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Bako National Park, Kuching, Sarawak - Part Two

2006 Bako National Park Exploration Trip
Part One
Part Two
Part Three

P.E said: Look over there When I look down the cliff, there is a boat coming towards us. So P.E leads us down the cliff, to the beach. Our group leader went to bargain with the boatman on the price to bring us back to the park HQ. We aboard the boat, there are another three foreign tourists just arrive. We did ask them to join us, but they prefer to walk back. The boatride took us about 15minutes (if we walk it would takes two hours) to reach the park HQ, and I am starving. We all had our lunch at the Kerangas Café, that’s the only café available on Bako Park. I had fried rice + fried noodle + sausage + and chicken. My plate of food is just like the Mount Santubong, I seldom eat this much but I had use to much energy today.

That morning I had learn that the Bako Park contains “Seven” type of lowland tropical rainforests…

1. Kerangas or heath forest
2. Beach forest
3. Cliff Vegetation
4. Mangrove forest
5. Mixed dipterocarp forest
6. Grassland vegetation
7. Peat swamp forest


After lunch we went back to our hostel and I had nap for almost two hours. When I woke up, just in front of our hostel a bearded pig was having a mud spa o_O…. pig likes mud. We proceed trekking on the next trail Ulu Asam, which rich with different flora and fauna such as Pandanus, mushroom, fungus, hermit crab, and if lucky we even can see the famous proboscis monkey. Most of the trees here had their name label. When we reach the end of the trail there are still no sign of the big nose monkey, and I was a bit disappointed. Next trail is Tanjong Sapi which will lead us to a breathtaking viewpoint. It requires a lot of climbing, the trail is 0.5KM but for me, climbing up is like 5KM. But when I reach the viewpoint, is all worth the climbing and walking. We stay there for a while, and head back to our hostel for dinner. The sunset nearly 7:00pm, and the tied was low during sunset. I went to the beach to enjoy that fantastic view, the sunset just between the seastack and mount Santubong. It was an art of nature.

After the dinner we went for night trail at Ulu Asam again, the main highlight is the fungus that can glow (at first I don’t believe 100%, but when I saw it myself…), and fireflies. If I am lucky enough I might see other animal as well. P.E had sharp eyes, he shows us the fungus which glow at night but it was so tiny all I can see is just ….hey I can’t see anything, but when asked to turn off our torchlight, a very tiny dim light right in front of us. I rub my eyes for few times to confirm, and yep it really glows. Then we went to the Lintang Trail to see fireflies, along the trails, though I’ve use insect repellent, but the mosquito still keeps on biting me, and Kenny and the rest of the gang. The fireflies had transformed the mangrove tree into Christmas tree, blinking on the tree branch. We all sat at the jetty, while enjoying the night view. The moon was full, the night sky is full of starts and it was very quiet. Kenny and I lie just on the jetty and look up to the starts, the moon and the mangrove tree which block my view. We went back to the hostel around 09:45pm. After bath, I check on my toes, and I had one bleb on the left and one on the right…

(to be continue in my next post)



The beautiful beach


The boatman, and P.E pushing the boat from shore


This is a close up on the seastack that symbolize Bako Park, but this is not a good angle to shoot the seastack


Mount Santubong. Was planning to climb mount Santubong as well, but no one wants to go with me


It only took us about 15minutes to reach the HQ, compare to a 3 hours walking under the hot sun. Which one you prefer?


The Kerangas Café


My lunch, fried rice + fried noodle + sausage + and chicken


The bearded pig having it mud spa


Naughty monkeys around, watch out!!!


To Ulu Asam


This is an abandon termite nets


Wired twisted tree trunk


Look at the size of the Pandanus.


This is the Asam fruit. It can be use to cook asam fish head.


Teluk Delima, left


Slip rocks


Mangrove and swamp


The hermit crab


Mangrove roots


To our next viewpoint Tanjong Sapi


Into the woods we go


We need to keep on climbing, I seldom exercise so is a tough climb for me


wild mushroom growing on a rotten tree branch


A wired fungus, it had a slimy liquid cover all over it. There is a hole on top of the fungus, Kenny use a stick to touch it and it spray some white powder out from the hole. I hurry cover my nose, who know it might contain poison


The viewpoint, all of us are very tired when we reach here. There is a place for us to sit-down and rest. I can see a lot of people had carved their name and date on the rocks, and on the chair. P.E was very disappointed on this, and I notice that most of them are local people name. I feel ashamed as well, cause there are a lot of foreign visitor came here, and this will lead a bad impression to the local people


Wilson Chin (Me), and P.E


6:52pm, the beautiful sunset


Pit viper


A signboard “Watch-out for falling coconuts”


