After Kathmandu, Kuching is the second city we visit twice. Before we left Kuching five weeks ago the owner of the guesthouse agreed to receive a package from home. So of course we had to pick it up. The package appeared to be at the post office for two weeks; some papers had to be signed. The friendly Mr. Gawing brought us to the post office, half an hour’s drive from the city centre! After a bit of paperwork, we got our package and got our ‘old’ room back in the guesthouse.
Previously had no luck to see the largest flower in the world on full blossom, a Rafflesia appeared to be in opening up in the Gunung Gading park. Since the flower blooms only a few days and is extremely rare, we decided to stay an extra night and head to Gunung Gading. In the end the flower turned out to be less big than expected, but after the orang-utans and proboscis monkeys we have now seen the most famous attractions that nature on Borneo has to offer!
In the end we stayed more than eleven weeks in Malaysia, one of which actually in Singapore and two days in Brunei, with Singapore being an absolute highlight. The Petronas Twintowers in KL, surprising towns like Ipoh and Taiping, cultural Georgetown and Melaka, the underwater world of Pulau Tioman and Mabul and the remote Belaga, sometimes it seems half a year ago, sometimes two weeks. At the airport in Kuching we browse our travel guide and conclude that the ‘Rough Guide to Malaysia’ is worn out. We explored places from each chapter and crossed almost every province. Only the smallest province of Perlis in the far north we did not visit, a good reason to return to Malaysia we recon.
In Malaysia we became acquainted with the ‘real jungle’. Extensive rainforests with spectacular waterfalls, trees and animals. With a bit of luck and a bit of patience, we could visit the most beautiful places often with no other visitors around. The waterfall of Dabong, the sunset in Pinang Taman Negara and movie-like beaches in Bako National Park will take up a special place in our memories.
The flight to Kuala Lumpur was only intended as a so-called throw-away ticket to enter Thailand, but ultimately proved to be a perfect choice. Meanwhile, an Indonesian visa is waiting to be stamped in our passports. With another half Ringgit in our pockets we get on the bus towards Pontianak. It is time to visit a new country, new people, traditions and experiences!