Rafflesia Flower at Gunung Gading National Park in Sarawak

Rafflesia Flower at Gunung Gading National Park in Sarawak is one the things you must see if you are an Eco lover and enjoy some rainforest trekking here in Borneo. This is also one of my achievements in jungle trekking to date. The mountain national park covers a total area of 4,196 hectares is located in the district of Lundu in Sarawak. The mountain is also about 906 metres in height. This nature loving national park is also famous for the worlds largest flower and the park opened it's doors to the public in 1994.

Gunung Gading Map and details

Trekking up Gunung Gading is no easy task so you need to be prepared for this trek. For my exploration here, it took me a good 2 hours of trekking uphill to find the famed and unique Rafflesia flower. Anyway, I was on a mission to seek out this amazing flower as I had never seen one in real life so this journey was my maiden journey.

Trekking uphill

On reaching the park headquarters, we were met by our local guide who was booked 2 days before we arrived. We started out our journey about 9am and it looked fairly simple at the beginning. Selvam, our pro-Sarawak guide came along with us on this trek to seek out the beautiful Rafflesia flower. He had called the park the day before we arrived to check if there were any flowers on bloom. Lady luck was on our side!

Selvam, park guide and me

As we trekked in to the lush rainforest, we encountered many critters along the way. From large ants as big as your little finger to strange frogs and lizards. For nature lovers, this is one excellent place to go trekking. Well, if you look at my attire, I was not prepared for this, at all!

A local resident frog

One hour into the trek and the path keeps going uphill. I forgot to mention, you must have a local guide when going trekking in Gunung Gading as getting lost in the dense rainforest is quite easy here. Not many people seem to trek here as when I was there, I probably saw about 2 other small groups trekking here.

A chameleon lizard

Passing an uprooted tree

The trekking paths are marked with coloured flags on the trees so you know which way you are trekking as there a number of treks here like Viewpoint Trail and Waterfalls Trail. We took the waterfall trails as the Rafflesia flower was last spotted nearby the waterfalls by the last guide that went up there the day before.

A millipede with fire orange legs

You have to be extra careful when trekking there as on the ground, there are also many critters who move around and you would not want to step on them. As for leeches, we did not come across any on our trek but there have been reports so best be prepared.

Rafflesia flower spotted at a distance

Rafflesia Flower of Sarawak

And finally after two hours of uphill trekking, the local park guide spots the beautiful Rafflesia flower off the trek. He signals us and we head off trek to see this bright red orange thing in the distance. I had to take a picture of this.

Rafflesia Flower in Sarawak

The Rafflesia Flower (Bunga Pakme in Malay) species found here at Gunung Gading is called the Rafflesia Tuan-Mudae (Beloved Prince). There are about 27 species of this flower in South East Asia and some of them can grow up to 1 meter is diameter and weigh in about 10 kilograms.

I think we spent a good 2 hours there as while we were busy photographing the Rafflesia, our park guide found another flower in bloom about 200 metres from where we were. It was a Rafflesia bonus for us! Even the park guide mentioned that it is quite rare to find 2 full bloomed flowers in one area. Finding one alone is quite hard at times.

Rafflesia flower, side profile

You may have also heard that this flower smells like a rotting corpse. Well, I cannot agree or disagree as when I was 1cm away from the flower, I did not smell anything at all. Yups, my nose even touched the petal of the Rafflesia. From what I was told, the Rafflesia will smell bad only after it's full bloom of 5-7 days. So, I did not smell anything dead as claimed.

Rafflesia flower with natural sun light

The Rafflesia is also an amazing flower because the bud of this flower takes a whole 9 months to develop into the beautiful flower. And the sad thing is that the flower only lasts for 7 days. The Rafflesia bud is also very much sought after by locals as there are traditional medicinal values in them. So, the park rangers keep a watch for local poachers for the flower buds.

From my research, the traditional medicinal values of the Rafflesia Flower Bud where the bud is boiled in water and the concoction given to recuperating new mothers to help them regain their strength. It is also known that it can shrink the womb and restore the female figure after child birth. This is much practiced by the local 'Orang Asli' in Sarawak but is less nowadays.

