Borneo, Malaysia: August 2010
MOZZIE BYTE (Editor): A warm welcome back to all our Daily Explorer readers and greetings to those of you who are joining us for the first time. For new readers, Ray has been living nomadically for over four and a half years since he left England in November 2005 and has visited or lived in 16 countries. We have been publishing news and stories about his journey throughout that period. You can find all of these in our Previous Issues archive. Our aim at The Daily Explorer is to create a great publication for you to enjoy, so please keep sending us your comments and suggestions as to how we can improve what we are doing. You can use the comments box on this site, or email Ray (ray@thedailyexplorer.com), ‘Mozzie’ or any of our correspondents at mozzie@thedailyexplorer.com
Our latest issue has been put together by Po Scard, our cultural correspondent (above), who has been following Ray as he explores Borneo. In the final part of our three-part feature, Ray makes his way to Sarawak to complete his visit to the third largest island in the world. Highlights include the magnificent caves at Gunung Mulu National Park, which is also home to ‘The Pinnacles’ – one of the most challenging and visually breathtaking treks on the island. And we also have the story on his visit to the city of Kuching and nearby Bako National Park.
In case you missed our last issue, Ray made a brief but long-awaited visit to the micro kingdom of Brunei. You can read it now at: Borneo Uncovered (Part Two)
Above: The magnificent Omar Ali Saifuddien mosque in Bandar Seri Begawan – the capital of the tiny kingdom of Brunei, which Ray recently visited. If you missed our last issue, you can read the full story at: Borneo Uncovered (Part Two)
Borneo is the third largest island in the world, located north of Australia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. Politically, the island is divided among three countries: Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. Approximately 73% of the island is Indonesian territory. The Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah (East Malaysia), in the north occupy about 26% of the island. The sovereign state of Brunei, located on the north coast, comprises about 1% of Borneo’s land mass. Surrounded by the South China Sea to the north and northwest, the Sulu Sea to the northeast, the Celebes Sea and the Makassar Strait to the east and the Java Sea and Karimata Strait to the south, it has an area of 743,330 square kilometres (287,000 square miles). To the west of Borneo are the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. To the south is Java. To the east is the island of Sulawesi (Celebes). To the north-east is the Philippines.
Borneo’s highest point is Mount Kinabalu in Sabah (see Borneo Uncovered Part One), with an elevation of 4,095 m (13,435 ft) above sea level. This makes it the world’s third highest island. Sarawak is known for its extensive cave systems – Clearwater Cave has one of the world’s longest underground rivers and Deer Cave, which was thought to be the largest cave passage in the world (until the recent discovery of a larger one in Vietnam), is home to over three million bats, with guano accumulated to over 100 metres (330 feet) high.
Above: Map showing location of Malaysia, which is split into two parts – the Peninsula (above Singapore) and the upper section of the island of Borneo. Sarawak is the largest state in Eastern Malaysia (see below for more detail)
Below: This map shows more detail as to how Borneo is divided politically. Ray’s arrival point on the island a few weeks ago was at Kota Kinabalu, in Sabah which is circled in Red (see Borneo Uncovered Part One). After leaving Brunei (see Borneo Uncovered Part Two), his tour comes to an end in Sarawak (circled in Blue)
I caught up with Ray as he touched down at the airport in Mulu to find out how he was feeling. “After the brief stop in Brunei, which was fairly lazy and easy going by my standards, I am ready to get back into nature and there is no place better to do it than here” he told me. “The caves in Mulu are a legend – so far, 295 kilometres of caves have been found – and ever since I first saw pictures of Deer Cave, I have really wanted to experience it first hand” said our excited globetrotter. Gunung Mulu National Park has the largest known natural chamber or room – Sarawak chamber, found in Gua Nasib Bagus. It is 2,300 feet (700 metres) long, 1,300 feet (396 metres) wide and at least 230 feet (70 metres) high. Ray helped me to put this into perspective. “It has been said that the chamber is so big, it could accommodate about 40 Boeing 747s, without overlapping their wings” said our astonished traveller. The nearby Deer Cave was, for many years, considered the largest single cave passage in the world. “Before I get to the caves, I want to complete the two-day trek to ‘The Pinnacles’, which is also accessed from within Gunung Mulu National Park. I have arranged a dorm bed for a few days just outside Park HQ so I will have enough time to see it all” he explained.
