Dantruong Travel & Tourism

Refuelling on yet another Cloud 9… and check out the kappas! (photo thanks to Nikki Williams)
My short vacation to KK had recharged my batteries, so I was ready to get stuck back into the project on our return to the village. And I didn’t have to wait long… the next day we all packed our bags and headed off back to Supu for a three night camping trip, to cut new trails and mark and map those already cut by us on our previous visit. This time, however, the numbers made it a full-blown expedition… Rosli, Albert, Nosali and Din from MESCOT, plus all eight volunteers. It goes without saying that the boat was pretty full! Luckily, we had time to purchase a new tub of Cloud 9s before setting sail.

We set up camp in the same place as before, albeit this time the scale had grown to accommodate the extra hammock tents. I made a poor job of erecting mine in the same spot, and looked on enviously as Rosli, King of the Jungle, pitched his on the riverbank… along with a regular hammock he’d managed to smuggle on board (it was only a small consolation when one of his support twigs snapped in the night, sending him crashing to the ground!). As
Photo 6
Photo 6
Awright! (photo thanks to Nikki Williams)
camp had been firmly established by lunch time, we spent the afternoon cutting a short trail from a nearby guard hut inland towards the base of one of the area’s limestone hills. Rosli told us it was the same set of rocks containing the bat caves we’d been in before, but for now the trail simply led to a big tree and some forbidding rocks. We returned to camp for dinner, and spent the evening playing card games and munching on chocolates by candlelight.

For the next few days at Supu, we split into two groups. Nosali, Conny, Nikki and I were the marking group, with the task of marking and mapping the trails we had already cut. Thanks to a very generous gift from Conny, MESCOT had a brand spanking new GPS device, so we walked the trails, mapping their coordinates and adding a splash of colour to denote the routes. Jungle fashion reached new heights over these two days, as rubber jungle shoes were paired with yellow footie socks, kappa slappa trackies (don’t worry Paul, your kappa’s lived on!), over-sized t-shirts and purple flowers (a gift from one of the cultural evenings… in hindsight, maybe a step
Photo 9
Photo 9
Look, it’s a trail, and we cut it! (photo thanks to Conny Ehrmann)
too far). God only knows what the wildlife thought when it saw us prancing through the forest… Nikki daintily applying stripes of yellow paint to the odd tree and me swinging my machete at the occasional vine. But it was a good laugh, and we possibly spent more time taking comedy photos than actually doing any work (but don’t tell the other group!!). The highlight was definitely our trip back up to the limestone pinnacle for a view out across the Kinabatangan (and more comedy poses, including a frankly brilliant Brucey Bonus by me), and then down through the bat caves (which, lo and behold, have an exit right where Rosli led us to on the first track-cutting excursion… what a genius).

By the end of the four days, our group had marked and mapped all the trails at Supu, and the other group had cut a new trail to the coffins, running along the base of the hill farthest from the river (which would eventually join up with another track leading to the village). Their first day had been enlivened by one of Rosli’s ‘shortcuts’… by now legendary for taking much longer and usually endangering the lives of
Photo 3
Photo 3
Looking out over the Kinabatangan (photo thanks to Nikki Williams)
his followers. This one led them from the base to the ridge via a narrow, circular bat cave, where by all accounts loose rocks made for an interesting climb! The only danger I faced was from the several hundred mosquito bites I managed to accumulate despite DEET and what I thought was sufficient clothing, so that by the last day it looked like the only thing I’d been doing at Supu was feeding mosquitoes. Temporary relief always came with a bath in the Kinabatangan… perched on the water’s edge, scooping cartons of cold water over myself, bathed in the light of the setting sun and listening only to the calls of gibbons and geckos. All the while being conscious of my exit strategy in case a crocodile happened to swim my way…

Our return to the village was so triumphant that Rosli agreed to treat us all with a trip to Lahad Datu, a nearby town with wi-fi, a great bakery and Sabah Chicken and Rice. It also happens to be on the Foreign Office’s list of ‘places not to travel’ for it’s high risk of kidnapping, but we threw caution to the wind and went in search of
Photo 4
Photo 4
Brucey Bonus! (photo thanks to Nikki Williams)
muffins and beer. Thankfully it turned out to be perfectly safe, and we downed an ice cold Tiger before sampling some chicken and rice. But we didn’t want to stop there, and decided to indulge Albert in his main pastime – karaoke. So we all piled into a dodgy karaoke bar, ordered some jugs of beer and set about destroying any song we could. Albert chose some slow, boring love songs, but luckily Jeff turned out to be a bit of a closet crooner and saved the day with Twist & Shout, amongst other dancey classics. A Canadian volunteer organiser, Amanda, joined us for the day (not long enough!) and helped us belt out classic after classic… good work on tune selection! At about 11pm, we all suddenly realised that we were actually on Borneo helping out with rainforest conservation, and that more importantly our houses would probably by now all be locked! So we returned to the village and tried, as quietly as we could, to rouse our families and sneak into our rooms like naughty children.

