I AM THE BORNEO EXPLORER 婆罗洲探险者

Ngiraja Cave and Mountain Exploration

We are going to a cave which is hidden from public

Tree vines are all over the place. Water driping from the soil to the ground.

The entrance are a man made staircase which made from old wood, and nature slowly cover the path back with green

The handrail are well maintain, as I can see someone just change the rope that tie on the handrail

Its a steep climb, as I am staring to feel exhausted with all the climbing

But the view is worth the climb

As far as we know, there are two caves which are prohibited due to its a private place

So due to respect, we did not explore deep into the cave as we just took some pictures outside.

The owner of this land also employed a few person to look after this place, which stops us from go any futther. However they are friendly people.

#KuchingAdventureTeam caving exploration

Continue our journey again to the top of the ridge

Its another steep climb, and along the way there are lot of exotic orchid which can be found nowhere but here.

Breathtaking panoramic view of the Bau area

Singai Mountain Climb Information by Borneo Explorer

Mount Singai at Kuching Sarawak Infographic

Mount Singai Basic Introduction
In Kuching, besides the Mount Santubong, Mount Singai is one of the most prominent mount, where average hikers will reach up to more than 100 people on a normal weekend.

Mount Singai is 550m above sea level, I climbed the mountain countless time. This is a sacred mountain which owns by the Bidayuh people (one of the local Sarawak ethnic group) Bi means people, dayuh means land.

The various Bidayuh tribes, such as the Bisingai, Bijagoi, Bratak, Biperoh, Pinyawa, Bisapug, Bisitang, Biatah, Bibukar and Sadong, had different places in the mountains in the old days as places of refuge for defense purposes. Special traditional rituals and ceremony are being perform on the summit of the mountain.

Now the Catholic Memorial & Pilgrimage Centre is located in the middle of this mountain. For people who like exercise, this is the perfect place to come.

There are stairs built to ease the worshipers heading towards the Catholic Memorial Pilgrimage Centre, after the church is a further trail leading up the mountain to the summit.

How to Get There
Click on the MAP of the Entrance Here

My GPS record to Mount Singai at Kuching, Sarawak

Mount Singai Trail Breakdown

Marker 1:
Base to View Point - 10 min
Height - 191m

Market 2:
Base to Church - 30 mins
Height - 228m

Marker 3:
Base to Twin Trees - 42mins
Height - 302m
The trail is steep here, some may require to use the rope provided

Market 4:
Base to Rest Stop - 1 hour
Height - 394m

Market 5:
Base to Summit - 1h 45 mins
Height - 518m

Flora Found In Mount Singai
One of the rare plat which grows here is the Amorphophallus Hewittii, this flowering plant can be as tall as a grownup person. The plant is also called the titan arum and more commonly, the “corpse plant”. It’s called the corpse plant because of its distinctive, nauseating smell.

Mount Santubong Night Climb Camping

My team and I went to climb the Mount Santubong over the weekend, and we climbed till dawn, and reached the summit with heavy downpour and cold breeze.

Mount Santubong is one of the most prominent mountain in Kuching, its visible from the town on a clear day. With 810m above sea level, its not an easy mount to climb, very challenging, I urge you to try when you next travel to Kuching.

Pitch black along the way, remember to put a touch light when you go hiking, it will come in handy during emergency.

We tough we hear something in the wood, and use our flash light to look around if we can see anything

The Summit View of Mount Santubong, from here we can see the Semariang Town, and Santubong Bridge

F15 the rest hut at the summit. We camp there that night.

5 Things You Can Do At Merarap Hotspring Lawas, Sarawak Borneo

Merarap Hot Spring one of a hidden gem in nortern Sarawak Borneo. Its about 70km away from Lawas town, and only accessible by a 4WD truck.

Here are the 5 things you can do when you visit the Merarap Hot Spring :)

1. Mandi in the hotspring

Hotspring water is piped from a nearby mountain source and dip pools with different water temperature ensure a complete spa experience. Private baths are also available, so there is no way you gonna miss out this one!!! The one behind me consist of cold and hot spring water, so its just nice to dip in the pool..... erm..just beware of leeches :P

2. The Great Trusan River!!!

The Trusan River flows into Brunei Bay, and sits in between the Temburong and Lawas rivers. It's just next to the hotspring lodge. Be aware when you swim here, cause the current are quite strong sometime... but overall its a good place for swim with its cold stream water.