Rafflesia flower Picture (5 days old)

Buds are usually found near rocks or near rivers and streams so it is always wise to check with the park head quarters or guides to see if there are any in bloom as you may not want to just go there and trek for hours to find nothing. I was told by the local park guide that tourist just came there on hearing about the Rafflesia and trekked to return not seeing anything.

Me and the Rafflesia Flower

Seeing the Rafflesia flower up close in real life is one of the things I had dreamed about for years. Not many people have seen a live one up close. I have about 10 good friends and none of them have ever seen one in real life.

Rafflesia Flower with sunlight

Rafflesia Flower bud on the ground

Just before we left, the park guide called us to take a look at a Rafflesia flower bud he had found. It was amazing as it looked plain and was the size of a cricket ball. You are also not supposed to touch the flower as these flowers or buds are sensitive to bacterial infection and may die.

Me taking a moment at the waterfalls

Finally after enjoying the special moments, we made our way to the waterfalls which was almost at the top of the mountain. Beautiful and peaceful, the waterfalls was just perfect to end our exploration here. The entire trek took us about 6 hours up and down. By the time we got down, my legs felt like they had been beaten by 10 men with sticks. I guess I need to exercise more if I plan to do any more major trekking.

Gunung Gading Park Entrance Fees:
Adults: RM3.00 (US$1.00)
Children: RM1.00 (US$0.33)

Photography Fees:
Camera: RM5.00 (US$1.60)
Video Camera: RM10.00 (US$3.00)

Park Guide Fees:
RM5.00 per hour

Directions to Gunung Gading:

The Gunung Gading National Park is just 5 minutes drive from Lundu town or about 2 hour's drive from Kuching. Visitors can choose either day-trips or overnight stays when visiting the Park.

By Bus: Travelers should take STC (Sarawak Transport Company) Lundu Express Bus or Bus No. 2B from Kuching City to Lundu town center. From there, take a Pandan bus and ask to be dropped off at the park. As accommodation facilities in the Park are limited, hostels in Lundu, Pandan and Siar offer alternatives.

Park Accomodation:

There are some available at the national park. From Forest Lodges, Huts, Hostels and even Camping Grounds. Price Guide from Sarawak National Parks.

Contact information:

• Park Head Quarters Telephone: 082 735714
• National Parks Office in Kuching Telephone: 082 248 088
• Official Website: Gunung Gading National Park
• More information: Sarawak Parks
• More information on the Rafflesia Flower

Among the many things to do in Sarawak Borneo is explore the place fully. This is for those who have never seen a real Sarawak Iban Chief and Shaman Picture. As the state is filled with Eco-Tourism activities, caving is one of the interesting things to do here. A list with 8 Caves to visit in Sarawak Borneo for those interested in this activity. Another place worth visiting is the Mulu National Park and for the luxury traveler, there is the one and only Hilton Batang Ai Longhouse Resort which is near the border of Kalimantan.

Apart from moving around this huge state, there are also attractionsaround the city. One of the interesting places you should visit is the Sarawak Cultural Village in Kuching. While most of the national parks and conservations are located out from Kuching town, you can easily make your way to Gunung Gading to see the Raffelsia Flower of Sarawak Borneo.

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Ta Prohm Temple in Cambodia

Ta Prohm Temple in Cambodia - Entrance arch

Ta Prohm Temple in Cambodia is also known as the Jungle Temple which is located in the Angkor Thom complex and is one of the most beautiful temples I have visited in my life. Why so? Well, besides this temple being used for the first Tomb Raider Movie starring the beautiful Angelina Jolie, the way the trees grow here are absolutely astounding. Words cannot describe it until you set foot there and see it for yourself.

Ta Prohm Temple - An amazing place to go

Ta Prohm was originally called Rajavihara and was built around the late 12th century (1186 AD) in Angkor by King Jayavarman VII. It was built to be a Mahayana Buddhist monastery. Apparently, the place was left as is over the hundreds of years and the outcome is amazing from what you see now in the place which is also called Angkor Archaeological Park.

Ta Prohm Temple - Huge silk cotton tree overgrowing the wall

Walking around Ta Prohm would take you about 15 to 30 minutes. Most of the structures have fallen or taken over by huge trees growing over them. There are many photo moments here and getting them in the sun is the best.

