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Published: February 21st 2015
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We arrived in Kota Kinabalu, which is the capital of Sabah ( the Malaysian part of Borneo) and met up with the Sabah footie team (some of them Mike knew - El Hadj Diouf who looked like a typical footballer with diamond earring and LV bag!).
We met the group we would be travelling with for the next two weeks, half of them being health care professionals and a token doctor, so we were sorted for drugs for the rest of the trip. Aldrin, our guide, started talking about our trip to Mount Kinabalu whose summit is at 4,095 metres and is apparently one of the worst for getting altitude sickness after Everest. Now - I knew we were walking up a mountain but we had NO idea it was the largest in South East Asia and NO idea how hard it was going to be....... Maybe I should have read the itinerary a little better!
Our first stop was at a Borneo home stay where we stayed with Robert and his family. We learnt how to tap a rubber tree and also how to pound rice. Firstly you pound the grain husk with a large pole,
secondly you flip the remnants in the sieve hoping to remove some of the chaff (without losing the rice to the floor), then finally separating the grain from the chaff in a sieve to remove the actual rice grain! It took an hour to produce rice for 9 of us...... Uncle Ben's is far easier! That evening we had 6 girls from the local community come and showcase some local dancing ( a welcome and warrior dance ) and then we had to mingle, helping them to learn more english. It was very entertaining and we bonded as a group very quickly after having to replicate the dances looking like birds.
Then it was the climb. OMG it was hard. Having not slept well the night before due to being completely terrified, we began our 6 hour climb from 1800 to 3200 metres, Around 2500 the oxygen starts to be a little thinner and altitude sickness can hit - not knowing if it was going to or not is the scariest thing. Mike was bounding up the hill and I was feeling a little fuzzy but we got to Labanrata, which was our rest stop for the evening,
and had a buffet dinner with all the other climbers and had an early night. Unfortunately I had a cracking headache and thought I might not make the climb the next morning so I pimped an Acetazolamide (altitude sickness tablet) off one of my fellow climbers and after a 2am brekkie we began our ascent to the summit. After a three hour gruelling climb (2.7 km) using rope ladders and what felt like a never ending rock face, we made it! Sunrise was awesome and we felt we were on top of the world - it was an amazing challenge - and then the realisation that we had to go back down dawned on me..... 2 hours back to the hut (a 30 min power nap and a further brekkie) followed by a 3 hour descent back to the start.
We then headed to Poring Hot Springs to relax our aching bones. They sound more exciting then they actually were - I was picturing something like they have in New Zealand, but they were made by the Japanese in 1945 and haven't been refurbished since......
Then came the most exciting wildlife encounters we've both ever experienced.
We spent the night at a rainforest lodge and had two lovely trips on the river, spotting proboscis monkeys (with the big noses), crocs, hornbills, long tailed macaques, kingfishers, monitor lizards, snakes, dollar birds and purple herons (to name a few).
We then headed to Turtle island (Selingan Island) in the Sulu sea, which is a collection of islands that have been protected since the 70's for the preservation of declining numbers of turtles. We snorkelled with clown fish (aka Nemo), parrot fish, eels, hairy clams, sea cucumbers and enjoyed lying on a paradise island for a day.
Then the waiting began - turtles lay their eggs at night in the sand by digging a 50-60cm hole and then covering their eggs to protect them from predators (lizards but mainly Poachers). Apparently they lay between 9pm and 1 am so we played poker until we got the call that a 50 year old new mummy giant green turtle had been spotted on the beach so we all rushed to watch a 1 metre by 90cm Giant green turtle lay 105 eggs in front of our eyes under torchlight. Then we saw them bury her eggs in
a hatchery - around 90% hatch which is fantastic but it is thought that only one of those will make it to adulthood - the figures are unknown as the hatchlings are virtually impossible to track, hence they are known as the 'lost years'.
Then we watched as 80 fresh little hatchlings from earlier in the evening were placed on the sand to scamper their way back to the sea. They were so tiny and cute and I could've easily slipped a little one into my pocket (though it would obviously contradict the whole point of being there), so off they scuttled into the sea.
The following day we headed to Sepilok which is an Orangutang sanctuary - most of the little ones are orphans due to being poached and kept as pets. In the first few years of their lives they learn how to climb, swing and feed from their mothers, so if they are snatched from birth they don't get to learn these skills. Therefore the sanctuary aids in teaching them these essentials but also then weens them off human contact in order that they can live an independent life in an ever decreasing rainforest!
Mike was lucky enough to play "pass the stick" with Cheria - a wild Orangutang who liked coming to show off to the tourists at feeding time. And whilst on a walk around the park, we stumbled across Rosa, one of the parks inhabitants, who gave us a real show of her swinging ability. It was awesome to be so close to these gentle, beautiful apes who are 96.4% genetically similar to us. Hence why the word Orangutang in Malay means "The man of the Forest".
And then it was nearly time to come home but after a fun fuelled flashpacking experience we ought we needed some luxury and spent the last 3 nights in a beautiful shangri-la resort near Kota Kinabalu and had too much sun, food and pampering.
The friendly and gentle nature of the Malay people in Borneo has been on a par with those from Myanmar. The food has been slightly disappointing - the fruit and veggies are great but we have found it a little bland, very little seasoning, few fresh herbs and no spice! The weather has been amazing if not more humid than we have experienced so far and the wildlife
just awesome. Definite holiday destination!!
We've had an amazing time - we're still very happily married (which is a bonus!) and have memories that will stay with us for a lifetime. I'm glad Mike now has the travel bug and we are considering where to go on our next adventure already.
Thanks for listening and hope you enjoyed reading.
Love M&M
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