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Above: “All Aboard!” as Ray takes the daily express bus service (left) from Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei to Miri across the border in Sarawak. The bus costs about eight pounds. From Miri, a short flight is required on MAS Wings to get to the airport at Gunung Mulu National Park (right)
Below: The airport in the heart of the rainforest at Mulu. It is a very inaccessible area; the only practical way of getting to and from it is by air, mainly from Miri airport – “It is possible to travel to the area by riverboat, but it requires a chartered longboat for the last part – and the whole trip by river would take around 12 hours to complete from Miri, while the flight takes only 30 minutes” explained Ray. “As flights are relatively cheap, it is a bit of a no-brainer for me” said Ray. Prior to the opening of the airport, and the opening of a helipad in 1991, this was the only way to reach the national park (Photo: David Cameron)
Above: For our global explorer, home for a few days was this basic but clean dormitory just outside Gunung Mulu National Park – “I have stayed in many places like this and with the exception of the cold showers, they are pretty good value at around six pounds per night” he told me. “I wish I had kept a note of how many different beds I have slept in over the last four and a half years – it must be in the hundreds” remarked our global nomad
Below: Ray’s first evening in Mulu as he watches the sunset taking place – “It is my favourite time of the day” he said
Ever since the 1930’s, the rich rainforest of the Mulu area has attracted scientists. Gunung Mulu National Park covers an area of 52,864 hectare. It stands as the most studied tropical karst location in the world. “I discovered that every expedition seems to discover something new” said Ray. “Examples could be a plant or animal species previously unknown to man, animal behaviour patterns, a rainforest remedy, etc. Although these studies and expeditions have unearthed a mountain of scientific facts, they have barely ‘scratched the surface’ of Mulu’s bio-diversity” he told me. “However, this ‘barely scratched surface’ includes an impressive array of plants and animals. The park contains eight different types of forest – including peat swamp, health and mixed dipterocarp, moss forest and stunted upper montane vegetation – 4,000 species of fungi, 1,500 species of flowering plants, 1,700 species of mosses & liverworts and an estimated 3,500 species of plants” added our well-informed traveller. “Mulu’s wildlife is equally impressive and includes 75 species of mammals, 262 species of birds (including the eight species of hornbill found in Sarawak), 74 species of frogs, 47 species of fish, 281 species of butterflies, 52 species of reptiles, 458 species of ants and 20,000 species of invertebrates. “Best of all, the park offers a whole range of nature-based activities and there are some excellent jungle treks and mountain hikes” he told me.
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Above: Day one in Gunung Mulu National Park and Ray is off into the rainforest to familiarise himself with the park and explore the nature – “The root formations of some of these giant trees (left) are extraordinary and there are plenty of caves and waterfalls too (right)” he told me
Below: Map of the park showing the various trails, peaks, caves and rivers. Ray opted for the highly challenging, two-day Pinnacles trail
The famous “Pinnacles” at Mulu consist of a series of 45 metre high, razor-sharp limestone spikes that soar above the surrounding jungle – a distinctive geological feature half way up the face of Mulu’s Gunung Api (see above). “My research identified that the Pinnacles can normally be reached by a three-day trek, though I met up with a couple from Austria and once we had found our own guide, decided to attempt the journey in two days. Three more people joined us (from Spain, Malaysia and Germany) and our group of six set off with our guide for a two to three hour boat ride down the river to Kuala Berar to start the trek” recalled Ray. “Bear in mind that the journey time depends entirely on the level of water in the river; if it get’s too low, the narrow boat cannot effectively float, which means everyone has to get out and push it downriver until the water level rises again” expalined Ray.
