Discover Borneo: Blog

By Carmen Roberts
Reporter, Fast Track

We moved slowly in single file, clinging to a wet rope and hauling ourselves up the side of a granite cliff face.
Even by the light of my head torch, I knew it was a sheer drop to the faint, twinkling lights of civilization almost 4,000 metres below.
It was half past three in the morning and we'd be walking for over an hour, making our way to the summit of Mount Kinabalu in the state of Sabah on the island of Borneo in Malaysia.

It's a tourist pilgrimage to see the sunrise from the ironically named Low's Peak, 4,095 metres above sea level.
Around 100 tourists a day make this 8.7-kilometre uphill journey.
Tourist trail
But only the hardy will do the entire trek in one day.
Most visitors will begin the first six kilometres of the so-called "natural stairmaster" from Timpohon Gate a day earlier.

Carmen Roberts overcomes her fear of heights and admires the view
This is a trail literally made for tourists - steps have been built or carved into the mountain and there are rest huts with flushing toilets roughly every kilometre.
But despite the modest creature comforts, soon every kilometre seemed twice as long as the one before.
Our guide Sopain Sinteh, a wiry man, no more than 1m 60cm with a long wispy beard, issued wise words of advice, "just take small, slow steps".
One kilometre to go, and it felt like we could almost touch the clouds. Then it started to rain.
My supposed water resistant jacket clearly wasn't made to withstand a ferocious rainforest thunderstorm and I arrived at our lodgings, Pendant Hut, a soaking mess.
I learned the hard way, that the weather on Mount Kinabalu is unpredictable and can change in the blink of an eye.

Summit views
But it was a relatively clear, crisp morning when we finally reached the summit.
Low's Peak is a confined space at the top of one of the highest mountains in south east Asia and there was literally a human traffic jam as tourists from all around the world jostled for photographic position in front of the humble, wooden sign to signify they'd made it.
The rain soaked clothes, aching leg muscles and chattering teeth all seemed worth it, when you saw the view as the sun peaked over the clouds like a golden aura.
Walking down, the scene was dramatic and moody, as we inched across barren black rock set against a misty, pale blue sky, like a fairytale villain's lair.
But we were only half way through our journey.
Over the edge

The world's highest and Asia's only "via ferrata", or iron bridge, at 3,776 metres
A few hundred meters downhill, a mountain-top obstacle course awaited us.
If the journey to Low's Peak hadn't been enough for my jangling nerves, walking off a cliff tethered to a wire, with the odd metal rung beneath me, was surely going to send me over the edge, metaphorically.
Via ferrata means "iron bridge" in Italian and it was first used in World War I for troops to cross the Alps. There are hundreds of via ferrate in Europe, but only one in Asia and at 3,776 metres, it's currently the world's highest.
Just before eight o'clock I stepped into the climbing harness, clipped on my carabiners and tightened my helmet. I peered over the ledge and spotted a small step, no bigger than the palm of my hand, a good 10 metres below.
"Just lean back and walk down the rock," our Mountain Torq trainer John encouraged.
For someone who is afraid of heights and hasn't done any mountaineering, this is a frightening prospect.
My legs were shaking involuntarily beneath me, part exhaustion and part fear, and yet I couldn't move. I secretly wanted to hug the side of the cliff face and cry like a baby, but ultimately, pride spurred me on.
I concentrated on looping the rope over the hook firmly rooted into the mountain, and clipping the carabiners one by one to the other side of the wire cable with my foot balancing on a metal rung, all the while trying not to look down.
In fact, the views below were stunning - rolling, lush green hills and valleys in perfect contrast to the black and grey rocky peaks.
I imagine this is as close as I'll ever get to rock climbing.
"Some people are under the impression that you have to do rock climbing before, but really there's no need, as long as you can climb up a ladder in your home to change a light bulb, you can do the via ferrata," assured Quek I-Gek from Mountain Torq.
Mental Strength

"The rain soaked clothes, aching leg muscles and chattering teeth all seemed worth it"
The 1.2-kilometre "Low's Peak Circuit" took me just shy of five hours to complete, a little longer than average but I attribute that not only to my moments frozen in fear, but also to the mist and rain that had started to drizzle towards the end of the descent.
But even as the water streamed through my gloves and down inside the arms of my jacket, with each step on that foreboding rock face, I realised it's not about physical strength, but more about self-confidence and willpower.
Although every muscle in my legs screamed in agony for days after, looking back at the photos and video footage, I've a huge sense of accomplishment, mixed with a tinge of disbelief.

