We have spent a wonderful 6 weeks exploring Kuching and it's surrounding national parks. We just love the feel of Kuching, the fabulous food and the close access to nature and indiginous culture. Explore the riverside and old town: Walk the riverside boulevard, stroll the streets of the old town, enjoy the murals and take a small boat to cross the river to walk up to Fort Margherita. Refresh with a milo dinosaur, watch sunset along the riverfront and then finish the day with a seafood meal at the Topspot night food market. Sarawak Cultural Village: A wonderful glimpse into indiginous culture and custom. You can see inside traditional longhouses, watch a dance show and walk around the lake with views up to green lush Mt Santubong. Santubong National Park : Smell the jungle, rockhop up a river bed , cool off in crystal clear waterfalls and see monkeys, chameleons and other wildlife, this was one of our favourite days in Kuching. Only 40 minutes drive from the city, you can choose between 3 walks; 20 minutes, 2 hours and 6 hours (right to the top of Mt Santubong) depending on your ability. Entry is free! Semmengoh Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre: If you havn't got the opportunity to visit wild orangutan in northern Borneo or Indonesia, then go see them while you are visiting Kuching. We luckily had such incredible experiences at the Kinabatangan river that we decided not to visit Semmengoh, but understand that if you are patient, you will often see 2-3 orangutan's at the daily feedings. Wetlands National Park: A sunset boat trip up the Santubong and Sarawak rivers gives you a glimpse at traditional fishing villages with the added bonus of seeing Irrawaddy dolphins, crocodiles, proboscis monkeys and firefiles. Taman Budaya (Reservoir Park): This park was our saviour in Kuching for our nightly walk and daily dose of exercise. A beautifully manicured park with lake trails and playgrounds. A10 and G7 loved jumping across the rocks and exploring the spiral playground. The best time to visit is after 5pm when the temperature is cooler. Bako National Park: This National Park rates highly for tourist's visiting Kuching. In a day trip, you get the opportunity to see many bornean animals, hike in untouched forest, past waterfalls and lovely beaches. Damai Beach: A lovely beach to visit especially for sunset when the weather is cooler, Damai beach is just 45 minutes from Kuching and an easy day trip. You can combine this with a visit to Sarawak cultural village or Santubong National Park. Gunung Gadung National Park; We didn't visit this park as the rafflesia was not in flower, but if you get the opportunity to see this incredible huge bloom I'm sure it would be impressive! The flower can reach a diameter of 1 metre. Jong's Crocodile Farm: This was by no means our favourite place as some of the animal enclosures we saw were down right heart breaking, but it was a nice walk and we learnt a whole heap about these scary reptiles and for that reason it made our list. The crocodile feeding was certainly impressive and the huge 2 metre long Arapaima fish were fascinating. The upside down house was just a bit of fun for a rainy day...overpriced but quirky all the same.
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Kuching is the largest city of Borneo, situated in Sarawak, Malaysia, not far from the Indonesian border. It's size is similar to our hometown, with a population of 600,000. it has been ruled by Britain and Indonesia, finally becoming independent after the Malayan conflict in the 1960's. Kuching differs from most other Malaysia cities, as it has a high Chinese population, and as you can imagine some wonderful cuisine to match. The Sarawak river winds it's way through the heart of Kuching, lined with cobbled boulevards and enhancing the vibrant sunsets with reflections and atmosphere. Kuching has a fabulous location with national parks within an hour in practically every direction. There are numerous wildlife sanctuaries, turtle islands, wetlands and jungles containing the world famous rafflesia flower. Known as cat city following a incorrect old translation of 'Kuching', there are cat statues, cat murals, cat museums and many actual cats to be found walking around the town centre. The indiginous cultures of Sarawak are well preserved at the traditional longhouse communities which are easy to visit. You can see the stilt fishing villages taking boat journeys up the Sarawak river.
SepilokSepilok is an animal lovers paradise! The orangutans draw many visitors to Sandakan and Sepilok every day. Orangutans are only found in Borneo and Sumatra and the numbers of orangutans in Borneo has been seriously compromised by deforestation. The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre is a true sanctuary, set in wild jungle with support for the orphaned littlies until 5-6 years when they have enough life skills make it on their own. Do you know that orangutan means 'man of the forest' ? The sunbears (or honey bears) are critically endangered due to a horrific past of being hunted for meat and sold as pets. They are certainly cute when little, but not pet material as grown adults! Now that it is illegal to keep sunbears, this sanctuary rehabilitates those they can and homes those they can not. The rainforest discovery centre is a great resource to learn about the local animals, birds and plants. A sweet walk through the bush, a lovely canopy walkway to bird watch and a plant discovery centre to teach you where our common condiments come from! We stayed at the fabulous Sepilok B&B which was walking distance to the orangutan sanctuary, the sun bear sanctuary and the rainforest discovery centre! |
finding freedom with four backpacks
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