Home

 

News

Overview

Diary

Statistics

In Deutsch

 

MAIL
Current pictures of our Borneo trip from Miri/Sarawak to Brunei and Sabah,
back to Miri and through Southern Sarawak to Kalimantan in Indonesia

latest picture: November 27, 2006

  • click a picture to see details
  • the colored numbers of the pictures are corresponding with the maps of the above mentioned links in the same colors
More websites from Borneo and its continuation in Indonesia:
 
We finally left Miri in Sarawak, after we got our LandCruiser back completely overhauled on 8/26/06 and were aiming for the Philippines. During this leg of our epic journey, we visited our 154th country, which was the tiny Sultanate of Brunei with its capital Bandar Seri Begawan, returning shortly afterwards to Sarawak (Limbang) once more just to cross the exclave of Brunei - the province of Temburong (Bangar). There was another small piece of Sarawak (Lawas), before we finally reached the East Malaysian province of Sabah.. We continued via Kota Kinabalu to the small port town of Sandakan at he Sulu-Sea, from where we wanted to ship with Aleson-Line to Zamboanga on the island of Mindanao in the South of the Phlippines. Unfortunately, the Philippines' entry permit procedure for our car is so time-consuming that we prefer to drive first South again due to the bad weather conditions, and to visit first Indonesia. Having done some minor "after-sales"-repairs in Miri we visited the beautiful Niah Caves - said to be one of the largest in the world.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1  Brunei - an islamistic Sultanate.
The Mosque of Kuala Belait in the
South near the border to Sarawak
2  The wealth - here the oil - can be
seen everywhere. A "nodding
donkey" near Seria/Brunei
3  Drilling for oil is also offshore.
Oil rigs near Seria, 12 miles
North of Kuala Belait
 
 
 
 
 
 
4  The peaceful Belait River at sunset
5  Where in the world can you see
simultaneously: 1. Oil-Pump, 2. Refinery,
3. Service-Station?
> Seria near Kuala Belait/Brunei
6  The teapot monument
(roundabout) in Kuala Belait
symbolises the four districts
of the Sultanate of Brunei
 
 
 
 
 
 
7  The "Billionth Barrel" Monument
in Seria, close to the sight where
the first oil well was dug in Brunei,
some 60 years ago
8  The Empire Hotel in Bandar Seri Begawan
in Brunei - an 1.1 billion US-Dollar project
– consists of superlatives. Everything is there:
From a golf course to a bowling alley, from
a cinema to a beach and a dinner theatre
9  The water village „Kampong Ayer“
in Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei –
described also as “Venice of the East”
- is built on stilts and is home to
about 30’000 people
 
 
 
 
 
 
10  The Jame’Asr Hassanil Bolkiah
Mosque in Kiarong in Brunei
was built to commemorate the 25th
anniversary of the Sultan’s reign
11  The golden dome of the Omar Ali
Saifuddien Mosque, built 1958 in
Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei is made
up of 3.3 million pieces of Venetian mosaics
12  A traditional longhouse near
Limbang  on the small strip of
Sarawak (Malaysia) squeezed in
between the Sultanate of Brunei
 
 
 
 
 
 
13  We are greeted by the ‘Temburong
Knights’ Basketball Club in Bangar/
Temburong in Brunei and Emil
becomes a ”Honorary Member”
14  The ‘Sungai Batu Apoi’-River is
meandering peacefully through the rain
forest near Bangar in the Temburong
District, the exclave of Brunei
15  Lovely drive through the lush tropical
rain forest along the ‘Sungai Batu Apoi’-
River near Bangar in the Temburong
District, the exclave of Brunei
 
 
 
 
 
 
16  Back in Malaysia, at the border
between the provinces of Sarawak
and Sabah, a tempting billboard of
Southeast Asia’s highest mountain –
Mt. Kinabalu (13’480ft) – welcomes us
17  View from Signal Hill Observatory
over Sabah’s capital Kota Kinabalu
18  Chicken, fish, fruits and
vegetables are sold in abundance at
the waterfront market in Kota Kinabalu
 
 
 
 
 
 
19 Early morning at Mt. Kinabalu: The
thick wall of clouds sailing past reveals
for a very short moment a glimpse of
the mountain peaks – the only view we
can enjoy yet of this majestic mountain
20  Before Telupid, we follow the wide
Sungai Liwagu jungle river on our way
to Sandakan in Northeastern Sabah
21  A very special moment: We see
our first Orang Utan – a male –
in the Sepilok Orang Utan
Rehabilitation Centre in the
Northeastern corner of Sabah
 
 
 
 
 
