Bako National Park

Finally we made the trip to Bako National Park during the Gawai holidays. The park has a good variety of wildlife & vegetation in addition to its beach facade, so it would be a good place to experience the flora & the fauna. Transport wise, the park is easily accessible via a short boat ride from the Bako fishing village, which takes around 40 mins of car drive from Kuching city area (37km).  

Trip highlights:
Visitors pay 2 things: (1) Entrance fees* (adult: RM10, kids 3-18 yo: RM3, Below 3 yo: FOC); 

Conservation Fee. * Different rates for nationals & non-nationals.

(2) Boat fees:

Boat fares from the park to areas around the island

Park activities & some information about tour packages at the Bako fishing village boat terminal: 

And away we go! A 20 min speedboat ride to the park. Exhilarating ride, refreshing, with the salty wind whipping through our hair. 

Zac relishing the seawater sprays. Cloudy day, perfect day not to get sunburn. Yay!

Arrival at the park's quiet beach entrance to HQ. 

The boys immediately set to work, oblivious to the heat & glare of the late morning sun.  

Within minutes, a large pink jellyfish was spotted just 3 feet away from where i stood. The boys (and parents) were certainly uncertain about that floating object that had beached itself, & for a while no one dared to touch it save prodding the poor pink gelatinous mass, shooting it (water gun), &  throwing twigs at it. Sorry Mr Jellyfish! 

Which is more pink? My crocs or the jellyfish?

Four men on the beach. The sand is compact, hard. Here daddy is prodding the pink jellyfish to check if it could bite. Haha... kidding.

I was glad to see some common seashells (Boring Turret snail) on the beach. At least, they were not completely looted away by some ignoramus and/or self centered individuals. 

Hermit crabs on the prowl. Lovely assortment of shell colors. 

We stayed overnight & had pre-booked our stay at the Forest Lodge Terrace Type 5. The cost? RM100 (USD26) per night. I have to admit after reading TripAdvisor's poor-mediocre review about the park's overall hostel lodgings, I was a bit apprehensive about what we had gotten ourselves with. After all, the angmoh backpackers have paid such a nominal fee, what was there to grouse about? Maybe I was expecting the worst. So, one can imagine how I felt when I saw this:

10 min walk from the park HQ to our Forest Lodge Terrace Type 5   Jun 15

Good? No? Yes? Yes. I was pleasantly surprised with our concrete residence. 

The room was large, furnished with 4 single beds & en suite bath & toilet. The standard single beds were fitted with clean sheets, blanket & pillow. Two fans swing ahead, with a couple of dim amber lights lighting. Green linoleum floor, two electrical sockets, a large mirror in the sink area. Just that. At RM25 per bed, it is a steal for a group of 3-5. Not bad. 

Not bad, yes. Did I miss something to tell? It depends. If you choose to compare the room with its counterpart standard hostel/hotel downtown, you sure gonna miss somethings. And that means no air cond, no hot shower, no free coffee/tea, sans furniture (nil in the room, at least). So for those that takut panas, the bare ventilation (slow fan speed) & no air conditioning might just freak out any rednecks that got redder after a whole day trekking in the humid jungle or beach. And just like any beach hostels, it didn't take long before most everywhere was sandy, as everyone plodded in & out with their sandy slippers and clothes. Still, for such a price, it's bearable, if not fine. 

Outside, the corridor has some communal tables & chairs for use but just as I was thinking that, a long tail macaque suddenly appeared & gave a most undignified welcome to us visitors by pissing on the handrail of the terrace corridor. Eeww... and That was the end of any desire for languid lingerings outside. At least, for me.

Don't be monkey-charmed. I had a firsthand encounter with the kurang ajar kind when I was trudging down this lane with a bag of sardine sandwiches in one hand.

Within a minute, i could hear tree leaves rustling from a distance & in a flash, a (Alpha? Or is it grandpa?) male leapt from the coconut trees onto a chalet roofing, & then bounded straight at me. At top monkey speed. With a few more coming at me from other directions. Me, alone, & a sandwich bag. Those grubby fellows re-grouped, barred my path & gave me this stony, stare-me-down look. Hey, wait a minute here... How can these shorties stare me down? Kan i'm taller? [Stared back] No effect. In fact, edging closer. Damn.