And there ended our excurions from the village. Thankfully, the conditions were now right for us to do some tree planting
Photo 7
Photo 7
Hard at work again, tree planting (photo thanks to Nikki Williams)
work, partly to replace some trees planted by MESCOT in previous years that had been destroyed by the flood. It was hard work digging and planting in the full sun, but between us and over the course of two days, we managed to plant more than 500 trees… very nearly a forest in its own right! We were joined for my last few days by Jason and Kate, who were traveling through Borneo for a month and had come to Batu Puteh for a few days before heading on to Sepilok to help build the Sun Bear enclosure. One of the great things about MESCOT is the way they can offer even short-term travelers an opportunity to help, and be involved with real conservation activities. As a last hoorah for those of us leaving the village, we spent one last night at eco-camp, and were treated to an amazing river cruise where we watched a clash between a troupe of macaques and proboscis monkeys, who make some of the most amazing and amusing sounds I’ve ever heard come out of an animal! There was just time for some more trail marking and work in the tree nursery, before the time
Photo 11
Photo 11
A proboscis monkey enjoys his swing a little bit too much…
had come to move on and say goodbye to everyone. I’d had so many great times over the last month, and met lots of good, inspiring people (particularly Rosli, a warm and passionate man who passed on his commitment to MESCOT to all the volunteers, and Nosali, whose skills despite his disability were nothing short of inspirational). The other volunteers were kind of ok too (:-P). So it was with some sadness that I moved on, but at the same time I was ready to get back on the road… with Australia only two weeks away, it seemed like the end of my trip was now in sight, and my month in Borneo had given me a renewed appetite to carry on and enjoy what was left of my trip around the world.

Footnote: As you’ll no doubt have noticed, I owe a big thanks to Nikki and Conny for supplying the photos for this section of the trip. For some reason I decided to take virtually no photos during the last two weeks of the placement, relying on Nikki and Conny to do the honours. And a fine job they did too, thanks guys!!

It took me a day to get across Peninsular Malaysia from Penang to Kota Bharu, and I was rewarded with the worst hostel I’ve seen since India… the little family of rats living near the shared toilet (I’ll use that word to describe both the WC and the shower room) being the highlight. Thankfully there was a cosy common room with free coffee and internet, so I sat out the evening there. Next morning, I caught a minibus to Kuala Besut, and from there a short and bumpy jet boat ride to Pulau Perhentian Kecil – the small Perhentian island.

The Perhentians are a pair of islands which sit 21km off the coast. I’d chosen the smaller island, as the big island is more upmarket and has less of a backpacker vibe. On the small island, accommodation is clustered around two beaches – Long Beach and Coral Bay. I opted for smaller, quieter Coral Bay and took advantage of the one saving grace of the dirty Kota Bharu hostel – the owner’s brother worked at a resort at the southern end of Coral Bay beach, so he was able to get me a discount on a double chalet. What was
Photo 3
Photo 3
It’s a turtle… can you see?
normally RM240 per night was given to me for RM50… including a big double bed, air con, a private shower and a nice little deck area. Sweet! The resort also had access to a secluded series of beaches away from Coral Bay itself, where there were no boats and consequently better swimming and snorkelling opportunities. To say I’d arrived in low season, things were amazingly perfect… the sun was out, the water was crystal clear and there were very few people around.

