Borneo and Brunei

     Over e learning week, a week where all classes go online, Michelle, Tanya and myself thought we would head to Borneo and Brunei for ten days. It was the adventure of a lifetime, and was an experience I'll never forget. 

    We flew from Singapore to Kuching, Borneo on Thursday March 22nd. Borneo used to be its own country but is now and eastern part of Malaysia. We scored super cheap flights to Kuching and flew into there not knowing our exact plans but ready for a challenge. After we landed we were dropped off at Singgahsana Lodge (Lonely Planet's pick) and scored a dorm for only 10 dollars a night. We got lucky because although there were about 10 beds, there were only two other females. The hostel was great - clean, big, and had great workers and guests. It was so close to the waterfront so we decided to go on a walk before we hit the hay. The waterfront had food stalls, including one that sold these cakes below and little jewelry shops. After our walk we went back to the lodge to plan our trip to Gunung Mulu National Park. Little did we know how much work that would be.

    We headed to Damai beach on the Friday afternoon to enjoy the sun. We found a deserted beach in front of a resort and hung out there for the day. The sea water was like a bath so at one point we decided to go check out an infinity pool at a resort nearby. Luck was on our side and we ended up hanging by the pool for a couple of hours and enjoying the view.

Day 81 of my Asian adventure

The infinity pool we came across

Infinity pool view

Kuching waterfront

     For our last day in Kuching we wanted to go to the Semenggoh orangutan rehabilitation centre.  This centre takes in orphaned, injured, or pet orangutans and rehabilitates them to the wild. They have over 20 orangutans in their possession right now and we were lucky to see about 6. Although I wasn't able to hug one (they are actually quite dangerous) it was so exciting to watch them. They are just like humans in the way the move, and are definitely my favourite animal now. That evening we took a taxi to the Kuching night market. Unfortunately, it started pouring rain so we ended up finding a movie theatre. We saw The Hunger Games which was a movie quite fitting for our trip that turned out to be such an adventure.

3 orangutans

The Hunger Games in Kuching

     Bright and early Sunday morning we headed to the Kuching airport to catch our flight to Mulu. It was only about an hour flight, and when we were about to land we were all speechless. For as far as our eyes could see it was green.

Flight to Mulu with MAswings

All green

     Sunday afternoon we signed up for a tour of Deer and Lang cave. Deer cave is the largest cave passageway cave in the entire world, so needless to say I was excited to see it. It was a 3km walk to the caves and on our way we even saw a green viper. This snake can kill you in a matter of minutes, we didn't get too close. The caves were absolutely spectacular. Deer cave was breathtaking because of its such a dramatic size. The roof of the cave had over 3 million bats, and boy did we smell them. 

3km walk to Deer cave

In front of deer cave

Outside deer cave. 

Lang cave

Lang cave

Inside Lang cave

In deer cave - largest passageway cave in the world. Ps. Look at the face!

     After touring the two caves we waited for an event that our guide said was truly unbelievable: the exit of 3 million bats. Each day around 6 pm, the 3 millions bats inside deer cave exit to feed in the jungle. For about 30 minutes, bats came out in lines. It look like a black snake shape moving in the sky - spectaculr. This event is so well known and loved that Planet Life has even included it in one of their documentaries. We headed back to our dorm near headquarters for an early night. The 4 day treak started early the next day.

     Monday morning rolled around and that only meant one things: the start of the trek. At 8 am Tanya, Michelle, Matthew, and I met our friend 'A' and began our journey. We took a boat to Clearwater and wind cave where we explored and had lunch.

Day 1/4 of trek ... Before 9km hike

Our agreement

Clearwater swimming

Clearwater cave

Supposed to be a woman

     After Clearwater, the 4 of us alogn with 2 boatsmen hopped in the boat to head to our starting point of our trek. It took about 45 minutes, and I can honestly say what happened on that boat ride is unforgettable. We were on a river, but the only thing was is that the river gets shallow at certain points. This means that we all had to get out of the boat to make it float and push to boat along. Seems easy right? Not so much. Clumsy me could barely do it. Because I was barefoot in the rocks I could only walk so fast because of fear of hurting my feet or twisting my ankle. This meant that numerous times I was trying to go fast but falling over while doing so. The others managed, but I was having trouble. At one point I was so soaked, falling down in the water, and  fell so far behind that the boat and the others passed me. I was then standing solo in the river, about 20 m away laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. 

We walked 8.7km to reach our destination: Camp 5. 

Made it to Camp 5 after day 1 of hiking!

     Tuesday was a day for the Pinnacle trek and swimming and lounging around Camp 5.

  Wednesday we left Camp 5 for another 12km hike. After the hike we got taken by boat to a traditional Borneo longhouse. We stayed there for the night and even visited the school. The kids were so sweet and it was amazing to be able to hang out with them for almost an hour. The next morning was an early one since we had to be driven to catch a taxi to Brunei.

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Day 3 in the jungle

All done the hiking for the trip

Longhouse

Home sweet home? not so much

Late night private shopping

We got dropped off at the Brunei border and went over the border walking through the car line. After taking a bus to the main city centre Bandar Seri Begawan we found a cheap hostel and wanted to find laundry because all are clothes were damp and smelly after 4 days in the jungle. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to find laundry in Brunei so us girls had to make do. Brunei is an all muslim country with strict laws. No alcohol, drugs, or gambling are permitted and there is virtually no night life. Brunei does hold some magnificent mosques. Brunei is under the power of a Sultan too, but unfortunately we did not make it to see the palace. I was only in Brunei for a short time but it was well worth the trip. 

Bus in Brunei .. only $1 for a 45 minute drive

Sultan and his wife