Kuching, the City of Orangutans and Monkeys

Busy is an understatement for the last few days that we have had. After leaving Kapit (and seeing an authentic longhouse), we decided it was time to head to Kuching and see some animals! We booked a last minute flight while on the flying coffin to Sibu and then headed straight the airport to fly to Kuching. Right away I loved Kuching. I mean, Kuching means “cat” in Malay. And I happen to love cats!

We arrived on Sunday and left to fly to Singapore today.

• Bako National Park
• Semenggoh Nature Reserve
• What Else to do in Kuching City
• Best Restaurants in Kuching
• Where to Stay in Kuching

Bako National Park

After being deprived of seeing animals for so long, Bako National Park was a warm welcome. Bako National Park is located about 40 minutes away from Kuching and is easily reachable via public buses. It is a paradise for viewing animals and trekking. It is a must that you stay overnight. They have a range of accommodation, but being backpackers, we opted for the cheapest option—40 MYR (12.5 CAD/86 SEK) per night for an entire dorm room, which had 4 beds. The accommodation here is very basic. I mean, we did not even get bedsheets, so that made for quite an uncomfortable sleep. However, for 40 MYR for the both of us, it is kind of hard to complain. We arrived on Tuesday and left Wednesday.

Typical tourist pictures with the sings at Bako National Park

How to Get to Bako National Park

Getting there is easy peasy! You take Bus 1 which we took right beside the Chinese Museum since we were staying close by. The bus costs 3.5 MYR (1 CAD/7.5 SEK) per person. Buses run every hour on the hour from 7 am to 5 pm. However, our bus came about 6 minutes early, so be there early! This bus takes you all the way to Bako, a small little fishing village. Then you enter the building and you buy a ticket for the water taxi to and from Bako National Park. The ticket costs 40 MYR (12.5 CAD/86 SEK) return per person. You also have to pay 20 MYR (6.3 CAD/43 SEK) per person to enter the national park.

Arrival to Bako National Park

The boat does not drop you off at the jetty area, but instead right on the beach. We had to take off our shoes and jump into the warm waters of the South China Sea. Knowing that there are salt crocodiles (and they are really big!), I was a bit nervous to jump into the water. However, I will do pretty much anything for a good photo!

Mandatory selfie in the speedboat over to Bako National Park and jumping into the sea once we arrived

Once we walked across the beach, we arrived at the Bako National Park Headquarters. Right away, we saw macaques, which are pretty much the rats of South East Asia. Although, I actually enjoy seeing macaques since I love all monkeys! We were met with signs warning tourists the macaques are sneaky. They will try to steal your bags or food. Daniel and I decided to have lunch before hiking, and right away we saw a Bornean Bearded Pig. This pig looks like something that should have lived like 10 000 years ago. It is just so weird looking!

A macaque relaxes on the beach while a bearded pig grazes for food

Best Hikes in Bako National Park

Danne and I did as many hikes as we could in our 2 days/1 night trip. On Tuesday, we hiked Telok Delima and Telok Paku. On Wednesday, we hiked Telok Pandan Kecil and Telok Pandan Besar.

Telok Delima

We started with this trek since it has a high chance of seeing a Proboscis Monkey, the main reason we went to Bako! It was a really pretty walk and we are pretty sure that we heard some in the trees. However, there was no sighting for us on this walk. I do think that we were there at the wrong time since they are usually more active in the morning and evening.

A viper snake, Daniel with a big tree, Daniel being super brave and holding up a huge boulder, and finally, a bird pooped on Danne (not the first time!) so it was clean-up time

Telok Paku

We did this trail since it also has a high chance of seeing a Proboscis. We did see them on this trail. However, they were so far away. I mean we watched them for probably 20 minutes and we did see them but it definitely wasn’t majestic since they were the size of ants due to how high and far away they were. I liked this walk a lot. The trails are quite maintained but also very wild. The trail ends at a beach which was very pretty and gave us a chance to fly the drone.

A side note: Drones are allowed in Bako National Park, and you use them at your own risk since the connection may not be good. We had no problems using our drone. We did run into a very curious (and possibly menacing) macaque. He got a little too close for my liking. We enjoyed this trail a lot and even saw a huge hermit crab. I am not sure how it got so far away from the beach.