This article is taken is from BBC World News,

'Lihing', the KadazanDusun version of rice wine, has great tourism potential in the open market.
Tambunan lihing producer David Francis, the owner of Lihing No. 1 at the Tapai Factory Tambunan Village Resort Centre (TVRC), did not waste time to introduce the local alcoholic drink to members of the Innovation Walk delegation to the Tambunan district recently.
The delegation was led by deputy secretary general (policy and innovation), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Dato' Dr Sharifah Zarah Syed Ahmad during the visit and explore innovation at the factory.
"Previously and until the present day, lihing is a tonic (good health drink) to a mother who has just given birth to a new baby and those who lack blood can cook chicken with lihing to make chicken soup," said David during his briefing to the delegation.
David said his rice wine factory has been in existence for 30 years ago, but he took over the factory about 10 years ago.
He said the ingredients for making lihing are cooked glutinous rice and yeast.
David also explained in detail the lihing-making process. He said his factory could produce about 2,000 bottles per month with a market price of RM6.50 per bottle.
The public, especially customers need not have to worry about the rice wine as the preparation process strictly complies with the advice of the Health Department.
David said the lihing was produced in such a way that it would not be harmful to health.
According to David, the lihing is highly in demand and has good tourism potential as a tonic.
"Lihing is very popular among tourists from China and some of them even bought it as a souvenir to be brought back to their country," he said.

From the borneo post

Hi, I have just found out about a vast river in Sarawak. Sarawak is a less visited region of Borneo. It lies on the South-East side of the Island and encompasses a vast area of remote jungle. Now in Sarawak there is a mighty river call the Rajang. The Rajang is the longest river in Malaysia, and was made famous by the book 'Into the heart of Borneo' by Redmon O'Hanlon. The Book is a description about his trip into deepest darkest Borneo. Many people have heard the name but to this day very few people have ever been there. The river has always been very important to the local people. The Iban people have long inhabited the surrounding area and treat the river with great respect.

One of the local legends concerns a mighty snake called Nabau who changed into human form, so that he could capture the wife of a local warrior. The warrior caught the snake, took his great knife, and killed Nabau. He then chopped Nabau into pieces and threw the remains into the river. It is those remains that form the Pelagus rapids (according to legend, at least). You can still occasionally see the local inhabitants making offings, to the spirits at the rapids. The Rapids are about half way up the 600 km course of the river and they form a very effective boundary, only the smallest and nimblest of boats can navigate there way through. Only a very few outsiders have ventured beyond the rapids!

From the look of it the area will make a great location to shoot the white water. The Sarawak government, in conjunction with some local companies are opening up the Pelagus rapids as an area for rafting. By the way there are quite a few spots for rafting in Borneo, some of them have become well known. Rivers such as the Padas have brilliant areas to fly down the river.

Traveling up the Rajang offers many opportunity to visitors, you can engage with the local culture, wildlife and have an adventure on the rapids.

All most all people wishing to explorer the great Rajang river will end-up at some point in Sibu the biggest settlement on the river. Sibu is 60 Km inland from the coast but already the river can be as much as a mile wide. Controlling of the town of Sibu, has always be key to the control of the the lower reaches of the Rajang. The White Raja, Raj Brooks built a fort here, to protect this vital trade route. Sibu is a very lively bussling places with exotic markets.

Much further up the river there is the settlement of Kapit. A small but lively village, here Raja Brooks also built a fort. This one has survived, mainly because it is built out of an incredibly hard wood called Belian. The fort was first built in the 1880 to control the upper reaches of the Rajang river. Today it is a museum and and artisan center.

As you penetrate deep into the heart of Borneo you begin to feel as if you are in a time warp with the clock moving backwards, there are no roads here and electricity can be hard to find. The river is the life line to these remote communitys, and there is always activity on the waterway. Many of the community's which you visit still embrace the traditional ways of there forefathers. Although they have now given up headhunting, there are still human skulls adorning many of the buildings. Notice the lush jungle that surrounded you as you push on up river and the sights and sounds of the wild.

Now by far the easiest way to travel up the river is by boat. Walking can be done but there are steep climbs and leaches and a world of other nasty encounters to be made! The most famous boat to cruise the Rajang today is the RV Orient Pandaw. The boat takes you back to an older time it feels like an old river steamer but with all the luxury of modern day living and at 180 ft long there is plenty of room onboard. The RV Orient Pandaw is not the fastest boat in the world it cruises very leisurely up the river, allowing passengers to relax and take in the spectacular views.

For those who want to explore a little further up the shallow rivers the RV Orient Pandaw has a selection of support craft that can navigate the shallow waters to care right into the deepest jungle.