Owner: Borneo Pit Stop URL:http://borneopitstop.blogspot.com Join Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 12:26:24 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A journal of fascinating places to visit in Asia, Europe and Australasia. Off-the-cuff information about the island of Borneo with its rich flora and fauna, beautiful beaches of India, Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Endless, breathtaking natural lands Site statistics:Click here
Nathan and the Songbirds 2007-08-23 03:10:00 On Monday 2oth my family and I went to a Christian Charity Concert in town, organised by the SIB (Sidang Injil Borneo) Church and their associates. Some of Malaysia's top young performing artists were there, i.e. Jaclyn Victor, Juwita Suwito and Evenstarr. It was quite an ok show (ok because I thought the minus-one sound system didn't do justice to the singers, i.e. the sound system sucked big time) and the performers were very friendly indeed. Here are some photos of my son Nathan
with Juwita and Jaclyn.
Tawau, Sabah - Seafood at its Best 2007-08-16 22:22:00 I was in Sabah
just a couple of weeks ago. Kota Kinabalu to be exact, the capital of Sabah, north of Borneo Island. My how the landscape has changed. My last visit to Kota Kinabalu (or KK for short) was back in early 2006, while I was working on a project in Tawau, southeast of Sabah. They are now building (or have completed some parts of it) a fly-over which crosses over the main road leading to the city centre towards Centrepoint shopping mall, or something like that. Sutera Harbour Resort still looks good, since it was first developed in the early 2000s. There are a couple of new shopping places again, one of them is City Mall I believe it's called, and another one just sort of next to Centrepoint. I don't remember what that one is called now. For the shoppers among you, you can find out more in a fellow shoppers' travel blogs of KK. In less than 50 words, Kota Kinabalu is a modern city with a rather impressive road network and is fast expanding, thanks to the developments on t
Mulu's Trek and Trails - Part 2 2007-08-16 20:47:00 Ok, to finish off my writings on Mulu, here are the rest of the information with regards to trails and attraction spots. The Pinnacles:Mulu’s famous Pinnacles, which are a mid-way up the slopes of Gunung Api, consist a series of 45 meters high, razor-sharp limestone spikes that tower above the surrounding vegetation. The trek to view them is one of the most popular in the park, yet it is tough and challenging as the trail itself is very steep and requires a certain level of fitness.The Headhunter's Trail:The Headhunter's Trail is a great way of entering or leaving Gunung Mulu National Park.The trek is organised by travel operators. It combines upriver travel, jungle trekking and an overnight stay at an Iban longhouse. The trail itself follows the route taken by Kayan headhunting parties who paddled up the Melinau River to the Melinau Gorge. From there, they dragged their longboats through the forest for 3 km until they reached the banks of the Terikan River, where they launched hea
Mulu's Trek and Trails - Part 1 2007-08-08 19:29:00 Mulu has three adventure treks, all of which require a certain level of physical fitness. You need basic camping gear, as it is useful if you are planning to stay overnight in the jungle base camps. Trekkers must be accompanied by official park guides. Most tour operators can assist with travel arrangements for these treks and also can supply any necessary equipment and food.Deer Cave & Lang's Cave:You can reach the Deer Cave by following a three kilometers plankwalk path where you will pass through peat swamp, alluvial flats and limestone outcrops including some superb rainforest, jungle streams and an ancient Penan burial cave.Upon reaching the cave entrance, there is no doubt that you are about to enter the largest cave passage in the world. The cave is simply huge, over 2 kilometers in length and not less than 90 meters high and wide. The main chamber, which is partially lit by sunlight, is 174 meters wide and 122 meters high. Deer used to shelter at this cave and this explains wh
