Sarawak 2022 - A cultural and jungle adventure

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 A much welcomed short break!

As the COVID pandemic was, hopefully, drawing to a potential end, allowing people across the world to travel again, and stop wearing masks, I came across an opportunity to go on a short overseas photography trip with my local favourite agency: destination Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, Malaysia!

This would be a full five days trek to the city of Kuching a mere hour away by plane from Singapore, and offer a mix of street and food photography, jungle frogs macro discovery, river cruise to the Bako National park to find the elusive Proboscis monkeys, have up and close encounter with the orangutans, and much, much more.

 Once confirmed, I quickly booked the flights, took extra insurance, and started organising my packing and everything else I needed for this much welcomed get away. And just like that, on a sunny end of October 2022, I was at the airport with my fellow photographers and ready to face the unknown: but not before we’ve had one last chance at tasting some of Singapore best street food (at the airport!).

 Day 1 - October 27th

It was a short flight indeed, and we still needed to wear masks at the airport and for most of the plane flight, with just enough time to take off, have a quick pre ordered lunch or spicy rice and beef rendang, when we were already prepared to land. Although the weather look nice, we could already see some grey and dark clouds on the horizon as the plane taxied to our gate. We went through the airport immigration and customs promptly and soon were all in a van to go check in our hotel before going out for a quick lunch. This afternoon would be some street photography, weather permitting, and go back hotel for a while before going out at night to try our luck finding some of the most diverse and incredible frogs and critters of the night!

For lunch, I immediately tried some of the local specialities, like the Sarawak Laksa noodle soup, and one of the fruit juice, freshly squeezed from the kitchen: delicious, like all the food we would sample during our trip (spoiler alert!)

With stomach full and content, we then started our slow exploration of the neighbouring streets, in the market district. This was no Singapore, nor any modern, per se, small cities. There was an odd, but charming in a way, sense of colonial disrepair, with a mix of asian architecture, and many fading murals depicting traditional life in the city. Paints chipping here, wall eroded there, odd shops selling this and that. We took our time poking into side streets, going into small alleys and trying to appreciate sights and sounds we were not used to anymore. This was really an eclectic patchwork of chirping, clicking, buzzing, rustling, whooshing with no order or purpose, but refreshing as well. All the while we tried to identify those sounds, the constant trickle and running over stone and moss of countless streams from the top of the mountain told us we were in the jungle: and it was very much alive!

 I had not done macro photography in quite some time, and had to borrow a lens and flash, tumbling with the settings at the beginning… but quickly relearning the trade and going on shooting.

It was humid as hell too. So when time came to go back to the hotel to unpack and freshen up, get some much needed rest before our nocturnal adventure, we did not protest: and timing was perfect, as the afternoon storm suddenly hit town, with torrential rains and winds. Glad to be in our rooms, which I was sharing with a fellow photographer, we quickly found our space to deploy all our gear, make ourselves comfortable and rest for a while, before going out again later.

5pm came soon enough, and off we were to our early dinner venue: for me some coconut rice, fried chicken wings with local spicy gravy and a nice, cool beer to flush it all down! And by the time we were finished, night was upon us rather quickly. It was actually pitch dark as we reached the base of the Gurung Serapi mountain, and a narrow, steep path which would take us into the forest in search of our macro photography opportunities. 

And we did not have to go far or wait long! As we started our climb, right not he side of the roads, our expect guide already pointed to our first Crested toad, Broad-headed creek frog, and the infamous David Bowie's Huntsman spider: as per Wikipedia:

"Heteropoda davidbowie was first described by Peter Jäger in 2008, based on a specimen collected by G. Ackermann in 2007 in the Cameron Highlands of peninsular Malaysia. The species name honours David Bowie, with particular reference to songs such as "Glass Spider" (from the 1987 album Never Let Me Down), as well as the 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and the resemblance of the frontal view of the spider to the singer's painted face in his early career.[3]"

Beautiful spider, mind you!

Up we went into the park and darkness, and more fantastic creatures appeared in our torchlight: on the wet ground saturated by streams seemingly flowing from every opening in the thick jungle, a Malaysian river frog here, a Sarawak Slender Litter frog there! On a leaf, a rather large and creepy looking Black-jaweed Huntsman spider. Further up still, our guide got suddenly still and peered intensely towards a group of ferns then finally motioned for us to quickly gather: one of the smallest frog in this part of the world, delicately sitting on the fragile ferns, our first sighting of a Charming tree frog! Not far, on the floor, and that is why we had to move very carefully on the edge of the path, another little gem: the Speckled Sticky frog! 

