I should backtrack though because I didn't write about yesterday, which was also an early morning, and I forgot two things from the first night in Kuching. As we walked along the river bank there were a few stalls selling some type of colored cake. They are artistic cakes with patterns, sometimes very complex, and can take hours to make. We got to sample about ten different kinds and I purchased a coffee flavor cake. On the way to dinner I was carrying the cake bag in my hand and when we walked through a hotel parking lot a guy on motorbike came up behind me. He honked and I moved to the side of the road, but he was coming up the side and almost crashed into me. Fortunately, he only ripped the plastic with the cake but it shook me up.
Back to yesterday... Woke up at 6:30 in order to meet Louise at 7:30am to catch a bus to Bako National Park. Bako National Park is Sarawak's oldest national park located on the Muara Tebas Peninsula jutting out into the South China Sea. She was running a bit late, as was the French couple in her room, but we found a bus stop and a friendly local told us we were in the right place. A bunch of other people showed up for the bus and we met a couple of woman staying at my hostel. 45 minutes after the bus picked us up, we were registering at Bako and sharing a boat with the two other women and a French couple. On the boat we saw a local village on the water with colorful houses and boats on the shore. The mountain in the distance looked misty and the streaked sandstone cliffs created a dramatic coastline. Our boat driver Mohamed pointed out a few things along the way and told us he'd pick us up at the low tide point at 4pm; we had six hours to explore. Christiane, Laura, Louise and I set off on the Lintang trail, 5.3 km (after stopping at another registration desk where some monkeys stole some fruit out of the office).
When we continued walking, we found more monkeys but a different species. I'm unsure of their name, but they are the same type I saw at Batu caves. Sweaty and tired, we arrived at the cafe around 3pm and decided to relax until our boat ride back to town. Little did I know that to get in the boat during low tide you have to walk through just-below-the-knee-deep water. Shoes and socks came off and I stepped into the South China Sea. The water was a pleasant temperature. We convinced Mohamed to take us a bit further down the beach to a rock spot (don't remember what the official name is). It was basically just a few cool shaped rocks in the water; worth seeing for RM 5. Then back to town where the bus sat waiting to take us to Kuching. Perfect timing.
In Kuching, Louise, Laura and I decided to have a couple hours to ourselves before dinner. I showered and put on my skirt-dress and actually made an effort to look nice; probably the first evening I've done so, partly because I never really have time to change before dinner. Laura's friend Lizzy joined us at Green Hill Corner. Four single women travellers all coming together to keep each other company. I chose the stalls with Char Sui Bun and beef noodle soup. Even though I got back around 9:30, I managed to take a long time getting my laundry together and getting ready for bed. As I turned off the light at 11:30, I groaned that I'd only be getting six hours of sleep.
I actually woke up before my alarm went off at 5:30am. I tried not to wake the other woman in my dorm (a ten-person dorm which only had one person the first night and two the second) as I got myself together. Louise and I were meeting at 6:50 sharp and I had lots to organise. We strolled through Chinatown and past the open market before arriving at the bus stop in front of the pink mosque. Women were setting up vegetable stalls on the ground and the city was slowly coming to life. While we waited, a man approached us saying he could take us to Semenggoh in his van. It was RM 4, same as the bus, so we agreed. There were eight of us in a cramped van, which took us the 40 minutes to Semenggoh (whose aim is to reintroduce the animals to their natural habitat) before the 1 km walk to the feeding platform. Louise and I displayed school children excitement at the thought of seeing orang-utans, and we still had 45 minutes until feeding time began at 9am. I was first in line to follow the guide to the feeding area.
As we walked in, we were told that the biggest male, Ritchie, was already eating his breakfast. Score! There were two other orang-utans eating on the left side of the walkway. Ritchie is enormous (I think they said he weighs 140+ kgs). Watching the orang-utans eat, swing from the branches, and play was incredible. They are fascinating primates. And we really lucked out because there must have been at least eight who showed up for breakfast (no guarantee that you see any). I just kept going back-and-forth where they were hanging out snapping pictures and taking video and watching in awe. It was absolutely amazing, and we had almost an hour to observe them.
Getting back in the van turned into a production. There were six of us on the way who all agreed to meet the driver at 10:30, and when four of us arrived, there were already six other people in the van. The two other people hadn't shown up and our driver left without them, not that you could have squeezed two more humans into that vehicle. It was very uncomfortable, and I argued with the driver that it wasn't fair for him to leave the people he had promised to take. The others already in the van were French and didn't understand what I was on about until the driver let me know that he'd called his friend to pick up the others. The driver was only interested in pocketing extra cash, even though he claimed he "took pity" on the people who missed the bus.
Back in Kuching, it was extremely hot and Louise and I felt exhausted. In need to some energy, we picked up some food at a bakery before going to the museum area. I explored the Sarawak Museum, but I couldn't focus on the information and didn't get much out of it. I popped in the Ethnography museum to see a sample of an Iban longhouse before we walked along the main bazaar towards James Brooke where we'd eaten dinner the first night in desperate need of a refreshing drink. While walking, I got hit in the arm by one of the sun shader-things and now have a small bump which is going to bruise. We ordered some type of lime juice and I got the Wild Borneo laksa. By the time we got up, it was 3pm and neither of us felt like continuing in the heat. So we said goodbye and I went back to the hostel to relax for a few hours before my flight. I ran into Laura, and we chatted while I tried to write this. My laundry came back before 5, luckily, and I packed everything up ready to head out at 6:15. Ended up meeting another woman, Cynthia, who was on my flight, so we shared a taxi to the airport.
Nothing too interesting about the ride, the airport or the flight, except that it was pouring rain when we left Kuching. I'm now at my airport hotel. Flight to Beijing leaves at 8:30am, so I'll be leaving here around 6am, another short night of sleep. Cannot believe that these first three weeks of travel are over. Gives me hope that my eight weeks of traveling alone will be fine as I'm constantly meeting people. Tomorrow I'm off on the next stage of my adventure, a 21-day tour on the Trans-Mongolian railway from Beijing through Mongolia to St Petersburg. Pretty sure my internet access will be limited, so I don't know how often I'll write. Good night.
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