Heather Hapeta lives in Aotearoa-New Zealand: real travel, real adventures, real stories, real photos. Recent destinations Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan and Hong Kong – now NZ destinations due to COVID travel restrictions
It’s only one week until I leave on my next big adventure to Mongolia and Malaysian Borneo! (and the mainland too) I have written a short blog about Mongolia, (see here) a country I’ve never been to, and I plan on posting a photo a day on my kiwi travel writer Instagram and Facebook pages – so #follow me. My blogs will follow once I return to New Zealand after my 5 weeks exploring.
While I have been to many parts of Malaysian Borneo (Sabah and Sarawak) and I’m looking forward to revisiting the Rainforest World Music Festival and Bako National Park, I also expect to discover new things in Kuching – including the fishing village of Kampong Buntal – and which is very close to where I’m staying at Damai Beach Resort during the festival. So, watch this space!
I’m of course hoping to see orangutans, proboscis monkeys, wild pigs, and possibly a crocodile or two. My must-eat food list is too long – and once again I’m hopeful my bathroom scales do not show a huge upward number when I return home. Malaysia has such wonderful food and Malaysians are all foodies, and who will always entice you to try this and that and yet another thing.
I’m spending about five days in Penang, which is considered the food capital of Malaysia, and as it’s been a long time since I was there I’m wondering if some of my favourite places will still exist. Feel free to give me advice about your favourites in the comments at the end of this blog.
In Sabah, the northern region of Malaysian Borneo, I will be snorkelling in new areas -Mabul island, and also Gaya island where I will visit the Marine eco-research Centre. Another new place will be the Sabah Tea garden after a short hike and Kinabalu Park – one of Malaysia’s world heritage sites.
Check out blogs I have already written about Malaysia (use the search button on this blog site) and make sure you follow me for five weeks of daily photos – as many of you will know, Malaysia is my favourite Asian country – and who knows, Mongolia – which is a blank canvas for me – could end up on my favourites list too.
Hope I get to see Richie again – he’s a big boy!
Sarawak Laksa has local pepper in it!
Damai Beach Resort beside the Sarawak Cultural Village and the RWMF
Sarawak .. music and orang-utans
Heather helps plant mangroves
The kiwitravelwriter, arrives on Talang-Taland Island, Sarawak, photo by Gustino – Sarawak Tourism BoardA fisherman uses a net on Batang Ai, Sabah. Malaysian Borneo
The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw is the tallest building in Poland and the eighth tallest building in the European Union. Locals who spoke of it to me said it was “a gift from Russia” and they always drew the speech marks in the air.
It seemed they have a love hate response to it and have a few, mostly derogatory, nicknames for it: they also told me although it was a ‘gift’ they paid for it!
A beautiful building, it’s a mix of Socialist realism and Polish historicism and was apparently inspired by American art deco skyscrapers. Originally known as the Joseph Stalin Palace of Culture and Science but during a ‘de-stalinisation’ period, Stalin’s name was removed.
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Wikipedia tells me “Construction started in 1952 and lasted until 1955. A gift from the Soviet Union to the people of Poland, the tower was constructed, using Soviet plans, almost entirely by 3500 workers from the Soviet Union, of whom 16 died in accidents during the construction.[2] The Soviet builders were housed at a new suburban complex complete at Poland’s expense with its own cinema, food court, community centre and swimming pool.[1][3] The architecture of the building is closely related to several similar skyscrapers built in the Soviet Union of the same era, most notably the Moscow State University. However, the main architect Lev Rudnev incorporated some Polish architectural details into the project by traveling around Poland and seeing the architecture.[2] The monumental walls are headed with pieces of masonry copied from Renaissance houses and palaces of Kraków and Zamość.[2]
I didn’t expect to find butterflies galore in Dunedin New Zealand. However the Otago Museum has them in abundance in their Discovery World Tropical Forest, and delight all who see them – including me.
Sarawak’s State Flower, the Normah Orchid (Phalaenopsis Bellina) is among the wide collection of Borneo Orchids found in these gardens which has a collection of 75,000 plants.
I arrived by bus while on a city tour but you can easily get there by using one of the small wooden taxi boats on the Kuching Waterfront (opposite the Astana and Fort Margherita).
When I was there a group of school pupils were also there so they were happy to have some international visitors to interview and photograph. As I understand it, all Malay students must attend a club on Saturday with Scouts and the Red Crescent being the most popular.
Since I was there in late June (2013) the garden has had a name change – it’s now the Orchid Park – with new plans for extension including building a mist-house or cool-house for orchids from mild climates.
With the impressive State Legislative Assembly (DUN) complex in the background the setting is lovely and is the venue for the annual Kuching Orchid Show.
“That is the ugliest animal I have ever seen’ says Nikki,my traveling mate for a few days.
With its streamlined body, long head and nose, skinny deer-like legs (3 toes front, 2 at rear) and a bristly beard along both sides of their snout, I think the Bornean bearded pig is amazing! Very laid back, ignoring the photographers and travellers in the Bako National Park it seems most efficient at digging for roots and worms in the bush and lawns, however they also hangout on the beach, browsing for food at low tide.
The pigs, and the naughty macaque, are the first animals we see as we arrive at the Sarawak Forest Dept. HQ to book into our basic accommodation.
We’ve just travelled 20-k from Kuching to Bako Village and then, under a sign warning of crocodiles, took a boat for the final 30 minutes.