A big size pit viper, it is very poising. With one bite, it will be bye bye. And that crazy P.E actually touch the freaking snake


We saw monkey on the tree


There are glowing fungus, but it only glow a very dim light. My camera is not powerful enough to shoot that light


I am holding the glowing fungus; it is very tiny so I can’t see it. But when switch off my torchlight, I can see tiny dim light


The dark water


My right foot, with a bleb on it


Sames goes for my left foot toe
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Kenny had told me a very good phrase “Take nothing but photograph, leave nothing but footprints So DO NOT crave your name and date on the trees, or rocks, or chairs, or any other place at the park this will only spoil the nature beauty of the National Park. If you want to prove that you have been there, just do it like me TAKE PHOTOS.

Bako National Park, Kuching, Sarawak - Part One

2006 Bako National Park Exploration Trip
Part One
Part Two
Part Three

I’m now at open-air along with my cousin brother Kenny, and his friends waiting for Bus No.6 to take us to the Bako village. This is the first time I visit the Bako National Park, and I’m looking forward to it. When we almost reach the village, it starts to rain. “Rain or Shine” this is the respond given from our group leader when asked about the rain. After our group leader arranges the boat and guide, we then start our journey. We hired a local guide name P.E to company us, so on our way to Bako National Park P.E told us a little bit about Bako National Park.

It named Bako because of the Mangrove trees, in Malays mangroves was called “Bako”. This park was established in 1957, and is the smallest park among the national parks in Malaysia. Along our way, there are a lot of this “Platform” the local people here used it to catches “Bubuk” (shrimps), to produce local food like Balacan (shrimps paste). After the 20 minutes boat ride from Bako village (this is the only route to the Bako Park) we had reach Teluk Asam the head quarter of the Bako Park, and the rain is pouring like hell. On the way to Bako Park, I see the cliffs, and mangrove swamps and I keep on hitting my camera shutter button :) is a fun experience.

We all registered our self at the registration office, and on my way to the office I saw a lot of monkeys running around. These freaking monkeys already get use to human, and they even snatch food, and belonging from visitors so we have to be extra careful. P.E told us to avoid direct eye contact with them, so that they will not attack us. Beside the monkeys, along came this “vacuum cleaner” the Breaded Pig. It had a big nose, the way they eat is similar like a vacuum cleaner sucking in all the dust (they can eat non stop!!!).

After we put our belonging in our hostel, we start our jungle trekking trip. And the good news is the rain had stop. First trails is called the Paku/Lintang trail. On our way, we had encounter little lizard, sting less bees, wired shape mushroom. During my trekking, I experience a sudden transition from one specific forest type to another, from mangrove swamp to cliff vegetation. When I was at the cliff vegetation, P.E told us that this cliff had a lot of ants and where there are ants, there will be Pitcher Plants. P.E, Kenny and his friends, they actually can differentiate the type of the pitcher plants, their scientific name, and the characteristic of the plants, for example like how do the plants hunts, where is the digestion area, what is the cover use for. The most interesting part is P.E actually shows us how to obtain the liquid from a pitcher plant. According to P.E, the liquid can be used to cure eyesight, it can be drink (I’ve try some, it had no smell, no taste), and it also can be use as sun block cream. *cought* Kenny said it taste like sperm, hahaha…

After two and a half hour walk, the time then is 1:00pm, and it was hot like HELL. I don’t have a hat, I don’t have sun block cream, I don’t have sunglass, my water is almost finish and my camera is going on low batt mode. Just when I start to feel like sitting down, in front of me is this cliff edge with this breathtaking scene. Below us is a beach, immediately I change my camera batt, and start to press hard on my camera shutter button. The sun is burning my skin, and I barely open my eyes. After the shoots, we all had a rest on the shade. Our group leader told us that we need to go back to our hostel, and to do that we need to walk back. “WHAT!!!, have to walk back!!!” this is most of our reaction; we need to walk for another two and a half hours. Is there any alternative way to go back? Then P.E said, “Yes, you see there…”

(to be continue in my next post.....)





A sunny Saturday morning...


Just when I was about to reach the Bako Village, it starts to rain


Bako National Park, 50 meter, go left.


On the left side is the Bako village, most of them are fisherman. Along this river, there are boats everywhere, and they will go to the upstream to catch fish


Our guide P.E told us this platform it is build to catch “Bubuk” shrimps to produce local food like “belacan” (shrimps paste). To build this platform, one needs to obtain a license. The width and the size of the platform is also be determine when apply the license.


Is raining cat-and-dog, and this is when my All-Weather camera comes in handy. So I can keep on pressing the shutter button confidently.


