Malaysia & Borneo part 2

As if leaving the Philippines wasn’t hard enough we then had to endure countless hours in airports on our way to Kuching in Malaysian Borneo. First up was a flight from Camiguin to Cebu, then a long wait in Cebu airport before flying to Kota Kinabalu, another long wait then a flight to Kuching, a taxi ride and then finally, 18 hours later we arrived at our hostel in Kuching.

Borneo Life Homestay was to be our base for the next few days and we couldn’t have scored a nicer place to call home. The house used to be the family home and although they might not all live there now it still has that welcoming family feel, even when we arrived at a little past midnight we were given a warm welcome and made to feel right at home. We had come from ten days with our new surrogate parents- Phil and Sue and things weren’t about to change in Borneo.

We are two things on the Kuching agenda, number one was to visit and trek Bako national park in search of the infamous Proboscis Monkey and the other was to visit the museum of Kuching’s namesake- the Cat museum.

Day one started with a homely breakfast before setting off to Bako, we caught the bus to the ticket office, paid up and then caught a boat over to the park which is set on an island about 30 minutes from the mainland. You arrive on a beach which is completely deserted, giant rocks jut out of the sand and beyond them a thick expanse of jungle. In the distance, high up in the trees and cliffs you can hear all manor of wildlife, insects, birds, monkeys. We sign in at HQ and select the trek we want to do and then make our way through the humid jungle.

The first trek we do runs for about 1.5km, winding around steep cliff edges, over fallen branches and down slippery mud banks. We see some strange reptiles, not dissimilar to axolotls hoping about over the water, as I climb over a pile of rocks a bat swoops past my face and as reach the end of the trail we meet a bearded pig. He’s huge and coated in thick mud and I take a keen interest in him, I follow him onto the beach and photograph him while he proceeds to rummage through a pile of twigs in hope of some lunch.

The next trail runs for 2km and goes much higher up the mountain, it bares resemblance to the path taking me to the peak of Mt Kinabalu and even though this was significantly shorter I got flashbacks and instantly felt a similar fatigue. At around that point the skies opened and for a moment the air was clear, we reached the summit and were treated to spectacular views out across the bay, we stayed here in hope of utilising the vantage point to catch sight of a Proboscis monkey, knowing that they prefer the beach to the trees but it wasn’t to be.

Our final trek of the day was about 5km and concentrated mainly on the thick jungle, the surround sound of animal calls was mesmerising and although we couldn’t physically see anything it was still pretty magical. The jungle is home to Proboscis Monkeys, Slow Lorris, Macaques,  Wild Cats, Orang-utans, the list goes on. Just being in the presence of these animals, hearing their calls and believing that there was a slim chance we might catch a glimpse of them made this is thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Now drenched from both the rainstorm and sweat from the trek we decided to call it a day and catch the boat back to the mainland. We had barely left the shores of the park when the boat slowed down and the boatman pointed to a section in the trees, swinging from their branches were two adult Proboscis monkeys, of course I had to take Hatty’s word for it as my eye sight is piss poor and I didn’t see a bloody thing, everyone on the boat seemed chuffed so I’m guessing it was impressive.

Just before the boat docked the boatman pointed out that these waters are infested with crocodiles so be careful when getting off the boat, I maybe could have done with that information about thirty minutes before as I spent most of the journey with my hand dangling over the edge of the boat and in the water…

Kuching’s name is a mystery and there isn’t a actual a definitive answer for what it means or where it came from but one theory that has dominated the town derives from its literal Malay translation; cat. The town has giant cat statues on almost every roundabout and patch of grass, there are hotels and restaurants that play on the cat theme but best of all is what they’ve done to the Town Hall.

Set a good twenty minutes out of the main town up a winding hillside in a fascinating building, a piece of architecture that wouldn’t look out of place in a science fiction movie. But once inside things become even stranger. You enter through the open mouth of a giant cat, and from here on in it becomes a cat lovers paradise, Aladins cave for the feline fanatic.

Divided into sections such as “Cats in Film”, “Cats in Ancient Egypt” and “Cats in Art” the museum houses everything from old packages of Whiskers to posters of Cat Stevens and Cat the musical. The themes were pretty loose but it was an entertaining experience nonetheless. There was even a whole taxidermy area which housed some frankly hilarious examples of stuffed pet cats, bobtail and other wild cats. My favourite area was definitely the cats in art which had a brilliant display of paintings depicting cats dressed as humans doing human things, playing tennis, in a punk band, smoking in the toilets. It was a top notch afternoon and by far the best museum I’d ever been to.

We did also take a stroll around the Natural History museum and art gallery but nothing could top the cat experience so we decided that was enough culture for one day and went to the cinema. It was an eerie experience as there wasn’t a soul in the shopping mall, not one person, it was like a Zombie film and as we climbed to the 8^th floor the weirdness didn’t subside.