Ok, sweating here. Damn again. How can these skinny buttheads intimidate me? And I did what any unarmed (read: desperate) person would do - Scream - Swing my sandwich bag - Stomp - Huff - And puff. Monkeys continued staring at this inept distant cousin & seemed to indicate, "So what?". In the end, I decided to risk the possibility of monkey mortal kombat & brushed past them - running! They didn't catch up - hahah! Ok, so I was guessing that they couldn't overtake me. :P

The macaques are very used to humans, but that does not make them any docile or tamer like your average doggie or kitty cat. In fact, they can act like outright gangsters that stalk, bar your pathway, & grab your food. What can I say? You are dealing with a generational elite group of peragut (snatcher), ready to do hand (feet, & tail) combat if needed. Knowing this, the park has emphasized a lot on personal belongings safety, & keeping the window closed & door locked especially when away.

The map with rudimentary trail illustrated

This was a leisurely trip with the family, & we planned for a short mid-day trek, the beach area & then the night trail. The jungle gets dark real early, so at 4 pm, the trail area already had a dim look & an isolated feel to it, & so we just did part of the trail along the way to Teluk Delima which would have taken us about 45 mins to reach there. We saw some animal hoofprints (possibly wild boar), giant pandan leaves, durian-like trees, among others. Nothing much as we only tackled the beginnings of the trail. I guessed much of the excitement happens at night.

Which was right, because most of the wildlife starts its active lifestyle during the night, & that's when we would expect to see more activity (animals) rather than day trail. For the night trail, we registered for the guided tours at RM10 per person. Which was great, because we definitely saw more in the night, got to learn about jungle stuff from the experienced rangers, all along a trail that took 1.5 hours to complete. So we saw fireflies by the mangrove forest by the beach, gentle wildboars, insects, vipers, roosting swallows, & as such.  

Some interesting things we saw on & around the island:

1. Ulat Bulu Hitam  (Black Bristly Caterpillars)
There are a number of bristly caterpillars in Sarawak, & they produce defensive chemicals that can be highly irritant, even venomous. Rule of the jungle: Stay away. 

They can eat up an entire tree (the leaves) & hang around looking like this creepy black furry patch:

Notice the sickly tree with almost all leaves gone. Jungle Rule # 1: "Thou shall look everywhere before you touch, or sit, or stand.'' And I mean it, even designated wooden handrails. Remember the monkey piss? Or worse, you get to shake hands with the Gross here.

And here's how Gross looks like - up close. No, don't want personal. And this is not your average innocent bug. The Gross can be aggresive, & will attack when prodded (or accidentally stepped on). Ask me, I know. And some parts of the bristles are not soft or furry like what it looks. It's quite stiff. Like brush bristles. Laced with toxins, it'd probably be painful if kena innoculated by it. Like kena call 911. And arrange emergency boat ride back to civilization. 

This Gross most likely have fallen down from the tree & landed on a wooden bench. Have I emphasized already about looking before you sit or stand?

2. Vipers
The park rangers are so experienced that they could stop mid track in the darkness aided with just a simple torchlight, & then point to us something so obscurely hidden, like this snake here:

Hanging on ever so silent & stationary, color blended in with the branch that sticks out. And this friend was right there along the usual walkway from the hostel to HQ & cafe. 

3. Jungle Frogs

 This cute kermit is no bigger than your thumb.

3. Roosting Swallows 
And nearby an XL-sized spider in this small cave.

4. Cricket

XL size

And in a small pond nearby, a school of catfish. 

And who would have thought that the scorpion could land 30 feet up on a tree? Can't imagine what it's like if that thing dropped on the head (shudder). At that point, I wondered if I could get out unscathed from a night in the jungle with just a T-shirt & a pair of shorts. Probably get mauled by the mosqies first before anything else does.   

 5. The Rainforest & Other Vegetation 
Bako National Park is an incredible legacy of Sarawak, known to have 25 distinct types of vegetation forms from 7 ecosystems covering over an area of 2,727 hectares located at the tip of the Muara Tebas peninsular.  

Even though it was just an overnight trip with a short trek here & there, we did, I believe, saw most of it, like the beach & cliff vegetation, as well as Mangrove forest along the cove & coastlines; and Kerangas (Heath forest), peat swamp, & Mixed Dipterocarp forest within the trail area. So that is the wonderful thing about this place, so much variety & wildlife, all in one place. 

6. Bizarre Rock Formations





7. Panoramic Rocky Shoreline
Beautiful panoramic views along some of the parks shoreline. 

There are a number of sea stacks, but this one (see picture below) is the most famous known of the park. It's actually smaller that what we thought from the pictures we saw, but nonetheless this vertical column is beautiful as expected with its structure & shade, formed & molded over time & water. 

