Sarawak: Malaysia at its wildest

Rivers, rivers and more rivers. Rivers everywhere. That was the first thing I noticed as soon as we reached Borneo's West coast by airplane. Rivers flowing serenely down from the highlands, everything else completely covered with dense, exuberant rainforest. Some dark clouds looming behind, promising some big time rain.

Rivers, the only feature of this wonderful island that isn't concealed from our eyes by the jungle. 

Water, Life : these two words always follow each other.

'Life' is the first word I would use to describe this lost place.

                                                                

Here are some interesting facts you may not know about Borneo :
- Borneo is very, very big island: the 3rd biggest in the world.
- Borneo is larger than France. 

- This island is divided among 3 countries: Indonesia (who possesses most of it's territory), Malaysia (with it's Sarawak and Sabah districts in here) and the tiny, tiny State of Brunei.
- This island is home to the headhunting tribes (still practiced not-that-many years ago).

Crossed by the equator, this island is covered by very old rain forests home to enormous trees and an unimaginable amount of biodiversity (as many as 1000 species have been found in just ONE tree), including many endemic species, like the mythic orangutans, rhinos, leopards, elephants. 

In the jungle, everything is alive, breathing, moving, growing, and two times bigger than the 'normal' size (read: colorful reptiles you thought you could only see in the pet shop and giant insects everywhere).

You can soak up (quite literally) in all this nature by visiting the many national parks the malayan government created in this island. All of them have different things to offer; if you're a wildlife lover, this places will drive you crazy.

One of the first things you notice when you get off the plane in Kuching's international airport (if you fly in from another place than Kuala Lumpur), is the fact that many local women use the veil over their heads. A reminder that you are in a country where Islam is the religion of the majority. Several mosques punctuate the city's landscape. Try to avoid coming during Ramadan (my case), for several restaurants and shops may be closed in the city.

Kuching, a very cosmopolitan city, is far more developed than someone coming to Borneo, jungle paradise, for the first time might expect (specially after coming from other neighboring places in South-East Asia like Cambodia or Thailand). 

This city contrasts greatly with what you would usually imagine when coming to one of the last truly wild places left on Earth: modern buildings, almost non-existent traffic jams, clean streets, respectful drivers, a good road network, a beautiful corniche with the curious and iconic Sarawak Legislative Assembly Building's golden roof glistening at the other side of the huge river that crosses the city.

There are heaps of cool places to go out for dinner or get a drink in the city, as well as a wide range of hotels for all budgets near the center.

Some nice things to do in Kuching:

The surprising thing is that roughly less than one hour drive from Kuching, you can be entirely  surrounded by complete virgin and exotic jungle. Some of the island's best places to see nature at it's greatest, such as Semenggoh or the Bako National Park, lie really close to this city, which is the perfect base to explore the malayan district of Sarawak.

Here are some of the national parks you can find in Sarawak:
- Bako National Park: a short drive from Kuching and you'll find yourself in Borneo's best place to see wildlife.
- Kubah National Park
- Gunung Mulu National Park
- Gau Caves.
- Tanjung Datu National Park

I'll keep posting things about the places there's to see in this island and in other places of the world as well.

Welcome to the jungle!