It was damn hot and humid, but we liked the place from the beginning. The first creature we met was this young Proboscis monkey male which was climbing the trees just nearby the park HQ.

There are many beautiful beaches in the park and if you go to more remote ones you will probably have one just for yourself.

Mudskippers are common coast dwellers in Bako. The ones at Tarakan island were much bigger than these here.

Close to park headquarters there is a beautiful Mangrove forest. This is how it looks at low tide. A lovely place to observe Proboscis monkeys and shore birds.

Mangroves at golden hour.

The soil in Bako park is not very rich and this is why there are so many Pitcher plants around. We especially liked the small ones.

Beautiful caterpillar. Imagine how beautiful must the butterfly be?

This mustached pig is a celebrity at Bako. Usually he is hanging around the restaurant waiting for some leftovers.

Macaque monkey. These charming creatures can be a real pest! They are used to people and they are always around, waiting for the right opportunity to steal some food. We saw them come in big number and they just scared away all the tourists at the restaurant eating everything that was left on the tables. Be sure to hide your food in the backpack and to lock your room and close windows tight!

Mangrove forest at high tide.

Pit Viper. This beautiful snake was hiding in a bush just behind the restaurant. It was at the same place at least for the last two months. Our new friends from Montenegro and Canada both told us for it when we met them at Gunung Mulu NP. When we arrived to Bako this was one of the first things to check out – and yes – it was still there! Amazing.

Bako was one of the most amazing places we visited in Borneo. Although it is a small park it is packed with wildlife and it has a great variety of habitats. It is best explored on your own and all you need is a map of the trails and plenty of water. It was very hot and humid while we were there and because of that it was extremely hard to hike around the park. But it was definitely worth the effort. A perfect conclusion of out trip to this fascinating island, Borneo.

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We walked around the city a lot and despite there is not big attractions we enjoyed the city and its people.

The white and blue building is a police station.

Selling fish at bus station.

A delicious noon snack.

Travelling around SE Asia I learned one important thing. Do not judge food by its look and smell – try it and then make an opinion. Usually it tastes much better than expected. And sometimes it’s better not to know what are you eating.

We met this friendly guy at bus station. He explained that he is a member of a punk rock music group and he is a big fan of Rancid and Sex pistols.

Raja Brooke’s palace.

One of the numerous statues of cats. And my catwoman posing in front of it:)

Jungle fern. A local delicacy. I really liked it. It goes well with the rice and chicken.

The weekend market of Kuching is supposed to be one of the most colourful on Borneo. And it is true – so many people selling so many different things.

Evil fish.

Local boys asked me if I would take a photo of them. Of course guys!

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Strict rules of the park:)

Most of the day we were the only visitors exploring the caves (except for the bats and swallows of course).

Entrance to the big cave.

Bird nest pickers at work.

A beam of light. If you want to catch this beautiful moment be there before noon.

Most of the time there are wooden board walks, which makes cave exploration easier, but still you get the adventure like feeling. Your own light is a must.

Bird nest collector at work. Not an easy job, climbing the bamboo poles more than twenty metres high with little or no safety precautions.

Niah caves NP was fun. Unlike Gunung Mulu NP we were here just by ourselves and we enjoyed the caves in a relaxed pace. Next day we departed toward our end destination on Borneo Kuching and the adjacent Bako National Park.

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The most convenient way to get there is by plane. The flight is not too expensive, but you should book your ticket in advance as it is often fully booked. We were flying with Air Malaysia and we booked online. The flight to Mulu is wonderful. It is short and it offers scenic views of the park. But unfortunately the primary rain forest is being cut day by day and you can watch the palm oil plantations in development as you fly from Miri to Mulu. Shocking.

Canopy walk of the Mulu NP is said to be one of the best in SE Asia. We were really looking forward to experience it! I disliked the idea that the only way to walk is in a guided group. But anyway, we booked the early tour, just when the sun rises in order to see more animals. The walk itself is amazing! You can actually see how does rain forest look like from the top of the trees in an easy and safe way. But the canopy walk is too busy with visitors and therefore it is very hard to spot any animals. We only saw a tree squirrel and a couple of bugs.

For most of the people the caves are the biggest draw in Mulu NP. The caves are magnificent indeed, but again, I was disappointed because the only way to visit the caves is with a guided tour. No tripods allowed – damn! Two reasons why we decided to visit the Niah caves NP later on – so stay tuned:)

Not allowed to photograph inside the caves I focused on details outside. This is a kind of one-leaf plant that grows in front of the caves at Mulu park.

