Jungle experience and now Laos!

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  Kuching ,Sarawak then Vietiane, Laos, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Sunday, February 3, 2008

Well readers, here I am in Laos! But first let me fill you in about my days in the jungle of Sarawak.....
I'm pleased to say that my geography is improving hand over fist during this trip I might even choose Geog questions in Trivial Pursuit in future! You may or may not know that (did you know Helen?) that Borneo is the 3rd largest island in the world and comprises the states of 3 countries Sarawak (Malaysia), Sabah (Indonesia) and Brunei.  
Anyway, we flew from KL to Kuching the capital of Sarawak and stayed in a fabulous lodge called Singahsanna for 2 nights b4 our foray into the jungle began. We didn't have too much detailed info about our accomm and thought there might be some serious lack of washing available hence the purchase of dettol wipes and yes, really, cotton disposable knickers - don't wince these are the realities of travelling!

Aman at Matang - nice flanges!

We were collected on the auspicious date of Jan 24th (thanks to those of you that wished me a happy birthday by the way!) and drove in a comfy bus for about 4 hours to the wharf at Batang Ai to get into our transport for the remainder of the journey. (As an aside for Jenny , not only have the Hilton a huge hotel on the waterfront at Kuching -(not too out of place) it has one at Batang Ai -in the middle of flippin nowhere -it's getting as bad as Tesco..!)
Our transport was open canoe style boats with outboard motors and being driven by what appeared  to by 12 year old (or thereabouts) Iban lads (Iban are the tribe with whom we would be sharing our jungle experience) We'd taken what we thought we needed of our overall kit leaving a good amount in Kuching , and that was wrapped in bin liners in the boats; we were all wearing life jackets and not a little uncertain about the degree of rocking that had been experienced as we clambered somewhat shambolically into the boats. The journey was to take about 1and a half hours and we were perched on little wooden seats at the bottom of the boat - numb bum or wot by the time we got there! Francis, our guide who had accompanied us from Kuching had been making us believe we'd be weeing down at the river and washing in a bucket and sleeping on a wooden surface with  only a thin mat to cushion the old bones. When we finally arrived that little tinker Francis had been fibbing, a trait of his we would come to love.....We had sturdy and roomy bunk beds and showers (mostly cold but warmer in the afternoon) and joy of joys - proper Western loos!

Aping - little Iban chap - ahh

! Now for those of you ladies thast have experienced Asian loos you may understand my unparelled bliss in this discovery -I cannot get on with Asian loos and to to be fair I don't really want to. For those of you that haven't just thank your lucky stars.
We undertook our first trek into the jungle the following day -I should really say up into the jungle  as the longhouse we were staying in was by the river and the jungle rose precipitously behind us. Now I've always for whatever reason been pretty rubbish at going uphill and this was to prove no different; and' if you consider the heat and the humidity and the sometimes wet leaf litter underfoot I found it pretty tough going. In the photo you will see my face is puce and my clothes are wet thru with sweat (as were everyones). We saw a couple of old Orang nests but none of the occupants.
Whilst on this topic I'll quickly backtrack.... Our 2 days in Kuching involved a visit to Semengoggh  - an area where Orangs that have been rehabilitated now roam freely , the only concession to "captivity" if you can call it that is that food is out out for them twice and day which they can come and get or not as the mood or need arises but they are essentially wild as evidenced by one of the females chasing and taking a large bite out of one of the rangers' legs the other week -he was in hospital at the time of writing.
We were so lucky as we we went early morning and it was an occasion when a number of Orangs came to feed including a huge male called Ritchie who had bitten the finger off one of the other males in the recent past. He came right down onto the ground -he was huge and hellishly impressive looking -quite scary actually when you consider they are 6 x stronger than humans! What was amazing was seeing them swing thru the trees as God intended and I have to say it did make me a little wistful and wish that Wasabi could experience this freedom

At the wedding - all look in diff directions!

. They are the most amazing creatures to witness in their natural habitat and their high wire antics and their agility on the lianas is breathtaking. On our 2nd day we went to the Matang Rehabilitation centre where work is done with Orangs and other animals that have either been seized from private owners or rescued from unsuitable places or  have been orphaned. In addition to Orangs there were sun bears which are native to Malaysia. There is a tremendous amount of education needed and much work is being undertaken with tribes people and children to develop a greater understanding for the need to value wildlife and to conserve endangered species and look for ways of finding common interests and making compromises on all sides.
Whilst at Matang we were offered the opportunity to try an Orang favourite- the durian - it's a fruit which it's said by some to to "taste like heaven but smell like hell" well the ones we were offered, what can I say... the smell made me heave at about 10 paces - it's so hard to describe -but once you've smellled it you'll know it again. Needless to say I opted not to try it (Emma) and those that did really wished they hadn't  - hats off to them and all that but  I'm really glad I didn't.
Anyway back to the jungle and the trekking..... After we trekked upwards for about an hour overall with the odd pit stop we came back down again and the key point here is there really was next to no horizontal trekking -it was either up or down and down presented it's own problems for me as I'm about nervous about falling and knackering either of my hips

Doing what comes naturally...

. Consequently neither up or down were great for me. And of course don't forget the leeches (Tiger leeches that can jump) and they are everywhere -you don't feel them attach to you, you become aware later that you've been leeched when you find blood stained clothing and a small scar -bless them. I didn't mention I don't think that I'd been leeched at the zoo -right in my belly button -urgh! Mind you I actually find mosssie bites a whole lot more irritating. The crux of the trekking tale is that I decided that after the first one , given that the subsequent ones were going to be more arduous ,notto undertake the others and felt quite comfortable in making that decision.
In addition to the trekking the other key part of the experience was interacting with the Iban who lived in a longhouse a couple of 100 yrds along the rivers. We met up with them twice to do some weaving -a mat first and then a basket -I really enjoyed it and found it relaxingly therapeutic altho you dod have to concentrate and count -no wonder I was never any good at knitting mum-unlike you superstar knitter.
In addition to our weaving classes we had a pasrty with the Iban on our last night, ate, played sonmem games ,danced - it was a great time wasn't it Bob? The locally brewed rice wine was flowing liberally and a few peeps got a little merry with one of our number needing to be carried to and from the boat......The following day we packed and flew back to Kuching -I put my clothes thru the express laundry service at the hostel

Having a shiska on my birthday!

. The smell was gross -we all smelt pretty ropey as despite the heat in the jungle the humidity pretty much prevents things from drying out - hmm damp , dirty and very sweaty clothes -lovely!
Well I stayed in some accomm near KL airport on Friday and then flew to Vientiane on Sat morning into rain which it has pretty much done non stop -tho has reduced to drizzle (Phil) and there have been the odd dry patch so have wandered about some. Here for 2 nights so must go out and book the next bit of my journey . Proposing to go to Loang Prabang vai Vang Viang. Also having lots of fun trying to get to grips with the money as they take Laotian Kip, Thai baht and US dollars here and you can get receive change in a different currency to that which you paid!
OK signing off for now - probably be Cambodia when I catch up next.
Lots of love n hugs etc
Asia Sal xxx
aSIAOdoia      

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Iban chief mending his fishing nets	Knackered - trekking	Orangs at Semengoggh	The zoo gang
Transport to the Longhouse

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