From Kinabalu to Kinabatangan (Sabah)

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Ok so this is a really late entry once again...apologies everyone. I'm obviously having too much fun!

After climbing Kinabalu i headed back to Kota Kinabalu with some other people i had met during the climb to rest and recover before continuing the journey across Sabah.

I stayed only a few days then took a bus to Sandakan and due to difficulty organising trips had to stay here a few days longer than planned. I really enjoyed going to see the Orang-utans at Sepilok rehab sanctuary although would have loved to have been able to have got closer to them.

During my stay in Sandakan i was invited by the owner of the B and B along with another girl from England to go to a traditional Malay Muslim wedding. It was a brilliant night and certainly a unique experience. We were the only foreigners there and everyone made us feel very welcome. Its an interesting and fascinating thing to see how other countries and religions carry out these ceremonies and i learnt a lot that night about the procedures involved. We even had to give a blessing to the bride and groom which involved placing henna, scented shredded plants and other things into the palms of both the bride and the groom. Afterwards the owner of the B and B took us to an English tea house which overlooks the bay. It was great sitting outside on a decked gazebo sipping on tea and eating scones!!! They had even tried to make clotted cream (which was almost like butter but it really didn't matter)!
It was a very memorable night and i really enjoyed having the opportunity to see the wedding and to learn about other traditions and religions.

From Sandakan i went on a 3 day excurtion to the Kinabatangan river. I was taken firslty in a minivan to the river bank (stopping en-route at a restaurant to have some food and to pick up another person called Kim who was from South Korea) then it was a transfer into a small motorised open-top boat for a short ride across the river to reach our accommodation. The accommodation was pretty basic but gave the experience a more rustic feel. On arriving at the dock there was an electric fence surrounding the huts that formed the restaurant, dorms and staff accommodation which was to protect us and the buildings from Pigmy elephants. Each elevated wooden hut contained about 6 beds (bunks) and there were mosqioto nets covering the windows.

During my stay on the river banks we were taken on 2 river cruises at 6am, 2 cruises at 4pm and a jungle trek during the day to spot wildlife. There was also an option to go for a night trek, however i opted out of this. I managed to see an array of wildlife during my stay which included some crocodiles, otters, a golden-orb spider (poisonous), Proboscis monkeys, long-tailed macaques and even an orang-utan in the distance but thankfully no snakes!! For the second day when i was there i was infact the only person in the accommodation other than the staff. I really felt that i was alone in jungle...well...almost!

The first night i couldn't sleep because i had a beetle flying over my head. Then in the middle of the night one landed on my hand and scared me to death! Eating at the restaurant was also a fun experience due to the masses of green beetles and flies that seemed to swarm all around. Even having a shower was very memorable...i had 3 green beetles with me in the shower at one point. On the walk i had a number of leeches attach themselves to me as well......but i lived to tell the tale!

Being so close to the wildlife was fantastic particularly in somewhere like Borneo. I am so lucky to have had this opportunity to see all these wonderful things.

Next time i will tell you about my remaining days in Borneo which like all the other stories i have were so memorable.

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