Sarawak Malaysia with Kids: Visiting the Orangutans

We had left the hotel at 7 am in order to be at the Semengoh Reserve by 8:30 to see the morning feedings and we were ready to head back to Kuching and Damai Beach to get some lunch. The walk into the forest to see the Orangutans had been good, but the kids were tired and starting to get hungry. We were on a group tour, so we had to wait for one more couple who had not yet returned to the van, when we heard some sounds in the distance. A bit of brush rustling and shifting and we saw her. She came out alone at first and gave us the once over. She looked back into the woods and out came her young child.



Seeing a wild Orangutan up this close was a rare treat, but we were also a bit unnerved. The guide recognized this Orangutan and said she had a habit of being a bit protective of her young children and that we should remain calm and non-threatening. Okay I thought, I am able to do that. Jeff, on the other hand started to call our kids, who were very interested in seeing her up close back to a safe distance.



She kind of hung out for a while, not doing much or going anywhere, just looking at us. After about 15 minutes she piled her babe up onto her back and she walked down the hill. It was about this time the last members of our group started to walk back up to the van, ironically, they had walked further into the woods in an attempt to catch the apes up close and we had stayed back because of the kids.

The Semengoh Orangutan Reserve is about a 45 minute drive from Kuching on the island of Borneo and is open most days with a long lunch on Fridays. It is a great opportunity to see some of Asia's native aninmals in the wild and in a protected environment. It is a fun and safe day trip from your hotel and a great way to show the kids some of the attempts to save this majestic creature.

Getting there: You can travel by taxi or hire a “guide” through your local hotel. We did the latter and included a stop at a Crocodile Farm (a post for another day for sure!) From what we have heard, Semengoh is much smaller than the Sepilok Reserve and the chances of seeing Orangutans tends to be less in Semengoh, but we lucked out that day.

Would we go back, you bet, now it is just a matter of planning the next trip!

This post is part of Photo Friday over at Delicious Baby. For more great photos check them out here.

Borneo with Kids: Miri's Lambir Hills Park aka tours with the headhunters!

Last October (2009) the Vagabond Kids and family set out on a new adventure, to a spot we had not yet done, a place we had not yet traveled. We went on a family vacation to Miri Malaysia on the island of Borneo.

Borneo (so far we have only traveled to Malaysian Borneo) is quickly becoming one of our favorite spots for a quick get away. It is an hour plus by plane from Singapore and still has some native forest left (as compared to much of Indonesia and all of peninsular Malaysia), pristine beaches (for now) and native cultures unlike those on the peninsula.



Jeff, aka Vagabond Dad, is always looking for a new place to see, someplace before it hits the big time. This time, the new spot that cropped up was a couple hundred bucks on an Air Asia flight, two hours in air and a Marriott hotel later and boom, we were in Miri.


Miri is just south of the very oil rich Sultanate of Brunei and is also home to the first oil well in Malaysia. Miri is also a bit of a "hot spot" for Bruneian and expats working in Brunei (Brunei is an Islamic country and no Alcohol is sold there). While we were in Brunei a good size group of British Army-men and their families were camped at the Marriott for a weekend of pool, beer and camaraderie.

Lambir Hills Park

Miri is still a sleepy town, much of it is either oil or timber industry and has not yet become a popular tourist destination in Asia. Much of the tourism that is there, is of the adventure type and Miri serves as home base prior to departing out on a jungle trek and a welcome shower and soft bed upon your return.


We weren't really interested in a big hike, and frankly I am not sure the kids are quite ready for it, but we did want to take the kids out and show them some real forest. Jeff and I grew up in small towns in Oregon, where forests are thick-day hikes are common- and an appreciation of the wild is part of being a kid. Needless to say, Singapore, you don't get that.


We found that there was a nearby day hike, less than an hour drive from the Hotel in the Lambir Hills National Park. The park has multiple waterfalls, suspension bridges and a swimming pond at the end of one of the trails. There are multiple trails in the park, the easiest is about a 25 minute gentle walk towards the swimming hole. There are two ways to get to the park, you can either hire a taxi for the day which would run you about US$35-40 or you can hire a guide and driver. We went ahead and hired the guide and it was a great way of doing the park. The guide, plus car and driver, was only about $60. US, so for the additional $20 we figured it was worth it.




















Jeff showing off little minnows









Our Guide was a local Dayak, and the Dayaks are the indigenous people of Borneo and contain around 200 subgroups. The most infamous of the Dayak tribes were the headhunters, which our guide told us his family was part of that subgroup. We were assured however, that they had not taken any heads for at least 20 years, so we were in safe hands! All jests aside, one of the advantages of having hired the guide we walked through the park and were given some of the local flavor of the park and he showed us how the local peoples used different plants as medicines, how children would make helicopters with certain seeds and how the Dayak people were much more in touch with nature. In many ways much of that culture is gone (and not just the headhunting). The current Dayaks are leaving the forest and going to work on the oil rigs or in the timber plantations so it was interesting to get some of the traditional information while it still exists.









