as 1) they are not easy to find, and 2) once you find them, they have the ability to drill down into the sand away from the hand of the collector. When we approached park HQ, we heard the proboscis monkeys. They make a deep grunting noise and branches break as they swing and jump from tree to tree. So we could hear them before we saw them. There must have been about 20 of them milling about - what a great day: we started with seeing them and ended our hike with them. Ah......
This entry wouldn't be complete without mentioning the Macaque monkeys. They are so mischievous! I was sitting writing on my iPad, Jon was off taking photos. I had our drinks RIGHT beside me, iPhone out and nothing else (you have to keep all items "hidden" from them). I didn't even see the little one coming, next thing I know she has grabbed the glass, startled I jumped and scream and that's when she released the drink all over my phone, skirt and knapsack! Now that is what I call being a 'monkey pants!'
1 comment:
Hi Brenda and Jon, I've just been enjoying catching up on your adventures . All sounds so very kool. Take care, Anne.
Post a Comment