Our week in Borneo can be summed up in one word, magical. We spent our time on the island of Borneo in the region of Sabah which is part of Malaysia (I had to do a bit of research to figure out exactly where we were and what parts of the island were part of which country). We stayed at Sepilok Jungle Resort for the majority of our week. It is a beautiful place right on the edge of the rainforest. The buildings are joined by walkways over the ponds and everything is surrounded by trees.
The resort was right down the street from the Rainforest Discovery Center. We spent two days there exploring the forest, walking the canopy trail, and of course lots of birding. Needless to say John was in heaven the second we arrived. At one point he got so excited I believe he said “Oh my god! So many fricken good birds!!”. On one of our hikes we had the great opportunity of seeing a wild juvenile orangutan and its mother. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience and we are still in awe of how beautiful they were.
On Wednesday we took a day trip to the cave and the Kinabatangan river. On the drive to the cave we saw hundreds of acres of palm plantations used for the production of palm oil. This is the main reason for deforestation in Borneo and other parts of Malaysia. While I was aware of this prior to coming here, seeing the stark contrast of untouched rainforest with the palm plantations reinforced the need to protect what forest is left and the use of sustainable palm oil. (If this is something you want to read more about here is a good article to get started http://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/stop-deforestation/palm-oil-scorecard-2015#.VuOPvdWeqnM ). Once we got to the site of the cave it was about a 10 minute walk in the jungle to get there. This massive cave is home to hundreds of swiftlets and is protected 24/7 by guards from people who try to illegally steal their nests for birds nest soup. Walking around the cave I was a bit nervous. There were cockroaches and giant centipedes everywhere and I thought for sure I’d get pooped on by one of the birds flying around (which I did). Once I got over my nerves though it was a very cool experience to walk through such a large cave in the forest.
Next we headed to the river village of Bilit. We took a boat to the lodge where we had lunch. We got to walk around the lodge and the village a bit before our tour. It was humbling to see this small beautiful village along the river hidden in the middle of the rainforest. While we waited we also got to see some long tailed macaques hanging out in the trees above us and getting into trouble stealing things at the lodge.
We embarked on the river tour in the late afternoon. On a small boat with only 5 other people we floated down the river with nothing around except the forest and a small house now and then. Within the first 5 minutes we spotted some proboscis monkeys on the river bank. The driver pulled over and we got to enjoy watching them swing between the trees for a little while before moving along. As we continued down the river, more and more wildlife popped up everywhere. We saw macaques, an orangutan, a crocodile, and of course lots of beautiful birds. On our way back up the river the sun was setting behind the forest and the world never felt more beautiful or at peace.
After a busy week of hiking, exploring, and birding we spent our last afternoon in the forest at the pool in the resort. It was nice to relax in the cool water after sweating nonstop from the heat and humidity (Seriously the worst humidity I’ve ever felt!).
On Friday we headed back to the city of Sandakan before our flights the next day. We spent the day exploring the city and found a great place for lunch on the ocean where I had the best curry I’ve ever tasted. Our hotel had a great restaurant on the roof with a view of the whole city. We had dinner up there while we enjoyed our last Borneo sunset.
Borneo is a place unlike any other. It quickly won my heart from the first day here. I can definitely see why John wanted to show me this place after his first visit here 2 years ago and I can’t wait to come back in the years to come!
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