3. Trace the Sources

The pipe connects the water source from the ridge to the lodge's pool, the Merarap owner are bless with this gift of nature. The sources is just a few meter away from where we stay.

4. Food at the Canteen

The Merarap lodge lady owner is really good in cooking, we had buffet dinner with chicken and pork. Look how relax we all are.

5. Merarap Pretty Daughters

After our dinner, all of us look tired right?!! But we are not!!! And all of us still sits at the canteen, where we just want to hangout with the friendly daughters of Merarap... this is how they look like...

Thanks for the pictures Miss Grace, and do say Hi in the comment if you happen to drop by :)

For those of you that missed my earlier post, read here for my Adventure on climbing Mount Murud! Let me know in the comments below ~~will you be friends with them~~, what are the things you like about hot spring !

Enjoy my video

Santubong Mountain Climb Information by Borneo Explorer

Located on the Damai Peninsula, 35km north of the Kuching city. Mount Santubong is surround by hotel resorts, local fishing villages, schools, and the Sarawak Cultural Village. The striking peak is visible from Kuching on most days.

She rise steeply at 810m from sea level, on the bottom of the mountain, numerous streams can be seen, its been stated as a National Park (I wrote this article on August 2016) but I do not see this as a potential sanctuary for wildlife.

The ladder climb which near the summit are poorly maintain, which I foresee it will be extra difficult to summit if this continue. Most of the rest stop indication board had been torn down, one positive sign is there are no litter on the route to summit.

On top of the summit, there is a rest hut. The view as of today (Aug 2016) are mostly covered by trees branches, after the trees grow taller, it will be even more difficult to enjoy the summit view.

Mount Santubong Trail Breakdown

Section 1: Two starting point option

a) Park Entrance to F7 - 2 hours (will passby waterfall)

b) Bukit Putri to F7 - 1 hours (some part with bird eyes view of the coast line)

Section 2: Ladder climb starts at F10

F7 to F12 - 1.5 hours

Here require your upper body strength when climb the ladders

Section 3: Steep climb

F12 to F15 - 0.5 hour

For Camping Enthusiastic

The summit Santubong are suitable for hammock (max 5) and tent camping, its possible to view sunset at summit, and sunset is around 6.30pm. Not possible to view sunrise.

There is a rest hut, maximum can cater two tents (two person in one tent)

No water from F6 onward, please bring at least 2 litters of water for camping. There is a pothole on the summit which contain rainwater, but it also contain urine and stool therefore not suitable to drink.

At night get ready for strong and cold breez, average temperature at 25c

Mount Singai Night Hike and Hammock Camping

The Singai Mount is about 518m Above Sea Level. Singai Mountain is the holy sacred mountain for the Bidayuh people (one of the local ethnic group in Sarawak). They build a church on this mountain, devotes will come here and do their regular praying.

It was a raining night that day, it was the first time my team and I did the night climb, my GPS record is we start climb at 09.26pm and reach the summit at 11.15pm (Total distance of 2.01km, 1.35hours to reach summit)

We setup our hammock, and rest at about 2am after our late meal. The next day we woke up at 6.30am, and we are very fortunate that we can witness the sea clouds on the base of the mountain.

Climbed Mount Singai for so many time, but this is the first time we witness this wonder of nature.

From Far Right, its the Serapi Mount with its communicator towel on top of the summit
Information of the Trail

Total distance: 2.01 km (1.3 mi)

Total time: 1:33:41

Max elevation: 518 m (1701 ft)

Min elevation: 86 m (283 ft)

Elevation gain: 544 m (1783 ft)

Max grade: 90 %

Min grade: -42 %

Mount Murud Exploration - Summit The Mount Murud, Highest Mountain in Sarawak Post 3 of 4

Our guide wake up early to cook breakfast for us

5.15am. Whole night struggle to keep myself warm, very tough night. Daybreak arrives at 6.05am that morning, and I can’t wait to get up. Went to the kitchen, our trusted guide had already prepared our breakfast. I ask for a cup of hot boiling water, and make myself a cup of hot milk as a starter, and then followed by hot chicken porridge, and a pack of instant noodles. All these foods slowly keep my body warm, and I think I’m ready for my ascent to the summit now.

