Mother nature never fails to amaze me. And especially with the diversification of abundance natural resources in Sarawak, you can never be short of interesting places to see and visit here. It was our final day of TSDAYout special edition of Selangor meets Sarawak. Well it is close to end of my 4D3N journey, a little bittersweet as we had so much fun during this trip. We were not only given the privilege to witness the hundreds years cave with mystical features but made strong bonding and friendship among us that was simple captivating. Ok, first up after hefty breakfast that morning, off we went to Fairy Cave located at Bau, Sarawak. Fairy Cave was actually a former gold mining settlement about 40km from Kuching. Guess how much was the entrance fee??? Only 1 ringgit. yes you got that right. There are many formations that you can see and explore and photo opportunities or even for meditation as well :) There are some unusual stalactites and stalagmites that were formed over thousands of years ago. It is quite dark as we entered into certain area, so please bring along torchlight and wear a proper walking shoes as it can be quite slippery.
notice for visitors
Welcome to Fairy Cave
After obtaining our entrance sticker, we proceed to climb the stairs. It can be a little intimidating especially for senior citizens, so please plan well but rest assure, upon reaching in, it was such magical gems!
beautiful trait of a spiderweb.
the stairs
prepared to be mesmerized
some of the stairs that we need to climb in the cave.
the appearance of grass in the cave form a beautiful sight especially when the ray of sun penetrating.
As I reached to the top of the cave, i've discovered warehouse from afar.
Such a moment like this kept me thinking. Do fairy really exist? and why do this cave was named Fairy Cave? Maybe there were fairy rooming around, we will never know. Legend or myth? - you decide. Must admit that this cave somehow ignite a nostalgic mood to reflect a fascinating and meaningful contribution of mother nature and life. No wonder it is also a great place to gather inspiration to some nature lover.
A moment to stop and stare . Pic by Nazrieman
huge cave indeed
In my deep thought. pic by Jess.
After exploring Fairy Cave, we proceed to another cave namely Wind Cave about 10 minutes drive away. Open from 830am to 430pm, Entrance fee is about RM1 for an adult (Malaysian) and RM5 (Foreigner)
Welcome to Wind Cave
A great reminder notice as you arrived Wind Cave
look like a dinosaur skeleton over here..
Almost unreal, almost absurd..look carefully and you will notice a human face form on the bottom right...eerie? not quite.
Who would have thought that an afternoon discovery in this Wind Cave will look like this? Offering a varieties of distinctive formation that was effortlessly phenomenal. As I switched on my "torch apps" of my Iphone, the pitch dark cave suddenly came alive with squeaking voices of bats and echo of steps as we walked. Don't worry if you do not have any torch, you may rent the head lamp for RM3.
Look at how amazing the formation of stalactite and stalagmite
like a dungeon from a movie scene of Lord of the Rings
look at its feets that simply stick on the wall of the cave like glue.. its a bat world out there
the path way that looks a little eerie with bats hanging upside down..follow the WIND
We were so hungry after climbing all the stairs and exploring the cave in the dark with bats and creepy crawler. But overall it was an unique experience, no guide is necessary as long as you walk along the wooden bridge or walkway. Just remember to bring along a torch and wear a proper walking shoes as it might be slippery. At noon, we were back in Kuching town for indian buffet lunch at Bombay Palace Restaurant..yummy briyani with chicken curries and naan. After a satisfying lunch, we head to the highest floor of the same building where Bombay Palace located to purchase the famous layers cake also known as Kek Lapis. RM10 per piece and the fragrance simply immerse few metres from the bakery shop. The vibrant colors of Kek Lapis is probably one of the signature of a must-have souvenir for friends and family back home.
Let's dine in - Bollywood style
Dont forget to buy some kek lapis back home..yummy
Farah doing her thang to get the perfect shot of freshly baked cakes! smells good in here
Kuching's famous statue.
nice decoration
LAst final we-fie before we bid goodbye at Kuching Sarawak Airport..
