Cute ones, scary ones and ones with HUGE noses!

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We flew into Kuching from Jonah Baru after getting the bus across the border from Singapore. We were met at the airport by Wesley, the owner of the hostel we were staying at. Sea Hare was a little hostel that hasn't been open for very long but it had everything we needed.

We spent the first night looking around Kuching. Went out for noodles, drank tea in a cafe and walked along the waterfront. Quite a nice town really, the people seemed very friendly.

The next day we caught an early bus to Bako National Park, an hour or two away from Kuching. We caught a boat across to the park headquarters where we had booked to stay the night.  Luckily there were another two couples doing the same so we were able to share the cost of the boat.

As soon as we got off the boat there were Macaques everywhere, including quite a few mothers with their babies clutching to their backs. They must be the most fearless monkeys on Earth! We were told to be wary of them as they have a tendency to steel anything left unguarded! I thought they were really cute until we went for a walk! I turned a corner and there was a family of them sat there. The big male of the group obviously didn't like me being there (maybe thought I was going to steel the King Crab they had got hold of) so showed his teeth at me and started chasing me, hissing. It was actually pretty scary.

That afternoon we walked the trail to the nearest beach. We passed through the mangroves on the way when the tide was low This is the best time to see the Proboscis monkeys. We were really lucky as there came within a couple of meters of the path so we could see them really closely. They are so funny to look at. The males have enormous noses (to attract the females apparently!), big bellies and bright red members! We stood and watched a couple of them munching on the leaves for ages. We also saw Bearded Pigs and a couple of scary looking viper snakes near the start.

We carried on walking through the rainforest to the beach, Telok Paku, spotting lots of weird bugs and vegetation on the way. We stepped over a huge trails of termites too. The beach was a lovely sandy cove, with rocks on either side an the rainforest as a backdrop.

We headed back for lunch with the intention of doing another walk that afternoon but unfortunately the heavens opened and the rain absolutely sheeted down! We took cover in our cabin and both fell asleep. We must have been tired as we didn't wake up for nearly 3 hours.

After dinner we went for a walk on the beach. It was a really clear starry night. We had to be careful not to tread on the hermit crabs which were scurrying all over the sand. Then we joined a night trail with a guide and a couple of others. Torches were a must as there are lots of snakes and the like that you definitely don't want to step on around here! We spotted a Civet cat up in the trees by its eyes reflecting the torch light, lots of spiders, frogs and sleeping birds. Pretty cool.

The next day was a scorcher for a change. Up early to make the most of it. We walked the trails to Telok Pandan Kecil and Telok Pandan Besar. The trails are some of the most popular in the park. We climbed up through the forest for a while when we heard the familiar crashing of leaves around us and about 30 Macaques were making their way through the forest. It was so nice to see them truly out in the wild.

The trail eventually reaches a plateau covered in shrub vegetation. By this time the sun was seriously hot! We followed a sandy path lined with carnivorous pitcher plants to the cliff edge looking down onto Besar beach. A stunning sandy beach but unfortunately you can't get down the cliff onto it. We could see Proboscis monkeys in the trees on the otherside of the cliff.

We walked back along the trail and headed for Kecil. Another pretty beach but this time we could get down onto it and have a paddle to cool down - lovely! We headed back to Kuching that afternoon.

Next day we visited Semenggoh Orangutan Sanctuary, an hours bus ride from Kuching. I was very excited! We got there early to see the morning feeding. Orangutans are so cool. They are so human-like in their facial expressions and they all have their own characters. Some are much less shy than others and came straight down to the feeding station where they showed off swinging on the ropes. It was great seeing them approach through the trees when the ranger called their names. After the main feeding time was over we walked to a different station just in time to see the biggest male orangutan in the sanctuary clambering through the trees. The trees only just took his weight as he was absolutely enormous and seriously hairy - a bit like Chewbacca! We watched him for about half an hour before he headed back off into the forrest. The whole time he didn't stop eating bananas!Shared a minivan back to Kuching with a few others we met while monkey watching.

Went out for the obligatory curry that evening. Before watching some DVDs back at the hostel We made the mistake of watching Open Water. I'm going to be thinking about it when we go diving next week!