Once the mooring point at Kuala Berar had been reached, our global explorer had an eight kilometre hike through rainforest to contemplate. “It usually takes 2-3 hours to trek to Camp 5 (for an overnight stay – see map above), following fairly flat jungle terrain” said our jungle trekker. “However, Pedro Blasco, a rather fit Spaniard in our group, took the lead for much of this stage and set off at quite a fast pace. We managed to keep it going and reached Camp 5 in just over two hours” recalled Ray. “Camp 5 is situated next to the Melinau river, near the Melinau Gorge, which separates Gunung Benarat from Gunung Api. The hostel-style accommodation at the camp is very basic and we all had to take our own food for the entire trip – something which I am not particularly keen on” admitted our traveller. “Tucked up safely under our mosquito nets in our open air accommodation, we made sure we got to sleep early in readiness for our almost vertical 1,175 metre, four-hour climb the following day” he told me.
Above: Ray and his group set off from Park Headquarters by longboat to reach Kuala Berar, which is the start of the Pinnacles trek and some 8 kilometres walk away from the overnight stopping point at Camp 5
Below: Spanish traveller Pedro Blasco (left) sets Ray and his group a fast pace as he leads the initial two hour sector of the trek through thick rainforest to Camp 5
Above: There are plenty of Bamboo trees in this part of the world, as Ray’s group discovered…
Below: Camp 5 (left) is situated next to the Melinau river and the hostel-style accommodation at the camp is very basic – “Mosquito nets (right) are essential” said Ray
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The real hike begins the following morning. “The trail from Camp 5 is only 2.4 kilometres in length, which does not sound very much, but it rises some 1,200 metres over the distance to the viewpoint, making it very steep indeed” explained Ray. “Passing through lowland dipterocarp forest before climbing steeply through moss forest, with limestone debris also littering the trail, it was very slippery due to heavy rainfall overnight. I fell and slid on my backside quite a few times and got the bruises to prove it” he told me. “The final leg, through mist and across moss-covered rock is almost vertical using ladders, ropes and wooden pegs to climb. It eventually comes out onto a rocky outcrop that provides a stunning view of the ‘Pinnacles’. “After taking some photos and a short rest, we turned around and headed back to Camp 5 to pick up our stuff and walk the eight kilometres back to Kuala Berar for the boat to Mulu National Park HQ” recalled our adventurer. “Coming down is just as hard as the ascent” he added.
Above: Ray pulls himself up the steep trail to the Pinnacles using the ropes that have been put in place by the guides in Gunung Mulu National Park. He is closely followed by Michael Schulte from Germany – “He was a smashing chap and the first person I have met who has been a winner on “Who wants to be a Millionaire” in Germany” said Ray
Below: The further trekkers’ ascend the steep slope upward, the better the views of the surrounding terrain get
Above: Ray takes one careful step at a time. The last stage of the trek has many ladders bolted to the rocks which help trekkers tackle the vertical climb….
Below: Looking very energised and hardly breaking sweat, our global nomad pauses so that our photographer can capture a picture for The Daily Explorer
Above: The Pinnacles in all their glory – “If anyone is thinking about coming to Mulu, then doing this trek is absolutely worth all of the effort” said Ray. “Although it is a lot shorter and no acclimitisation is needed, it was harder than my recent trek to Everest in some parts” he told me
Anyone who has seen the BBC’s “Planet Earth” documentary series may know that Mulu is famous for its caves (and the millions of bats that live in them), as one episode was filmed here. I was curious to find out what Ray could tell me about them. “Mulu possesses some of the largest and most spectacular caves in the world” said Ray. “The lure of discovery continues to draw international caving expeditions, who have now mapped over 300 kilometres of cave passages. “I was not equipped to attempt any serious ‘action’ cave exploration myself and therefore was restricted to visiting the four ‘showcaves’, which were formed by the action of water dissolving the limestone and by the action of powerful rivers flowing through them. They have all been made accessible with a series of walkways and lighting and each has their own particular attraction” explained Ray. “The first I visited was the ‘Wind Cave’ or ‘Cave of the Winds’ (Gua Angin in Malay). It is located just next to the Clearwater Cave, off the Melinau River which I accessed by taking a longboat from Park HQ. There is a short five minute walk via a wooden walkway along the river connecting both of these cave systems” explained Ray.
