Strolling in Artsy Kuching City

Kuching Jazz Festival Mural by Leonard Siaw

Prior to visiting Kuching, the capital of Sarawak is under my radar of places to visit. I had an initial impression it would be similar to other cities in Borneo like Kota Kinabalu. Surprisingly, the city along the meandering Sarawak River has a different vibe. With my usual practice of exploring new cities on foot, Kuching felt more like a counterpart of George Town in this side of Malaysia. The vibrant and artsy streets, affordable and tasty food and the easy going lifestyle of the people.

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Clearwater Cave: Asia’s Longest Cave System

Crossing one of the bridges at the Clearwater Cave

Coming from Cave of the Winds, we had very short boat ride to our last cave visit – the Clearwater Cave. On the boat ride to the cave, I noticed the plank walk hanging by the rock walls leading to the cave. It looks fragile but walkable. I’m sure it would be fun to take that trail if we had more time. The boat was faster as we arrived soon at the scenic picnic area before clearwater cave. The colorful longboats gather by the riverbanks as the boatmen await each of their guests. We’re excited to explore Asia’s longest cave …

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Upriver to the Cave of the Winds

Columns at Cave of the Winds

Our adventure in Sarawak continues. In our first day in Gunung Mulu National Park, we were able to visit two of the four show caves in the park. The massive Deer Cave and the small yet impressive jellyfish-like rock formations at Lang Cave. This time we rode a boat at Melinau river to reach our first cave for the day, Cave of the Winds. But before that, we took a quick side-trip at a Penan Settlement to get a glimpse of the life of an endangered ethnic tribe.

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A Quick Side-trip to Cobrador Island

Beach at Sitio Cabugaan

Aside from Bonbon Beach, the main island of Romblon has some island hopping activities too with its fair share of equally stunning islands and beaches. Since we’re covering the Biniray Festival and Tonton ng Sto Niño that day, we only have the morning to visit one of the three islands on the northwestern side of Romblon Island, the Cobrador Island. The island is the farthest of the three and a 45-minute boat ride away from the poblacion.

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Cantingas River: Cleanest Inland Body of Water

Cantingas River flows

It seems there are several title holders for the “cleanest inland body of water” in the Philippines. Good thing about this is it shows how many natural clean body of water we have. Bugang River in Pandan, Antique was the first I know to have the title through the Gawad Pangulo ng Kapaligiran. There’s also Lake Apo for Northern Mindanao. Cantingas River in San Fernando, Sibuyan Island in Romblon adds to this merry list of clean body of water.

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Climbing Mt Hibok-hibok in Camiguin via Itum Trail

At Sitio Itum Trail at Mt Hibok-hibok

They say the third time is a charm. For Camiguin, my third visit on this island province found me on one of the summits of Mt Hibok-hibok. A mountain I used to just marvel from afar when I roamed around Camiguin from my last two visits. Whether from white island or driving on the coastal road, I’ve always imagined how it’s like to climb this stratovolcano that helped shaped the landscape of this island. Standing at 1,332 meters above sea level, Mt Hibok-hibok is one of the 24 active volcanoes in the country.

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