Mango Bay Resort - an “eco” resort, Fiji

It had been a hectic (but productive) trip and I’ll be leaving Fiji tomorrow morning. I hope to catch up on some much needed sleep on the flight to Sydney. But I probably wouldn’t as I’m quite excited about the prospect of a 2 nights stop over in Sydney and meeting my sisters there before going back to KL on Tuesday, 3rd June 2008!

Again, it would be kinda hectic again as there are a number of things I want to see and do in my short time in Sydney! I know it’s a tough life - but someone has got to live it! Have a great weekend but watch out for falling coconuts!

It’s a long way from Kuching to Nadi, Fiji. I depart Kuching at 4pm for KLIA to catch the connecting flight from KL to Sydney, Australia. There is a 2 hours difference with Sydney and another 2 hours time difference between Australia and Fiji.

After a 7 hours plus flight from KL we arrive at 8am Sydney time. It was too ‘short’ a flight to have a really good sleep and I left the aircraft window shutter up so that I can catch the sunrise.

I’m glad I did as I managed to capture these ‘golden clouds’.

By this time I should be in Nandi, Fiji after taking the Quantas flight from Sydney. This would be my second trip there. It’s quite a long way away but I love long flights anyway.

I’ll be away from the 27th May and would be back in Kuching on the 3rd June night; meaning that I would have missed the “Hari Gawai Dayak” (which falls on the 1st June) celebrations in Sarawak.

My posting(s), if any, would be sporadic in view of this but meanwhile here are some of the photos I took from my last trip. Traveling overseas is a tough job but someone’s got to do it! *sigh*

Breathtaking views towards Santubong area from the expansive elevated timber deck.

Silvia lives out in Sungai Cina, Matang which is about 45 minutes drive from where we lived; in a little jungle sanctuary paradise. I got to know Silvia who is a Swiss expatriate through my wife whom she played mahjong with on a weekly basis. Silvia’s place is quite well hidden and you would be hard pressed to find it unless someone brings you there. But I have been there before, although it had been a while.

Shaded jungle driveway to Silvia’s sanctuary in the rain forests.

I was busy with the presentations for my overseas trip tomorrow but decided to take the time out with my wife to visit Silvia on her lunch invitation as I have not been to her lovely place in quite a while since her late husband Werner Gratz passed away suddenly about 2 years ago.

Although her place is quite far from town and is quite isolated; she decided to stay on alone there with her dogs (and the squirrels!) as the place surrounded by jungles and on elevated grounds with sweeping views is simply stunning.

Situated high up from the long beautiful driveway means that there are plenty of steps to climb to get up - but once you’re up there, your efforts is rewarded with the vistas of green vegetation for as far as your eyes can see. I could make out rivers and the distant horizon with Mount Santubong as the backdrop. I can imagine that the sunrises and sunsets would be simply stunning. I could imagine living quietly here for the longest time.

But lunch awaits and in the pleasant company of another two European expatriate couples who are also living in Kuching we sat out on the breezy timber deck to enjoy some fine home cooked cuisine. It was a delicious lunch with scampering colourful striped squirrels in the nearby trees for company and entertainment.

Great environment, food and company. What more do you need?

Unfortunately I couldn’t stay for long as I need to finish the presentations and reluctantly dragged ourselves away from Silvia’s Borneo getaway paradise. No pictures can fully capture the ambiance and feel of a place but I trust that these snaps I took do capture some of the aspects of this magical place.

What a pleasant Sunday at Silvia’s; and trusting that your Sunday has been just as pleasant.

A distinctive and dramatic aspect of the landscape (waterscape?) at Tasik Kenyir is the sight of dead trees half-submerged in the water. This happened when the surrounding jungles were flooded over in the construction of the hydro-electric dam. Some of these trees which are of various sizes can be found in scattered clumps while some stand alone in stark contrast in the surrounding waters. They are a defiant sight in the midst of men’s brutal domination and exploitation of our environment.