During the boat ride we’re told ‘low tide wet landing, high tide dry landing’ and as we arrive at high tide use the jetty, not the beach, to land at this ‘smallest, oldest, and most visited’ of the states national parks. It spreads 27 sq k between the Sarawak and Bako rivers on the Muara Tebas peninsula with a coastline lined by steep cliffs, small bays and beaches.
Apparently Sarawak has the most number of national parks, totally protected, wildlife sanctuaries and nature reserves of all Malaysian States and makes up about 8% of the land. (see more on the Forestry Sarawak website)
Recommended to me by Ian Ord on either my Twitter or Facebook pages it seems the rich variety of wildlife are best seen close to the HQ which is why so many travellers come just for the day. I recommend you stay for at least one night – although my next trip will be for at least two nights: it was wonderfully peaceful when the ‘day-trippers’ left and we did a night hike with a forestry guide.
On the evening walk we saw a Culago (flying squirrel) which was great, and despite not having closed shoes, and watching the ground, I was not attacked by the terrible fire ants. We also saw swifts and their prized nests – with young in the nests they hardly fitted in.
All around park are the long-tailed macaques, compulsive thieves so be careful for both you and them – it may seem funny that they steal cans of drinks but its not good for them. It also means they become aggressive and will grab your bag if they think you could have goodies in it. Monkeys, despite looking cute, can be very violent so please don’t feed them.
The naughty macaque!
Another park favourite for me were the silver leaf monkeys (silvery lutung) is sometimes called the David Beckham monkey because of its hairstyle. The silvery lutung is a medium sized monkey with a long tail, the grey-tips on its dark brown or black fur, giving it a uniform silvery appearance: the young are cute red-heads! A crest of fur runs along the top of the head, and the hair on the cheeks is long while their hands and feet are hairless, with dark coloured skin, and have opposable thumbs and toes – this means they can hold things using thumbs and fingers.
the cute lutung babies are red for a few monthsthe ‘Beckham’ hairstyle on the silver-leaf monkey say many localsgreat swimming spot
We walked a few of the many trails and at 34 degrees with 93% humidity it was wonderful to arrive at a beautiful, nearly deserted, beach where Nikki and I plunged into the cooler water. Magic.
Proboscis monkeys of course are the stars here. With their long, straight, pale tail flowing behind them they leap almost clumsily from tree to tree. They eat young shoots of indigestible foliage which is then broken down in their two stomachs. Male vanity and the need to dominate means their nose can grow to such a pendulous length they have to hold it up, or push aside to eat! It also seems the head of the harem is always on duty with his penis erect for much of the time leading to many postcards of him ‘showing his red chilli.’
Other males, lower in rank, hang out in male groups until their noses grow bigger and they have the chance to challenge the leader and so become head of the harem.
Proboscis monkey – this one is waiting for his nose to grow!
They have few predators in their natural environment – they are preyed on by crocodiles but people are its biggest threat. With the loss of lost vast areas of natural habitats to due to deforestation they appear to have been pushed into smaller, and more isolated, pockets of bush. It is listed by the IUCN as endangered in its natural environment and could face extinction: evidently very few are in captivity as they do not respond well to those conditions.
All Malaysians are foodies. Ask a local where to get the best rojak or Sarawak Laksa and they will tell you. Ask what is the best dish in this resaturant or food stall? Once again they will immediately answer you, or have an animated conversation with others at the table as they try to reach a consensus about ‘the best’.
Sarawak makes if very clear as to the grade each café or restaurant has with large A. B. or C letters on green, orange or red! A bus driver taking a group of media people ( here for the annual Rainforest World Music Festival )around the city suggested we visitors would be better to eat at places with A and B’s – however, I ate at all and had no tummy problems in my 8 weeks in the region.
Food markets are always interestingKek lapis .. the amazing, and famous, Sarawak layer cake – a blog about these will follow in a week or so!Sunday market, KuchingBiscuit making .. demo at the Cultural Village (Damai Beach)part of the Kuching Sunday Market
red, orange or green?We are introduced to the fabulous Sarawak Laksa .. the great Borneo breakfast! (I forget what the yummy sour green drink was called)
Returning to Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, after staying at an Iban longhouse (on the beautiful Batang Ai lake) on the my driver tells me ‘Go to stall number 25 at Topspot. That’s the one I always go to and I always have the wonderful omelette with oysters.”
A local radio station reporter introduces me to ‘the best laksa in China Street.’ We walk under Harmony Arch on Jalan Carpenter where, directly opposite the Sang Ti Miao temple, is an unpretentious but very busy Chinese hawker food hall. She is right! The laksa served there was wonderful and for the rest of my 8 weeks in East Malaysia it became the standard I used to compare various dishes of Sarawak Laksa.
For recipes about the great dish see these web pages – both here and again here. I will be interested to see what the Facebook group, Kuching food critics, and Malaysian friends, have to say about the recipes.
I have heard Sarawak Laksa being referred to as the “great Borneo breakfast” as that’s when this noddle dish with it’s spicy and sour shrimp paste and coconut gravy, is served – unlike in Singapore or peninsula Malaysia ( or New Zealand!) where it’s usually a lunch or evening meal!
On my last days in Kuching its time for the annual, 3-week, Kuching Festival Fair, where many concerts and exhibitions are held, it seems the food fair -with some 220 food and or drink stalls – is the main attraction. There for the first night, it was good to watch the fireworks as they exploded nosily, and colourfully above us.
With a city of foodies, the Sunday market, Medan Niaga Satok, is a must-visit for locals and travelers alike. Many of the stalls are open every day, so just hop into a taxi and say “Sunday market’ on any day of the week and your driver will take you straight there!
Kiwi Travel Writer talks food, travel, and tips 