The west of Borneo feels a little more “civilized” than the east, and in Kuching you notice that immediately. There are nicer hostels, the people are more open and there is noticeably more life in the city. The pretty promenade along the river through the city becomes a meeting point for the city (and the actually quite a few tourists) in the evenings. There are stalls, street performances and even a – somewhat amateurish – water and laser show in front of the recently opened new and beautifully lit parliament building (unfortunately it looks really horrible during the day)
That alone makes us want to stay here a few days longer, but there are also a few national parks around the city and another sanctuary for orangutans. Unfortunately, Tobi’s knee isn’t getting any better and walking is becoming a bit difficult. That’s why we start our first day in Kuching with a vegan cooking class including a trip to a local market. The cooking class itself is then in a small, nice café and we get to know some Bornese recipes and ingredients that are either inherently vegan or have been redesigned. Unfortunately, Borneo itself is not a particularly good place for vegans, most dishes come with shrimp paste and we usually eat (tasty) jungle ferns and vegetables with rice 
And so it’s nice to get to know more varied dishes, in particular there is a delicious dessert made from tempeh 
After the cooking class, Tobi softens up and we spend the afternoon in the Kuching hospital waiting for an appointment with the orthopedist. Despite the short-term visit, this is pleasantly quick and the doctor sends us straight to the MRI. We’re a little worried that we’re just being ripped off, but after a little discussion we accept it because we get an appointment for the MRI that same afternoon.
In order to be a little more flexible and not have to sit on buses all the time, we rent a car for three days in the evening and drive to the orangutan sanctuary the following morning. It’s completely different than in Sepilok, here there are only short visiting and feeding times, but there are significantly more orangutans, some of them even sit on the street or relax on a park bench. Of course, the animals are still wild and rules must be adhered to, especially no feeding and you are not allowed to approach the animals! Here too, the park covers a huge area of several dozen square kilometers and the rescue center is only a small area where the animals are slowly released into the wild and given food if they cannot find enough in the park. We see 5 orangutans and since we are not pressed for time we can simply enjoy the experience undisturbed.
Then we go back to the hospital to see the orthopedic surgeon and again our turn comes very quickly. The appointment doesn’t take long; after a quick look at the MRI images, the doctor diagnoses a torn meniscus and immediately recommends surgery. But he reassures us that we could continue the remaining days of vacation and have the operation in Germany, but we shouldn’t do any more long hikes or anything that puts a strain on our knees.
Well, we still had a few small ones Hikes are on the radar, but it’s not bad and we decide to spend a few days on the beach in the far west of Borneo before we fly to Singapore. And that’s what we do, we spend the next two days in two small places in two nice holiday resorts near the border with Indonesia and on a small headland. Unfortunately there isn’t much going on, the holiday season is still to come, but we have peace and quiet, can lie on the beach and enjoy the sea for a bit.
On the way back to Kuching we stop again at the orangutans and see 8 other animals – the ranger said we were really lucky, often only 1-2 animals come, or even none at all… Back in Kuching we also meet the couple from the Mulu National Park and have a beer with them in the evening. He hasn’t gotten over his knee problems yet, so he’s asking for a bit of advice and we’re excited to see what happens next for him…
We’ll also take a short evening boat trip on the river through Kuching and explore the city center some more little looking for a few souvenirs. Of all the places in Borneo, we’re happy that the injury happened here because you can endure it here 
In addition, Tobi is constantly asked about his knee bandage and some people are really nice about it!
And with that we say goodbye again from Borneo towards Singapore, but there is still a lot to discover here, 2 1/2 weeks were a bit too short