A Day in Brunei's Temburong National Park

Last Friday I got to join a group of other doctors, nurses and public health types on a trip to the Ulu Temburong National Park. It was a full day experience with pick up at my residence at 7 am and return at 5 pm. We had a great international group including: two visiting pediatricians from Oxford, England; a pediatrician and his wife from Japan; a child community health expert from Japan; plus three other Brunei doctors and a nurse.









The easternmost part of Brunei is the Temburong District, which is separated from the capital and the three other Bruneian provinces by the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The Temburong District includes the Ulu Temburong National Park (formerly the Batu Apoi Forest Reserve). The rain forest occupies a significant portion of the country. The park can only be accessed by the river, which is great experience in itself.







Upon departure from the capital city, Bandar Seri Begawan, we left in sort of "taxi" boats for the main Temburong city. This took about 45 minutes, but was beautiful and cool in the morning. I could see monkeys on the shore looking for breakfast. After arriving in the main Temburong city, we stopped for tea and snacks. Tea Teka is sort of like a tea cappuccino and one of my favorite drinks here. It always comes with sugar! After tea, we loaded into vans that took us to the river leading to the park. Four to five occupied one long boat. These are like wooden canoes with motors. We then motored upstream, often over class II white water. Most of the river was shallow and our wooden boats often bumped the bottom.






We stopped for a break at the rain forest's only resort for a little break then continued up river to the park. Once we stepped off the boat it was about a 45 minute uphill climb to the canopy walk. The sounds were amazing. Unfortunately, the wildlife here is pretty shy, but the scenery is beautiful.

After our hike to the canopy walk, we boarded our boats and headed to a picnic spot along the river. Our guides made a great lunch with a sweet and sour fish, curried chicken (I only heard that was good), braised greens, rice (of course!) and fresh-cut melon. Needless to say, it was hot and humid by lunch time. We were instructed to bring bathing suits and a change of clothes, so after lunch most of us went swimming in the Temburong River. I was told there were no crocodiles, so the swim was refreshing AND relaxing.

We then headed back the way we came, with an afternoon tea break, of course. We were all pretty wiped by the sun, but it was a fabulous trip. I especially enjoyed getting to know so many genuinely interesting and friendly people. Dr. Mawarni, one of the Brunein pediatricians on the trip organized the day and I want to give her a big THANK YOU!

Just a foot note: The only hat I could find with a brim was this obnoxious cowboy hat. Why not look like a typical American?