We arrived in Kuching (in the semi-autonomous region of Sarawak, on the island of Borneo) with plans to stay one night and then move on to Miri, in order to get to Mulu National Park – our main destination in Borneo. As it goes when you travel, plans change.
I am writing this on our fourth night in Kuching. We got an unavoidably expensive 26 RM (about $8) taxi to B&B Inn, a homely and informative hotel on a side alley. Our ceiling fan room costs us 35 RM with shared bathrooms and showers. There’s also free WiFi, a full kitchen with coffee/ tea and toast included each morning, and TV in the kitchen.
Upon checking in, the reception desk handed us a city map and bus schedule, and asked us our plans. We told him we were headed to Miri next, to get to Mulu. Turns out, we don’t have to actually spend a night in Miri, and can instead fly from Kuching to Mulu. You see, Mulu National Park is so embedded in heavy Bornean jungle rainforests, one can only fly there, or take a dodgy (depending on the season) 10-hour boat trip; there is no road. The reception desk then informed us of a couple things to do around Kuching that may be of interest: Semenggoh Wildlife (Rehabilitation) Center (Orangutans!!) and Bako National Park.
That first afternoon and evening we spent getting to know this small, mostly Chinese and Malay inhabited city along the river. We chowed down on delicious, cheap kebabs along the riverfront. Feeling the cool breeze and the relaxed, laid-back mentality of Kuching, we decided to take a break at Havana bar and indulge in a couple pitchers of Anchor beer. Over drinks, we further decided to extend our stay by three days!! Instead of a one-night fling with Kuching, we planned to research Mulu and getting to Indonesia the next day (and basic internet catching-up), do Bako the second day, and see Orangutans the third.
Thank god for that. Our Wednesday consisted of almost an entire day at the Deli Café, where WiFi is free, catching up on blogs and e-mails, uploading photos, researching Mulu National Park, looking up flights, and dating, pricing and organizing the next big leg of our rucksack revolution – Indonesia. This was actually kind of stressful, really stressful, as we had to weigh time and price differences. This is a summarized version of our afternoon conversation:
Do we overnight a bus to Miri, and then fly from Miri to Mulu? That would be cheaper. But, then we have to get from Mulu to either Miri or Kuching. Should we just do a roundtrip? That means we have to know how many days we need in Mulu. Ok, research what we’re going to do and how we’re going to spend each day in Mulu. We checked outbound flights from Mulu – their only destinations are Miri and Kuching. We want to get to Jakarta. Maybe overnight bus back, too? What about flights from Kuching to Jakarta? They all go through Kuala Lumpur, so would involve really long, unnecessary layovers, and not to mention outrageously expensive. So, forget the overnight bus altogether. Roundtrip to Mulu from Kuching, return to Kuching, and then what? How do we get to Jakarta? Overnight ship? Haha, definitely not, completely unsafe and no information. We talked to a tour/ travel agent who informed us of an airport in Pontianak, Indonesia, just south of Kuching on the island of Borneo. Ok, here’s what we decided on: we’re flying from Kuching to Mulu on April 17, four full days in Mulu National Park, returning to Kuching on April 22, spending the night in Kuching, hopping on an 8-hour bus to cross the border into Pontianak, Indonesia, spending the night of the 23rd in the equatorial city of Pontianak, and then flying out on April 24 to Jakarta!!
Next issue: visas. The Indonesian consulate webpage stated that we needed to submit an application to the consulate in Kuching, give it at least five days, pay a fee, something about a letter of employment (?), and blah blah blah. Yikes! So, we made the decision to go to the consulate first thing in the morning, and then head to Bako.
But first, let’s clear our heads. Movie night!! Just so happened “Date Night” was playing, and because it was ‘movie day’, tickets were only 5 RM ($1.60).
Next morning, up and out by 8:30am to get to the consulate in normal clothes, unsure of how long we were going to have to spend there. The reception desk stopped us, “Where are you going?” Doh. Turns out one can get their visa on arrival at the border, if staying for 30 days or less. So, we went back up to the room to change into appropriate trekking clothes for Bako National Park. Almost at the front gate, when a thought passed through our minds, is it too late? We asked the reception desk, and they confirmed that it was too late to head to Bako without spending a night there. Again, back up to the room to change into normal clothes for yet another internet/ coffee shop/ movie day. But, we managed to switch it up a bit. We went to a different coffee shop with free WiFi, lunched on Malay food (Nasi Goreng), and saw a different movie in an entirely different movie theatre. I know, kind of boring stuff… but totally necessary when long-term traveling.
Finally, we did something worthy of mentioning (even though I’ve already written paragraphs about nothing). Up and out by 7:00 am the next morning to catch the bus to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre (SWC). Not so easy when you’re awkward in Malaysia. Who knows if they gave us the wrong bus schedule, the wrong location to board the bus, the wrong bus number and color, or whatever – but it didn’t work out. We ended up having to take an over-priced minivan to see the Orangutans at SWC. But, no matter, because we got to see Orangutans!! They aren’t exactly wild, but they are being rehabilitated for the wild. And they are wild enough to roam free in the surrounding national park, not bound by fences, but rather they prefer to ‘stay in their neighborhood’. We went for the morning feeding, which sounds ‘touristy’ and unwild, but it surely wasn’t. Only about six or so orangutans showed up, and even so, they acted, seemed and were treated as wild. One must keep their distance; they have a history of biting visitors! Orangutans are incredibly gorgeous and fun to observe. Unfortunately, Sumatra and Borneo are the only habitats left in which they exist naturally in the wild.
Now, what to do for a ride home? We waited at the bus stop hut on the side of the road, unsure of when the next bus would arrive… when a black pick-up truck pulled over to give us a lift to town. We assessed the situation, found it to be safe, and hopped in the backseat. Donald, a 37 year old Chinese descent (3rd generation) Malay, was the driver, and his banana plantation manager, straight from China, silently sat in the passenger seat unable to converse in English. Donald, however, speaks Hokkien, Mandarin, Cantonese, Malay and English! He has six children, and studied computer science in Sydney and Tazmania before returning to Borneo, where he now owns a few banana plantations. He’s traveled quite a bit, even having been to L.A. and Las Vegas, and he and his wife vacationed in Vancouver for their honeymoon.
We asked him about inter-marriage in Malaysia. His response: “You can’t stop love.” He went on to explain how the intercultural relations between the various tribal groups, religions and ethnicities remain positive and harmonious.
Donald also told us an interesting story about his grandmother, who was kidnapped from China when she was a young woman. His grandfather had moved to Malaysia for a better life, and then began asking around for a Chinese wife. Somehow, this got back to mainland China, resulting in a young woman being coerced onto a ship bound for Malaysia. Not knowing what had happened to her, the woman’s family thought she was dead. Thirty or forty years later, Donald’s grandmother got the chance to return to China, and was reunited with her siblings.
And so after another afternoon of coffee and internet, and another movie night, we packed our rucksacks, ready and excited for our next big adventure in Mulu National Park.