Man this was cold water!














At the end of the trail we sat down to a picnic lunch that we had packed and enjoyed a bit of a dip in the swimming hole. We were by ourselves for an hour or so before another family we had met at the hotel also went for a dip. It was a neat opportunity to get out of the city, to enjoy some trail time and to show the kids what being outdoors really means. After another drive back down the hill a little grubbier and tired we made it back to the hotel and the kids burst back into action in order to hit the pool in time for the Inflatables... but that is a post for another day.

Kids in Borneo- Photos from Miri

Offerings at the oldest Chinese Temple in Miri-Tua Pek Kong.





















I am about to set off for a 2 week trip back to the USA. While wasting time today, I started to work on a report on Miri, a small town in Sarawak Malaysia on the island of Borneo. There were so many great sights over the 3 days we were there, I will tempt you with a few before my post tomorrow.













The pool at the Marriott.




















Along the Lambir Hills National Park trails.





















Waterfalls on the Waterfall trail, Lambir Hills.
















Lambir Hills.

Photo of the Day- Sultan's Mosque-Brunei

The Sultan's Mosque in Brunei on a rainy day in July

Malaysia- Damai Beach

PHOTO HEAVY POST.... For more pictures click here
Trip taken March 2008

A short flight to Kuching Malaysia from Singapore (about 45 minutes) a 35 minute drive and you find yourself on Damai beach in Sarawak Malaysia. Damai beach itself is quite sleepy, there is really only the Holiday Inn Resort for accommodations but the beach itself is quite nice. The food options are also rather limited, but for those who are adventurous, the seafood village 10 minutes away offers fresh caught fish cooked to order. The hotel food is pretty good and reasonably priced, the kids were fine with the options, but after a few days we were tired of the same dishes. For the Seafood, go check out the Kampung Buntal (unless you rent a car you will need to arrange for transport from the hotel). We ate at Lim Hock Ann Seafood and it was amazing food.

The hotel itself is fine, not fancy, I would give it 3.5 stars. Better than many motels in the US, but a bit faded. The staff however makes it almost 4 stars. The staff are caring, fun and recognize the kids and do what it takes to make them happy. While we were there we celebrated Easter on the beach with games and even an egg hunt. The biggest advantage is the price, if you book online you can get it for less than US$85 per night. The Sunsets were pretty darn spectacular, worth sitting over the pool and having a drink or two while the kids have a snack or dinner.

If you are a golfer, I guess the resort links are nice, and they have a mini-golf right at the hotel. For the entertainment there is the Headhunter show twice a week at the restaurant. The food is buffet, but not bad and the show itself is fun. The hotel staff itself participates in the show and they do a great job of involving the guests. Even Declan, my then 6 year old, was made part of the show and handled the "scary" headhunter with bravery that I was surprised about! It is fun and the dances aren't even half bad~














Kiera learning to play instruments at the Cultural Center
Other things to do include the Sarawak Cultural Center, which is next door to the resort. The Cultural Center is amazing and holds some of the few remaining examples of traditional Sarawak culture. In fact, as a side note, I know a photographer here who was charged with doing photos for the design style of Sarawak. After much search, they found the only remaining examples of the culture and style were in the cultural village. All of the indigenous culture has either died out or been infiltrated by TV, Radio, Computers and iPods.


My hubby climbed, or attempted to climb part of Mt. Santubong and found it a very challenging climb. He only did a 2 hour hike, by no means enough to climb to the top, but thought it was beautiful. We may go back someday when the kids are older and take them for a hike, but for young kids I wouldn't recommend it as it is pretty hot and the terrain is quite rough.














The highlight of the trip was the Orangutan Reserve at Semenggoh. While we first hiked in to the feeding platform we were a bit sad to find that only one momma Orangutan came down to feed. While the park rangers tell you that it is possible you won't see any, it was still a bit of a let down. But as we were walking back to the van, this is what we saw...It was amazing. This female had a reputation of being a bit aggressive, but with a good telephoto it is amazing what you can capture.

















The kids also really liked the Crocodile farm. While 90% of the farm was not that exciting from my perspective, caged animals always seem to bother me, the feeding of the crocs gives one a real appreciation for the power and the size of these ancient beasts.


And, don't forget the weekend market in downtown Kuching. We didn't take the kids as we were sure they had had enough (after the croc farm and Orangutans) but a follow up trip we will be sure to include them. Everything from batik to grubs and everything in between is sold at the weekend market where the tribesmen come down to sell to the city people every weekend. The city of Kuching looked like fun, but we didn't do much exploring. Note there is a shuttle (I think it was RM10 (about 1 dollar) each way from the Holiday Inn Damai to the Holiday Inn downtown Kuching.



For a three day weekend, a get away from Singapore or other SE Asian spots, or as a part of full Borneo trip, Damai Beach is worth the side trip.

Kids in Malaysia: Damai Beach-Kuching

View from the Damai Holiday Inn Hotel