4 days in Kuching and surroundings

After the amazing but also exhausting festival, we stayed in Kuching for four more days and explored some things in the area. Here is a short report about the days Monday to Thursday:

Monday: after a good sleep, we explored the town on foot and discovered some great street art paintings. Of course, you can find the hornbill (a kind of national animal here), the orangutan, and the cats depicted on the facades.

Tuesday: the nearby Bako National Park attracts us and we trek through the jungle for a day. Unfortunately, we have no luck and do not spot any of the rare proboscis monkeys. Despite this, the sweaty day is still worthwhile thanks to the great hike and the rather small animals we discover.

Wednesday: we have rented two scooters in the meantime and drive to Bau, where there are two large caves. There are almost no people here and we take our time to visit the Wind Cave and the Fairy Cave, admire the many small bats with our flashlights, and enjoy the echo. Outside the caves, there are lots of crawling and fluttering - we even discover a small snake in the undergrowth.

Thursday: you have to see them if you come to Borneo. But it doesn't seem to be that easy. We visit the feeding at the Semenggoh Wildlife Center just after 9:00 am in the morning and don't see a single monkey. Tough luck, say the guides, and that can happen during the rainy season when there are plenty of fruits for the wild monkeys in the forest. But we can try again in the afternoon and that's what we do - luckily! Thanks to our loud scooters, the entrance guard at the park recognizes us immediately and sends us down, because a big male has just come out of the forest to the platform and is getting some food in the form of bananas and pineapples. Later, four more monkeys come, including another big male, two females, and a young one.

Funny thing: when we are waiting on the actual feeding platform in the afternoon, we are sent away with all the other tourists. The boss Richie (the alpha animal of the group of about 20) is on his way here and we are all in danger. So, it seems that these animals take it seriously. They are still nice and gentle to look at - from a distance :)