Some macaques that are obviously wanting to wreak havoc, a hermit crab, and a token selfie

Telok Pandan Kecil and Telok Pandan Besar

These trails are almost interconnected. We took a quick detour to see the viewpoint at Telok Pandan Besar first. After that, we backtracked and then followed the Telok Pandan Kecil Trail.

The trails were quite intense and we definitely sweat our asses off—there was a reason why I brought a small sweat towel with me

This trail ends up at a very secluded beach where we saw the famous sea stack.

Some images we took with the drone. You can really see the jungle that surrounds the entire island. You can also see the famous sea stack, which is a well-known landmark in Bako and was created due to the erosion of sandstone.

This hike was much harder than the other 2 we did. I mean, it was a proper hike. It was hot and humid and I needed some breaks on the way back due to eating too little before we ventured out. The entire journey took 4 hours, but that included bumming around on the beach and getting some great shots!

So, Where the Heck are Those Damn Proboscis Monkeys?

I have to admit. On Tuesday, I was a bit disappointed after walking the two most famous trails to see Proboscis Monkeys and ending up unlucky. So, what do I do when I am disappointed while travelling? I research online and look at the blogs. I mean blogs are seriously the best. They give you updated advice and are easy to find! The first blog I read mentioned that Proboscis Monkeys often hang out near the Education Centre, which is a 2-minute walk from Headquarters. It was just before 4 pm, and we decided to have a look.

Walking on the beach after our hikes

Thankfully, we got lucky! We saw a group of 5-10 of them hanging out right near the Education Centre. We ventured inside and ended up spotting a male very close. The males have the funny noses and are definitely worth seeing. I have never seen anything like them! We were so glad that we got to see the Proboscis Monkeys up close. Many people do not see them at all or just from afar like we first did. It is really worth it to stay overnight just so you get the chance to see them up close. They truly are fascinating.

I stalked the male proboscis for a long time to get these close-range pictures

 

Semenggoh Nature Reserve

On Thursday, we woke up extremely early to go see orangutans at Semenggoh Nature Reserve.

How to Get to Semenggoh Nature Reserve

We wanted to save some cash so we took the city bus out to Semenggoh. This was not very easy since there were basically no signs. You can see below where we caught the bus. Take bus number 6 that costs 4 MYR (1.25 CAD/8.6 SEK) per person.

This is a map where we caught the bus. It was near Chin Lian Long Bus Station, but just on a random street outside. We just happened to see bus 6 with a sign that read Semenggoh!

The journey takes about 45 minutes. Once we arrived, we had to walk about 15 minutes to the actual feeding platform. Thus, it is suggested that you take the bus at 7:30 am so you have enough time to walk there and make it for the 9 am feeding.

Seeing the Orangutans

This was a highlight for us while during our travels in Kuching. The orangutans are semi-wild and the purpose is to rehabilitate them so they can live in the wild. It is not a zoo, which means that there is no guarantee that the orangutans will even show up for the feeding times (which are 8-9 am and 3-4 pm). Lucky for us, it was not fruiting season, so we got to see the famous orangutans. After walking uphill for 15 minutes from the bus stop to the feeding platform, we were a little tired since we didn’t manage to get breakfast yet. It was well worth it though!

One of the guides in Semenggoh discussed the work that they do there and led us to the first feeding platform. There we saw mother Analisa and her baby Mas.  It was so cool and Analisa opened a coconut by slamming it against a very unstable tree.

Mom Analisa and Baby Mas

Then the guide said that we could go out the original waiting area. We walked back and saw mother Minah and her baby Jubli. We also had the chance to see the king orangutan, Ritchie. There are two other adult males (20+ years); however, Ritchie is the big boss. All males that are older than 20 have the big puffed cheeks to show how dominant they are.

Mom Minah and Baby Jubli

We chatted to another guide and mentioned that Ritchie is a sneaky king and avoids the other 2 adult males since he likes being the king and is afraid to fight them and lose. I think he sounds pretty smart! The feeding was over at 10 am and we ended up taking a van back since we really needed to eat. The hanger was starting for both of us. Overall, we loved Semenggoh Nature Reserve. Seeing semi-wild orangutans was unbelievable!