Ta Prohm Temple - Silk cotton trees growing over the stones

One of the popular sites here at Ta Prohm is the "Tomb Raider tree" in the central sanctuary, where Angelina Jolie picked a jasmine flower and was sucked beneath the earth. How cool is that.

Ta Prohm Temple - Part of the fallen temple

To avoid the crowds, I would recommend you buy the 3 day pass to Angkor Wat and take your time to visit the temples. Mornings should be the best time to do this as it can get really crowded in the afternoons and especially on weekends. By the way, most Asians love the 3 Night / 4 Days holiday and this will only make your trip a rush.

Ta Prohm Temple - Stone carvings on blocks or rocks

I would recommend a minimum of 4 nights/5 days trip to Siem Reap if you plan to visit Angkor Wat. No point spending all that money and rush your holiday. The best option to see Siem Reap and Angkor Wat would be 5 nights/6 days. Trust me, it pays off and you will not be tired when you take your time.

Ta Prohm Temple entrance

Ta Prohm Temple - Me posing, again!

At the end of my Ta Prohm Temple visit, I found this temple to be one of the best natural temples I have been to. As mentioned in my other Cambodian Temple blogs, if you have a chance to visit these temples and have little time, choose Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Prohm Temple. You can easily visit these 3 temples in one day. Sunrise at Angkor, late morning at Bayon and Ta Prohm for the afternoon finishing with Angkor again for the sunset.

Getting here is on the same route as Angkor Wat. Once you reach inside the Angkor Thom complex, all these temples are one by one along the roads. You need a Angkor Wat pass to visit the complex and they are available at the main entrance to the grounds.

General Tip: If you get local children following you around asking you to let them guide you, just politely tell them you are not interested. If you do need someone to take a picture for you, just ask some of the tourist to help you. Asking the locals there would cost you as they would expect some money.

Archaeological Park Fees: US$20 for one day, US$40 for three days, US$60 for one week.

You can also read about my Angkor Wat Blog and Bayon Temple Blog.

Ta Prohm Temple on Wikipedia

Ta Prohm Temple by Tourism Cambodia

Among all the temples I visited in Angkor Thom, I would easily say that only one captivated me fully and it was Ta Prohm Temple in Cambodia. 

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Bayon Temple at Siem Reap Cambodia

Bayon Temple at Siem Reap which is located just North from the famous Angkor Wat is another amazing place you must visit when traveling in Cambodia. Missing this temple is like visiting Egypt and not seeing the Pyramids. Bayon was built around 1190 AD by King Jayavarman VII and is a Buddhist Temple with Hindu elements incorporated in it's design. The temple also represents the intersection of heaven and earth.

Journey in the Angkor Thom complex

Getting to Bayon Temple is usually after your visit to Angkor Wat and your tuk tuk driver or guide will take you there unless you have other plans. The journey there is relaxing with lots of trees in the Angkor Thom compound which is a 10 square kilometer city complex.

Bayon Temple - Face statue tower

On reaching Bayon, you will be amazed by the huge structures that resemble faces. These stone face statues or structures are of Bodhisattva Avalokitesharva. The funny thing about these statues are that they are all smiling. And there are to be 54 standing towers with these faces on four sides of each tower which are known as Face Towers but apparently only 37 are left. No, I did not count them.

Me posing with one of the Face Statues

For those into photography, you could lose yourself in this lovely place. Tons of photo moments here and I would recommend you explore your camera here. My plan is to go back here again to fully photograph Bayon, this time armed with more interesting lenses.

I would also advise on beating the crown when you come here. Usually the crowd would come here after the Angkor sunrise so if you have seen the sunrise on day one, then use day 2 to come straight here at 6.30am. That is what I did to avoid the massive crowds who will then make your photographing moments hell.

One tip is to try an photograph the sun rising and hitting the Face Statues which could look really nice. Unfortunately for me, I totally missed that shot as I was mesmerized with the way the temple was made and how the carvings to the faces were done.

One of the Large Buddha Statues at Bayon

Just outside Bayon there is another shrine with a large Buddha statue where the locals would be seen praying to this statue. From the picture you can see roughly how large it is.

