Why does Javi travel back and forth in Borneo?

Finally I dedcided to buy a small laptop, not only to write in the bllog, but like this I can also work a bit with the pictures. I am writing sitting at the entrance of a small bungalow in the middle of the jungle in Taman Negara, the biggest National Park in Malaysia.

But today I write to tell you about some things that happened to me in Borneo. Because telling you about all the places I go is quite ok, but if I only tell you this kind of stories you miss the small details which make this an adventure. So before going on, I am going to tell you a couple of things so you can understand why my trip across the north of Borneo has been a bit chaotic (this doesn't have many pictures).

My plan after leaving Zuzana and Tomas in Miri was going to Kuching, in the south of Sarawak, and start visiting the two states going to the north-west. The idea was that after finishing the activity I had with the agency in Kuching, I would go to the Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) to ask for some information and see if they would be interested in buying any picture. After that I would be traveling north towards Mulu Park stopping in the interesting places. Then I would go to Sabah where I would visit the most interesting places, and from there I would fly back to Kuala Lumpur. As you can see, all was very well thought and organized.

The last night of the activities with the agency, when I arrived to Kuching and before going to bed in the hotel they booked for me, I went to look for a cheap hostel for the next night. I found one which looked nice and I booked a bed in the dorm for one night.

When I came out from the hostel I remembred when I went to the newspaper in Kuala Lumpur to show my pictures from the independence celebration. The photo editor of told me that when that when I go to Borneo, I should call him and he would give me the contact with their photographers there so they could help me. So I called him on the phone, we talked a bit and after a while he sent me an sms with the telephone number of Nadim, a local photographer in Kuching to whom I called and we decided to meet the day after. On the next morning (Friday) I woke up and I went to the hostel… and there, everything changed.

Just arriving I met Anddreas, a local guide who loves photography. After talking a bit and telling him that I wanted to go to the STB to talk about my pictures, I got a piece of paper and wrote there the name of a friend of him who is working there and he tells me that I should talk to him and tell him the he gave me his name. Since I see it seems to be a good opportunity I decided that when I go to the STB I will also ask about financing for the book I would like to publish with pictures of the trip to Malaysia.

In the meeting with the STB it seems that, about support in Sarawak, it could be a good first contact. I filled in the applying form and the guy working there tells me that he will submit it to his boss I they will let me know. To make it easy I leave my trip quite open to fit in whatever they could need. But unfortunately about the fund-raising for the book, the STB is not the right place because they don’t sponsor with money. For that he suggested me to go to the Ministry of Tourism and he gave me the address of the Ministry in Kuching.

Just coming out from the STB I call immediately to the Ministry and a woman pick up the phone, then I automatically start telling her the story I tell everybody: “I am a photographer from Spain, I am working in Malaysia for 4 months and bla, bla, bla…”. 15 seconds later she stops me and says “but what are you exactly looking for?”… then, from the very deep in my heart, not even thinking about it, a single word comes out clearly: “sponsorship”. After two seconds of silence she transfers the call to a man to whom I explain everything again, he asks me for my telephone number and tells me that they will call me back. A bit aggressive the “sponsorship” answer, but like this there is no doubt, they know I am going to ask for money. After 20 minutes my phone rings, it is the Ministry of Tourism, I have an interview on Monday at two.

After all this, you understand that I decided to stay in Kuching for the weekend to see how all this goes. During the weekend I spend my time with Nadim, the photographer, or with Anddreas listening stories about Sarawak and enjoying the ambient in the hostel, which is quite ok. The hostel is managed by some young Iban people. The Iban are one of the aboriginal people of Sarawak, maybe the most known of them, and if you ever go to a longhouse it is likely that it will be an Iban Longhouse. These guys are quite modern, they play guitar (almost every evening) and wear casual, well, many times without t-shirt. During the days I was there they made a birthday party for one of them and all we were invited.


Other day Anddreas thought that it could be funny having a dinner for all the people in the hostel, so he went to buy food for all of us and then they cooked several typical dishes (Anddreas is the one wearing in yellow).


And almost every evening the guys from the hostel ended up playing guitar in the terrace... after some days I knew the songs by heart.