Meet Ritchie, the King of all orangutans at Semenggoh

 

 

What Else to do in Kuching City

Kuching is a really cozy city. It is easy to walk around and pop into a bunch of different restaurants. There is a pretty bridge connecting the north and south parts of Kuching.

Our hostel has bikes that we could use for free. We borrowed them for a couple hours and had a terrifying bike ride around the city. I do love to bike around in different cities, though.

Cycling around the city was really cool, but possibly life-threatening due to the fact that bike lanes don’t exist and the only bikes that exist are motorized…

We were here during the What About Kuching Festival which takes place during October every year. There are many exhibitions, talks, and cultural activities that are taking place within the city.

We also ended up getting 2 massages at Regent Reflexology. It cost 40 MYR (12.5 CAD/86 SEK) per person for a 1-hour massage. What a steal! The massages were amazing and we even got to be in the same room.

We had amazing coffee at Black Bean Coffee. It was really cute inside and they had all of the fancy machines that we are used to at home.

In this heat, I preferred getting iced lattes

 

Best Restaurants in Kuching

My favourite topic: food. Kuching is a huge array of different cuisines. The food here is good and able to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. Here are my top 5 favourite restaurants in Kuching.

1. Topspot Food Court

The food here was superb. Imagine a food court with lots of flashy lights and fresh seafood. You pick what you want to eat from the seafood sections, they weigh it, and then they cook it up for you. The jumbo prawns were amazing. We also picked out a bunch of fresh vegetables which they fried for us in oyster sauce. I am always craving vegetables while I am travelling.

Price: 75 MYR (23.50/161.4 SEk) for seafood, vegetables, rice, and water

2. Wrong Place

Quite reasonably priced Asian fusion. I ordered a butter chicken thinking it would be Indian style. I was wrong but it was really tasty. Almost everything on the menu has a fried egg and they do vegetarian options.

Price: 18 MYR (5.6 CAD/38.7 SEK) for 2 dishes and water

3. Indah Cafe

A hip restaurant with modern fusion food. We had stuffed roti and smoothies here. The owner was very lovely and they even offer tours and cooking classes. A girl at our hostel did one of those tours at Bako National Park and she said her guide was extremely knowledgeable.

Price: 34 MYR (10.6 CAD/73.2 SEK) for 2 stuffed rotis and 2 smoothies

4. Lau Ya Keng Foodcourt

This food court has plenty of local Malaysian dishes. Daniel has been obsessed with laksa so he got that. The pork satay there was really tasty.

Price: 23 MYR (7.2 CAD/49.5 SEK) for laksa, a beef noodle dish, 8 satay pieces, and a big water

5. Ceylonese Restaurant

Here we had quite affordable delicious Indian food. The portions here are huge, I mean, they were double the amount as the other Indian restaurants we have been to in Borneo.

Price: 46 MYR (14.40 CAD/99 SEK) for bindi masala, butter chicken, cheese naan, garlic naan, and a big bottle of water (we would have been fine with just 1 dish since the portions were so large)

 

Where to Stay in Kuching

Singgahsana Lodge has been the best hostel we have been at during our stay here in Borneo. There are lots of travellers here, so lots of people to chat with. A bar upstairs allows for a really nice place to hang out. There have free bikes for use and even coffee and tea available throughout the day. The staff are great in English and were really helpful.

It was a bit pricier to stay here than other places, but I recommend it. They even stored our luggage for free while we stayed 1 night in Bako.

Have you been to Kuching? Was there anything I missed that you think is a “must do” while visiting? If you have been, what do you think about Bako National Park and Semenggoh Nature Reserve?

Stay tuned for our adventures in Singapore!

xx

Jasmine

---

Like what you are reading and want to read more?

1. Make sure you subscribe to my blog, so you get a notification whenever I write a new post!
2. Follow me on Instagram! I post many pictures there which sometimes don’t make it into the blog!
3. Check out my blog posts! Don’t forget to comment! 🙂