Borneo!!!

We just got back from Bako National Park and are now in Kuching again. Bako was awesome!! We spent 2 nights there in a bungalow right in the jungle. The only way to get to the park was by bus and then by boat. It is the oldest national park in the Sarawak province on Borneo. Almost all types of vegetation typical for Borneo can be found in this park as well as a variety of very interesting animals.

Supposedly there are crocodiles but we didn't see any.

Another boat going to Bako at the same time as us

When we arrived we were immediately greeted by a group of Macaques. They love to hang out around the bungalows and the park office because that's the best place to steal food. We actually had our own little encounter one morning. Here's what happened: We set down our food for one second to get silverware. The lady in the restaurant yells at us to not leave our food. In the exact instant a monkey spots the food, Jeff sees the monkey, the monkey sees Jeff. Both race for the food. Monkey wins.... however, because of Jeff's quick reaction we didn't have to go hungry; 2 pieces of flat bread was all the monkey could grab.  :)

Another animal that likes the park head quartes and especially canteen is the wild Bornean bearded pig. They spend most of their days roaming through garbage and playing in mud.

 The first night, we went on a guided night walk, which was very interesting. We saw 5 snakes, 3 of which were vipers (one huge one), 1 tree snake and 1 that we have no idea what it was. We saw a giant huntsman spider with an egg sack, a whole bunch of frogs that made crazy bird sounds and a sleeping kingfisher. We also saw a big black scorpion from a distance and some crazy glowing mushrooms. the guide picked up a log and had us turn off our flashlights. The little mushrooms glowed brightly on their own. Crazy. :)

Our guide just found a snake

This big viper made a tree right by the park office its temporary home. It had just eaten something (probably a rat or a monkey..haha) and was just hanging out.

The viper was probably about 4 feet long

A close-up; very pretty colors, different shades of green and yellow.

some kind of tree snake

this kind of frog makes a weird bird sound

This huntsman was huge!! Maybe 7 or 8 inches across. The guide said it was the biggest he had ever seen. Jeff agreed :)

 The next day we went on a hike to a pretty lookout. On the way we got to see a flying lemur hanging in a tree and some big pitcher plants.

Boardwalk through mangrove forest

 To save the best for last, the best thing about Bako National Park is that it is home to a big group of proboscis monkeys, which are only found on Borneo. The males have huge noses and big bellies. They look so weird and are really fun to watch. They are really slow and sit in trees all day and eat leaves.. haha here are some of our favorite shots:

Needless to say, Bako National Park was amazing! I'll put more pictures on my facebook page. Kuching is a really cute town. We'll be here for 5 nights before heading back to Chiang Mai. One major thing on the program is an Orangutan sanctuary, where the orangutans are in transitional rehabilitation into the wild. They basically can roam free but come to a station for food, and that's where we can go see them. Should be pretty cool. So yeah...more later. :)