Foto: Mount Kinabalu (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
Malaysia - When I come out of the shower, I see the New Year live on the BBC from London. Like any other day, we drive to the entrance of Mount Kinabalu National Park, about ten kilometers away. In the park, you can take beautiful walks along marked trails. You can also visit the Botanic Garden. We decide to do two challenging trails that connect to each other. This way, we make a circular walk of almost seven kilometers. The route goes quite a bit up and down. At the start of the trail, it’s immediately clear there are many muddy sections. A combination of sand and clay also makes the path slippery. I carefully make the climb upwards. Sometimes I have to avoid puddles on the path. Through the trees and bushes, I try to continue the route with dry feet. The walk along the Kiau View Trail is beautiful through the rainforest. We don’t encounter many animals. The birds hardly show themselves either. Unfortunately, we do encounter leeches here again. They become active because of the moist weather. However, I’m not wearing boots or special socks. These creatures try to crawl up mostly from the ground. I try not to stand still for too long and regularly check my hiking shoes. Several times I have to brush attackers off my shoes. After an hour and a half, we reach the main road through Mount Kinabalu National Park. This is where the Kiau View Trail ends and the Silau-Silau Trail begins. The Silau-Silau Trail follows a small river. Because of this, the route involves less climbing and descending. Fortunately, there are also fewer leeches here.
Bako National Park
Malaysia - As we walk over the wooden walkway through the mangroves, there is now water beneath us. It is high tide. I hadn’t realized this yesterday when the monkeys were playing on the beach here. After a steep climb of a little over a hundred meters in elevation, ...
Deer cave Mulu National Park
Malaysia - In the afternoon, we visit the caves of the National Park. The caves are located in the 2,376-meter-high Gunung Mulu mountain. The limestone caves of Mulu are among the largest and most beautiful caves in the world. Christopher guides us to the caves ...
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia. The city has nearly two million inhabitants and is characterized by a great diversity of urban architecture; from old colonial buildings, Chinatown, and Little India to the modern and especially tall buildings ...
Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
Malaysia - In Malaysia, there are three rehabilitation reserves for orangutans. Apes that have lived in captivity are here taught again how to take care of themselves in the wild. The orangutans are fed twice daily. This is a great opportunity to see these impressive ...
Survival Island Pulau Tiga
Malaysia - The island Pulau Tiga is a National Park. Hiking trails have also been laid out through the tropical rainforest in this park. The first animals I see are already at breakfast. Near the restaurant, several Tropical Pied hornbills fly by. They settle in ...