Finding a Home

After KK we travelled south to Kuching. Kuching used to be a colonial town which was once given to a guy named James Brooke by the Sultan of Brunei for suppressing a rebellion and quelling pirates. Brooke became the Rajah of Sarawak and it was passed down through 2 generations before it became part of the British Empire.

Room for rent, but I'm not sure how to enter the door?

Main Bazar, Kuching.

Kuching itself is a mix of colonial, Chinese, Malay and modern concrete architecture. It has a river running through it, one side has most of the town and the other side is poor housing with many of the houses on stilts.

City side of the river, Kuching.

Other side of the river, Kuching.

There are many different national parks and things to do all within an hour drive from Kuching.

One day we went to Sememggoh Wildlife Centre where they rehabilitate orang-utans back into the wild. They feed the orang-utans twice a day and you can visit during this time. The orang-utans can choose to feed themselves in the large forest or come and get extra food when they want it. We only saw one orang-utan but it was really great. He had massive arms and ate his fruit hanging from one arm while playing.

I'm coming for the food! Semenggoh Wildlife Centre.

Mmmm bananas (with medicine inside).

Just hanging out.

We also went to Bako National Park and spent the night there. The only way to get there is by boat. We went for several walks and saw heaps of butterflies, dragonflies, geckos, bats, really large spiders, macaque monkeys and proboscis monkeys. We also got to see a pit viper, a very dangerous snake. Our guide was an ex-army jungle survival specialist who showed us heaps about the plant life and pointed out carnivorous pitchers plants and other delightful things like natural viagra. Although he got us to chew it before he told us what it was!

A very venomous pit viper, Bako National Park.

It was recommended to us that we go to the Perhentian Islands to do some diving, so after a day of endless taxis, planes, buses and boats we made it to the islands. They are beautiful but really hot! Anyway Justin has just started doing his dive masters course which takes about 4-6 weeks and I want to learn to dive too so we have settled here for the next month or so.

Pitchers plant, Bako National Park.

We started off in a nice, clean, cheap bungalow away from the water that only had a fan but today we have moved to another place that has air conditioning as it is super hot during the day. The temperatures are 33-34 degrees C but with the humidity it feels like it is in the high 30s. Everything gets covered in sweat as soon as the sun is up and I am getting sunburnt even with lots of sunscreen on. This new place has a great view of the water and some islands, but the room also comes with ants and a gecko. Ah the joys of the jungle.

Geckos on the ceiling, Perhentian Islands.

The sea life here is very abundant, and sharks and turtle sightings are common. Although I haven’t seen those yet, I have seen heaps of fish while snorkelling. So many it is hard to describe. They come right up to you if you are still and peer at you trying to fight out what exactly you are. Justin also saw a snake! Not in the water, but on the path. I start my open water dive course in a few days so will update you all later.

A few more photos from Bako National Park:

The sand comes in and kills the trees.

Hermit crab.

Proboscis monkeys with their long large noses.

Macaques with a baby that is less than 4 months old (they turn grey at 4 months).