Deeper we ventured into the night and the dense forest, following a narrow path which was getting muddier and sloppier by the meter. Looking left and right for more amphibians and arachnids, more looked back into our lights: Harlequin tree frogs on branches, being shy and turning away from us, the beautiful Jade-backed Stream frog, so yellow and bright sitting on deep green wet leaves, and an absolutely, very creepy Long-legged centipede on a branch: careful do not touch!

We had almost spent three hours in the jungle, sweating and climbing, when it was time to head back down. But the night excursion still had one little gem to present us, in the form of the much sought after Borneo Long-nosed Horned frog: what a beauty! And this was only a very short few hours trekking along a tiny portion of what the forest had to offer: I could barely imagine what a few nights of exploration may reveal!

But that was it for us, and it was now time to head back to the hotel for a much needed hot shower and rest as tomorrow was going to be a full day of outdoor shooting!

 Day 2 - October 28th

We woke up around 6.30am to a grey, misty cityscape: but the forecast was bright and sunny for the rest of the day so we did not worry about the gloomy view outside our window. Instead, we hurried getting dressed and made a bee line for the buffet breakfast! I must admit to having a craving for some more Sarawak Laksa: so I did. And as my stomach was still asking for more, I complimented my 'starter' dish with a full plate of rice and beef rendang, topped by a generous amount of gravy and a really strong coffee and a freshly squeezed orange juice to make it all healthy looking.

And we were off!

A short two hour drive across the laid back country side brought us to the Sarawak Cultural Village, where we would be be able to view and experience the many different tribal people and cultures, all in one place, and learn a bit more about the rich diversity of this place people and customs. Needless to say this was extremely colourful and interesting, as we would otherwise not have a chance to do some people photography, appreciate the various costumes and dances, rituals, as well as a full lights and sounds show depicting hunting scenes in the jungle. And was I glad not to have been picked up as a 'volunteer' to go on stage participate... As for me, one of the highlights was to get a shot, no pun intended, at the dark arrow sarbacane: bull's eye two out of three, not bad for a city slicker!

We were on a schedule, and after a short lunch/coffee break, in the minivan we climbed again, and sped to our next venue: cock fighting!

I must admit, not my cup of tea by any stretch, but this was part of the local culture. There were different specimen in this privately held compound, and over the course of the next hour, several short 'fights' would be demonstrated where cocks would go at each others in short burst of attacks. No blood here, no blades attached to the feet, thank god: although the illegal matches which we assumed still took place in secret would have... Blood sports. Not for me. It was not in my culture but respected other people'

The daylight was slowly fading away, as we reached town again. And after dropping our gear at the hotel, we quickly drove back to the river, where a taxi boat took us on the other side for our dinner. On the menu, a lot of local delicacies, soups, rice, seafood, all sorts of chicken: and quite a few stray cats coming in slowly, with big eyes, begging for a few scraps. It was hard to resist...

Back at the hotel, after a good shower and rest, it was time for a special packing, as tomorrow we would drive North to the coastline, and take a long boat ride around the tip of the shoreline to the Bako National park, so we had to pack a separate, smaller bag with all that was needed for a nights stay!

 Day 3 - October 29th 

The day started early with another breakfast feast, as the sky outside was turning a beautiful blue! We quickly checked out, keeping one bag for the short journey ahead, and in no time were out on the road. 

Thankfully, as we were all impatient to see what the forest had for us later today, the drive to the river boat was about an hour, and we did stop on the way to a street market: and I mean a wet market (with mostly seafood, but also some meat and fried delicacies) on the side of a buys intersection! Many different fish species, caught earlier during the night and brought from the nearby fishing port, were displayed on wooden tables, competing for space, and persistent flies which were constantly beaten away by the shopkeepers and any potential customers. This was the real stuff, no the supermarket air conditioned visit... I could see some rays, seals, shrimps, multitude of smaller white fish, crabs bundled together in easy to carry string etc... The meat section was as colourful and wet as the fish on the next table, and next to the fruits and fried food.

I was particularly interested to taste of the deep fried sweet potatoes and bought a pack of them, to go! Some of the group bought fruits, and deliciously smelling Otah Otah (fish paste mixture cooked barbecue like wrapped in leaves). The smells were overpowering!, and the photography opportunities all around us; although we had to be courteous as some people did not want their photos taken. And so we moved on.

