We were up early again, this time headed to Bako National Park. We were excited because so far they hadn’t cancelled the trip. The last few days they had had to either cancel or return early because of the storms and extremely choppy water.
The only way to get to Bako was via boat after the 40 min drive there. Bako is Sarawak’s oldest national park founded in 1957. It is known for its wildlife both flora and fauna. It is said that almost every type of vegetation in Borneo is found here. In addition to the plant life Bako is home to the proboscis monkey (only found in Borneo and there are approximately 275 of them here), the silver leaf monkey, the long-tailed macaque (as previously stated: annoying and dangerous to humans), wild boar, green vipers, flying lemurs and much more. 
We had snacks from the room for breakfast and S had packed a really great stash of healthy snacks as well so we were able to just get up and go.
Harry our guide/driver picked us up and we began discussing the day. We decided on the way that we would do half the day at Bako and then go and check out a waterfall that was billed as an easy hike (unlike another waterfall/swim hike that was billed as difficult).
Our boat ride there was more than bumpy and less than extremely turbulent. The tide was too low to pull up to the dock so we went in towards the beach as far as we could and then jumped in and walked. Salt water crocodiles were briefly mentioned, it is why you don’t swim here (Aaaccck). I blocked this out for the time being and scurried to the shore. While Harry was checking us in we walked the beach, which was incredibly beautiful with amazing shells, despite a tremendous amount of plastic trash.
We decided we would do the wildlife hike in Bako and we hit the jackpot. We saw all the animals that were mentioned to us and immediately the proboscis monkey, who are fascinating with their prominent noses and gangly arms and legs. They reminded me of human muppets. They were all around us and we were able to be close to them. We simultaneously saw macaques.
The hike to the beach was beautiful with rolling hills and bridges through the rain forest. Harry asked us to please not touch the leaves on the side of the trail because that is where the vipers some times hang out. He was a tremendous source of interesting information.
He talked to us about the stingless bee that is native here and how the honey is first salty then sweet. It is used for a variety of medicinal purposes ranting from an antibacterial and an antibiotic to curing a cough, burns, skin disease to aesthetics via a beautifying face mask. After the bees he showed us the tree that is used for traditional incense.
We made it to the beach and immediately saw the silver leaf monkey. There were quite a few adults and babies. They are “near threatened” in the endangered classification which is due to hunting and the pet trade.
The hike back was humid and gorgeous. At the very end we saw a wild boar, a flying lemur, and a male green viper. We then at lunch at the main center cafeteria style. It was pretty good and not too shabby on the health front.
We boarded our boat and headed back to the mainland. We were about half way there when the motor started making a growling sound and stopped propelling us forward. The waves had gotten choppier as the tide rose so we bobbed up and down in the sea while I again thought of the salt water crocodile, the lack of paddles on the boat, and tried to guess how long it would take us if we had to hand paddle the rest of the way?
Another boat was sent to our rescue, this was surprisingly unsettling because of the driver’s face mask. I am all for sun protection but is a skull face really necessary?
We made it back partially escorted by a dolphin and then headed to Kubah National Park. Harry told us as he dropped us off we would easily be able to find an uber when we were done.
This park is known for its waterfalls and bathing pools and 93 species of palms. A had made an excellent suggestion in coming here with solid reasoning: “Every time I visit a waterfall, I am glad I did it.”
I am not sure who this hike was rated “easy” for (maybe professional mountaineers?) and I can’t imagine what the “difficult” hike we almost chose would have been like (Maybe free climbing up a smooth wall while being chased by wild boar or needing to be able to levitate or fly?). Kubah was definitely for people with experience moving (this was best illustrated by a young woman sitting on the ground refusing to move halfway up the entrance hill which went up and up and up some more).
The trail was phenomenal and the waterfall and pools were wonderful. We magically avoided leaches (which we had been warned about).
We had to hustle on the way out because we had promised the park entrance people we would be out by closing time (they had partially closed the gate when we got to it event though we had a solid 10 or so minutes to spare).
Service wasn’t the best so it took a while to get a Grab (Asia’s Uber), but S finally succeeded. The car that picked us up even had AC which was a nice change from the 100% humidity and 90+ degree outside. It also probably masked our au naturel “we-have-been-hiking-all-day-and-may-have-worn-these-clothes-before” essence.
Dinner was at Lepau, a traditional Sarawakian place. It was quite good.
After dinner A and I stumbled upon a convenient store that had a ton of local foods and snacks and GUMMIES (Also the hallmark of international shopping success)! I also bought the stingless bee honey (which sadly I wasn’t able to carry on).
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