Not your usual Sunday morning sights. Lake Kenyir 18th May 2008

And this huge majestic towering tree that we came across on our second day of paddling at Tasik Kenyir is one of the most impressive; and makes for a hauntingly beautiful scene and which I promptly captured on a serene Sunday morning. Is it any wonder why I live to kayak; to feel alive, to contemplate and to capture these magical sights and moments. Where words fail me, I trust the images captured and the feelings conveyed, don’t.

Trusting that your weekend is also as beautiful.

Early morning @ Tasik Kenyir, 17th May 2008
A sight to behold and keep in our mind’s eye on our first day on the waters.

I’m inundated by work and as I would in most probability be making another overseas trip on Monday; I would be working over this weekend as well. So it would seem that my photos and stories on Tasik Kenyir would be put on hold somewhat. *sigh*

Geoff Foote paddles past the remains of a flooded landscape.

Meanwhile here are few snaps of Tasik Kenyir to tie things over until I find the time to ‘properly’ blog about our trip. Sorry Huey!

Early morning mist and drizzle @ Tasik Kenyir on the last day - 20th May 2008

I arrived at Kuching airport just past midnight and was ‘shocked’ to discover that there were no taxi at the taxi stand! And this is supposed to be an ‘international’ airport. Anyway I ended up calling my younger brother who lives nearby at BDC to pick me up. This is something unacceptable to anyone visiting Kuching that the airport and tourism authorities should look into.

I have emails to answer; meetings to attend and things to follow up even though I have only been away for 4 days of which only one is a working day. So my photos and stories about my Kenyir Kayaking Expedition would have to wait a bit; suffice to say at this moment that Geoff Foote, Mel and myself had the ‘complete’ kayaking experience on our 3 ½ days paddling on Tasik Kenyir. Complete as in having overcast skies, unbearable heat, bright crystal clear skies, glassy-like surfaces, turbulent waters, storm, rain, waves, wind, etc Yeah, we had a swell time.

Morning light at ‘base camp’ on Pulau Jala, Tasik Kenyir 18th May 2008

Oh. And this is FH2o (in his monkey suit) sporting a ‘wild’ 4 days unshaven look as he paddles his way through the traffic jam at Tabuan Jaya this morning slowly immersing himself back again into the wilds of this corporate world. *sigh*

FH2o - leading the wilds into the ways of the man … *ahem*
Self-portrait, 22nd May 2008

An eagle soars overhead while Elke pauses to take it all in @ Lake Toba, 23rd March 2008

Today is Vesak Day, a public holiday in Malaysia (hence the long weekend and this trip) and it is an annual holiday observed by practising buddhists. And we’re observing it by practising our one with nature and the universe on the waters of TasikKenyir today. It is an important and busy day for buddhists who would be gathering at the temples before dawn for the celebration of Buddha Day.

Being the first full moon of the month, we may do a bit of night kayaking if the weather is fine tonight which would make it a fitting end to our kayaking trip as we would be heading back to KL tomorrow sometime in the early afternoon and when I’ll be taking the last flight out to Kuching from KLIA.

Lake Toba, 24th March 2008

We’ll setting off on first light and according to Geoff, our ‘kayaking godfather’ (name coined by Mindy), this will be our plan:-

Day 1 – paddle to the caves at Bewah/Taat. About 30-35km. There is a campsite somewhere there or bush camp. This will possibly be our longest paddle.

Since I’m unable to post any photos until I get back on 20th May, late Tuesday night; (and I hate posts without any pics) here’s the last photo I took of Lake Toba after our last day of kayaking there, on our way back - for our first day of kayaking at Lake Kenyir!

Time to get WET!

Note: There’s really no wireless internet @ Lake Kenyir and neither am I bringing along my notebook. This is a “time-stamped” post - in other words, postdated. A really cool and useful feature of WordPress.