The sea stacks. When we reach is low tide, and is not deep enough for the boat to reach the jetty. So we all have to take off our shoes and walk our way to the entrance of Bako Park. A very fun experience!!!


Welcome to the Bako National Park


I can saw there are a lot of monkey running around in front of the registration office. They meet people everyday, so they are not afraid of human. One of the monkey even snatch a box of sandwich from a visitor


The Breaded Pig, this big fellow is scare of human, as I saw two local kids chasing it around the office


The one and only canteen at the Park, the food is nice but the price…Next time I come, I should bring some snack


After we unload our luggage at our hostel, we start our jungle tracking


This is my gang, my cousin brother Kenny is the one at the left. Isn’t he handsome and cute :)


This is the mangrove tree, the local Malays called it “Bako”. So this is how Bako Park got its name


According to Kenny, he told me that the mangrove trees roots will grow like a U shape, it grows down into the earth to get a good grip on the earth and grows back out again. So there is a lot of pointing roots surrounding the mangrove tree, this is to let the roots breath. And proboscis monkey eat this mangrove trees leaf.


A pity little lizard who lose its tail


Our first trail the Lintang/Paku Trail. Buckle up my dear reader, is a rough ride ahead.


P.E our guild leading the lead, I am very impress with the knowledge that P.E have. He does the explanation on almost every flora and fauna along the trail. And as a local Bako people, he can speak fluent English. And our group leader also possess a lot of knowledge of the flora and fauna of the park as well


Wild berries.


A funny shape mushroom


P.E explaining the characteristic of the pitcher plant


When we start to reach higher ground, I saw more pitcher plants each with different shape, and color


When there is pitcher plants, then there will be ants around. This is one of the ants nest, and this nest is naturally form by this tree especially for the ants. This tree let the ants live inside to help it gain nutrient from the food that the ants take back. So this tree and the ants are good brothers and sister


Wild orchid, and the size is just like a 5 sen penny


The tiniest species of the pitcher plant family


The water of Bako Park is tinted red by the nature. This is due to a mix of mineral ores that are dissolved by the gushing stream. I’ve tasted the water, it taste sour. Just imagine the people here actually drink it


I forgot the name of this plant, according to P.E. There is a group of scientist came to do some research on this plant. The function is to produce an antibiotic for the HIV virus, and it had given a positive effect. They had done experiment on animal by giving it HIV virus, and they used this plant to produce some kind of antibiotic to let the animal eat it. Then the HIV virus had actually disappeared. But until now they are still doing research on it, and I hope it can really cure the HIV infection


Our group leader knock the tree branch to create vibration, all the ants went out the nets after they sense the vibration.


Another species of the pitcher plant, this pitcher plant had a fat body and with no cover on top of the body


This is the biggest pitcher plant that I’ve seen at Bako Park


A wild flower, which again I can’t remember the name. The size is smaller than a 5 sen penny.


More pitcher plant grows in group


This is something interesting, a bunch of grass which glow. It grow in the water, and the leave glow


This is a very famous leave in Malaysia, this plant is called the “Tongkat Ali” a.k.a Eurycoma Longifolia. P.E asked us to had a bite on the leave, I did and it taste bitter. The leave contains fiber, so is very hard to fold it, or crush it. The root can be produce to become medicine; the root can improve desire and sexual initiation. Hm~~I had bite on the leaf, will it have the same effect as well?


This is how the Tongkat Ali look like, it had a very thin trunk and only grows the leaf on the very top of the trunk. Currently, it is being researched for its possibilities as an anti-cancer supplement


Finally we had reach the very high end of the cliff.


With a breathtaking view below me, on the horizontal sea line lie the Mount Santubong. And if you look carefully there is a small seastack in the middle. That is the famous seastreak which use to symbolize the Bako Park
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Some of the information was referring from the Inflight magazine of Malaysia Airlines, Going Places on March 2006 issue. Page 22-29 written by Ken Manokaran. Thanks Miracle8 for the magazine :)

The Art of Nature

When I was 17, my mom gave me a used public phone card. There is a beautiful picture on the card, it was a lightning photo with the title “The Art of Nature” I like the card very much and I still keep in until today. From that day I make a promise to my self that one day I wish I could take a shoots of the lightning as well.

That night, when I was at Friendship Park. There are lightings strikes flashing on the dark sky, and I know that my wish is answered. Shooting lighting is 10 times harder than shooting firework, cause they are too fast. I only manage to capture a few, but that is more than enough for me.

Enjoy the photo my dear reader :)


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I just can’t believe that my little digicam actually capture all of this.