Morning view on top of a small ridge at church camp

6.50am. While waiting for some of my friends for breakfast, I walked into one of the small ridge on the west site of our shelter house. Enjoyed bird's eye view of this village, the sun rises in the east, but is covered by thick white clouds, and the mountain range was covered by a fog of clouds. It’s like the mountain range wearing a wedding veil, breathtaking views.

Muddy Trail

7.44am. It’s time to start our summit hike. I packed two chocolate bars, a litter of water, a cap, a microfiber towel, my mini cam, and the Nikon D90 SLR camera. The trek starts off on a muddy trail near the church, we keep descending on this muddy trail, there is moss vegetation around us. The temperature is around 24⁰C

Not a pleasant journey to hike up

8.43am. We crossed a few streams, with brownish water. The water is just like the one at Bako National Park, as it mixed with the rotten leaves and muddy soil. Until this point, we are slowly ascending, and the trail are still muddy. With one mistake step, you might end up getting stuck inside the mud pot.

Humid condition causes moss to grow everywhere

Waterfall trail with no water

9.36am. Passed by a waterfall trail, but there is no water that day. There were lots of moss, unique pitcher plants and orchids. Most of the orchids were not flowering, and I wonder why?

uneven trail, hard to access. Need to watch out for mud pot along the way

Rock Garden at about 2300 m ASL

10.54am. Reached Rock Garden, and a lot of pitcher plants, most of them are Nepenthes hurrelliana, and law. At first, we keep on stopping to take the picture, but we came to a point that we just treat it as normal plant, because it was too many of them.

Church camp so far away

The weather was hot, clear blue sky. I looked back on where we came from, and I manage to see the tiny church camp from far away. I pause for a while and think back what I’ve been through these few days, and it was an amazing journey so far. I blessed with this beautiful weather, seeing some exotic flora like orchids and highland pitcher plant. Gone through some crazy weather, ate good food, bath with cold water.

Good weather, can have good view of the mountain range

When I am in the nature, with all the big trees, mountain, ranges, waterfall surrounding me, I felt that I’m really small as a human being. What is the use of money, or corporate level means to a person in this environment? Nothing!!! This is when a person really feels free on both body and soul. It will be great if the nature is my office, and I will have no problem coming to “work” everyday.

“Wilson!!! Let’s go…” Ah Loong called me, and brings me back to reality. “OK” I answered, and off we go to the summit.

Moss Garden with tree roots all over

11.28am. Moss Garden, first time encounter. This place is full of moss vegetation, the trails are formed by the roots of the trees, and carpeted by moss. Need extra precaution when choosing what to step on next., if not half of your leg might get stuck between the roots.

Borneo Explorer - Wilson Chin at the Mount Murud Summit

11.39am. Reach the summit of the highest mount in Sarawak the Mount Murud of the Pulong Tao National Park. The key to obtaining real peace in our lives is to focus on enjoying the journey, taking the time to “smell the pitcher plant,” it's all about the journey not the destination. On our team, there are 16 of us, and all of us manage to reach the summit. I asked myself “what’s next?” Well, you will just have to follow my blog to find out more….

Some hint… what’s the name of the highest waterfall in Sarawak? See you all in my next adventure

#BorneoExplorer record. Mount Murud rises majestically from the highland of Borneo as the highest mountain in #Sarawak at 2423m (7954ft) A 5 + 4 hours of hike, as I gone through muddy jungle, steep slopes, beautiful rocks formation (known as Rock Garden), seeing the tropical pitcher plant (Nepenthes Murudensis), enjoyed the cozy weather, hike over moss plantation forest, and reach the summit of #MountMurud Read more of my trip in my blog, link on bio... #HighlandofBorneo #Bakelalan #LepoBunga #CIBChurch #BatuLinalit #KuchingAdventureTeam #Lawas

A photo posted by Wilson Chin (@wilsonchininsta) on Jul 14, 2016 at 6:57am PDT

Mount Murud Complete Series
1. Mount Murud - Kuching to Ba'kelalan - Post 1 of 4
2. Mount Murud - Ba'Kelalan to Murud SIB Church - Post 2 of 4
3. Mount Murud - Reach Summit of Mt Murud - Post 3 of 4
4. Mount Murud - The Journey Info - Post 4 of 4