The bow of the boat pointing right at it as we approach from behind. 

The icon of Bako National Park. How I love the subtle formation of the clouds in the distance, lending a perfect backdrop for the sea stack.

8. Lovely Coves

Looks like a nice place for a romantic rendezvous. Wait, hold that thought. Remember Jungle Rule # 1?

9. Secluded Beaches
This one from Teluk Pandan Besar. Can see the macaques (see yellow arrows) hovering around the beach? They were looking for crabs to eat, as told by our friendly boatman. 

Monkeys on the prowl

10. Jellyfish Spotting 

We had to ourselves the whole boat, & our boatman cum tour guide was splendid. His vocab was impressive, & he communicated effectively in sharing with us his keen sense of the location & people. Also generous with his time & petrol, going the extra mile, literally. 

Here, Mr Teruna, our guide, goes to show & teach the kids a thing or two about our pink friend. Hopefully, the boys will learn to respect nature, & be wise in all they do.  

The nice Mr Teruna explained that many fishermen go around the park's coast for jellyfish. So many, that in a good day, one can get around 200 jellyfishes. And the jellyfish is heavy, like this large one at 1kg+. 

All in all, it was a splendid trip. The inadequacies, thrills & spills (remember the monkey piss?), spiced with a dose of danger made it all the more authentic. Sure, it's not your regular walk in the park. It's better. Loads better. And while jungle things & crawlies do bite, this ain't Jurassic World either. 

You'll survive. 

I promise. 

Our last ride, reaching the Bako fishing village. And I love the clouds in this picture. 

Thank you, Mr Teruna! Jumpa lagi.

- Post written in contribution to TripAdvisor review of Bako National Park

Jupiter Ascending

There's something up, & it's looking GOOD! 

Looked up some nights ago just about 2 hours after dusk & saw this 2 very bright stars in an unusual constellation over the westerly sky. And tonight managed to get some shots of the rare phenomenon.  

Venus (above brighter one) & Jupiter in a rare decade close encounter. This shot was taken right after the 'conjunction' so you can see that Jupiter is now just under Venus after traveling 'downward' & crossing Venus.   2 Jul 15 @ 7.32pm 

Dusk is best. Captured using basic Canon PowerShot A2200, P-mode, ISO1600.  2 Jul 15 @ 7.33pm  

Its Venus & Jupiter! Really amazing to see planet # 2 & # 5 of our solar system right in our neighborhood, shining so bright, so close, together.

When I reviewed the image & enlarged it, I noticed a band over the planet Jupiter. Could it be? Is it the North Equatorial Belt? Or just an atmospheric artifact? Maybe I should submit the photo to an expert for verification. WOW... 

Imagine what it would look like through a telescope: 

The view through a small telescope of Jupiter (top) and Venus on June 30 around 9:30 p.m. CDT. Jupiter’s moons are G = Ganymede, E = Europa, I = Io and C = Callisto. Source: Stellarium

Can you see Jupiter’s two dark, horizontal stripes? (The North and South equatorial Belts). Over the course of their orbits, the two planets would appeared in conjunction with each other as seen from earth around 1 Jul 15. Like this. Tada!

Didn't get to see this, but others did. And shared this! Thanks
When Venus and Jupiter will be at their closest. Two celestial bodies are said to be in conjunction when they have the same right ascension or “longitude”and line up one atop the other. Source: Stellarium via Universetoday.com website.

And the perfect view if a spaceship just stood some thousand miles away from the 2 celestial bodies? Maybe something like this?

Now wouldn't that be heavenly?

Gift of the Gab: 60 Months & Onward

James 1:17  "Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights,"

Double Happiness. You & grandma were born just 1 date apart.   24 May 15

My dearest Gabriel,

60 months have so quickly passed, & you are now 5! How I missed your sweet baby days, yet mummy wouldn't trade the present (that's you!) now in our lives. Yes, let's celebrate!

But first, some sweet memories to remember who you are. And while some days has its challenges, just remember what a joy you are to us, and a good son and loyal brother you are. We are so blessed to have you with us.

Precious moments time cannot erase...

1.  You came into this world fashionable, with a stylish crown of hair & handsome sideburns.

Gabriel, "God is my Strength"

2. You are talkative & responsive, & how from an early toddlerhood, you would rattle away in long sentences, complete with conjugations, when you want to describe a thing, a person, an event, or even expressing your feelings about something that has caught your fancy.

And how your grandma & mummy adore hearing you humming away...