Mulu - Flora & Fauna 2007-08-01 02:05:00 Continuing from my last post, I'm going to provide some descriptions of Mulu's diverse flora and fauna here.There are seventeen vegetation zones, which have been recognized, and over 3,500 plant species recorded and 1,500 flowering plants identified. Massive, lowland dipterocarp forest occurs up to an altitude of 800 meters and 284 tree species have been recorded. Between 800 meters to 1,200 meters, Quercus Subsericea dominates the lower montane forest. Upper motane forest displaces between 1,200 meters to 2,177 meters where small tree and shrub layer can be found like Rhododendron and Vaccinium and some other pitcher plants like Nepenthes lowii, N. tentaculata and N.muluensis. Pitcher plants are in themselves one of Borneo's natural flora attraction, and in Sarawak itself an up-coming event is being organised to create awareness among the general public on the uniqueness of this plant species. To check for sources of event or conference organisers, click here.Limestone forest occur Read more:Fauna
Mulu - Natural Formations 2007-07-25 21:14:00 The Gunung Mulu National Park is situated close to the southern border of Brunei with Malaysia, about 100km east-southeast of the town of Miri and 100km due south of Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. It lies between the headwaters of the Tutuh River, a tributary of the Baram River and covers 544km2, ranging in elevation from 50 meters to 2,376 meters. The park is important for its high biodiversity and unique karst (limestone) features. Besides that, it contains seventeen vegetation zones, exhibiting some 3,500 species of vascular plants. It was first constituted on 3 October 1974 but only opened to public in 1985.The climate here is determined by the Indo-Australian monsoon system. From December to March, it will encounter the wet northeast monsoon and the slightly drier southwest monsoon from May to October. Generally, rainfall is high here with seasonal averages ranging from 4,000 to 5,000mm. Temperatures in the Melinau lowlands range from 23ºC to 26ºC and at Gunung Mulu between 14ºC Read more:Natural
Gunung Mulu National Park, World Heritage Area 2007-07-25 21:03:00 A while back I wrote about my short excursion to Gunung Mulu National
Park (that was way back in 1998) and wanted to do some follow-up postings after that but never did. Anyway here goes. My memories of the place never really left me compared to other places I’ve been to and I never really figured out why. Until yesterday, when I saw my son drew a mountain on his colouring book. “Sharp sharp one, daddy”, he said as he tried to emphasise on how high and sharp the peaks of the mountains her drew were. First thing I thought of was, Mulu. Not Kinabalu (well maybe because I’ve never actually been there, only fantasized about it) or Everest (same reason as well). Gunung Mulu (“gunung” is mountain in the Malay language) would captivate any nature lover down to the very depths of your soul. When you enter what I refer to as ‘hallowed natural ground” that is the entrance to the national park area proper, the very first thing you will notice is the pungent smell of its natural su Read more:World
, Heritage
, National Park
, World Heritage
Fish and Fishing 2007-07-20 00:54:00 It's the latest thing I have, fishing. I've been trying to look for good fishing spots in and around Kuching City in the last couple of weeks. After my last fishing trip to Tg. Datu, I decided I needed to find some less remote spots which I can just whisk off at a moment's notice and not having the need to prepare much gear before setting off. My good friend Wilfred the Chief suggested the other day, why don't we rent a small sampan (that's a small wooden boat for river travel) and go upstream of Sg. Sarawak, as far up as we can afford to? And I thought, well that's a swell idea, why don't I source for one. So that's where I am right now, sourcing for a small boat to go upriver freshwater fishing. I know of a place at Batu Kitang on the way to Bau town, about 20-25km from the city centre where there are some villages by the riverbanks, and I've seen some of them who've got boats and stuff. Maybe I'll try there. Read more:Fishing