One of the carved Asparas

The Asparas or celestial dancers are seen on carvings around the temple. Such detailed works are absolutely amazing for something this old. One last tip for the temple seekers, if you only have limited time and want to visit a few temples, I would recommend you take a single day pass and see [1] Angkor Wat, [2] Bayon and [3] Ta Phrom.

There are quite a number of temples in the Angkor Thom district and some are even located quite far so choose your temples for those with limited time there.

For some food and drinks, head just north of Bayon and you will see some local stalls by the road selling food, drinks and souvenirs. Anyway, throughout the complex there are various places that sell souvenirs and f&b. Again, get your souvenir t-shirts around here as you may not see them being sold elsewhere unless things have changed much in the last 1 year.

Terrace of the Elephants

Terrace f the Elephants - Wall carvings

The Terrace of the Elephants or Elephant Terrace is one of those places worth visiting and photographing. This terrace was apparently used by the King of Angkor back then as a platform to view his victorious army returning or even for public ceremonies. Unfortunately my memory card was maxed out when I got here so I managed to take a couple of pictures only.

Stone Elephants

According to text, the Elephant Terrace was connected to the Palace of Phimeanakas of which only a few ruins remain. The original structures were made mostly from wood and other organic materials which did not last. So, only the rock sculptures remain. Fantastic place and you can spend about 20 minutes here before moving to the next temple.

Some Bayon Temple Tips:

• To get to Bayon or Elephant Terrace, your tuk tuk guide will bring you here as it is in the Angkor Thom complex.
• The Angkor Day Pass or 3 Days pass covers all temples in the Angkor Thom complex so you need not pay any more money.
• You only spend for the daily Tuk Tuk service or food, drinks or souvenirs here.
• Walking around thee temples can be hot and humid so carry water and wear comfortable clothing and shoes.

Overall, I was quite impressed with my visit here as I never expected to see so much heritage in just one place. Don't forget to check out the other places here like Ta Prohm Temple, Angkor Wat and the famous Tonle Sap Lake. That being said, I still have to plan another trip to visit the other temples apart from Bayon Temple at Siem Reap, Cambodia. 

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Tonle Sap Lake in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Tonle Sap Floating Church

Tonle Sap lake in Siem Reap, Cambodia is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and is an ecological hot spot that was designated as a UNESCO biosphere in 1997. To travel to this lake, one needs to hire a taxi or tuk tuk from Siem Reap town and the journey takes about 1 hour via dirt road and will be a very dusty and bumpy ride to this famous floating village.

The local homes along the main dirt road

Apparently for most of the year the Tonle Sap lake is fairly small, around one meter deep and with an area of 2,700 square km. During the monsoon season, however, the Tonlé Sap river, which connects the lake with the Mekong river, reverses its flow. Water is pushed up from the Mekong into the lake, increasing its area to 16,000 square km and its depth to up to nine meters, flooding nearby fields and forests.

Tonle Sap village homes

Our trip began in the morning with a tuk tuk ride out of Siem Reap town watching the Cambodian lifestyle as we pass small villages and homes. Eventually our journey from a tar road becomes a dirt road. If you have not experienced bumpy, this is the place to do it. Oh, don't forget to bring along a scarf to cover up as the dust from the dirt road will get to you.

A common home seen

I must warn you before you continue reading. This experience to Tonle Sap will either make you feel sad or you will just be amazed on how people live in the real world. To me, this must have been one of the saddest trips I have taken in my life. Even seeing the poor in Indonesia did not compare to the poverty I saw here. Poor people were just everywhere.

People literally living in huts the size of your home toilet. Just take a look at the picture above (You can click on the picture for a larger picture). It is actually someones home. On asking the guide, he relates that this is actually normal. Sometimes up to 8 people can live in a hut like that. Showers are taken just at the side of the hut and cooking on the other side. I even saw someone taking a bath just next to the road on my journey to the lake.

On how people live here, it is simply amazing. The rely solely on the lake for their food and just about everything else.

Tonle Sap boat jetty

Anyway, we reached the jetty where we would change from tuk tuk to a long tail boat. There are hundreds of these boats there so the guide will take you to their regular boatman. We board the boat and head out the river to see more of the Cambodian life by the river. The price is about US$10.00 per person for this trip.

