Sarawak-Day 3-"Discovering Bako"

Tuesday, 1 August 2006:

Woke got up early to pack our bag for 3 days (2 days in Bako, 1 day in Santubong). The rest of the stuffs will be left behind at the hostel. We told the caretaker that the bags would be collected on Friday, before we leave to Miri. They were nice and agreed to look after it with no charges.

It was too early for breakfast, so we ended up taking a walk around Kuching town visiting Roman Catholic Church, museums and etc. After walking for two hours, we settle down for Indian breakfast at Bollywood café in Jalan Carpenter, just behind our hostel. It was a little cosy shop owned by a Punjabi lady, which later on I found to be my friend’s colleague’s in-law. She was such a nice lady. We told her that we were vegetarians and upon hearing that she quickly offered us aloo prata (bread potato) that she was preparing for the temple. A simple roti with simple dhal and homemade pickles was the most delicious breakfast I ate in Sarawak. Feeling so stuffed and happy, we walked to the main bus stop to find Petra Jaya bus no 6 that will take us to Kampung Bako. It took about 45 minutes to reach the village. Upon arriving at the jetty, we charted a boat for about RM20 each and continued another 30-minute boat ride to the Park.

Walking around Sarawak town : (1) Akka coming out from secret dungeon at the Sarawak garden, (2) Old piramid look a like Roman Catholic Church (3) Old building used as Sarawak Craft

The boat stopped at the mangrove in Teluk Assam. From there, a wooden plank guided us straight to the headquarters. The guide was amazingly friendly. He informed us that the check in/ check out time was only at 11.00 o’clock. Since we were there early, he handed us the Bako trail map and advised us to go for a walk. Hence, we quickly unpacked our little bag with muslis, water and towel and headed to the nearest trail.

ME and Akka on a boat ride to Bako

Bako has about 16 well marked jungle trail that goes about 30 km into different part of the forest from the mangrove to hill top, beach, water fall and so on. Among them are the Lintang, Tanjung Sapi, Ulu Assam, Tanjung Rhu, Paku, Delima, Serait, Tajor, Bukit Gondol, Limau, Keruing, Jelutong, Sibur, Serait, Pandan Besar, Pandan Kechil, and others. Some takes about 30 to 45 minutes walk/climb, others takes up to 8-9 hours walk/climb and would require a boat to return. The nearest to Teluk Assam was the Paku trail which was suppose to be the best place to spot the proboscis money (tangerine coloured monkey with huge horn shaped nose). Though the trail was only about 45 minutes, it was a torturous climbs up wards the hill but ends at a beautiful white sandy beach. Unfortunately, we didn’t bring our swimming gear, so we returned to the headquarters to check in into our hostel.

Paku Trail: Stairs, Jungle Trek and Hills

The park provides various type of hostel depending on the price. Ours was very simple wooden house with 3 rooms, each furnished with 4 beds, fan, common bathroom and a kitchen with fridge and electric kettle. For RM18, a night, that was indeed luxury. We share the room with two other people, Stephanie and her friend. Not wanting to sleep, we headed to the beach to enjoy the scenic view of Teluk Assam. We bought junk food from the cafeteria and rested at the nearest hut. After one packet of peanuts, long hours of looking at the squirrel and beach, we decided to go for walk, trekking a smaller trail before sunset. See beyond the limit in short period of time, was our motto!

Thus, we quickly headed back to our hostel, changed, packed our little bag and headed to the left part of the Lintang trail to Tanjung Sapi. It was a short but very steep climb. Similar to Paku trail, we climbed up and up and up to hilltop for about 45 minutes to get the amazing sight of Telok Assam, the South China Sea and Santubong beach. Unfortunately, it was getting late and we need to get down before sunset. Moreover, I wanted to swim. So we quickly walked down….more like run down as we reached the beach in no time. Too early for sunset, we ended up walking along the beach. I headed to the water to swim, but the water was dirty and my body was really itchy, so I ended up sleeping on the huge rock till Akka woke me up to go for dinner.

Our Hostel

Camouflages: Spot the monitor lizard, green lizard or squirrel?










Tanjung Sapi and Teluk Assam

(2)Akka at Tajung Sapi hill top , (3)ME hangging on to a big stone at the Teluk Assam beach..this is where i did my sun bathing (1)Sunset at Teluk Assam beach

We didn’t want to waste money on food so decided to eat Maggie, but somehow changed our mind to eat at the cafeteria. Besides, the food there is really cheap. So we settled for a simple meal of fried rice/mee and a good cup of coffee/tea. The tea was presented so beautifully, everyone who got the glimpse of the cup, wanted to taste it. We headed back to our hostel early to pack for tomorrow’s long hike.