Fishing Trip to Tanjung Datu 2007-07-11 07:45:00 I went for a fishing trip on 6th - 7th July with some friends to Tanjung Datu, off the coast of Sematan, Lundu about 100km from Kuching City. There were 6 of us and we chartered a fishing boat (about 35-40 feet long, 10 feet wide) for about RM650.00 for an overnight fishing trip. It was actually my very first sea-going fishing excursion, so a few days back I got myself a new set of fishing rod and reel. I managed to catch one 1.5 kg fish (not sure what species) and felt well-chuffed about it. Not bad for a sea fishing virgin eh. I've uploaded most of the photos I took in http://www.webshots.com/. To get to the fishing spot at Tanjung Datu, we sailed northwest to the South China Sea, passing by Talang-Talang Island. Talang-Talang Island is Sarawak's primary turtle sanctuary, a protected area and I think it is part of the Tanjung Datu National Park area. Or maybe not, I'm not sure.Click on the link below for some photos of the trip. For more photos, go to http://www.webshots.com/, go Read more:Fishing
, Fishing Trip
Rainforest World Music Festival - 10 Year Commemorative Book on Sale 2007-06-27 04:26:00 More news on the upcoming RainforestWorldMusicFestival
. Sarawak Tourism Board has recently announced that they are releasing a coffee-table book to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the RWMF. The book's a 206-page retrospective of the event from its infancy stage to writings by renowned Sarawak author Heidi Munan on whether the festival should continue into the future. It's entitled "Music Without Borders", and Sarawak Tourism Board will only ever print 5,000 copies of it, no second print, folks. You can get the book now online at http://www.rainforestmusic-borneo.com, at Ringgit Malaysia (RM) 125 each. I read Amazon.com has also put 500 copies up for sale in their portal. By the way, tickets for the RWMF is priced at RM80 for a single-day pass and RM200 for a 3-day pass, available online at http://www.ticketcharge.com.my. It's on 13-15 July, folks, 20 groups confirmed to perform this year, so get your tickets now! Read more:Commemorative
, Music Festival
Seafood's Good If You Know Where To Find a Good Restaurant 2007-06-20 09:20:00 Talking about seafood, almost everyone I know love crabs. It's hard to find someone who wouldn't want to get their hands into a good crab dish. I for one love it, and whenever I get the opportunity, I'd go and feast on a good order. The most recent crab meal I had was on the 1st day of Gawai, where my family and I had dinner at a seafood restaurant called Teo Seafood at Kg. Buntal at Santubong, about 20 km from Kuching City. Crabs of an assortment of size and weight, you can choose them in a big orange plastic basin as they scrambled along with their two free hind legs, the rest of their limbs all tied up including their most voracious pinchers. Tell the cook how you'd want them to be prepared, e.g. crab in black pepper sauce, crab fried with eggs, steamed crab, crab in sweet and sour sauce. Whatever the flavour, I love their natural taste and that sea-like smell as their fresh flesh breaks out of their red-brick cooked shell, or exo-skeleton.Other than crabs, Teo Seafood offers fi
Rainforest Music Festival is just round the corner, folks! 2007-06-19 00:40:00 Yes, folks
! The annual RainforestMusicFestival
showcased exclusively in Kuching, Sarawak is coming up soon, in August that is. Tickets are on sale already I believe, please visit the official site. I managed to go in 2005 only, last year I was tied up with some other things. It's a 3-day event of musical extravaganza, people from all over the world would congregate to this place called the Sarawak Cultural Village in the masses just to experience it.Be one of them, come over to Sarawak! Read more:round
, corner
Gawai Celebration: Part II 2007-06-13 04:18:00 The first photo is my son (yellow shirt far right) and his new-found friends. This was taken during 3rd day of Gawai at my Auntie's house in Kampung Ampungan. The second is a photo of mums, dads, wife & kid and other family members having a rather late lunch on the same day.Good food, lots of drinks and pretty nice cool weather, the day ended well for all of us.