I spent there a good time having fun and making new friends. I was nice.


Two of the guys from the hostel also have an studio were they make traditional Iban tattoos. In fact all them working in the hostel have Iban tattoos. I think it is nice because like this they try to keep alive the tradition of Iban Tattoos. Nowadays these tattoos are getting lost because in the tribes there is no "need" to show off the deeds of the trips they make or the skills as a headhunters, which is what they were showing years ago. During that weekend, Ernesto and Robin were going to make a traditional tattoo to an American guy who lives in Korea and he had gone to Borneo to get the tattoo (and then visit Malaysia). So they told me if I wanted to go and take pictures during the tattoo session. These traditional tattoos are made with two sticks, one of them has a needle (there are different sizes) and with the other one he hits the first one to draw the tattoo.


On Monday morning I talk with Nadim about the interview in the Ministry and he asks me if I have long trousers, because it is better to wear them or they wouldn't take me seriously. As you can imagine, the way I travel and the places I visit, I didn't bring many smart clothes to Borneo. So Javi goes to the shopping mall, ask two of the shop assistants to help me and I finally buy long trousers and... a shirt!! May be that some of you don't know me very much, but seeing me in shirt is not exactly the most common thing. But don't panic, the shirt I wear it loose. I bought both things suiting my leather trekking boots, because, absolutely, I am not buying new shoes.

Then I leave the hostel absolutely ready and with time enough to the address of the Ministry that Anddreas just gave me in the hostel. I arrive there and I start asking everywhere where is the man I have to meet (as it si usual here, asking several times until you reach what you are looking for). After 15 minutes I look for the address that the friend of Anddreas gave me in the STB and it is not the same place... ups. I get out to the street and it is raining one of these nice tropical rains. I take another taxi and I give the driver the new address, it is 13:55 already. Half a minute after I get a call from the Ministry, the man I should meet has just finished a meeting somewhere else and it is not possible to meet him today. So we change the appointment for the nezx day at 9 in the morning. I go to the hostel.

In the evening I try to talk with the guy from the STB but he is not in the office. Definitely I give up today, tomorrow's another day.

The next morning I am at 9 in the Ministry and I have an interview with two people. Unfortunately they can not help me with the book because I want it to be a book about the whole of Malaysia and not only about Sarawak, so they told me that I have to apply to the central offices in Kuala Lumpur. It is a pity because I think if they cold have decided anything they would have given the subvention, we were talking for two and a half hours and they seemed to be quite interested in my project. They even told me that I should say in the STB that I had been talking to them, because they knew the boss of the guy I was talking to. This is more important than it seems, because the Sarawak Tourism Board depends on the Ministry of Tourism when talking about their budget, so a good feedback from the Ministry is a good thing when taking decisions in the STB.

From there I went to the offices of the STB, but the boss was on a business trip and they wouldn't know anything until he came back on Wednesday. On the next day I didn't need any feedback from the Ministry, I met Anddreas' friend and he finally told me that the STB will sponsor me with 200 ringgits for my trip to Mulu and with 1000 ringgits (something like 250 € all together) for a trip close to the border with Indonesia, with Anddreas as a guide, to visit different ethnic groups, and one of them will be the Penan. The Penan are the group which most has defended its customs, its traditions and its lands in front of all the colonizers passing by Borneo; that's why they are considered as one of the most authentic ethnics groups of Malaysia.

After all this I decide to leave immediately to Mulu Park. I book a flight on the next morning from Miri to Mulu and I take a night bus from Kuching to Miri (only 12 hours trip).

Before leaving, I talk with Nadim to tell him how was everything. Nadim is Muslim and in those days we were in the Ramadan, that time when Muslims don't eat, drink or smoke, and reduce some other activities from sunrise until sunset. Ramadan changes its dates from one year to other in the Gregorian calendar (the one we use), but it always finishes with the new year of the Islamic calendar. In Malay "New Year" is "Hari Raya", and we could think that it is something as our Christmas as long as celebrations is concerned. This year the Hari Raya was on the 1st and the 2nd of October and, as in many celebrations in Malaysia, it is celebrated with openhouse activities, in this case in Muslim neighborhoods. So Nadim invited me to join him for Hari Raya and enjoy the openhouse days in his neighborhood during the next week, when I came back from Mulu.