Before we leave to the airport, we took our last Kuching town tour by visiting the Museum. No picture are allowed inside but I reckon everyone who would love to know more about the history of Sarawak, please visit this place. Not only it is free but a lot of information in the form of text, article, artifacts and mini theater display. It's amazing to learn about the tribe and ethnic groups with the replica of long house inside the museum. Thumbs up for retaining such great compilation! Definitely a great tour especially for students and tourists. And then it was almost time's up as we have a flight to catch. Time to bid goodbye but I am pretty sure that I left nothing there except for my footprints at the land of Hornbills. I will be back, perhaps for my long overdue wish to return for the Rainforest World Music Festival in Aug 2016!. Adios everyone! That's wrap up my TSDayOut Special Edition (Selangor Meets Sarawak) and i truly enjoyed it! till we meet again..don't forget to Aspire to Inspire because the world is full of wonderful thing, so start by exploring your neighbourhood and feed your wanderlust with the beauty this life could offer! Live Life and Dare to Dream!
You may also check out the snippet of my 4D3N of TSDAYout Special Edition at the link as follows :
Are you up for an adventure but do not know where and what to do while you are in Kuching, Sarawak? Well fret not, grab some popcorn and read further because this is not your typical activity I am about to introduce. First up, have you try Kayaking? I am sure some of you might have done while some of you might not have. Kayaking is quite common at the sea but this highly recommended on Tripadvisor activity is not your average deal because it involves Semadang river of 11km stretch that will commute you back to nature and serenity with pitstop of mini waterfall, Danu Village, Caving area, Mini Cave and Fish feeding area. You will not only experience Sarawak rainforest at its best when you paddle down Semadang river on a kayak. So do you even know where is Semadang? aahhh.. honestly I did not know the existence of this place until recently. Thanks to Tourism Selangor with the collaboration of Sarawak Tourism Board, all of us get the chance to experience an expedition where not only we've discovered this paradise, but the friendly people and most importantly my love-hate relationship with water based activities.
Are you ready to rock the paddle??
You see, I can't swim and I am certainly not a beach/sea/river person however I love the outdoor and adventurous activities especially if it is surrounded by the seductive jungles with lots of trees, mountains, hills and mother nature. So back to Semadang river, it is located in the heart of Borneo Highland, about 40 minutes from Kuching town and Semadang Discovery Kayaking is definitely one of the best kayaking experience i've ever tried - (minus the long journey under the scorching sun) . Operated and owned by family business under the name of Semadang Borneo Adventure Sdn Bhd, there are also several packages offered to the public including Klasik Bamboo Rafting, Kayaking & Caving Combo and Added Orang Utan tour. What I like about the operator is firstly it is run by certified river guides, then life jacket, dry bag (1st time ever because normally most operator do not provide this!) and water bottles are provided, to top it off, they also will help you to take photos (candid with craziness overload, dry or wet) with photo CD / dropbox immediately after the activity and last but not least - authentic Sarawakian home cooked food served as lunch. yummmy! okay check out some of the photos taken either by Semadang River Adventure or using my Iphone6.
Norfanil busy filling up the letter of indemnity
Adam, Jess and yours truly
Ready to built some muscles? 11km might sound short but not when you need to paddle the kayak on a low tied water condition. Took us almost 4 hours to finish this journey with lunch and few pit stops in between.
we are like bunch of warriors going to battle with the river
One of the friendly guide, Mackenzie.very cheerful and ready to assist us
After short briefing by the guides - Mackenzie and Edward, we were advised to find our own partner and start kayaking with the lead of other guides ahead of us. Syed Ali (local drama actor) teamed up with me and we were the first to be released to the river. At one point I felt like I am preparing myself for a kayaking competition hahaha ..especially when Syed keep counting 1,2 ..1,2 1.2.. but anyway it was quite fun teaming up with him because he loves to crack jokes and shared some of his story while kayaking along the river.
yours truly and Syed Ali (sado tapi jarang makan nasi sebab dia kata dia cepat gemuk, really?)