We finally found some human life and managed to buy two tickets to see Mad Max, (tickets plus popcorn and drinks, total £3). The movie has received 5 star reviews and is loved by many a movie fan but personally I thought it was a complete snorefest, a two hour car chase, it was neither entertaining or thought provoking, weak acting and an even weaker storyline which relied heavily on the in-your-face “madness” of the costumes and cars, ”if I shout loud enough you’ll listen”. 

I found sections of the films score to be particularly weird, especially the on-going sound of a screaming baby which ran over the majority of the soundtrack…oh wait, that wasn’t the films score that was the actual baby a few rows behind me. That’s right, someone had decided that this gorefest was a suitable afternoon watch for their child who was no more than two years of age. The child screamed and cried throughout the whole film and the parents made no attempt to calm it or do the traditional thing of LEAVE THE CINEMA.  

Back at the homestay Moi fixed us up some traditional Borneo grub, some satay noodles and a bowl of pork dumplings in a noodle broth, afterwards I had a packet of traditional cakes, a kind of Jaffa cake but with a pineapple centre and a coconut top. I repeated the same meal the following morning for breakfast before we set off once again for the airport.

Our next stop is Langkawi which is on the Malaysian peninsula, via a stop-over in Changi airport, Singapore.

We’d heard only good things about this airport and were as excited to be paying it a visit as we were about the luxury suite we had booked in Langkawi. Changi did not disappoint and we made the most of our five hour stop-over. The airport wants to be considered not only as an airport but also a destination in its own right and this is something they execute perfectly. For example there is a free 24 hour cinema, botanical gardens, spas, rest and massage zones, art installations on display throughout the terminals, there are 24 hour restaurants, shops and all the more traditional airport amenities. It’s the perfect place to land a stop-over and if none of that appeals they also offer free city tours of Singapore if you have more than a five hour wait, I’ve heard this also comes with a trip to a bar and a free shot of a local spirit. As we are coming back to Singapore for five days we opted out of the tour and instead made use of the facilities, in the duty free lounge we scored free cocktails as both Hendricks gin and Monkey Shoulder whiskey were doing promotions, we got free foot and leg massages and caught up on some TV before taking a walk through one of the many gardens. We made some purchases in the shops which got us entered in the Changi Millionaire prize draw- a chance to win S$1,000,000 (£500,000)- we find out about that later in the year.

We enjoyed out time in Changi so much so that we almost missed our flight to Langkawi, nothing a slightly hazy sprint through the terminal building couldn’t solve.

We’d booked to stay at the Berjaya, a four star resort spread across the coast and into the rainforest to treat ourselves to a bit of luxury for Hatty’s birthday. We have a rainforest chalet and its every bit as amazing as we’d hoped, set deep in the trees with nothing but the wildlife as neighbours we had strict instructions on how to lock up to keep out pesky monkeys. The suite was spacious, had a bedroom, dining room and lounge area, there was bath which made Hatty very happy and a well-stocked minibar. We had 24 hour room service and there was not only aircon but two additional ceiling fans, we could get very used to this.

The following morning at the buffet breakfast we were further drawn into the charms of the Berjaya, after a round of omelettes, fruit and pastry items I moved onto the chapattis, lamb curry and other traditional Indian inspired, Malaysian dishes. Round three was a mix bag of Chinese, European and whatever would fit on the plate, finally I visited the pancake area and made a magnificent pile of them covered in Nutella, peanut butter and maple syrup. Washed down with enough fruit juice to sink a small ship I considered breakfast a success.

We waddled down to the pool and attempted to swim but I was considerably less buoyant in my swollen state. The weather wasn’t all that great for lounging and the beach was unappealing when compared to those in the Philippines, we decided to quit being such lazy bums and actually go out and do something. The main events of the island are the Sky Cab and Sky Bridge.

Taking you high up into the mountains the Sky Cab offers breath-taking views not only of the island below but those further afield in Thailand, it was spectacular up there and things got even better when we stepped out on to the Sky Bridge which sweeps through the peaks of the mountains and offers you both superb views over the edge and below thanks to the glass panelled floor. Hatty was not a fan of the glass or the swaying motion of the bridge which of course encouraged to make it rock and to pull her onto the glass panels at any given opportunity, who said romance is dead.

Back at the room I run Hatty a bath, pour her a drink and even let her watch a film of her choice. Part the way through Les Miserables we get a knock at the door and a birthday cake and basket of fruit and chocolates arrive for the birthday girl, like I said, romance isn’t dead.

The next morning we destroy the buffet before making our way back to the airport to catch our flight to Singapore, a few hours soaking in the delights of Changi airport and then to the bright lights of Singapore.

As always, thanks for reading.