Leg 176, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia via Brunei to Tandjungredeb, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
DAY02_14.PLN (12.4 KB)
Challenging weather at many tough to locate airstrips, lots of fun.
Borneo is much bigger than I thought it was. Growing up on the 52nd parallel with the Mercator projection used on all maps in school, everything around the equator is about 1.62 times further apart than in Northern Europe. It doesn’t help that the middle of that ‘standard’ map (like the one I use at the OP) is at 27 degrees North, giving a false sense of where the equator is.
Modern maps use a globe projection of course, Yet after using maps on computers for two decades, it still feels like Europe is too small on correctly projected maps. In reality, Indonesia stretches wider than Europe, while Borneo easily swallows up the entire UK. In fact, Indonesia stretches wider than Canada
02-13 Kuching International WBGG 4:11 PM Sunrise 5:51 PM
02-13 Pangsuma WIOP 5:04 PM virtual vision landing
02-13 Long Apung WRLP 5:55 PM
02-13 Data Dian WADT 6:11 PM
02-13 Long Banga WALZ 6:44 PM 2 attempts, short runway
02-13 Long Layu WANB 7:01 PM 2 attempts, hard to spot in the rain
02-13 Buduk Kabul Airstrip WAKH 7:13 PM
02-13 Long Bawan WRLB 7:19 PM
02-13 Bakalalan WBGQ 7:30 PM 2 attempts, storm moved in
02-13 Long Seridan WBGI 7:41 PM Sarawak Chamber largest cave chamber 4°4′18.82″N, 114°52′36.56″E
02-13 Mulu WBMU 8:03 PM
02-13 Marudi WBGM 8:17 PM
02-13 Miri WBGR 8:29 PM
02-13 Lutong WMLU 8:37 PM
02-13 Anduki/Seria WBAK 8:51 PM
02-13 Brunei International WBSB 9:14 PM Bandar Seri Begawan Capital
02-13 Limbang WBGJ 9:20 PM
02-13 Labuan WBKL 9:41 PM
02-13 Kuala Penyu WBKU 9:54 PM
02-13 Keningua WBKG 10:12 PM
02-13 Kota Kinabalu WBKK 10:28 PM
02-13 Kota Belud WBKB 10:54 PM
02-13 Kudat WBKT 11:13 PM Slippery runway, pouring
02-13 Sandakan WBKS 11:52 PM
02-14 Jeroco WMLA 12:10 AM
02-14 Lahad Datu WBKD 12:22 AM
02-14 Semporna WBKA 12:40 AM
02-14 Tawau WBKW 12:55 AM
02-14 Kelabakan WACN 1:20 AM 3 attempts, hard to spot, half overgrown, heavy rain
02-14 Nunukan WRLF 1:33 AM
02-14 Bunyu WALV 1:51 AM
02-14 Juwata WAQQ 2:02 AM
02-14 Tanjung Harapan WAQD 2:17 AM
02-14 Banaina WALP 2:26 AM
02-14 Kalimarau WAQT 2:33 AM
Flight time 10:22 34 stops
I left early today, dawn approaching at Betung Kerihun National Park
Sunrise at Pulaunjibung
Approaching Long Apung
Data Dian Airport
Kayan Mentarang National Park
Tropical rain forest in the rain
Pretty place, be well prepared when visiting
Approaching Long Banga
Long Banga Airport, hard to find in this weather, had to declare a go around, short as well
Buduk Kabul Airstrip, tricky landing, dip then an uphill slope
Ba’kelalan Airport next to the Sungai (river) Kelalan
It’s really coming down here
Long Seridan Airport, lightning all around
Which is close to Sarawak chamber in Gunung Mulu National Park
I wouldn’t expect to find the cave entrance in good weather either, but it is close to here
Sarawak chamber is the largest known cave chamber in the world by area
Coming in for a landing in Miri, a Malaysian city on the northwest coast of the island of Borneo
Canada Hill caught my attention with the historical Oil Well No. 1 “The grand old lady”
It is believed Canada Hill got its name from a Canadian who used to live in the area
Anduki-Seria Airport
Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, a tiny nation on the north side of the island of Borneo
Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Institiute of Tahfiz in front
Bandar Seri Begawan is located on the Brunei river
Mercu Dirgahayu 60 on the left, birthday monument to the Sultan
Kampong Ayer on the right. The river front has lots of houses on poles in the water
Jame’ Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque and Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque
Mahkota Jubli Emas Park
Labuan, officially the Federal Territory of Labuan, an island just off the coast
Home to Surrender point, right in the middle of the picture above, on the beach
WWII memorial marking the site of Japan’s surrender to Australian forces in 1945
Labuan Airport
Kuala Penyu
Bongawan below the huge cloud
Flying over Crocker Range National Park
Gunung Kinabalu (13,435ft) ahead
Located in Kinabalu Park, a World Heritage Site
Kinabalu is the highest peak in Borneo
Sandakan barely visible, located in Sabah, on the northeast coast of Borneo
Home to Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary and Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center
There is also the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center and Sandakan Crocodile Farm
Sandakan Memorial Park (right) on the site of a former Japanese POW camp
Agnes Keith house (left) where the American author wrote her three autobiographical accounts of life in North Borneo before, during, and after the Second World War
Three came home tells of the author’s time in a Japanese POW and civilian internee camps in North Borneo and Sarawak, which was turned into a movie in 1950
Lahud Datu
Timbun Mata island in the “unavailable” bay… near the Celebes Sea
Sempora airport, still thunder and lightning
Nunukan Airport, mind the apartment block at the start of the runway
There are no tall buildings around Nunakan, nothing to suggest tall buildings on Bing maps either. No clue why the AI keeps peppering the towns with these huge buildings.
Bunyu Island
Tarakan Island
And approaching my final stop today, Kalimarau Airport
Tomorrow, south towards Australia. Or more realistically to the Banda Arc.