With picturesque scenery like this, all my work stress level just washed away. So calm. :)
certain area water level are a bit wobbly as we synchronized our paddling phase
Halfway kayaking, we were told to stop right after Danu Village bridge. Since it was so hot and sunny, we decided to be a hippopotamus and enjoy the chill cold water. So relaxing as I placed my head in the water. Then, it was like a playground for all of us adults by splashing water at each other, swimming and teasing one another in the middle of unfamiliar territory.
The pictures says it all on the amount of fun we had during this trip. Pic taken by Mackenzie
Chilling under the hot sun..
After 4km we stopped for lunch. Lunch was wickedly delicious home-cooked food of local authentic cuisine especially the freshly cooked Manok Pansuh (chicken cooked in bamboo) is certainly not to be missed. Drooling while im thinking about it right now.
stop for lunch break
Food and more food! so hungry after all that splashing in the water earlier
Then it was time to continue our journey again..let's go!
Group photo!
We had a chance to discover untouched limestone and cave along the way. Simply magical yet a little mythical with amazing line of mother nature.
white sandy rocks
tortoise/ turlte shaped rocks
We were kayaking and suddenly in the middle of no where, the river flow brought us to this gorgeous limestones that was crafted naturally over the years by natural cause. Its an amazing experience and rest assured that this adventure is not only safe for beginners and people like me but are also family-friendly. Just ensure that the life jacket are worn at all time.
Gorgeous!
everyone is starting to feel tired but at least they could enjoy the quiet, calm ambiance
everyone - row row your kayak!
look at the cave structure..
Then we found a mini stream and was told to make another stop. We tried human-rafting..kinda cool as the rapid pushed us away but since the water level is low, our rear end landed on some of the top of some rocks and stones ..ouch! But it was totally fun and awesome.
did the human rafting and the water flow pushed us effortlessly
Then we came out with this bright ideas of forming human star raft..so fun wei!
Then as we continued our journey towards this end of the 11km stretch, it started to rain really heavily. We were not only drenched wet but was shivering as we need to wait the rain to stop before getting changed to dry clothes. But while waiting, few of us just continued playing under the rain. Simply reminded me of my amazing childhood memories and I joined in as well hahaa. How often do we play under the rain nowadays, especially in concrete jungle--NONE for sure!
Anyway the Semadang Kayaking was really an eye opener experience. We were not only getting closer to the nature but also creating great bonding moments among the bloggers, media and staff of Tourism Selangor. it was amazing how we were just strangers on the first day but became buddies and shared the same connection instantly after this adventure!
Finally after the rain subside, we changed to dry clothes and head back to our hotel. Dinner tonite will be at Sarakraf Pavilion and it is also mark the final night of our 4D3N TSDAYout Special Edition : Selangor meets Sarawak. There will be also a prize giving ceremony as they will be announcing the winners during Amazing Race @ Heritage Trail and Instagram as well.
nice lighting.
All of the management staff from Sarawak Tourism Board and Tourism Selangor was present during the dinner including Mr Benedict and Pn Noorul Ashkin Md Din respectively. Good news was they decided to throw in more interesting prizes to winners of Best Blog, Best Photos and Best Instagram.
more food galore!
I was so lucky to be announced as one of the winners for Best Instagram cover..yeay! won RM150 cash, hotel voucher and additional prize (yet to be confirmed) courtesy of Sarawak Tourism Board. Thank you!
Best Instagram winners
Perhaps another collaboration to Mulu cave??
Group photos with the lucky draw winners as well.
We end the night by going back to our hotel earlier as we were so tired after all the kayaking this morning. someone going to get really bad body ache tomorrow..hahaha but overall it was a good workout..i might gained few inches of arm muscles.. :P
Check out this video clip dedicated to the friendly guides of Semadang Borneo and how we had great fun kayaking and enjoying the chill cold river water.
For Semadang Discovery Kayaking experience, you may check out the following : Website : www.semadangkayak.com Email : info@semadangkayak.com Facebook : www.facebook.com/semadangkayak Contact : +6013 804 2118 (Edward Doring) +6010 971 5850 (Macquin Doring) Fee : RM198 per person
You may also check out the snippet of my 4D3N of TSDAYout Special Edition at the link as follows :
