Sunday, January 24, 2010

A natural jungle spa

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I really like this place. It’s so peaceful and unspoiled here. The only sounds to be heard are all natural sounds, birds chirping, tree frogs croaking and water gurgling. No manmade noises, no cars honking, no trucks rumbling and definitely no loud people talking and yelling. A perfect place to unwind and just soak in nature.

It’s located in Middle of Nowhere, secluded and safe from day trippers and litter bugs from the city. There are many “middles of nowhere” all throughout Sarawak and all it takes is a few hours of driving + trekking to get to a place where one can be totally immersed in the natural beauty of a pristine jungle.

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Postcard perfect!

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Very Hawaii-like, no?

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Ferns of all kinds and large petrified tree trunks lend a very “lost-world” feel to this place.
 
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Natural fish foot spa! The freshwater fish here are not afraid of people because so few human beings come here. As soon as I got my feet in, the fish all swarmed around to nibble at flakes of dead skin. Some people pay good money to have this treatment.

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The small stream is full of T-barbs and rasboras that love to nibble on flakes of dead skin. Even small freshwater shrimp join in!

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The fish may be little but they do have rather sharp teeth! Very ticklish at first but after a while you get used to it. Great to just sit back with a book and let the fish do their job. :D

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In this deep pool, more fish await to give a full body fish spa treatment! Just dip in, stay afloat or sit still in a shallow area and the fish will come to you.

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Ahhhh… this is the life!

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After the fish spa treatment, just jump in for a swim! The waterfall may be small but the pool is actually very deep! Though the water is clear, it is too deep to see the bottom.

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I love this small water cascade. Wish it was in my backyard!

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Waterfall massage, very relaxing!

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Relaxing in the upper pool of the natural spa.

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The upper pool, very clear and cool water.

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As I lay back and float in the water, I feel totally relaxed. Looking up, all I see are tall trees and greenery and all I hear are natural sounds. Perfect place to de-stress!

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SLRs in the wild. :) Olympus E-510 on the left and Sony A350 on the right.

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A small clear water stream flowing through the quiet jungle.

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Pandans grow abundantly along the banks.

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A species of aquatic aroid, Cryptocoryne striolata grows in abundance near the banks.

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The water in the stream comes from a nearby mountain and is very cool. Great place to go for a dip. Over hanging tree branches and lianas provide shade from the hot sun.

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Such clear streams used to be a common sight near Kuching. In just a couple of decades, many have turned black and polluted by wastes from pig farms (by far the worst!), chicken farms, run-offs from plantations, household refuse and trash chucked away by irresponsible people. Very sad!

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I like this small little stream. On both banks are heliconia-like plants. I’m not sure what they are.

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Great place for a small picnic lunch too. Dumplings, spice breadsticks and yam puffs stuffed with char siew meat.

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A dead tree trunk full of mushrooms.

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Beautiful ferns (Dipteris lobbiana) grow abundantly along the stream.

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Just looking at this picture again makes me miss the place already!

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Many small cascades and waterfalls can be found here.

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Amazing architects, spiders string their webs from one bank to another, catching unlucky flying insects such as damselflies.

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A small water cascade.

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Sandstone boulders.

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Pandans and ferns.

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I often see this fern species growing along clear water streams. Refer next photo for closer view.

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Dipteris lobbiana. If anyone has a clue what fern species this is, do drop me a line or leave a comment.
 
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We brought back all that we took in and left the place as we found it, without a single trace of our visit. Hope it stays pristine like this for as long as possible. Can’t wait to return here again!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been to Sarawak 3 times and miss it so much. Going to keep an eye on your blog for continuous enticement.

sarawaklens said...

Hello, where in S'wak have you been to? Visit again soon. :)

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

Where is this hidden paradise?

Always very interested to read and look at photos from the country of my birth.

I really like these series of photos, I too would like to shampoo my hair then.

Many many years ago, 1974, I went with a group of friends and climbed Matang and played in the waterfall. Is this Matang?

Cheers,

Ann
p/s I returned to sarawak to Mulu in July.
came via Sarawak fruits

sarawaklens said...

hi Ann, thanks for dropping by. I never reveal the location of "hidden treasures" or they won't be hidden anymore. :) But seriously, it's to protect such places from selfish people who have no concern for nature (just want to go swim) and like to leave trash everywhere they go.

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