"Sarawak - Malaysian Borneo " a State of Sarawak Travel Page by SanguiniA

My journey to Borneo began in the state of Sarawak. If you do not know, the island of Borneo is divided in 3: Malaysian Borneo, Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan) and Brunei (the only whole country in Borneo). Anyway, Malaysian Borneo is divided into two states, Sarawak and Sabah.

Kuching (a.k.a. Cat City) acts as Sarawak's capital - and it is one of the most wonderful cities you'll ever see ... just one look at the waterfront and you're smitten!! There is an amazing variety of things to do and places to visit in Sarawak. It probably deserves a holiday on its own. I only had one week available in my schedule (I had to visit Singapore, Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia in the same one month holiday ...) and it certainly was not enough to sample all that Sarawak has to offer. For this reason, below I have included a list of what I did and a list of what I missed so that if anyone of you out there has more time at hand can find some suggestions.

So here we go ... Here is what I actually did (more info and photos can be found in the

tips section and the travelogues)

- Explored the Santubong Peninsula
- Damai Beach
- Cultural Village
- Gunung Santubong
- Went for a day trip to Bako National Park
- Visited Kuching
- Visited Miri
- Visited Gunung Mulu National Park
- Lang's Cave
- Deer Cave
- Clearwater Cave
- Wind Cave
- Witnessed the natural phenomenon of 3 million bats exiting the enormous Deer Cave

where they roost during the daylight hours.

And now, here is what I (alas!!!) missed

- Though I did visit Bako National Park, this was only a day trip and certainly not enough to fully explore this enormous and beautiful place. I think that at least an overnight stay and 2 days is recommended - more if you intend to explore the wildlife which is quite elusive (especially the birds). There are about 16 trails - so there is plenty to do and I also liked the chalet style accomodation in the Park.

- The Pinnacles. These are located in the Mulu National Park. They are a stone forest half way up Gunung Api ('Gunung' means mountain). This is a 3 day 2 night trek, and one must be in quite good physical shape to attempt this.

- Bario and the Kelabit Highlands
This is another highlight of Borneo, for those who love trekking of course.

Even as I am writing down the highlights which I missed I am sure that I have to return to Borneo for another trip! Its really unbelievable how many things there are to see and do - and I'm speaking of Malaysian Borneo only (I really don't know that much of Kalimantan ...). I know one person who went there 3 or 4 times already and hasn't seen everything! I think this place is addictive :)