Borneo is divided into 4 parts - Malaysia owns 2 parts Sarawak in the south and Sabah in the North. There is also Brunei and Indonesia owns a huge area called Kalimantan
My flight arrived in Kuching is in southern Sarawak - it means Cat City in Malay
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| Kuching Riverside |
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| Kitty City |
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| Amazing seafood in Borneo.... |
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| The old man of the forest |
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| The Chinese community is large in Kuching |
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| Chinese pharmacy |
Activities were a bit restricted due to the downpours but eventually the rain stopped and I escaped to one of the national parks in search of the big nosed Proboscis monkey - luckily they like to hang out in the trees right next to the lodge - very convenient
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| Heading to Bako National Park |
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Baby on board
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| Deep in the rainforest |
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| Proboscis monkey |
Borneo is a massive place so the most best way to hop around was by plane - sometimes very tiny ones! A twin otter plane took me over the mountains and into the Kelabit Highlands I landed at Bario a tiny little community populated by members of the Kelabit tribe
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| Tiny plane |
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| Tiny airport |
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| Rural living |
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| Never did find an owner |
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| Defintion of a quiet town - dogs sleep in the road!! |
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| View from the verandah with the fish ponds and the paddy fields in the foreground |
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| Bario rice drying in the sun |
They have a fascinating culture, great food and an interesting history. Bario was one of the towns The Allies parachuted into in 1945 to liberate Borneo from Japanese occupation. Many tribes including the Kelabit fought with the Aussies and Brits - their silent poisoned darts and head hunting traditions proving very useful...
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| Old WWII plane |
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| To cross or not to cross... |
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| Ah Murphy was involved - that explains it! |
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| I headed for the salt spring as I didn't have my passport on me! |
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| Beautiful Bario |
There was some great trekking to local longhouse communities and as you can see some novel methods of transport!
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| One man and his buffalo |
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| Kelabit baskets for carrying produce to and from maket...still in use |
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| Longhouse central corridor |
A longhouse is essentially a wide and long common corridor with peoples separate living quarters feeding off it - the one in Bario was longer than a football pitch! The communal area is used for celebrations and it's traditional to place family photos on the walls
Like many indigenous tribes their culture is being slowly eroded and sadly traditions such as the wearing of heavy brass earrings to stretch the lobes are dying out
I stayed in a great little homestay with a beautiful view over the mountains. The Kelabit are known for their hospitality and I ate very well - Bario is known all over Borneo for its delicious rice and the sweetness of its pineapples.
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| My catch of Telpaia on the last evening |
Sadly it was time to move on and I back in the twin otter and heading for Sabah - Northern Malaysian Borneo
