Brunei, an amazing experience
Apr 26 '01
The Bottom Line a once in a life time experience - though not an easy one if you want it to be a good one
Our aim in Brunei was to see the Tropical Rainforest and our stay at the Kuala Belalong Field Study Centre in the Batu Apoi Forest Reserve in the Temburong district allowed us to carry out a full study of the richest Ecosystem on earth. Me and my boyfriend arrived in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei on April 7th 1996 after a comfortable flight with Royal Brunei Airways. We stayed the first night in Bandar and visited an open air restaurant by river taxi for our first meal in Brunei. This gave us an opportunity to see the Sultan’s Palace and to see Bandar’s waterfront. After and early breakfast we left by river for Bangar, the main town of the Temburong district. The only way to reach Temburong is by river and for passengers this means a trip on what are affectionately known as “flying coffins”. The trip takes about an hour through the mangrove swamps. We travelled by bus for 20 minutes to Batang Duri where the road ends. Batang Duri is an Iban Longhouse and the closest settlement to the Field Study Centre. To reach the centre we had to travel by longboats. This final part of the trip can take up to two hours long if the river is low and then passengers have to get out to push the boats through the rapids. We were lucky in that river was reasonably high and we only had to push three times. We arrived at the Kuala Belalong Field Centre after an hour. Spaced along the Belalong river with steep forest covered slopes rising on both sides are six wooden chalet-style houses on stilts. This was to be our home for the next week. We acclimatised over the first few days because we were to climb Bukit Belalong the highest point in the rain forest, 11 kms away through dense undergrowth.
The boatman poled us across the river and we disappeared into the forest on the other side. The first 500m was a steep climb. The trail was marked by red paint on the trees and distance markers on red and white striped poles or plastic. There was just space on the path for one person to walk but there was a constant need to watch ones feet and look out for roots and fallen branches. As dark fell the intensity of the cicadas increased dramatically. Amazingly quickly we soon didn’t notice the noise but accepted it as part of forest background. Night falls very quickly at about 1830 every evening. Then pitch black – no moon or stars. A few civet cats were spotted in the shadows attracted by our food but few creepy crawlies to worry about. The first night was damp and restless, but an experience not to be missed.
We awoke early the next day and the gradient was much gentler and there was more time to look about at the trees in hope of spotting a Borneo gibbon or a hornbill. As we toiled up the last, extremely steep slope, scrambling up rocks and roots an ominous crack of thunder announced the imminent arrival of a rainstorm. We got totally drenched, like a hose was set on us. We neared the summit and came out on top, a small area with weather recorders on top. The views over the steaming canopy were breath taking. We set to work to make a camp site just below the crest of the hill, clearing a tree that was in danger of falling on us, spreading leaves on the ground as cushioning under the tents. There was no view, and fetching water was an extremely tough chore after walking all day. Leeches were everywhere. We returned to the summit to watch the sun set and it was the most wonderful sight in the world.
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Epinions.com ID:
kate_fleet
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Reviews written: 38
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