With one of your favorite persons in the world  31 May 13

3. Boy, you are strong-willed & daring. When dare meets with fascination of a forbidden kind (e.g. of fire), you would put your butt on the line (quite literally) & secretly hoard the match box to light up. With your patron's (aka mom / grandma) permission. Or not. Oopsy...

What? Did someone just said this is off limits?  Chinese New Year  3 Feb 14 

Fascination by relation. Ok, I'm outnumbered here. Don't say your mom never taught you about fire safety.  19 May 15

4. You are creative. You & your brothers find creative ways to entertain yourself & others, & you would explore possibilities or ways in which to fulfill your agenda.

How does happy look like? Like this, you say.  13 Jan 15

I'm not sure what this is, so maybe you can tell mum?   1 Oct 14

5. You are an artist. You are also primarily responsible for the random colorings we find on the walls of our home. :P

5 Feb 14

A true artist doesn't confine art only on paper. So... how do I look?  6 Mac 14

One of your artwork with the toothbrush.   9 Oct 13

You & Jem bring ideas everywhere, even on the floor.  21 Apr 15

6. You are a caring & compassionate person.
   
    Yes, you are. You love us, & others as well. Remember the Cheshire Home's visit to our home during one of those CNY? You were that boy who stayed around with those strange folks in the sitting room & you spoonfed a man who wasn't able to feed himself because he had no arms.

And how selfless you often are. When sweet treats are available, you would remember to get your brothers' share first, & yourself last. In that particular order. You are also protective to your brothers & would come to their assistance when they needed support. Including giving a karate chop or a ninja kick to an adult "assailant".

Here you were trying to do your part in the annual parish Lenten gotong royong for the urban poor near UNACO.  30 Mac 14

Giving your brother a helping hand.  17 Sep 14

7. And you are such a sport. Gregarious, playful & fun-full!

So, how do ya like my birthday suit?  2 Oct 11

Costume party today. Theme: Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Glee. I "tang" that Japanese boy.  6 Jun 13

And a favorite with my little man: Tennessee Waltz   Jun 2014

Don't forget this.  10 Mac 13

Engaged in some secret mission with your brother.  28 Sep 14

Ps: Ok, so there were occasions, where executing point 7 contraindicated with point 6. Case defined: Your preliminary rendezvous with the furball scared the wits out of Sweet Ah Mi. For improvement, make peace with your sister cat, ya...


8. And talk about play, you are versatile with what you play with.

   Like your brothers, you LOVE water.

                                                 (To the tune of Jingle Bells)                       1 May 12
Dashing to this place,
To a one hose open pipe,
Oh, what fun it is to play,
this water from the pipe!

Open & close,
Open & close,
Open all the way,
Oh, what fun it is to play,
this one hose open pipe!

Repeat 100 times

Suit - check; hat - check; life jacket - check. All appropriate. Now... where's the sea?  15 Apr 12

And how you have this thing with tapes & strings. You like to wrap meters of 'em around & around things like armchairs, chair legs, fan stand, stairway, window grills, whatever. And secured those strings with intricate knots. Lots of knots. And I mean A LOT.

And oh, how like most boys, you also find manly gadgets interesting, such as those in the department of weaponry...

Guns. Hand gun, rifle, M-16, DST, or Lego, they are all part of your gadgets in defense when you played good guy-bad guy routine.

Look ma, no eyes!  2 Jan 15

A pocket full of ammo & an added roar for better effect  22 Mac 15

 
 And how you would make me respond with a sheepish yes whenever you start by saying, "A-pai wa tua han liaw, lu ka wa beh gun, ok mummy? Ok mummy!? OK??"

    Samurai swords.

I ain't here to eat. I'm here on a mission. 19 Oct 14

And some more swords.

Recruiting your brother in the fight for a worthy cause.  23 Sep 12

Iron fist. Or is it Iron Man?

Mum, maybe Tony Stark started like this? 26 Jan 15

So, son, happy 5th birthday!

It is such a joy to watch you grow. Your laughter, your joy, your optimism, are precious. Your papa & I give thanks to God everyday for you, Jeremy & Isaac.

Remember that life is a precious gift, & that every good thing comes from the loving hands of God. And just like everyone on earth, sometimes it's a challenge to deal with people (including yourself) & situations, but remember that your source of joy & strength is always the good Lord Himself. If you need to be reminded of this, look no further for answers. The truth is in your name.     

Gabriel, we love you.

Love you forever,
Like you for always,
Mummy & Papa

With papa.   27 Jun 12

4 years + 3 months old.  10 Aug 14