9 Days in Sarawak
This is just a quick update from an Internet cafe in Kuching.
Before I started this trip, I had never hiked 8 km (5 miles) through the jungle in the rain with a full 25-liter pack on my back. I had never encountered leeches. I had never bathed in a river while wearing a sarong. I had never traveled by longboat up a river. And now I have.
This has been a wonderful experience so far, although it has not been easy. The jungle is beautiful, filled with butterflies and gigantic clumps of incredibly tall bamboo. The heat and humidity are unbelievable. The view of Sarawak from the plane as we flew from Mulu to Kuching was all trees. I have read that the Malaysian government is turning a blind eye to clear-cutting on a massive scale, but from the air that was not apparent. I kept thinking about the completeness of the tree cover while the Iban took us upriver in the longboat, with all of us hopping out to push every now and again -- the rivers are the only roads here.
Tomorrow afternoon I'll fly north to Kota Kinabalu to begin the Sabah half of this trip.
1 comment:
What else can I say but its a sheer pity that I cant visit the place even after reading such a fascinating description which I could have witnessed once there. Being engaged in a job that hardly allows me leave makes me feel low at times. But then I always believe in a better tomorrow, so who knows one fine morning the doors might open for me to pack my bags.
Holiday home
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