Kuching - Borneo

Tydzień temu wylądowaliśmy na Borneo. Jest to olbrzymia wyspa podzielona między Malezję i Indonezję. My jesteśmy w części malezyjskiej, w Kuching, stolicy prowincji Sarawak. Miasto położone jest nad brzegiem rzeki Sarawak, ok. 30 km od wybrzeża. Są tu urocze wąskie uliczki w starym centrum, bardzo ładna promenada nad rzeką, sporo zieleni i przede wszystkim bardzo życzliwi mieszkańcy. Przez dwa dni szwendaliśmy się po mieście – taka sentymentalna podróż mojego męża, jednego dnia wybraliśmy się do pobliskiego skansenu, mocno reklamowanego, gdzie znajdują się repliki domów w jakich mieszkają poszczególne plemiona. Dosyć ciekawe miejsce, ale trochę nas rozczarowało, może mieliśmy zbyt wybujałe oczekiwania? Kolejnego dnia wybraliśmy się nad morze do zwyczajnej wioski rybackiej a dziś rano do rezerwatu, w którym mieszkają orangutany. I ta ostatnia nasza wycieczka zostanie nam na długo w pamięci! Trochę obawiałam się rozczarowania, że będzie to bardziej przypominało zoo, a okazało się że miejsce jest fantastyczne! Przszliśmy półtora kilometra w głąb dżungli by nagle wysoko w koronie drzew zobaczyć nagle orangutany! Zaprowadzono nas następnie na specjalnie przygotowaną platformę w gęstwinie by stamtąd móc obserwować orangutany, które jeśli mają ochotę to pojawiają się po smakołyki w formie owoców. Widzieliśmy aż trzy orangutany, które przechodząc po gałęziach wysoko nad naszymi głowami, powoli udały się na specjalnie przygotowane stanowisko, gdzie czekały na nie banany i inne owoce. Naprawdę było to niesamowite wrażenie! Do tego to cudne otoczenie lasu z bardzo wysokimi drzewami, lianami i gęstym poszyciem. Ogromnie gorąco i duszno, jak przystało na tropikalny las. Staliśmy tak wpatrzeni w orangutany przez ponad pół godziny i pot lał się z nas strugami po plecach, ramionach i nogach. Mieliśmy szczęście bo bywa, że żaden się nie pojawi, jeśli nie są akurat głodne lub nie mają nastroju.

Szkoda, że nie możemy zostać tu jeszcze parę tygodni, żeby zobaczyć inne części wyspy. Jutro znowu ruszamy w drogę. Lecimy po południu do Kuala Lumpur, gdzie zatrzymamy się na jedną noc, by w środę rano pojechać dalej na południe do Melaki.

Więcej zdjęć z Kuching pojawi się na moim foto-blogu już niedługo.

A week ago we landed in Borneo. It is a huge island divided between Malaysia and Indonesia. We are in the Malaysian part, in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak Province. The town is situated on the southern bank of the Sarawak river, around 30 kms from the South China Sea coast. There are lovely narrow streets in the old center, a beautiful promenade along the river, a lot of green areas and most importantly – very friendly people. We spent two days wandering around town – a sentimental journey for my husband. One day we went to the nearby cultural village that is heavily advertised, with replicas of houses used by the local tribes. Maybe we had too high expectations because we were a bit disappointed. Another day we went to the seaside fishing village of Santabong and this morning we went to the nature reserve where the orangutangs live. This trip will stay for a long time in our memory. I was a bit worried that it might be more of a zoo experience but it was nothing of the sort. When we arrived at the gate of the Reserve we had to walk for a mile into the forest. Then above our heads we saw the first orangutangs high in the trees! We then had to walk a few hundred meters more into the joungle where on a viewing platform we waited surrounded by thick bushes and high trees. The orangutangs came slowly to the nearby feeding place for their favourite treats which were bananas and other fruit. It was an incredible experience! We stood there watching them for over half an hour, sweat dripping from us becuse of the extremely high humidity. We were very lucky to see them because if they are not hungry or not in the right mood it happens that they fail to show up.

It is a pity we cannot stay here a couple more weeks to visit other parts of the island. Tomorrow we are flying back to Kuala Lumpur for one night only then on Wednesday morning we will be going to Melaka.

More photos from Kuching will soon be on my foto-blog.

Addendum by Pete:

I was really looking forward to revisiting Kuching after a gap of 45 years. I was here during the Confrontation with Indonesia – September 1965 to September 1966. On arriving in Kuchning I was amazed at the changes, some good and some in my opinion bad. In '65 Kuchning was a sleepy riverside town on the bank of the Sungai Sarawak. Today I could hardly recognize it. The waterfront has been redeveloped into beautiful gardens and walkways. The river is no longer tidal as a tide barrier has been built about half an hour downstream. The Main Baazar street is still much as it was in '65 with shophouses and eating places all along the front. I could still recognise the open air (now covered) market where I used to have late a night meal after a few beers in the Rose Night Club or the NAAFI upstairs above Ting & Ting supermarket. Ting & Ting is still a thriving supermarket which incidentally was the first of its kind to open in Kuching. Across the river the only things to be seen then were the Astana and Fort Margerita, both built by Raja Brook I, and a few kampongs, the rest was jungle. Today it is a large comunity with modern goverment buildings, eating malls and shops. My old camp at Tanah Puteh has long disappeared within a large industrial complex and a new port. I did manage to find the old rugby ground at Song Kheng Hai where we used to play. Rugby is still played there most Saturdays and the Kuching Rugby Club is still going strong. In my days the only way to get to Santabong and the small Malay village, where the Sunghai Sarawak enters into the South China Sea, was by boat along the river. Now you can get there by public transport on an excellent road within 45 minutes. I even managed to find the old Government Resthouse that used to stand on a small knoll near the village close to Waylers Point. Unfortunatly it is now quite derilict and the small bungalows that were there have gone. The beautifully manicured gardens have been reclaimed by the jungle but a local told me that there are plans to clear it and renovate the building some time in the future. Kuching and the surrounding areas have grown enormously as has the traffic. There are lots of dual carridgeways leading to all parts of Sarawak. Downtown Kuching has a number of top class high-rise hotels and shopping malls which to my mind spoil the ambience of old Kuching but that's progress I guess. One thing is certain the people are as friendly as they ever were and I really enjoyed my stay here even though I was sorry to see some of the old places which I knew quite well no longer exist.

Poniżej lokalna specjalność - Sarawak Laksa
Below local speciality - Sarawak Laksa