Above: The entrance to Wind Cave, from the outside looking in……
Below: …. and from the inside looking out – “It is the first time I have entered caves of such awesome size” Ray told me
Above: Wind Cave has some really unique rock formations, with many stalagmites and stalactites – “The speciality of Wind Cave is the cool breeze that flows through this cave as you are inside, hence its name” Ray told me. “Wind Cave is also part of the Clearwater Cave system”
Below: The entrance to Clearwater Cave. Measuring 51 kilometres in length and 355 metres in-depth, it is the longest cave passage in Southeast Asia
Above: Clearwater Cave contains one of the worlds largest underground river systems and is believed to be the largest cave in the world by volume at 30,347,540 m³ (Editors Note: To give you a sense of the sheer scale of the cave, look closely in the lower part of the picture and you will see people on the wooden walkway heading down towards the underground river and then left and out of sight)
Below: The subterranean river creates a crystal-clear pool that gives Clearwater Cave its name. For experienced cavers, it is possible to go outside the usual pedestrian trail. In the company of a guide, you can exit Clearwater Cave via Turtle Cave river route and explore the many labyrinthine passages
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Above: Clearwater Cave has some beautiful rock formations (left) and leads into ‘Lady Cave’, so-called because there is a rock in the perfect shape of the Virgin Lady (right)
Deer Cave is perhaps the most spectacular of the four show caves in Mulu.Along with the adjacent Lang’s Cave, Deer Cave is the nearest cave to the park headquarters. A wooden walkway links takes you there. “We followed a three kilometre plank walk which passes through peat swamp, alluvial flats and limestone outcrops” said Ray. “When we reached the cave entrance, we were in no doubt that we were about to enter the largest cave passage in the world. Deer Cave is simply huge – it is just over two kilometres in length and never less than 90 metres high and wide. The main chamber, which is partially lit by sunlight, is 174 metres wide and 122 metres high. This is the area where deer used to shelter so the local Penan and Berawan people named the cave Gua Payau or Gua Rusa (Deer Cave)” explained our well-informed trekker.
A path leads into the cave and winds its way around, following the natural contours of the cave floor. “Although the path is lit, I took my flashlight with me which was useful for examining the guano-covered cave floor and its population of insects. The path eventually leads to the “Garden of Eden” where a hole in the collapsed cave roof lets in a shaft of light which allows the rich green vegetation to thrive. Another feature which I really loved was the famous profile of Abraham Lincoln, which guards the southern entrance of the cave” observed Ray. “Not surprisingly, Deer Cave is home to many species of bats and between 5 and 7 pm, if the weather is fine, a large number of visitors gather, hoping to be treated to the spectacular sight of a black cloud of free-tailed bats emerging from the entrance of the cave to go in search of food. Originally, this cloud was thought to contain hundreds of thousands of bats but a recent study suggests that the figure is well over a million” said our astounded traveller.
Lang’s Cave, whose entrance is a short distance away from that of Deer Cave is the smallest of the show caves but its rock formations are well worth seeing. “These are made all the more attractive by the strategically positioned spotlights which highlight stalactites and stalagmites. As the cave is relatively small and well-lit, it offers good opportunities to see some of its inhabitants such as bats, swiftlets and even cave-dwelling snakes” observed Ray. “Although Lang’s Cave is the smallest of the four major caves open to tourists, it features some of the most impressive rock forms. Countless jagged stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and stalagmites rising from the ground, along with other grotesque formations. You enter it from one side of the mountain and re-emerge out the other, and the distance from end to end is about 30 minutes” added Ray.