 
22  Between Ranau and Sandakan
in Sabah, where the rain forest had
to make place for over 80 miles to
profitable palm oil plantations
23  These long-tailed macaques have
only little natural jungle habitat left
24  A really sad sight: Burnt rain forest
on more stretches on the coastal
road from Miri to Bintulu in Sarawak
in favor of new palmoil plantations
 
 
 
 
 
 
25  Quiet early morning view from
our breakfast table at the Seaside
Travellers Inn in Kinarut, 11 miles
before Kota Kinabalu in Sabah
26  The 'Great Cave' at Niah Caves
in Sarawak is also home to swiftlets.
They build edible nests high in the walls.
These bird nests are highly prized by
Chinese gourmets around the world
27  An additional experience late
afternoon: Waterfall after a heavy
tropical downpour in the interior of
the 200 ft high main Niah Cave
 
 
 
 
 
 
28  Another grand spectacle: The
setting sun in the Similajau National
Park, North of Bintulu in Sarawak
29  On these leafless tree branches in
front of our veranda at the drive-in
chalets of Similajau National Park
we  often see a pair of hornbills
30  Attractive coast in Bintulu at the
South China See. It is possible to
drive with the car right next to
the beach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31  The Port of Sibu is very lively
and colorful. Different river boats leave for
destinations like Kuching, but also to
longhouses in the interior. Manaus in Brazil
might have looked this way in earlier times
32  The graceful 7-storey Kuan Yin
Pagoda of the impressive 100 years
old Tua Pek Kong Temple in Sibu at
the West end of the harbor adds
a special charm to the city
33  A picture cannot reflect the grandeur
of this moment. In Sarikei, at dawn,
thousands of swiftlets come to rest side
by side on the telephone wires. What
makes them come in such crowds into
the town for the night?
 
 
 
 
 
 
34  The sun is setting at the
Batang Rajang river in Sarikei
35  The small city of Sarikei on the banks
of the brownish Batang Rajang Jungle
River still has a certain pioneer character.
Covered speed boats transport indigenous
people to the longhouses in the interior
36  It is not morning fog at the Batang
Lupar River in Sri Aman. It is haze and
smog – a result of the intense burnings
in Indonesia, which is repeated every
year in October and which blows the
smoke over to Borneo and pollutes the air
 
 
 
 
 
 
37  We don’t feel love at the first sight
for Kuching, Sarawak’s capital,
with its modern high-rise hotels
38  In the old part of Kuching, life
is still more or less traditional
39  The “Astana“ – nowadays the
residence of the Governor of
Sarawak – was built in 1870 by
Rajah Charles Brooke as a
bridal gift to his wife Margaret
 
 
 
 
 
 
40  Near the village of Bau in
Western Sarawak towards the
Indonesian Border, we spot this
Chinese cemetery against a
beautiful backdrop
41  In the Gunung Gading National Park,
we have the beautiful chance to admire
the world’s largest flower – the Rafflesia –
which can grow up to one meter in dia-
meter. It takes nine months to mature and is
flowering only 4 or 5 days before dying
42  We enjoy the Siar Beach near
Lundu in Western Sarawak
 
 
 
 
 
 
43  The Sunday market in Kuching
is eye catching in its colorful
and artful display
44  This Pitchers Plant „Rafflesiana“ –
a carnivorous plant – can reach a
height of 14 inches and hold one
quart of liquid. Compare the keys
on the ground
45  Female Orang Utan in the
Semenggoh Nature Reserve, “our“ 
second rehabilitation center in 
Sarawak’s Southwest near 
Kuching, enjoying bananas
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
46  The locals call this Proboscis monkeys
„Dutchman“, because of their long nose,
their red face and their fat belly. They
are endemic only to Borneo. We saw
a big family in the Bako National Park
47  In the evening light, there is an
intense peace over the Bako National
Park outside Kuching in Southern
Sarawak
48  Wonderful sunset
at Bako National Park on the eve
of our departure to Indonesia
 
 
 
 
 
 
49  Liliana has a friendly chat with
the welcoming Indonesian Customs
officers at the Entikong Border Crossing,
while Emil is finalizing the paper work
of the car. The entry procedure took
45 minutes and was very easy
50  In Pontianak in Kalimantan we
cross once more – for the 21st time –
the Equator – here during rainy
weather from North to South
51  This Indonesian ferry was our
“home” for 38 hours from Pontianak/
Kalimantan on the island of
Borneo to Jakarta

 
More websites from Indonesia and Timor-Leste:

More websites from East Malaysia and Brunei:
Articles in newspapers about us in Brunei:
Article: "Lifelong sojourn for Swiss couple", English Daily Newspaper "Borneo Bulletin", September 16, 2006