Boat journey out to the floating village

This is the main transportation way for locals and also tourists. You will see boatloads of tourist moving up and down as Tonle Sap is quite the popular tourist destination in Cambodia.

Tourist long boats

Floating church at Tonle Sap Lake

Cruising along the river, you will be shocked to see that life revolves around the river and everything, I mean everything is on the river. From schools on boats to churches on boats, the scenery is filled with boat houses and so on.

Tonle Sap Floating local restaurant

Even local floating eateries are seen. Kids on boats and locals paddling around are a common sight along the way out. There are a few thousand people living in this huge water village on Tonle Sap where fishing is the main income for these locals.

Locals rowing

When you reach the end of the river which connects to the lake, you start to see more and more of these floating villages. They are practically everywhere and what makes things worst is the colour of the river and lake water. You start to wonder how these people live here in these conditions.

Tonle Sap floating village

The Lao people of Tonle Sap live in poor conditions as there is no luxury here. Everything revolves around the lake and rivers here. On occasions, I saw the locals just cooking outside their boat house on an area about 2 feet wide. Using charcoal or wood fire stoves, they go about making meals for the family o even for business. I saw a lady cooking something which used chicken and she simply threw the chicken intestines into the lake. But then again, it sounds irty but I guess it is part of the eco system here where the fish would eat what ever is discarded into the lake.

Some homes are even far out from the main village and stand alone in the waters as you pass with your boat. One of the main pictures that did not turn up nicely is how the children and adults sit in basin or bucket type boats. More like plastic round tub, you are bound to see them solo paddling around and occasionally coming up to the tourist stops and asking for money. Seeing how they are dressed and full of entusiasm, some tourist hand over a dollar or two to these poor children.

Floating tourist stop

Finally after a remembering boat ride, you are brought to one of 2 floating tourist stops which double as a restaurant and souvenir shop. All tourists are brought to these 2 places just near by each other. The boatman will stop you there where you get off and he will wait for you.

Most tourist would just get off, order some drinks and browse the souvenir shop. Well, we did that. Ordered a nice cold can of Cambodian Coke and used the toilet here. Souvenirs were sky high priced so we gave it a miss.

Crocodile pit at tourist stop

At this stop, there was even a crocodile pit! No kidding. A live crocodile for tourist to gawk at. They were freshwater crocodiles and they didn't look to happy. Averaging about 4-6 feet in length too.

Local grocer boat shop

While taking a break and enjoying the Coke, a boat pulled up by the side and the locals who worked at this floating restaurant quickly flocked to the boat. Knowing me, I had to go and see what it was all about. It was the local grocer cum fruit boat. Selling to locals, he had jars of pickles and fresh fruit inside the boat.

Floating Carousel at Tonle Sap Lake

So the 20 minute stop over there came to an end as there was nothing else to do on this floating tourist stop and we called our boatman. We picked us up and headed back to main land. Along the way back, he took another route back and this time, we saw something out of the world. A floating carousel! Now, how on earth is this. Words just could not come out of my mouth when I saw it. Simply amazing what people can do at a floating village.

Floating school

Floating Basketball Court!

Back into the river we saw a floating school with a floating basketball court! It just goes to show that anything can float in Tonle Sap, Cambodia. Sadly I did not see any school children as it was a weekend when I visited this place. I am assuming they have a school boat instead of a school bus?

Locals cooking a meal on their home

End of the day, this entire experience took us a good half day here and at the floating village. I would again advise, if you have a soft spot for poverty, please take a pass on this trip. It is very sad to know how good a life we have when these poor people are happily living things as they are in Tonle Sap.

To get here, just ask your hotel or tuk tuk guide and an average time of half a day.

Price for boat ride is US$12 to US$15 per person.

Journey to Tonle Sap - Well, I booked the guide for the entire day for $10.00 and he took us anywhere so you have to ask your guide or tuk tuk driver.

You can also read mt other article on Angkor Wat, Siem Reap. Overall my journey to this amazing place was quite educational and emotional. I never thought I would see poverty to this level until I visited the Tonle Sap Lake in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

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