I’m meeting up with Geoff and Mel (who flew in from Thailand yesterday for this kayaking trip) later in the city and we’ll be driving from Kuala Lumpur in Geoff’s car straight after work to Lake Kenyir (55km from Kuala Terengganu) in the State of Terengganu about 7 hours drive away. As there’s no accommodation, we’ll be camping out when we get there and will begin our kayaking adventure at first light on Saturday morning. Nice. But before we become part of the foot chain or get trampled on in the middle of the night we would be setting off fire crackers and or light a fire as despite the encroaching development this is still very much tigers and elephants country. Chances are slim that we’ll spot these wild animals anyway but it makes for a good story and I enjoy my fantasy.

Tasik Kenyir while not as big as Lake Toba, it is still the largest man-made lake in South East Asia and it’s twice as big as Singapore even though it is not that big in spite of the fact that some of the ignorant residents there behave and think that it is the center of the world! Lake Kenyir is Malaysia’s largest rock-filled hydroelectric dam.

Geoff being the consummate professional and thorough person that he is has even prepared these trip notes which I have copied and pasted here verbatim: -

Expedition dates - Saturday 17th to Tuesday 20th May 08

Objectives:

1. Enjoy a great environ by kayak with good company

2. Explore the southern and western parts of the lake

3. Explore the caves at Taat and Bewah

4. Explore and possibly climb Gunung Ceragu or Gunung Raung

All of the above are as time, energy and inclination permit.

The plan at this stage is:

Depart KL by car on the evening of Friday 16th May and drive to the hydroelectric dam at Kenyir for the launch point. Note that this is different from the usual starting point for most activities at Kenyir (which is Pengkalan Gawi). If someone is driving up from Singapore via the east coast, we can arrange to meet either at the launch site, or somewhere along the way as necessary.

I have chosen to launch from the hydro electric dam as it is about 25 km south of Pengkalan Gawi and gives us access to the southern and western parts of the lake.

You will be required to camp out on the Friday night after arrival as there is no accommodation.

This will be a camping trip, bring tents, sleeping mat, food and water. Francis will have a water filter which should be effective, and I will also take water purifying tablets. If you have a hammock, bring it as it is often difficult to find flat land to sleep on, but there are plenty of trees.

Proposed route is

Day 1 - paddle to the caves at Bewah/Taat. About 30-35km. There is a campsite somewhere there or bush camp. This will possibly be our longest paddle.

Day 2 Explore caves in morning then paddle along the western shores of the lake as time permits. Bush camp.

Day 3 - head N-E towards the multiple islands in the mid northern section of the lake - explore and camp overnight.

Day 4 - early start to be back at the dam by early/mid afternoon. Drive back to KL in time for flights etc.

If time permits and if people are interested, we can include a climb of Gunnung Ceragu in the centre island on day 2 or 3 but I’m not sure of the logistics of that exercise.

The western parts of the lake are out of phone range. I will have a satellite phone for emergencies. If anyone has 2 way radio sets, they would be most useful. I have topo maps and GPS.

The usual food/equipment/medical issues apply. Be responsible for your own first aid gear.

If uncertain of what to bring, have a look at Huey’s website for some idea. http://www.kayakasia.org/Resources/kayakequipmentchecklist.htm

Bring something to carry your rubbish in.

Potential hazards:

1. Heat - it can be very hot on the lake, particularly in the middle of the day. We should aim to depart early each morning, and find some shady rest in the middle of the day. Protective clothing, sunscreen, sunglasses.

2. Storms/lightning. Keep a good look out (behind as well as in front - as I found out the hard way one time on Kenyir) for potential storm activity. Head for the nearest shore if there is any risk of a storm.

3. Animals - this is tiger country as well as elephants, leopards, and other beasties. While I would regard ourselves to be very lucky to see one, we need to be aware of the potential risk. Light fires at night, if I can find out where to get some firecrackers we can let some off at night also. We will be in the north-eastern section of Taman Negara.

4. Navigation can be tricky in amongst all the nooks, crannies and islands. It is very difficult to lose your orientation so do not rely just on one person to navigate. Bring a compass. Familiarize yourselves with the general shape of the lake beforehand - have a look at Google Earth. I will copy some map sections to distribute.

5. I will contact the Tasik Kenyir Development Authority and notify them of our proposed route and timings.