Sarawak, Borneo - The Place To Be

Malaysia
Sarawak, Borneo - The Place To Be
By Fahd Newaz
Apr 4, 2005, 12:19

Are you the kind of person that likes things at both ends of the spectrum? Are you looking for diversity in your travels? Then Sarawak is the place to be. From tropical rainforest to city shopping, wildlife reserves to modern civilization, and from tribal headhunters living in longhouses to 5 star hotels, Sarawak has it all.

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Entertainment: Arriving in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, you may check into any of the variety of hotels that are available, including prominent names such as The Hilton and the Holiday Inn. All the major shopping malls are located around the same general area where the Holiday Inn is located, where you will find products no less in variety from Kuala Lumpur. You will also find the banks of the magnificent Sarawak River, where you can enjoy the gentle breeze and the beautiful sights on the other side of the river. During your stroll through the city you are bound to pass restaurants, cafés, or food courts, where you can enjoy typical Malaysian food as well as food from around the world. Besides eating, shopping and sightseeing, you can always pass your leftover time watching a movie at the Star Cineplex, one of the two cineplexes located around that same area, or go for karaoke, either in the hotel or at any of the various karaoke bars located close by.

Wildlife: Tired of the city, already? Well, just about 30 minutes outside the city center, you will find the Semengoh Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, where Orangutans, an endangered species, are taken care of, and later on introduced back to wilderness, which enable them to adapt to the environment of their real homes in the vast forests of Borneo. A specialty of this center is its Orangutan feeding program, where visitors are allowed to have breakfast with these fun loving creatures as well as feed them at the following times: 0830 - 0900 hr (Milk and fruits), 1145 - 1200 hr (Milk with mixed boiled beans /sugar cane/sunflower seeds/fresh young coconuts), 1500 - 1515 hr (Milk and fruits). more info available at the Forest Department of Sarawa website.

Adventure: Getting tempted to be part of the wilderness? Well you can do that too in Sarawak. Leaving Kuching right after breakfast, around 8 a.m. by road, you will get to the boat jetty, located next to a damn, around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. This will depend on the number and length of breaks you take in between for lunch, some necessary shopping for a few days in the jungle, or perhaps just a bathroom break. From the jetty, you will have the chance to experience a thrilling ride on “longboats”. These dugout motorized canoes are unique to Sarawak. You will start off traveling on a reservoir

whose water flow is being stopped by the damn at the jetty. The reservoir will eventually take shape of a river, which will gradually narrow down in size to a moderate stream as you reach the Iban village. Throughout your boat ride upriver, you will experience lush greenery on both sides, as well as natural sounds of the wildlife in the jungle.

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The Iban are natives to the area, who have descended from generations of headhunter. Now, they fish, and farm to live. As you arrive at the Iban village of Nanga Sumpa, you will find a lodge built for tourists with appropriate amenities including western style toilets, although electricity is not available. The lodge has several rooms, common bathrooms, a kitchen and a common dining/hangout area. Crossing over the stream on a bridge, you will find the Iban “longhouse”. This is a row of housing constructed by the village people for themselves, which are connected to each other by sharing a common hallway type area called a “ruai.” Here you can observe the Iban lifestyle at ease, without having to worry about being a disturbance, amongst these kind hearted people who will open up their homes without hesitation.

To spend your day, starting the next morning, you can take a hike through the hilly ups and downs of the forest for as long as you want, and then hike on down to the river to meet up with a longboat which will take you down the river to your preferred destination. Besides going back to the lodge, you might want to go see and enjoy a waterfall nearby, or even arrange for a barbeque lunch at a pebble beach, where the Iban people will prepare you some typical Iban food in Bamboo.

Getting back: After spending a fair amount of time at the village, you must have enjoyed more than enough and you might even be a little exhausted. So on your way back to your home country, it is not a bad idea stop at Kuching for a day or too, just to relax and get over all the adventure that you have been through. The overall trip should be pretty relaxing. By the time you get back home you should be fit for normal life again, and your trip will have been a memorable experience.