Gawai Celebration for the Dayak Community of Sarawak 2007-06-10 23:47:00 It has been 6 months since I last wrote. Man, so much has happened.Ok I'll start with the recent Gawai Dayak
celebration that's just passed. Gawai festival is celebrated by the dayak community of Sarawak
every 1st of June. It's done to acknowledge the end of the harvesting season (harvesting of paddy that is) and is the most celebrated event of the dayak community of Sarawak Traditionally in tle old days, you'd have lots of events going on, such as cultural shows, longboat races, telematch competitions (for some dayak communities), and of course the inevitable "drinking of rice wine and merry-making". Rice wine has now become a bit scarce due to the considerable effort needed to produce it in time for the celebration, so the dayaks (including myself) have resorted to more convenient sources of intoxication, i.e. white man's brew in the likes of beer or the more formidable whisky. Yes, folks, Gawai is a great way to meet new friends and see / visit new communities especially in the
Welcoming the New Year 2006-12-28 07:52:00 Well, Xmas has come and gone even before I can say "cheese!" The weather has been a sporadic mixture of wet and dry in Kuching, can't say it's the same for the rest of the state and Borneo island since Kuching region is known to be the wettest region of all. It was nice and warm in Kuching on Xmas day, so I guess it was a pretty good Xmas. But let's not forget those who were traumatised and made homeless by the floods in the state of Johore (south of Peninsular M'sia), about 90,000 people the last time I read the news, and the Taiwanese population affected by the very recent earthquake on Tue 26 Dec. And before that of course the landslides in the Philliphines and the quakes/tsunami in Sumatra. Ok plenty more across the world. My point is - be thankful for what you have, folks. I'm typing this right now in the comfort of my s.o.h.o. with semi-torrential rainfall serving as my background symphony for the evening, it's 6 minutes past 10pm and, yes, I'm pretty much thankful.Happy N Read more:New Year
Christmas in Borneo 2006-12-17 04:09:00 And what would Christmas
be like in Borneo
you might ask? Not any different from the rest of the world I would think. After all, it's about being around people who matter most to you. What people in general here love doing during a festive season such as this is to do house visits. Yep, to go to friends' houses for a Xmas visit, enjoy some food (rather sumptuous meals for some people), indulge in some small talk (mostly catching up with the entire 11 months in half an hour) and of course the inevitable question, what's your new year resolution? Even though it's still a good 5 days to the New Year. Whatever it may be for you, let this Xmas be one of happiness and joy with your loved ones wherever you are.
Borneo Orang-Utans 2006-11-26 11:11:00 I remember reading this news in the local papers earlier in the month and I found it in the net again, just occured to me whether all the campaign and promotion to help save the orang-utans of Borneo
has actually bore any fruit or are all of us merely watching the annihilation from the comfort of our personal computers and LCD TV screens. Read on if you haven't done so: 1000 orangutans perished this year in forest fires that raged across Borneo and Sumatra according to a conservationist interviewed by Reuters. Willie Smits, an ecologist at the Borneo Orang
utan Survival Foundation in Indonesia, told Reuters that the fires forced hungry orangutans into agricultural areas where they were killed as pests. Orangutans are known for feeding on fruit of oil palm and other crops in fields adjacent to forest areas. "Orangutans are starving. They are sick and many of those we are treating were injured after being attacked by machetes," Smits told Reuters. He added that many orangutans that came
Forests of Borneo & Mt. Kinabalu 2006-11-23 09:44:00 In case you don't know, Borneo
is primarily mountainous, with dense areas of rain forest mainly in Sarawak. The highest peak in Borneo, Mt. Kinabalu, stands at 13,455 ft. That's in Sabah. With a generally hot, wet climate, rain is more common than not, with some portions of Borneo receiving between 150 and 200 inches of rainfall annually. Between October and March, monsoons buffet the island. Given the abundance of rainfall, it makes sense that Borneo's flora is among the most diverse in the world. Borneo has nearly 11,000 species of flowering plants, about a third of which are indigenous. How dense is the vegetation? In one 16 acre area of Borneo's lowland forest, over 700 species of trees have been recorded. In comparison, there are only 171 native tree species in all of eastern North America. That's enough to tell you that to be lost in Borneo jungles would really give even the most experienced of trackers a hell of a hard time.