Hmmm... I just wanted to pass by Kuching and... I almost find petrol here.

Gunung Mulu National Park

Again a long time since last time. But here I am again.

I finally left Borneo after a trip full of improvisation in which the originally planned 4 weeks turned into 7 weeks travelling three times in Sabah and three times in Sarawak. There are som many things to see here... Borneo is the forth largest island in the world only behind Australia, Greenland and New Guinea, (I am not going to discuss if Australia is an island or a continent, it doesn't matter) I have only been in the Malaysian part and you can be sure that I could stay here for a whole year taking pictures I would still need more time... Amazing.

Today I am going to tell you how I enjoyed Gunung Mulu national Park. this park is one of the two UNESCO World Heritage parks in Malaysia. The other one is Kinabalu Park. I already talked about it in my last entry, but I am saving the main course for later. These two parks deserve an entry for themselves, so let's go.

During this time I have been twice in Mulu Park, the first one was with Zuzana and Tomáš. For those of you who could be worried, his foot recovered quite fast, we didn't do any difficult hike and he could walk with us (now his right foot is ok).

On saturday morning we took one of those propeller airplanes which fly over the rain forest. Because if you want to go to Mulu, either you go like this or you have to take one bus and then a boat and who knows how long it takes until you reach the park (and moreover it will probably be more expensive than going by plane). After half an hour flight we landed in a small airport and we went to the park to spend the weekend there.

When you arrive to Mulu Park the first thing you do is going to the headquarters and planning your stay there deciding all you are going to visit. One of the main attractions of the park are "The Pinnacles", rock formations shaped as needles by the erosion which stand over the trees in the middle of the rain forest. We really wanted to see them, but to reach the viewpoint you need three days and two nights and we didn't have such a long time, what a pity, next time. So after checking in our room we are ready to take a walk and see how is Tomáš' foot. Everything is ok, Tomáš can walk almost perfectly and we are getting used to the heat, the humidity, all the plants around there...


...and even if Gunung Mulu Park is not the best place to see wildlife (in fact it is quite difficult to see something really interesting), we meet some small animals such as tiny ants or some lizards.



The other great attraction of Mulu Park are its caves, for that we do have time enough. The cave network in Mulu is over 300 Kilometres already explored (and all which is still unexplored). In fact, adventure caving is one of the activities which attracts people to the park. Whithin its hidden treasures you can finde which is considered the largest undreground chamber in the world, the "Sarawak Chamber", in it you could fit up to 16 football fields or 10 jumbo jets in a row (the number of football fields or planes widely vary form one site to other, but it must be pretty big). This cave is not in the usual tours and if you want o visit it you need previous skills in adventure caving and approval by the Park manager. However, if you like caves, you won't be dissapointed.

That evening we joined the guided visit to Langs Cave and Deer Cave. Langs Cave is a small cave with interesting stalactites and stalagmites formations, it is nice and it is a good appetizer for Deer Cave. From Langs Cave you go directly to Deer Cave (they are quite close to each other). Deer Cave is the largest passage cave in the world, meaning that you could enter on one side and get out through the other side. In the tour you go in and aout through the same entrance, but you reach a point from where you can see the other entrance of the cave. The dimensions of the cave are definitely quite big.


But not only that, Deer Cave is the home of more than 2 million bats (the small spots in the upper part of the picture). Every day, at dusk, thousands of bats come out from Deer Cave looking for food forming never-ending streams. Nearby the entrance of the cave there is a view point from where you can see the spectacle.


The way back to the headquarters is through an illuminated path when it is getting dark. One of the things I missed in this trip is an mp3 recorder. I would have liked having one so you could listen to the sounds of the night in Mulu. It is really a pitty, you will have to go to be able to listen by yourselves the amazingly wide variety of sounds that you can listen in Mulu at night.

On the next morning we went to the Canopy Walk of the park, which with its 480 metres long is the longest in the world. Before taking the plane back we took a last walk in the park and another one to the airport, it is not so far.