As with Mui Ne in Vietnam, I’d come to the Perhentians to relax and unwind and take a break from travelling. Thankfully my ailments were also improving, so that by the time I positioned myself on one of the tiny secluded beaches, there was no pain from my feet at all (great timing considering I didn’t intend to walk anywhere!). For anyone who enjoys snorkelling, Pulau Perhentian is a paradise. The water is beautifully clear and shallow… sea slugs and fish can be seen just by walking out into the shallows, and hiring a mask and snorkel gives access to larger fish and even sharks just ten or so metres away from the beach. I bought a
Photo 8
Photo 8
Tranquil Coral Bay
disposable underwater camera and booked onto a snorkelling trip around both islands, and spent a great day seeing perhaps the best coral and most numerous fish I’d seen on any snorkelling trip (parrotfish, wrasse, butterflyfish, needlefish, blue-spotted rays and more). Our first swim was at Shark Point, and guess what we saw? Hugging the bed about five metres below us, black-tipped reef sharks swam in and out of the gloom, too fast to capture on camera but close and clear enough to give an initial chill as their familiar outline emerged. The highlight of the trip, however, were the giant turtles we saw at Turtle Point (damn those Malaysians are good at place names!). I’d wanted to swim with turtles at Borneo’s Selingan Island, but thankfully had baulked at the RM500 cost and decided against it… here I was, within a few metres of the creatures having only paid RM35 (about $10) for the privilege. Sadly the results from my disposable weren’t great, but you can at least see the basics. Annoyingly I ran out of photos just before I got to swim about ten centimetres from a family of clown fish (now universally known as Nemo fish) as they
Photo 10
Photo 10
Watching sunset from the rocks
hid in a sea annemone, darting out now and again to stare at me before retreating for safety. My last sighting was a shoal of giant blue fish, a metre or more in length, whose noisy eating as they bit off chunks of coral were all I could hear (and whose name I can’t find on identification charts!).

The rest of my time in the island was spent swimming at Long Beach (a beautiful, long sandy beach with some great swimming water… and at around 6pm it was as warm as a bath), dining with people I’d met there and on Penang and spotting monitor lizards on the path through the trees from Coral Bay to Long Beach. My only criticism of the Perhentians is that there are no hammocks for dozing or reading and you have to pay for shade on Long Beach… crucial in the strong southern hemisphere sun, which caught me out a few times wearing only SPF30 sun cream. But they’re small complaints, and so I left Perhentian Kecil fully relaxed and ready to move on to the final chapter of my trip around Southeast Asia.

At the drop off point we started our long 8 km walk towards camp 5 with us is this talkative British woman who never shuts up, even when walking in the forest, the 3 of us were getting annoyed already. It started drizzling but we are inside the forest canopy so we did not get wet totally. The scenery is nice, a few bamboo trees along the way, we crossed 2 suspended bridges to get to the other side of the river. We got tired quickly because of the heat, and humidity, it seems a kilometer here is longer! About 3 hours later we arrived at the camp, ohh we passed the Japanese group along the way, they seem very friendly.
Joseph one of the guides living on camp 5 sorted us out, showed us our rooms and gave us an intro of camp 5, the kitchen, the toilets, the swimming hole, etc. Nice place I thought it would be more primitive, but actually quite good. We were alloted a space for cooking in the kitchen. There with us is a big group of young students(local), maybe 15-16 years old, quite a noisy bunch. They just did the pinnacles and are
Camp 5
Camp 5
very happy to have finally done it and all went for a bath in the river, with their clothes on, girls and boys, I dont know why. Joseph had a headache trying to tell these kids not to get in the house wet, puddles of water everywhere!

My dinner is my noodles, actually for the next few meals it will be, just boil water and you are set. Some gringos also came back from doing the Pinnacles, some were Dutch and told Jane how difficult the condition was cause it rained the night before, it was very slippery and one girl fell twice bruising her palms. The girls look worried. Joseph after dinner briefed us on what to expect for the hike tomorrow, we all then went to bed early to get ready. The Japanese group(6 of them) apparently went out in the torrential rain and had a shower and rain dance! crazy bunch. Lightning and thunder accompanied the rains, it rained heavily for a good hour, we were concerned about tomorrow.. we could not sleep well, the next room is where the kids were and they are so noisy, the girls told them off, also it did not
insects around camp 5
insects around camp 5
help the other guy sharing our room is snoring very loudly. Somehow I fell asleep eventually only to wake up to the sound of rain at 5am!

I got up and met Joseph in the kitchen, he told me to wake the girls up and we shall see if the rain stops by 7am, the rule here is no climbing if it rains, very dangerous. We sat anxiously waiting for the rain to stop, but didn’t. 6:45 it still pours, then 5 to 7 it stopped but still spitting! Here come Joseph with the bad news, he would not want to take us under these conditions, the girls have the choice of doing it tomorrow if the weather is better but I have no choice, i really don’t want to leave camp 5 not able to see them Pinnacles, I leave tomorrow to catch my flight back to Miri, so i talked to Joseph and begged him to take me up there, i told him I am fit and used to these conditions, i will be extra careful, yadda yadda yadda! He thought about it for a minute then agreed to take me. I did not realized that one
Camp 5
Camp 5
the Dutch girls, Susanne and Jane before their Pinnacles hike
of the Japanese also decided to come to do the trek, his name is Kenji and we both braved the circumstances.