Borneo Local Natives' Folklores 2006-11-15 23:42:00 I'm currently looking for material on Borneo
or Sarawak natives' folklore in the shops. I remember some of the stories my late grandmother (bless her soul) used to tell my sisters and I when we were young. Bedtime stories. Some of them involved a half-wit character called Amang Alui (in Bidayuh Sadong) or Apai Saloi (in Iban). Borneo's version of Mr. Bean. I have to type them down somehow. Read more:Local
, Natives
Have you ever been to Electric Ladyland (or Batang Ai Hydroelectric Dam)? 2006-11-12 05:19:00 This has nothing to do with Borneo or Sarawak, its just one of my favourites Hendrix tune. If you've not listened to it, download the song from the net. Well maybe it does actually since Sarawak can be electrifying if you land your backside at the right place at the right time. For a view of one of Sarawak's more interesting man-made structures, go visit Batang Ai resort which is in the middle of a hydroelectric dam. It's a 4-hour drive from Kuching City. The place to stay there if you're not much of an outback Joe is the Hilton Batang Ai. Good location for a weekend retreat I must say, and if you're into a huge basin of water where you can fish all day long. I was there in 2002 for about 3 days/2 nights. The resort is on an "island" so to get there from the mainland you take a boat-ferry for about 30-45 minutes. Bring a fishing rod, might come in handy. The place is also part of the Batang Ai National Park but I've not managed to venture forth. If you do, tell me about i Read more:Electric
The Triple H (HHH) "Hash" Run 2006-11-04 10:50:00 I don't really know the full history or purpose behind this hash culture of running in the woods but I'm informed that it started way back some 30 or so years ago by ex-patriates who came to Sarawak and brought in the idea of running in the woods to be a healthy recreational activity. It's also an international thing, with some very ardent hashers who spend time running at different parts of the world. I know Miri town north of Sarawak has their own runs, plus Sabah too.The runs in Kuching City are conducted 3 times a week I think, in the afternoon around 5pm. It's on every Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. I've only been to 2 runs so far, once in 2004 and once this year in July (a very difficult one that). The runs are about 10-15km and the ones I've been to are a mix of undulating terrains, small trails, across rivers, flat surfaces at some spots.If you want to do the hash run in Kuching (well not in Kuching but the outskirts), you may contact a friend of mine, Chris Martin (012 Read more:Triple
TV Dinner Outside of Home 2006-10-30 10:15:00 If you fancy watching a soccer match while dining with a loved one under the protection of proper roofing with some rather pleasant interior decorating and furniture arrangement plus some warm welcoming ambience (not forgetting a cheap price to pay for the reasonably good food to be served), then pay a visit to Great Kitchen Cafe at Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce. It's just behind McDonald's, a corner lot. You can't miss it. The place used to be called Nice Cafe (during my heydays it was one place where the younger generation used to dine, well after midnight). They also serve alcoholic beverages and smoking is allowed inside (they use ceiling fans instead of air-conditioning). No pets allowed though. Read more:Dinner
, Outside
Not So Cheap place for Good Grub 2006-10-28 10:45:00 Eating out in Kuching City tonight are we? What about trying some Vietnamese food? If you happen to be in an area called RH Plaza/BDC, try a meal at a vietnamese restaurant called Little Saigon. I know, probably not the only restaurant outside of Myanmar to be called that name. The food is quite good for the price you are paying for. It's dead cheap for anyone who normally deals in US dollars, but for Kuching City standards it's a bit on the dear side. Easiest way to get there? Take a cab. Else take a mate who knows his or her way around the City. Know no one? Ok. Try some local food then. Read more:Cheap
National parks accessible via Kuching: Kubah 2006-10-25 23:27:00 I went to Kubah National
Park a little over a year ago. One of those short holiday excursions again. The park is located about 20 kilometres from Kuching