Under a blue sky and white clouds patchwork, we arrived at the river village where we would take our long boat ride to Bako National Park. Everybody was excited, and since it was nearly lunchtime, we all took tables and ordered a quick, but generous lunch: for me some fried rice, vegetables and chicken with lots of spicy gravy! More opportunities for some fellow travellers close ups, as next table were a few captains sharing coffee and laughing their heads off. I hope they were not directing their laughter at us, but maybe recollecting some stories past, or just having a good time... Meanwhile, we sipped in our last coffee or cool drinks, enjoying the river view, before our captain motioned for us to follow him and get on board. This was it!

It seemed to the tide was getting low so we wasted no time as we quickly took our places, put on the life jackets, and soon had the fresh air of the river passing by in our face! On each side, the river shore was a mix of swampy waters, thick mangrove forests and stretches of muddy sands. Further down, as the river depth forced the boat to slow down, we encountered fishermen trying their luck from high above some wooden stilts panning across most of the river! And as we turned a bend at the Northernmost point of the bay our boat had finally sailed into, the vast expanse of the beach appears, bordering the park main entrance.

As we took some quick shots of the dramatic coastline, we were told to pack our gear and be ready to quickly jump out of the boat and onto the wet sand!

I did not remember this being said in the brochure, but it sounded like fun! The captain reiterated his order, as the tide was rushing out and he did not want his boat stranded on the mudflats: I grabbed my bag-backpack, strapped it on my back and carefully calculated my jump. Glad to have landed on both seat, on a surprisingly pleasant wet sandy/muddy beach, I joined the rest of the group and started the long walk to the foyer, where we had a first look at the cabins and surroundings: to say it was rustic was not an understatement, but if you loved the look and feel and decaying jungle villas and rough terrain, this was for you.

As always we quickly dumped our gear in our very basic, somehow leaky and humid cabins, and headed back out to start exploring the compound and surrounding forests.

At first, walking back to the foyer, being careful to not step into ankle deep muddy holes littering the ground, we came across some families of Sarawak bearded wild pig: impressive and menacing looking, especially with their young, but walked and dug around very peacefully without much attention to us. Quite cute and funny looking actually. And with that behind us, we took a few landscapes shots of the beach, before going back into the forest. Thankfully, it was not so long we encountered one of the highlights of our trip: the famed Proboscis monkey, recognisable by his unique, long nose! We strained our necks up, pointing our lenses high in the forest canopy to catch a glimpse of those amazing, and very endangered primates (with a significant decreasing population trend recorded).

The few individuals we were tracking, moving slowly on the boardwalk as they were jumping and navigating from tree to tree, were actually quite slow, and stopped now and then to leat some leaves and rare fruits still on the branches. They would sit, hands resting on their knees, in a very human and nonchalant manner, resting, taking the view too I guess, and maybe even thinking about where to go next. But moving they did, and soon headed back towards the edge of the forest and the beginning of the towering cliffs, where they melted away and soon disappeared from view.

We headed back to the shore, where more bearded pigs greeted us, disturbing the wet sand, foraging for anything to eat, mostly ignoring us, which was great as we could get some descent close ups. But as the night crept in inexorably on us, we had to hurry back to the main beach, and try get some landscape shots of the famous sunset at Eagle's Head: a famed rocky outcrop at the edge of the shore where the sun is setting, in the form of an eagle head. Some, actually, refer to it as the Turtle Head. We managed to catch a few good shots, by which time we were all hungry. Again.

The main foyer was an open place under one roof, with the kitchen tucked away at the back, from where dishes miraculously were delivered once in a while: there was no rush at all here to do anything! Food was basic but plentiful and I helped my self to a large plate of thick spicy noodles with friend chicken to play it safe, with some cool drinks on the side. As we ate, just outside the foyer, more Bearded pigs were roaming the edges, glancing with hope and maybe mischief in our direction. The food smelt so good we were surprised they did not try to get up the short stairs and come nudge us for some handovers!
The night was far from over though, as we had some night macro photography to attend to, right behind our cabins, at the edge of the forest. The night was infested by all sorts of flies and creepy-crawlies as we went deeper on the boardwalk. Illuminated by our torchlights, we started capturing the night's insects. Under large leafs, plentitude of Predatory Phisidine Kathydes, various sorts of Pill bugs, and minor spiders and other small bugs. On top a leaf, a single, large Stick insect with splines on its back suddenly turned to look at me, its wet body glistening under the lights. Only then when I approached and took photo, did I realise there was another one right below!