Above: Lang’s Cave is the smallest of the four major caves open to tourists and it features some of the most impressive rock forms
Below: Ray’s guide (left) goes off into the darkness, closely followed by our intrepid explorer (right) as they get deeper into the heart of Lang’s Cave
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Above: Ray’s small group take a closer look at the rock formations – “There is so much to explore inside these caves” said Ray. “It is fantastic that they have been opened up in this way so the likes of me can get access to them” said our grateful explorer
Below: A nest inside one of the rocks with some baby Cave Swiftlets (left), waiting patiently for their mother to return with food – “I discovered that these birds are found in many of Mulu’s caves” said Ray. “They use a simple form of echolocation to navigate in the total darkness of the caves where they roost and breed. These insectivorous birds leave the cave during the day to forage for flying insects, returning to roost at night. Lang’s Cave is also home to countless jagged stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and stalagmites rising from the ground, along with other grotesque formations (right) – “Incredibly, it takes around 10 years for growth of about one centimetre at normal water levels” said Ray
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Above and below: The entrance to Deer Cave is a gigantic cavity on the mountain side – “As you approach it, you feel the unpleasant smell of bat droppings, or guano, hanging in the air” recalled Ray. “The floor of the cave is deep in guano produced by the two million or so free-tailed bats that stay in that cave. As you shine your torch, they all appear like a shiny mass covering whole walls of the cave. They roost by day and begin their night shift around 5pm – 7pm, when they leave the cave en masse. It is an unforgettable sight to witness these daily departures; the swarm of bats do not fly helter skelter. Rather, even as they leave the cave, they seem to follow an aerial path that make them look like some celestial serpent in the sky. The unbroken line of bats sometimes goes on for up to half an hour at a time” observed Ray
Above: The main chamber in Deer Cave – “It really is a jaw-dropping sight” said Ray. “For many years, this was thought to be the largest cave in the world, until a recent discovery of another in Vietnam. It is home to somewhere between 2-3 million bats and the stench of guano is quite overwhelming” he told me
Below: There’s a spot inside Deer Cave which, when you stand looking out through the entrance, enables you to see the profile of Abraham Lincoln in the rocks!
Above: The path through Deer Cave eventually leads to the “Garden of Eden”, where the collapsed cave roof lets in a shaft of light which allows the rich green vegetation to thrive
Last on Ray’s itinerary for his five week Borneo visit was the town of Kuching and the nearby Bako National Park. Established in 1957, is the oldest national park in Sarawak. It covers an area of 27.27 square kilometres at the tip of the Muara Tebas peninsula at the mouth of the Bako and Kuching Rivers. It is some 37 kilometres by road from Kuching. Millions of years of erosion of the sandstone have created a coastline of steep cliffs, rocky headlands and stretches of white, sandy bays. Wave erosion at the base of the cliffs has carved many of the rocky headlands into fantastically shaped sea arches and sea stacks with coloured patterns formed by iron deposition. “Bako is one of the smallest national parks in Sarawak, yet one of the most interesting, with its rainforest, abundant wildlife, jungle streams, waterfalls, interesting plant life, secluded beaches and trekking trails” Ray told me. “There is a well maintained network of 16 colour-coded walking trails, from easy forest strolls to full day jungle treks; I opted for a two hour trek to one of the rocky bays and back. There can be very few places in the world with so much natural beauty in such a limited area” added Ray.
Above: Final stop on Ray’s five week tour of Borneo was the town of Kuching and nearby Bako National Park
Below: The park can only be reached by a 20-minute boat ride from Kampung Bako and is often visited as a day-trip from Kuching
Above: Teluk Assam is a very long half-sandy and half-muddy beach inside the park. The walking distance from one end at Tanjung Sapi to the other end close to the mangrove forest is at least two kilometres. Don’t expect to see crystal-clear water teeming with marine life at the beach. It does not offer such attractions commonly seek by sun-worshippers. The western end of Teluk Assam is flanked by a number of towering rock formations that this national park is famous for
Below: Our global explorer scrambles up to the top of some cliffs to get a better view of the coastline
Above and below: You can clearly see the exposed layers of different sediment rocks creating nature’s most spectacular painting of varying colours and contrasts. Millions of years of erosion have produced these dazzling rocky scapes that no human engineering feat can ever achieve
Above: Bako is one of the smallest national parks in Sarawak, yet one of the most interesting, with its rainforest, abundant wildlife, jungle streams, waterfalls, interesting plant life, secluded beaches and trekking trails