and one of Sarawak's most accessible national parks. 30-40 minutes is all it takes to get there from the city centre, provided you know your way of course. The Park consists largely of undisturbed natural forest with five main vegetation types:- alluvial forest, lowland mixed dipterocarp forest, kerangas (heath) forest, submontane forest and secondary forest. Its rich forest, proximity to the mangrove forests and its terrain all ensure that Kubah is home to a variety of wildlife, including bearded pigs, black hornbills, mousedeer, squirrels and numerous species of amphibians and reptiles. It is also rich in palms and orchids. I didn't see any bearded pigs or other faunal species while there, probably because we did not try to hide our presence there by keeping our voices down.For those of you who enjoy tranquility in a natural envir
National parks accessible via Kuching: Gunung Gading 2006-10-25 23:06:00 I spend almost 80% of my time in a year in a city environment. Not really to my liking but what other choice do I have. When I do get the chance, I enjoy a quick break to nearby national parks, of which some are very accessible fortunately for city guys like me. The one I've been to most recently (that being 2 years ago) is Gunung Gading National
Park. It's located in the Lundu District, northeast of Kuching
. The Park is just 5 minutes drive from Lundu town or about 2 hour's drive from Kuching. The Park consists of rugged mountain peaks which provides a scenic backdrop to the nearby beaches at Pandan and Siar. Best places to go to are the waterfalls in the upper reaches of Sungai Lundu and of course the 800 meter plus hike right up to the peak of Mount Gading. The climb is a piece of cake for those of you who've scaled the likes of K2 and the Himalayas. 4 hours tops, including time to stop and take photographs.On the celebrity profile, the Park is famous for being home to the world
Travelling Days and Places to Stay 2007-08-27 20:59:00 I used to travel quite a lot while I was still studying overseas in the UK. During most of the summer breaks I'd be planning ahead with my mates on the next venue to visit or venture. I've been to Turkey (Ankara and Istanbul), quite fun that was. Amsterdam was cool. Plus some others, mostly Europe. Travel was mostly done using trains which, at the time and probably still is, the most cost-efficient means to travel across the European continent. You travel for long hours most days, and if you haven't a posse of fun individuals to travel with, you'd get bored pretty quickly.When you travel as a student, most of the time you only spend on travel fares, food and the occasional lodging (if you don't end up sleeping at the train station). It's got to be cheap, as cheap as the word goes. I never indulged in shopping for souveniers because I well couldn't afford to. It would be good to go visit places where shopping is relatively cheap.I've never remembered staying in a, should I say, Read more:Travelling
, Places
Crocs in the Suburbs 2007-09-09 22:33:00 For those of you who are into prehistoric reptiles, pay a visit to the famous Jong's Crocordile Farm in the suburbs of Kuching City. The farm is located about 30km south of the city, you can get there by driving south along the Kuching-Serian Road and take a left turn at a junction just after you pass through Siburan township (see map attached). The signboard is not too great, so be sure to slow down once you pass under an overhead crossing and a Chinese school on your left side (Siburan town is on your right).My wife and son were there a few months back. Apart from crocs, they also have other animals such as the bear cat, wild boars and jungle fowls. Be sure to keep your hands in your pockets! Read more:Crocs
, Suburbs
Sea, Sand and a Lot of Sun 2007-09-03 04:02:00 Sometimes I would ask myself, now where is a good place to go for a vacation where I can enjoy endless sandy beaches, a beautiful view of the sea and plenty of sun? These days it's easier to do so with the Net almost giving you at-your-fingertips information about almost any place in the world that you'd want to visit. But you need information that's reliable and up-to-date and comprehensive, i.e. it's got to tell you almost everything you need to know about what the place has to offer prior to you jetting off to your desired destination. So with that in mind I've resorted to a site or two, one of them is this one on vacations. Now I'm very much a beach and sand and sun person, so getaways to the seaside or an island resort is always my first choice. I would very much like to visit places like Hawaii and the islands around it. I've heard so much about Maui Island too and would like to go there one day.In Borneo, we do have plenty of beautiful sandy beaches such as Karambunai and
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