On the tree trunks, more spiders, including a very large Lichen Huntsman, so well camouflaged, until it moved to a lighter patch of bark: gave me the shivers to be honest... On almost all green shoots, Kathy's, and cricket like other insects. Finally on another tree, one of the insect I was really looking to, a beautiful blue, green and orange Fulgorid planthopper! Turning a bend on the boardwalk, brushing elbows to the creeping vegetation, a Praying mantis suddenly jumped on somebody's camera, and refused to move away until it was gently shaken down the lens onto a leaf. It did not look happy for some reason, maybe our light disturbed its hunting? 

In the same area we came across another long and a bit revulsive Long-legged Centipede, which I believe is kind of venomous, so we kept our distance... only to almost point my lens directly in to a recently hatched spider's nest, crawling with like a hundred or so baby spiders, white and all legs and crawling everywhere! We moved on quickly, and soon found more camera friendly subjects, like toads, gecko and finally, before it was time to head back, a beautiful Green-Crested lizard.

We went back to our cabin, sprayed the heck of human tolerance to insecticide to be sure all matters of flies, spiders and god knows what else was lurking in the corners were dead or had fled. The humidity and heat of the day soon was replaced by the humidity and dampness of their aircon, which apparently only had two settings: off and on full power. Needless to say, it was a slightly uncomfortable night, disturbed even more by the sounds of the jungle in our backyards, but this was an adventure, and I intended to enjoy every single minute of it!

Day 4 - October 30th

We would only spend one night at the park, and in the morning after a full, local breakfast and coffee with sugar and lots of milk, we discussed the logistics of getting back on the beach and the boats. Again we would have to time it with the tide and be sure to jump into the boat quickly. And as we were about to pay and leave, a very cheeky Long-tailed macaque, which had been observing us with intensity from the rooftop, decided to make a move and jumped on another guest table, hissing, and stealing two toasted bread! Lightening fast, it went back up, found a safe spot and ate the nice bread, while keeping an eye on us. One even stole a small plate of ketchup and seemed to enjoy the sweet and cool condiment tremendously!

We still had a bit of time before packing up so we grabbed our gear and headed back to the forest, and were lucky again to encounter the Proboscis monkeys, loitering near a decrepit, abandoned I guessed, barracks. A young one, a bit far from its family, ventured lower down the tree and I managed to get a few shots before it quickly rejoined its parents and they all went back into the dense canopy, towards the cliffs: and that was the last of them we would see...

On our way back to the cabins, eagles were circling above us, maybe some juvenile White-bellied sea eagles but he look of it, we greeted and said farewell to a few Bearded Pigs, and a large troop of quarrelling macaques fighting over recently dropped fruits from the compound's trees. And since there was still plenty of food going around, a dominant male also took advantage of its stature and gave some of a nearby female: in exchange for some personal favours. It was time to leave that wild place ;-)

Bags on our back, camera at hands, we walked back onto the wet, sandy beach towards our boats, and in notice, with the motors purring at the back, we were sailing up river, taking our last shots of the shorelines. Without incident, we arrived at the same little fishermen village from the day before, and waited for our van to arrive, as a large group of Silver Leaf Langur monkeys moved from tree to tree next to the restaurant.

Our van eventually arrived and we all gladly climbed onboard to enjoy the aircon, and the short ride back to town. On the menu, more street photography, some local cuisine, and back to our original hotel! But for now, after drawing straws with my roommate, I rushed to the bathroom and enjoyed a really good, hot steaming shower for as long as I could, washing away all the sweat and grime of the jungle excursion (the shower not working in our cabin, we had to resort to using mineral water bottles for a quick, but refreshing, wash down!)

Later in the afternoon, rested and feeling so clean, the sun was starting to dip over the horizon, and dinner time was upon us! Tonight would be a special treat, at a famous local seafood venue. Up on a roof, noisy, loud, smelling all sorts of delicious food, we knew we would have to take one more shower before gong to bed. Crabs were on the menu, as well as many other dishes, and there was shying away from using our hands! Everything was good, and we did not leave much in our plates. It was hot, humid but there was plenty of nice, cool beer to go around and help us wash down that feast.