One of the things I asked in the Park is about the famous photography permission. Well, it is necessary to have a permission in Gunung Mulu Park for professional photographers, especially to be allowed to take the tripod into the caves because otherwise it is strictly forbidden. So I was told to apply for it in Kuchint to the General Manager of the Protected Areas & Biodiversity Conservation of Sarawak Forestry Corporation (yeah, it must be a very important person).

From Mulu, Zuzana and Tomáš left to Kuala Lumpur and I began my adventure alone through Borneo going to Kuching. In Kuching, apart from some activities and some changes that I will tell you in other occasion, I spoke to that Manager (the one with the long position in the business card) and he told me that I don't have time to apply for that permission because it takes more than one month to get it. So he told me that I can not take the tripod into the caves but since I come from so far away I was allowed to take pictures in Mulu. He wrote his mobile phone number in his business card and he told me that, if anybody had any objection, they should call him and he will explain them that I am allowed to take pictures as a photographer.

Two weeks later Javi comes back to Kuching, mainly to climb the Pinnacles and take the essential picture I need if I want to write an article about Mulu. To see the Pinnacles it is neccesary to take a boat for about half an hour, and then you have a hike of almost 9 kilometres through the rain forest to reach a place called Camp 5. The next day you climb up and down the path to the viewpoint and sleep again in Camp 5. On the next day you usually hike again the 9 kilometres path to the river, but you can also do some other hike from Camp 5.

Just after arriving to Mulu I met Casius and Alison, who were waiting for somebady who also wanted to do the Pinnacles. Because from the park headquarters you have to pay the boat to go up the river. And it is not allowed to climb to the viewpoint without a guide (that I perfectly understand), and that also has to be paid. So it is better if you go as a group to share the expenses. One hour later we are getting into the boat, with the minimum necessary in our bags, gioing to Camp 5.

At this point it is not the first boat ride I take, but I really like enjoying the jungle from one of those longboats in which you are sitting in a row. The hike to Camp 5 is not complicated and we reach Camp 5 before dusk.


That evening, before going to sleep, we have a talk with our guide. The usual talk that every guide has with its groupd before climbing the Pinnacles. Among other things, the guide explains us that there is a point with a rock called the minipinnacle which we should reach in less than one hour, otherwise it is considered that we are going too slow. He also explains that at the last part we will have to climb some ladders and ropes, and if we don't reach the first ladder before 1 pm we won't be allowed to continue because we wouldn't have time to arrive to Camp 5 before it got dark. Finally he tells us what we should take in our bags: food, energy bars (or similar), a torch in case it gets dark, raincoat and the most important, water, three litres per person. He tells us that it depends on every person, but they recommend three litres each one... he sais that he takes just a small bottle of half a litre but he is used to it. Honestly, I have no problems if I can't drink, I stand it very well, and since I already had almost 5 kilogrames of photography equipment, the torch and food, I decide to take only one bottle of 1,5 litres.

On the next morning we get up early to have a good breakfast (noodles, of course) and we are ready to leave at alf past six. The path to the Pinnacles is only 2,4 Kilometres long, but you climb up 1100 metres through a path full of roots and sharp limestone rocks in which there is hardly any flat stretch or any place where you could step flat. How could I explain it... I guess that it is all together, that it has already been four years since I don't go running and I am no so fit anymore, that we started a bit too fast... but the thing is that climing the Pinnacles is, by far, the most difficult hike I have ever done in my life. I didn't expected it to be so tough.

I quite like hiking, and even if I don't go very often, I have done some good hikes before. I hiked the Grand Canyon with two bottles of water, one gallon each, in the backpack, plus tent, clothes and some food. And last times I have been in the mountain it has been quite ok... besides I did run marathon once, which is physically quite demanding. After all this one thinks that with some effort you can face almost anything. But now I know that it is not true. Before reaching the minipinnacle I thought several times that I couldn't do it. Hiking the rain forest, with all the heat, the humidity... it is very different to any other type of mountain. You sweat a lot, really a lot, the t-shirt and the shorts were absolutely wet, and when I say wet I mean it literally, not humid, it was as if somebody threw a bucket full of water over me.