The most popular trek at Mulu is to the pinnacles. It is a three day adventure that includes a visit to a local village, an exciting boat ride up the river, an easy walk to the camp, demanding climb to the pinnacles and on a third day the way back.

The boat ride was great! We spotted a few beautiful birds (including Hornbills) and magnificent Raja Brooke’s Birdwings (Trogonoptera brookiana). Not to mention a pleasant breeze in a hot tropical forest!

After a boat ride there is about 8 km walk through an interesting forest. Not demanding and there is a couple of suspension bridges to cross – always a big fun!

There were no other animals so I photographed this little fellow.

A tree detail.This is a kind of Ficus tree (yellow bark) that uses another tree for a support. Gradually it surrounds its supporter and it suffocates it. A slow but certain death!

On the day two we started to ascend to the pinnacles. The trail is only 2,4km short but the altitude difference is 1200m which makes it very demanding. At some places you have to climb and use ropes to get through! I wanted to catch a morning light so I started to walk much earlier than the others. On the top I was soaked with sweat and I drank almost three litres of water. The humidity makes climbing much harder than in more temperate places. It took me a bit more than two hours and I spotted two small Vipers and a squirrel.

This wonderful view was a proper reward for the hard climb! I enjoyed a silence for more than two hours until the others joined me. There was no nice morning light though. The pinnacles lay on a shady side of the mountain and the sun reached them later when the light was already too harsh. And there was no beautiful mists neither…

But still, the pinnacles are magnificient and it is definitelly worth to climb the mountain!

On the way back to the HQ we finally found a nice example of the Pitcher Plants. I have to thank Paul for this – he is one of the most interesting guys I met during my trip to Borneo! He is a biologist and he specialises in entomology – a true bug hunter – check out his galleries at Flickr!

Gunung Mulu offers some of the most fantastic natural wonders of Borneo, primary rain forest, mysterious caves, limestone pinnacles and rich plant life. Do not expect to see much wildlife though – the place is too busy with visitors and animals prefer to stay away from people. Neja and I had a great time during our visit, also because we met great people and with some of them we are still in touch even now when we are already back home.

And here is some literature we had during our trip:

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There are hundreds of fishing boats that deliver fresh seafood every day. It is a great feeling to know that the food you are eating at the moment just arrived from these boats here…

A bit of romance…

Locals say that stunning sunsets are almost guaranteed. KK is situated on the northern coast of Borneo not far away to the mainland there is mighty Mt. Kinabalu. The proximity of the sea and the mountain makes a special micro climate for the city and the result is – magnificent sunsets…

And now the better part (at least for me) – seafood!

Not seafood but still excellent – spicy chicken wings.

Squids.

Hmmm, what to choose? This could be a problem sometimes. A good strategy is to observe what do locals eat and do the same way.

There is also a lot of other food available, but hey – with all this excellent seafood I really didn’t care about it…

We stayed two days in Kota Kinabalu and then we flew to Gunung Mulu national park. I could easily stay a bit longer…

And here is some literature we read during our trip:

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As soon as the sun touched the forest, lovely mists started to rise out of the canopies.

There are numerous streams with clear water – ideal for long exposure photography.

The highlight of the park (second only to the mountain itself) is definitely its vegetation. For a moment i thought we were in the Jurassic Park movie when we saw ten metres high jungle fern.

Detail. This is a kind of a palm tree.

Pitcher plants. These amazing plants are subject of every book on Borneo, many postcards and documentaries, but in reality they are quite hard to find. We were lucky and we met an American volunteer who was stationed at the park for several months already and he told us where to find these beauties on the photo above.

Well camouflaged frog. I think its eyes were glowing?!?

Grasshopper. Do not expect to see big animals here at the park. Some squirrels and birds yes, but not bigger and “furry” animals.

Carson fall. It is just after the first checkpoint at summit trail.

When you start ascending the mountain, the vegetation changes dramatically every few hundred metres. We climbed up to approximately 2200m above sea level and it was already totally different world.

The views are fantastic! It pays to get up early in the morning, even if you do not climb the mountain, because the clouds gather quickly after the sunrise.

And the mighty mountain itself! Mt Kinabalu with its 4069 metres is truly magnificent view.

Althought we didn’t have oportunity to climb the mountain we really enjoyed its forest. We spent there two days and we walked more than 30km around its trails. We were dead tired, but the climate is pleasant and the nature so beautifully unfamiliar that we just walked, and walked…

Read the previous posts on Borneo and come back, I am not finished yet!

And here is some literature we had during our trip:

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I thought the movie was fiction. I was wrong.

Transformers ARE among us! This one is in Malaysia…

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