It’s about 10 minute walk to the official starting point of the hike from camp 5, it was still spitting when we left, The trail is wet and slippy, full of dead leaves, we actually started quick, trying to make up for lost time, our first stop for break is at the mini pinnacle, they call it that because these formations resemble the pinnacles only in miniature, there is a bench there to rest, we had a drink and snacks, about 30 minutes it took us to get there, the next stop is at the 1,200m mark, then at the 1, 800m mark. The trail got steeper and steeper, limestone rocks all over the place, you have to constantly watch your footing, where you put your hand, if you slip you can cut your hands and limbs from the sharp rocks. My legs feel like spaghetti nearing the 1,200m mark, I keep pushing on, breathing heavily, I slipped more than once, luckily tree branches are aplenty, I was able to hold on to them to catch my fall.
Camp 5
Camp 5
We rest every few minutes very briefly then go on again, there is only the 3 of us doing the climb, the foolish ones really!
The trail is steep, and slippery, now i can understand the hesitation on Joseph from the get go, but so far he is impressed at our speed, little did he know me and Kenji are dying, our muscles aching quite badly.

At the 1, 800m mark we stopped for a break, a snack of cookies then started again, Joseph said the next break will be just at the foot of the ladders. Yes ladders as we get higher and higher we needed them to get up them limestone cliffs. Another agonizing hike up before the ladder showed up. I lost count on how many ladders there were, they are wedged between rocks, ropes also are positioned so you can grab on to them to lift yourself up, this took us about half and hour or even less, to me this is actually rock climbing, you have to know where to put your feet and hands to balance yourself, you need to concentrate or you fall.The metal rails are also slippery, I nearly fell twice!
Camp 5
Camp 5
Our hardship paid off when 2 1/2 hours later we caught a glimpse of the Pinnacles! We climbed to this viewpoint to view one of nature’s oddities, sharp limestone formations jutting out from the forest they look like sharp teeth or fangs, around them are lush trees, swiftlets flying about on top of them. 10 minutes at the top it started to drizzle again, by then we already taken our pictures, we had our lunch there and rested, we stayed in total 1 hour, by 11am Joseph wanted us to start heading down again.

I was ahead, then Kenji, Joseph is last, he said that is the rule, guide is always last during descent. This is quite tricky, the rails are slippery due to rain and you have to have your back turned as you go down the ladders(you need to face it),our legs were already tired, I felt a cramp coming, but managed to relax before it got worse. it was a challenge trying to squeeze yourself on holes to get to the ladder, we have a totally different view/perspective from when we were climbing up. thankfully the ladders were done now the ropes! I met them both
Camp 5
Camp 5
kitchen
at the 1, 800m stop, then we proceeded again. I think the next rest for us was the mini pinnacles. The climb down was the hardest on your body, you have to fight falling/slipping from the steep trail, you lose your balance easily as your legs are by now painfully wobbly, I have literally no strength left to propel myself up in case i slip so the only solution, use my bum! Going up I was hands and knees, now hands and bum! I slid myself down on my bum most of the time, where footing is iffy, I sit, i hit by bum more than once on sharp rocks, I worry about bruises later. The tree roots were slippy as well thanks god for the tree branches they kept me from falling down a ravine many times.

On the last leg after the mini pinnacle, I am in pain, my hips were sore, my legs all gone, so I bummed it! literally most of the way. When I hit flat ground I rejoiced! and nearly 3 hours later I am back at the campsite. The girls saw me right away and they left me rest for a bit
Camp 5
Camp 5
notice board
then I relate my experience, there were new people that just arrived, the Pinnacle climbers for tomorrow! I told them the difficulties of the hike but this with the present condition (rain) so maybe tomorrow will be better. They all look worried!
I stunk so I took most of my wet clothes and had my noodles for lunch, my boots I left near the steps, when I got back, loads of bees around and in it! They must like the salt in my sweat! I felt a bite on my tummy, when i looked, it was a leech! a tiny one, I caught it in time! Well i hiked the whiole way shirtless, that did not help me really. Then another one on my right knuckle, this one bled for awhile so I have to bandage it. Kenji and I and Susanne went for a swim, and we washed our clothes in the river, butterflies landed on our dirty clothes, also longing for salt. This now we can see if we washed it really well, if butterflies and bees abound near your clothes that means its not very clean yet, so go wash it again!