After a break in the minipinnacle (which we reached in less than 45 minutes), having a rest, and drinking some water, I could see things a little more clear; it was going to be hard but taking it easy and with patient it would be a matter of time. A bit later, Casius realised that by mistake he took three bottles of water instead of two... I will always have the doubt if he did it on prurose because I only took one bottle, but in any case I felt it was marvellous that he had that extra bottle. I drank half a litre of water, Alison also drank a bit and we left the bottle in the path so we didn't have to carry it and we could take it in the way back. I could have done it only with my 1,5 litres of water, for sure, but the bottle of Casius was a godsend to me.

After four hours of hiking up the hill I arrived (the last of my group) to the viewpoint of the Pinnacles. We sat there to rest and enjoy the food and the squirrels which come out from time to time to check what these crazy people who dare to come this high leave around.


When we reached the top it was clouded, and we should remember that the main reason for me to climb up the Pinnacles was getting pictures, othewise how could I write an article about Gunung Mulu Park without a picture of the Pinnacles. After a while the sun started to shine and I could take some other pictures, but not with blue sky. Anyway, in the Pinnacles there are not many options, there is a point from where all we take almost the same picture. If you could be there at down or at dusk, it could be possible to take a more interesting picture. But at least, I got the picture.

Casius, who had been the first arriving to the top (with the guide), was the first one to start the way down. Then Alison went down, and I stayed a bit longer waiting for the sun (the guide always goes down with the last one). The way down is as tough as the way up and usually takes the same time as you need to go up. As I told you, there are no flat places to step on, and your legs are already tired, so you have to be very careful not to roll your ankle. In the way down we reached Alison and after another 4 hours we arrived to Camp 5. Of course, Casius didn't take his third bottle thinking that we would need it more than him.

The first thing I did as soon as I arrived to Camp 5 was going to take another bottle of water and immediately going to the river. I took off my hiking boots and socks, and I put my feet into the river while I was making with my mouth that sond "ssssssshhhh". At that moment Casuis came to ask how I was and he offered me to prepare a cup of tea with a lot of honey... mmmmhhhmmm... hoooneeeey... It is incredible how your body reacts to the stimulus of sugar when it needs it. Quite nice this Casius, after some minutes he was bringing a cup of tea which I enjoyied as one of the best cups of tea of my life, drinking it while I was looking at the views from Camp 5 at dusk.


The next morning we woke up early again to hike the 8,8 kilometres of the way back to the river, because we wanted to see two more caves: Wind Cave y Clear Water Cave. Together with the two caves that I had already visited with Zuzana and Tomáš, these two caves are the ones which are in the typical tour cave in Mulu Park. So visiting these caves was a very good idea for me.


After all this I decided that I neded to recover myself a little bit. So in the next two days that I had left in the park I made an easy hike looking fo insects and I went to take more pictures of the bats coming out from Deer Cave. But this time I took the pictures from inside the cave, from a point where you can see some rocks with the shape of Abraham Lincoln.


Something else I did there was the night walk. It is very interesting, you can see different kind of insects, spiders and some other animals. It is incredible how guides, in the middle of the night, absolutely in the darkness, suddenly they turn, point with their torch and say: there, an owl.


There are some other trails that I would have liked to walk in Mulu, but time is limited so I finished my visit to the park. But... is that all you can do in Mulu?... certainly not. If you really like hardcore experiences and you want to enjoy Gunung Mulu National Park there is something else you can do. In Malay "gunung" means "mount", so Gunung Mulu National Park actaually means Mount Mulu National Park. There is a trail which is called "Summit trail" and which goes to the top of Mount Mulu. The trip takes 4 days and three nights and you have to carry in your backpack all you will need: sleeping bag, sleeping pad, clothes, food and water for 4 days... When guides talk about the trail to the Pinnacles they say that it is relatively easy, that the hike to the summit... that is really tough. If the trail to the Pinnacles is 2,4 Kilometres long, in the hike to the summit you have a journey 7 Kilometres long up the hill with a heavy backpack on your back.

What to say... as I told you before, now I know three are things I couldn't overcome, with training I could, of course, but right now... after the Pinnacles... the Summit trail is a bit too much for me. If somebody feels like...