This would be our last night in Kuching, Sarawak, and I slept like a baby in no time, looking forward our busy morning program, before flying back to Singapore in the afternoon.

Day 5 - October 31st

We were all up and ready early, after having raided the delicious, generous buffet, when our van drove to the lobby. We had already packed up all our bags as it was time to check out and catch the plane back to Singapore in the afternoon. 

But for now we had one more adventure to go to, and it would be slightly more than an hour for us to reach the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, and hope to see the shy and highly anticipated orangutan. While this was a sanctuary where they were free to come and go, sightings were almost certain, but not 100% guaranteed. After making our way to the visitor centres e boarded the little electric carts, which would bring us deeper inside the jungle, for our turn to wait for the gentle giants.

Our first stop was a roofed platform of sorts, with multiple rows of benches, where we would sit and wait for them to come, and hopefully climb on the feeding platforms. Long vine-like ropes from the nearby trees would hopefully entice the Oran gutting to use them and balance their way down to the platform. Thankfully, we did not have long to wait, and sure enough the first individual slowly emerged from high up in the trees, and looked down first to assess the situation: there was some fresh fruits, and a few tourists too. The food looked good, so it started to make its way down, reaching the platform before slowly, almost carefully, picking up and eating the juiciest picks.

There was quite a crowd seated on the platform benches, overlooking the scene, and good thing it was quiet, as I assumed the orangutan would not be so keen to come out to a loud and rude group of visitors. And as we shifted slightly on our benches to get better angles, that one suddenly decided it had enough of the fruits, and slowly, carefully, left the platform using the surrounding topes. It then reached a wooden handrail leaving to the path we had come to sit, following at a distance one of the centre’s staff. It stopped when running out of handrail, then extended its long legs to get on the forest path, and started walking away, while keeping an eye on the small group following him.

For the next few minutes, it stopped, turned back to check on us, then continued its slow wandering. At one stop, it picked up a stick and poked the wet ground, maybe looking for termites or other source of proteins hidden in the soil… but it did not seem this was a lucky search and soon resumed its walk, eventually reaching the end of the path near the carpark. At this stage it looked up, as if assessing the quality of some trees, and effortlessly climbed the top branches with its strong, long arms. It was not high up, and soon became apparent what it was after, when it started folding the large top leaves, and quickly made a small platform. Finally, after one final look at us, it let its body gently slump on the fresh bed and, I guess, decided it was time to rest. That was our cue to go back t the parking and wait for our bus.

But the orangutang were not entirely done with us, as another individual soon emerged from the forest, and came close to us, at the visitor’s bus stop, and sat on the bench next to me. Maybe he knew the staff would have some handovers, as it kept looking expectantly: and indeed be rewarded with a few fresh fruits given by the staff member, which it peeled and ate with the utmost care.

And just like that, the end of our journey in the jungle was coming to an end, as we boarded the minivan back to the centre’s entrance, and climbed into our van… it was past noon when we reached back Kuching for one last town lunch: some delicious beef reading and fried rice with vegetables for me: the food was just, and had been, really affordable and good everywhere we stopped!

We were full and satisfied, and still had time for a little bit more street photography and last minute shopping, before we headed back to our van and finally drove to the airport. And although the busy, chaotic crowd at the checking counters was at first overwhelming, we did eventually, by the numbers and with all our gear, managed to get registered and being handed over our boarding pass.

In a few hours, we would be back home, with some good memories and photographs to remember this short, unique and rich in experience trip for years to come :-)

THE END

Reference Notes

If you are interested in such a trip, please email me at contact@lanceflare.com and I will help you with your inquiry.

If you are interested in some of the photographs presented in this documents, or wished to see more snapshots related to a particular subject, just for viewing or for print, email me as well contact@lanceflare.com 

At this point in time I did not insert all the snapshots descriptions, especially for wildlife naming. I may do so in an updated version.

Acknowledgements

Thanks again Julian for offering us the opportunity of a unique trip, on the slower side of nature and the old Kampong village life ;-)

Big thanks to Bruce Teo for the night photography! Amazing knowledge and patience helping us photograph all those wonderful frogs and spiders :-)

Gear

SONY a1 (version 1)

SONY a7RIII

SONY FE 24-240mm f/3.5-6.3

FE 600mm f/4

FE 90mm f/2.8

Monopod

2TB SSD backup storage