Feeding wild boars at Bako

A paradise called Bako

Near Kuching, about 30 minutes drive with a minivan & 20 minutes boat ride is Bako national park. It's so near the town that it's a popular day visit destination also for locals, which in a normal case would mean it's overcrowded and dirty, basically ruined. But no, it's absolutely an amazing, serene nature heaven with colorful rock formations, mangrove forests, isolated beaches and jungle of course!

Sure, there are some people during the day but not too many. F.ex. we had the Pandan Kecil beach alone for us (us=our international travel group since Mulu: Cecilia from Australia, Sudda from Sri Lanka, Roberto from Italy and I). Dipping into the sea after a few hours trekking sounded like THE IDEA, but it was not really refreshing as the water was warmer than the air. Nice nevertheless.

There's lots of treks around the park, we did a few of them, enjoyed watching proboscis monkeys both near a beach as well as on the highland during a trek. We also made some close contacts with macaques, who raided our kitchen and ate all the food. They actually opened the kitchen door, emptied the fridge and left all the rubbish in front of our lodge. And that's where the wild boars were having a fiesta. Cecilia and Sudda weren't too happy to be out of chocolate but at least we had a good laugh.

Sudda vs. baby wild boar. Sudda won.

We stayed in the park for one night. I also tried to play an asian board game called Carrom. I might have to practice some more...

Yesterday we came back to Kuching and I changed to the Threehouse hostel where the rest of the group was also staying. I might go back to Bako next week or to some other national park near Kuching. Or to Kalimantan. Or to Java. No idea! And I like it that way!

Today I have a tattoo appointment with Ernesto (www.borneoheadhunter.com), I'm getting a silhouette pic of Bermuda the Sun Bear behind my right leg and a traditional iban tribal around the leg. Made traditional technique. Ouch. More about that later...