Below: On the eastern side of the beach, there is the chance to see the fabled proboscis monkeys feeding among the mangrove trees. This primate species is endemic to the island of Borneo, which means one cannot find them anywhere else in the world, save it for man-made nature reserves or animal zoos – “I guess I was very lucky” said Ray. “As I returned to the beach to pick up the speedboat out of the park, I spotted a large male proboscis monkey in a tree less than three metres from the boardwalk, so slowed down and very quietly took my camera out, hoping not to frighten him away. Although the Proboscis Monkey is listed as an endangered species – there’s only about 250 of them in the whole of Bako National Park – he seemed pretty unconcerned by my presence and I managed to get this wonderful picture” said our traveller
Kuching is the capital of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. Being the most populous city in Sarawak, Kuching emerged as one of the most vibrant cities in the region. It is the largest city on the island of Borneo and the fourth largest city in Malaysia. The city takes its name from the Malay word for ‘cat’ – a mascot exploited at every souvenir stall and highway roundabout. While there were many cats (real or objectified) in the city, Kuching got its name not because it was the birthplace of any exceptional feline feats but rather, from the longan fruit. A stream, Sungai Kuching (Kuching River), used to run through the city and had its origin from Bukit Mata Kuching (Cat’s Eye Hill). The hill was so named because of an abundance of the local fruit (mata kuching) on it; and due to the fruit’s semblance to a cat’s eye, with a black pit showing through its translucent peeled flesh like a pupil, hence the nickname. (To the Chinese, ‘longan’ is translated as ‘dragon’s eye’). The river had since been filled up to make way for urban development but the name stuck. “The most prominent area in the city is probably the one kilometre long Kuching Waterfront on the south bank of the Sarawak River” said Ray. “Without realising it, I just happened to arrive here at the same time as a huge music festival and a meeting of the Hash House Harriers were taking place, which meant the town was packed” recalled Ray. “One side of the waterway contains all the urban developments such as hotels, shopping centres, financial centres and residential districts, while the opposite bank offers a somewhat rustic back-to-kampong appeal with wooden houses and dense forestry. Getting to the other side meant paying around ten pence to be ferried across the water in a small longboat” recalled Ray. “The sound of the ‘Calls to Prayer’ emanating from the mosques every day, the wonderful food and the amazing sunsets made this a town I could have happily stayed in for some time” he added.
Above: One could easily mistake this for Putney Bridge in London, as the rowing teams of Kuching practise on the Sarawak river before sunset
Below: The name of the city is derived from the Malay word for ‘cat’ and there are plenty of them all over town (left). There are also some great buildings to be spotted, like the impressive State Legislative building (right)
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Above: Another one of the city’s superb buildings is the Indian Mosque, which is Kuching’s oldest
Below: The Old Court House, which survived the great fire of 1884 (left) is now used as the Sarawak Tourism Headquarters. The colourful entrance to Chinatown (right) is on Jalan Carpenter
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Above: Kuching has a number of notable local dishes – “The food was exceptionally good” confirmed Ray. From left to right: Kolo mee (egg noodles, flash-boiled, then classically served with crushed garlic and shallot, minced pork or beef, white vinegar, either vegetable oil, pork oil or peanut oil, and sliced barbecue pork known as char siu or beef), Sarawak laksa (spicy coconut prawn paste-based broth served with rice vermicelli, omelette and chicken strips, prawns, sliced deep fried tofu, and occasionally clams) and Tomato sauce mee or tomato sauce kway teow (crispy deep fried noodles or rice cake strips served with tomato sauce, vegetables, and chicken)
Below: The sun sets in Kuching over the Sarawak river – “It is a great way to remember this fabulous island” said our happy, well fed traveller as he prepared to make his way to mainland Malaysia, which will be featured in our next issue
Editors Note: Our very special thanks to Po Scard for this excellent three-part feature from Borneo. Ray is currently in mainland Malaysia and we are hoping that Po will stay on for a while to cover his visit there. Lookout for our next issue, which should be online in a couple of weeks. Our aim at The Daily Explorer is to create a great publication for you to enjoy, so please keep sending us your comments and suggestions as to how we can improve what we are doing. You can use the comments box on this site, or email Ray (ray@thedailyexplorer.com), ‘Mozzie’ or any of our correspondents at mozzie@thedailyexplorer.com
MOZZIE BYTE
Above: At Gunung Mulu National Park, Ray had a bit of trouble communicating with some of the newer members of staff!
Below: Ray was very surprised by the choice of branding for this recently launched budget airline!
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