The land of monkeys: Borneo

Last August I made a trip down to Malaysia to check out the island of Borneo. Arriving there, I was taken aback by all that the place had to offer. Culture, food, nature, adventure and don't forget friendly people, are all offered in Borneo. I made my first stop in Kuching, the Capitol of Sarawak. This place is surrounded by many places to see and do. 

The New Sarawak State Legislature Assembly Building peaks out from above the Hong San temple in Kuching. Below a view of the New Sarawak State Legislature Assembly Building.

 One of the best Destinations around Kuching is definitely Bako National Park. The park is a sanctuary for a variety of wildlife, most in-particular the proboscis monkey, a native to Borneo. I actually got a chance to get closer to one and snap some photos.

At the beach near the entrance to Bako, you are greeted by a rock which looks like a monkey. A coincidence for a place full of them. 

The proboscis monkey is a very friendly animal, but a peculiar one.

Another place to catch the wildlife is Semenggoh Nature reserve. There resides a great number of orangutans who are preserved in the facility. It is easily accessible from Kuching, but you cannot always count on seeing an orangutan.

Enjoying an afternoon fruit.

 Next I was off to Sabah, to hang out in Kota Kinabalu area. We took a day trip to explore the areas around Mt. Kinabalu. The area is filled with rare flora and fauna.

Mt. Kinabalu is a destination for hikers and it is the tallest mountain in the Malay Archipelago.

Tarap is a delicious almost custard textured fruit. I almost consumed a whole one on my own. Don't let the skin scare you, it literally peals right off.

A rare pitcher plant

A huge water Monitor on Sapi Island

For great food check out the Filipino market, but do some bartering or else they will quote you a high price.

This is a butter shrimp, which was very good.

Our chef

In The Madness - Traveler Photo Contest 2014 - National Geographic

In The Madness - Traveler Photo Contest 2014 - National Geographic

 

Aboriginal hunter in Qingquan 清泉, Taiwan

A day in the Mountains near Zhudong (竹東）there are many beautiful places. The mountains are also home to the aboriginals of  Taiwan and the Ayatal （泰雅）tribe. Here an aboriginal hunter shows his handmade rifle, which is used for shooting mountain pigs （山豬）making for a great feast.

老梅石槽 Laomei algae rocks of the northern Taiwanese coast. 北海岸

This is an area near Danshui 淡水 with some great finger like rock formations, pointing into the sea. The rocks get covered in algae during the early summer. 

Yanshui Fengpao 鹽水烽炮: The only fireworks show you'll ever be able to participate in.

鹽水 Yanshui, a town north of Tainan, is home to one of the most unique festivals I've ever been to. 

The Taiwanese who take part in the festival believe that the more you get hit by the fireworks, the more luck you will have in the next year. 

Around the festival you will run into some huge apparatuses loaded with fireworks called 'beehives'. Then some Taiwanese people will bring in an deity, light fake money on fire for their ancestors and light the fuse. This is followed by a shower of  explosive rockets, burning holes in your clothes and causing you to jump around. 

This kind of festival would never fly in a place like the United States, which is one of the reasons I really like Taiwan; things like this can happen. 

I decided to tape my camera bag up with a cardboard protectors, which only led to me having a box and camera bag filled with dead fireworks. Somehow the fireworks even ended up in the smallest nooks and crannies of my camera bag, which now carries the essence of a campfire. The most important thing was that my friends and I survived the ordeal quite well, aside from a nose full of black snot. I'm surprised i didn't pull a firework out of my ear.

So if you are ever in Taiwan, head down to Yanshui（鹽水） near Tainan（台南） around Lantern festival time and you can have a very lucky year.

花蓮 Hualian and Toroko Gorge

On the eastern side of Taiwan lies Hualian county, a long strip along the mountainous central coast. Our trip there was great, but if you're going make sure to plan it out before you go. Reason being is most of the great outdoorsy activities you need to register for. You can do that here: http://www.taroko.gov.tw/English/

If you don't make a plan there, it is still great to see Toroko Gorge (太魯閣峽谷). Without reservations you can ride a motorcycle up the gorge and hike some of the easier trails then head back to Hualian for some good eats.

The Waterfall Curtain Tunnel (水簾洞） at the end of the Baiyang Waterfall trail (白楊步道）.

At the Eternal Spring Shrine (長春祠)

Eternal Spring Shrine (長春祠)

The Qingshui cliffs from the South (清水斷崖）

As close as we could get to the bottom of the cliffs, looking south.

If you want something good to eat in Hualian, look no further than their night markets, in particular Zhiqiang Night Market (自強夜市）.  You will see a lot of Taiwanese people lining up for all the common night market treats, but one, Gaodaxia (高大俠), was quite unique. The first thing you see is this handsome man flame grilling shrimp and clams, whilst a dozen or so Taiwanese women of mixed age take millions of photos of him. The first thing I thought was, I'm not lining up, but, well we did and it was worth it. They offer super fresh seafood for a pretty reasonable price, plus they do it right. To make it more appealing, they have a huge selection of imported beer to choose from in the back. The best time to go is probably when that night market starts at about 5pm.

Nicely grilled scallops

Raw oyster with Thai sauce

Oysters ready for consumption