More people came later
trail to Camp 5
trail to Camp 5
so all in all 3 groups will clumb tomorrow, Susanne and Jane decided to try their luck tomorrow. Kenji and I treated ourselves with fried rice which we ordered from the kitchen, 15 ringgits for a full plate. The kitchen here cooks food in case you did not bring your own but you pay lots. Off to bed at 8pm, tired but could not sleep, adrenaline still pumping. Around 10pm we heard noises, the annoying kids were back, they left eraly this morning to do the headhunter’s trail. They were quite loud so woke us all up. Later in the morning we found out that their group waited at the ned of the trail for 3 hours for the boat to show up to take them to the next camp but did not show up so they have to walk back to camp 5! poor lads! proper goodbyes in the morning, wishing the 2 girls the best of luck as they try to get to the top to see the Pinnacles. me and Kenji started walking back to the boat waiting area around 7am, took us only 2 hours this time to get there and we waited 30 minutes, the
trail to Camp 5
trail to Camp 5
Kenji
boat came and we are on our way back to HQ.

At the HQ I met again Kenji’s friends, they all went to the Paku falls while I lounged around in the cafeteria reading papers to kill time. It turned out we are on the same flight back, me to Miri them to KK but same plane. Less than hour before the plane leaves, the Japanese contingent are not ready to get to the airport yet, they are missing on girl. So 2 of them went with me while the reat waited for her to turn up, I think they all got separated during their hike. Anyway we all got reunited at the airport, the kids from camp 5 were all there too. The flight is full, waiting at the gate the Japs passed around shots of vodka and tequila! Love this bunch! They are all roommates on holidays, and Kenji invited me to visit them in Tokyo so me and Susanne will head to Japan in June! I said goodbye to them at the Miri airport, they have to get off the plane and go through immigration before heading to KK.

INFO:

The famous Pinnacles at
river
river
Mulu consist of a series of 45 metre high, razor-sharp limestone spikes that tower above the surrounding vegetation, mid-way up the slopes of Gunung Api. The trek to view them is one of the most popular in the park. But be warned, the Pinnacle Summit Trek is a tough and challenging one. The trail itself is very steep (near vertical in parts) and requires a certain level of fitness.

The Pinnacles Summit Trek is usually done as 3 day/2 night trek although it is possible to do it as 2 day/1 night trek. The first stage is a 1-2 hour boat trip along the Melinau River to Kuala Berar. If the water level is low, the boat has to be pushed over rocky sections so the trip takes longer. Base Camp 5 is a relatively easy 7.8 km walk from Kuala Berar, following flat jungle terrain and taking 2-3 hours. Camp 5 is situated near the Melinau Gorge which separates Gunung Benarat from Gunung Api. There is hostel-style accommodation at the camp, and cooking facilities. The Melinau river in front of Camp 5 is crystal clear and ideal for a swim after the trek from Long Berar.

The
river
river
real hiking begins the following morning. The trail is 2.4 km in length but rises some 1,200 metres from Camp 5 to the viewpoint, passing through lowland dipterocarp forest before climbing steeply through moss forest. Here the trees area a lot smaller and everything is covered in slippery green moss. Limestone debris also litters the trail so trekkers must proceed with care. The last section of the trail is near vertical, with rope sections and 15 aluminium ladders strategically positioned to help with the climb. The vegetation is sparse although orchids, rhododendrons and pitcher plants thrive in the area, and can be seen at the side of the trail.

After some tough climbing you finally come out onto a rocky outcrop where the stunning view provides a good reward for all the effort. The viewpoint area is made up of a number of pinnacles, rocks and vegetation and has excellent views of the silver-grey forest of stone that rises up from the surrounding vegetation. After taking some photos and a short rest and a last glimpse of the pinnacles, it is time to begin the descent back to camp 5 and the second overnight stay.

It is very
Pinnacles trek
Pinnacles trek
Kenji and me still feling good
difficult to put an exact time on how long it takes to trek to the Pinnacles viewpoint. Fit and experienced trekkers should be able to reach the top in 2-3 hours. The not so fit but determined generally take around 4-5 hours. Most people spend an hour or so at the top before coming down. For many the descent is actually more difficult and therefore takes longer, so the return trip can take anything from 5 to 10 hours depending on fitness level.