Trip to Borneo- Jungle Paradise
We left Phoenix on March 27th to LA. Our flight from LA was around 12 midnight. After 14 hours in the air, landed at Taipei and on to Kuala Lumpur for 2 nights. Stayed at a five star hotel, the Shangri-La.
They met us with orchids and then to the room where we were introduced to the “Dragon Fruit”
The hotel flowers were gorgeous!
The next day we took a city tour. Went to the Pewter Factory (the largest in the world)
Next to the Batik factory that was basically a shop to buy expensive clothing. and then to the Batu Caves where the cavernous interior is home to Hindu deities.
There were 272 steps to the top and to the inside of the cave. On the steps and all around were the macaques monkeys. They were everywhere.
This is the opening of caves at the top of the stairs. We did the entire climb. We also met the rest of our tour group. Only 3 other couples. Made the touring really nice with only 8 people on a bus or in a van. I’ll introduce them to you as we go.
The rest of the afternoon was at our leisure, so Bob and I went about 2 blocks from the hotel to the top of the KL Tower. It’s like the space needle in Seattle only a total of 421 Meters(1381 ft) instead of the 184 meters(605ft) of the Seattle one. This gave us a panoramic view of Kuala Lumpur.
The next morning we headed for the Airport to go to Kota Kinabalu. and another 5 star hotel, Shangri-la’s Tanjung Aru.
The entrance and greeting.
This is the view from our hotel room.
We spent the afternoon on the beach.
The next day we embarked on a all day tour of Kinabalu Park and Poring Hot Springs. The day was cloudy (with 90 % humidity) so we couldn’t get a good view of Mt. Kinabalu, but the jungle walk and flowers were beautiful.
Bob at viewpoint.
I told you earlier that I would introduce you to the other couples. Well, here’s
Debbie & Kent from Sacramento, CA.
and Barb & Craig from Los Angeles.
Next we took the Canopy Walk at Poring Hot Springs. (Bob and I also had a private room at the Springs, but no one else opted to enjoy the hot springs since the day was so hot and humid.) It was really great and relaxing.
Here are a few of the wild flowers in the area.
This one is carnivorous.
National Flower, the Hibiscus.
Orchids in the wild.
After a full day, we had an early dinner since we were embarking early the next morning for a 5 day wild life adventure. We flew to Sandakan (on the other side of the island) and stayed at the Sepilok Jungle Resort. So much for the 5 star resorts. It was nice and clean, but definitely different.
Bath all in one.
Room not much bigger.
But then we went to the “Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre. These orang utans come here either from villages and farms where they were either hurt or taken in as a pet. It’s against the law to have one as a pet and they have to be retaught how to live in the wild. Bob went in ahead and actually walked down to the feeding platform with some. The guide told me we would be so close, I wouldn’t need my big lens. He was wrong, but I got some good pictures any way.
It’s hard to see, but there is a baby hanging below the momma. They have to learn to hang on early.
The other couple in our group were from Tucson. Lana and David.
After our visit to the Orang Utans, we headed for a canopy walk for the flora n fauna. These walk ways were steadier and made of metal. No sway like in the others.
Back at the room, we made our way over to the restaurant for dinner. We had more buffets with stir fry and mystery chicken. I think they must just put the chicken after cleaning on a chopping block and have hoe. Not definable pieces. The walk over gave us some great sights.
One night at this place and then over by boat the next morning to Turtle Island (Selingan Island.)
On the way, this fishing village is actually still lived in.
This place was interesting and not even as fancy as the Sepilok Jungle Resort.
We got there around 10:00 in the morning and after checking in went down to the beach to do some snorkeling. The current was really fast and there were little sea lice that bit you all over. So much for that. After lunch, we walked around for a bit and then tried the beach again. This time it was great, no sea lice and the current was not bad at all.
We were really there to see the turtles so that wouldn’t happen until after dark or during the night. On the way to dinner, we encountered a group of the workers playing this game. It seems to a cross between soccer and volleyball.
Now to the best parts of the day. First the sunset
Now we wait. We knew that the first turtle the night before was around 8:00 pm. But sometimes it’s early morning before one will land. We were really lucky, the call came at 8:30 pm. So, down to the beach that was closed by the rangers at 6:00 pm and will stay closed except for sightings until 6:00 am. The last turtle may be that late leaving.
Now for the eggs. There were 40 in all.
Next, the eggs are transplanted to the nursery where they will hatch in approx. 60 days. For us, they release baby turtles hatched that day. They have to take them to the beach and then shine a light on the water for them to follow. They have to make their own way down the beach and into the water so that they will be able to find their way back to this beach in order to lay their own eggs.
From there, we took the boat ride back and toured the Sandakan Memorial Park which is adjacent to the Sandakan Prisoner of War Camp. This was where the British and Australian soldiers were held by the Japanese between 1942 and 1945. Next we went to the Buddhist Temple overlooking the Town Centre. and to the Central Market. David and Lana, both doctors, were appalled along with the rest of us of the chickens and fish for sale that were unrefrigerated and all handled by everyone.
We then went by boat to the Bilit Adventure Lodge. This would be our home for 2 nights. It was was beautiful, but rustic. We took an evening river cruise to see the monkeys in the trees.
to the left are the monkeys bedded down for the night.
That night we were to have a cultural night. We had a group of Danish College kids there and we were to do native dances in our sarongs. Turned out to be just line dancing.
The next morning, we had a sunrise river cruise, but because of the fog, there wasn’t any sunrise. We were looking for the pygmy elephant and crocodiles. No luck. Just some birds watching along the way.
That afternoon, we were to take a jungle trek to a lake, but it was too muddy to make it there by foot and too dry to go by boat, so we just took a trek though the jungle to see some of the bugs and trees in the area. One interesting thing we learned was that if you know what you’re doing, you can get clean water from a certain vine.
We also had to wear Leech socks.
Only Barb came back with a Leech. (she didn’t tuck her shirt in and it attached to her belly)
Later that afternoon, we took a trip to see the Gomantong Cave. The largest cave system in Sabah where the edible bird’s nests are found. I personally couldn’t take the bugs or the smell, so Bob had to take pictures here.
The real reason to go to the caves were to see the bats leaving in the evening. However, they left from another entrance and we only could see the swarm from a distance.
The next morning, we left for the flight back to Kota Kinabalu for 3 nights of leisure before returning home. Back to the 5 star Shangri-la Rasa Ria Resort. On the way to the airport, we stopped at a local seafood restaurant. This 5 course meal was a little rushed. We had 30 minutes to eat and too many different courses. Some of the items were unknowns and we had to have the guide show us how to eat it.
It was really delicious, but hard to eat. Peel the prawn, take out the bones of the whole fish, etc. There were a lot of left overs that we had the guide and driver take home.
So on to the airport to go back to 5 star living.
The Shangri-la Rasa Ria is a fantastic resort. This is the view from our balcony.
and the resort from the water.
We just relaxed on the beach the first day, but took a snorkel trip the second day. The coral was really good, a lot of jelly fish, but not the stinging kind. We took 3 segments of 45 mins to an hour each. A great guide.
The resort had a Rehabilitation Center for baby orang utans. At the time they only had 3 in residence and we decided to visit it the next day. Babies would stay here for 3 or more years and then be transferred to the Sepilok Orang Utan Center. Here’s a video of the only one that showed up for us.
Being the last evening, we decided a nice dinner at the Coast Restaurant there at the resort. We have the memories and viewed the last sunset.
Back in Happy Trails now until we head out for the summer around the 1st of May.
Going to Big Bend National Park before joining my siblings for 5 days at South Padre.
Happy Travels, Jettye & Bob
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