Malaysia 3

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Day 148

We awoke a little later than expected but still in plenty of time to catch the flight. We packed our bags and made our way to Clark airport which is a long way outside the city and finally made it to our flight which was going to Kota Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo so we could see some orangutans and go diving in a place called Siadan. We met some people in the airport that were also in our hostel so we talked to them before the plane and spent some of our remaining pesos buying donuts and coffee before going to board.

We made good time to Borneo and grabbed a taxi from the airport to the hostel we had booked on the intenet. When we arrived we had to get some more money out despite not many of our cards working and we found an amazing Chinese restaurant which made us think back to our time in China. Then we headed back to the hostel and had our first warm showers in about two weeks and Joe had a shave. Then we surfed the internet for a little while before heading back to bed and getting a good night sleep before heading to Sandakan to see the orangutans.

Day 149

We were supposed to be up at 5.30am to catch the 7.00am bus to Sandakan, however Tracy was unexpectedly up sick for half the night so we had a longer lie-in and caught the 12pm bus instead. Under normal cicrcumstances we would have spent an extra day in KK but because we had already had to book our diving & the flights to indodnesia we didn't have any timee to spare. The roads were long and windy as we had to pass through the mountains and the base camp park of mount kinabalu but the scenery was spectacular. Unfortunately the weather was still quite rainy & cloudy though.

The bus took 6 hours so by the time we found a hotel in Sandakan it was already 6.30pm. We had a nice room with wifi so we took the opportunity to have an easy night and charge all the batteries in preparation for the orangutans tomorrow.

Day 150

Once we checked out of the hotel we went straight down to the public bus station to catch a us to the main road junction nearest the Orangutan santcuary. We dropped off our bags at Ungle Tans, the tour group who we had booked a jungle safari with, then went along to the sanctuary in time to see the morning feeding. We were a little hesitant about what the Orangutan sanctuary would be like as we had heard some very mixed reviews about it and many people say that you only get to see 1 Orangutan and it all seems very staged.

We thought the sanctuary seemed like a really good facility, as it is important to remember you are not at a zoo There is a raised wooden walkway which leads you deeper into the jungle and after a few 100 metres to a viewing platform from where you can observe the main feeding platform of the orangutans a few metres away. There was a crowd of bout 120 people gathered for feeding time but most people respected the need to stay quiet and so it felt quite unobtrusive. We got really lucky and saw 5 orangutans in total at the feeding. The first one to come out was quite large and it was amazing to see him swinging through the trees towards us. He was quickly followed by a mother & baby and as time passed we saw another 2 come to join in the feeding. The first thing that you really notice about these beautiful creatures is just how human they are in their facial expressions and their mannerisms. We stayed for 2 hours watching them playing together and interacting, at some points they were swinging on rubber ties just above the observation walkway so we could get very close to them.

At lunch time Uncle Tans collected us from the sanctuary and took us off to the jungle to start our 3 day, 2 night jungle adventure. We were driven about 2 and a half hours from Sepilok into the heart of the jungle and the Kinabantangan River, where we were whisked off to our campsite in a small boat, stopping to look at lots of monkeys & birds on the way. We had been warned that the campsite was really basic and with good reason! We were staying in a wooden shelter, which was raised on stilts but had no door in the front. There were just 3 mattresses on the floor, with large mosquito nets that you could tuck around the edges as your only protection from creepy crawlies. There was only electricity in camp between 6pm & midnight and there was absolutely no running water. You had to use the buckets of dirty brown river water to shower and to flush the toilets.

After our orientation briefing & dinner we went out for the night time boat safari. It was 9pm and very dark, we sailed down the river in the boat, using our guide's spotlight to try and spot animals feeding on the river bank or in the trees. We saw Eagles, Hawks, Kwingfisher, Owls, a tree rat type thing and the highlight of the trip a small Leopard cub which was a really rare spot. After that we went to bed, trying to ignore our imaginations and all the nearby rustling sounds as we tried to get to sleep.

Day 151

The camp guides woke us up at 6am ready for the morning boat safari, it is important to start early as this is when the day is coolest and the animals are most active. It was a pleasure cruising down the river in the morning sunlight and we hit the jackpot early on when we spotted a wild Orangutan. She was just hanging out eating a breakfast of bananas on a branch over the river and was a real poser! We also saw Gibbons swinging between trees, more birds & monkeys; the distance at which our guides could spot the animals was phenomenal.

We then returned to camp for breakfast before gearing up in the wellies they provided for the mornings trek through a part of the jungle that is protected as a national park, On our way there in the boat we were even luck enough to spot a baby crocodile. It was dark & dank in the jungle as not much sunlight gets through so it was a great home for insects & bugs. We found a Scorpion and the guide showed Joe how to pick it up and handle him safely so that Joe could hold him for a few minutes.

After lunch the camp staff had their free time so there were no organised activities but one of the boys kindly offered to be our guide for a quick fishing trip. The local boy was a bit of an expert and had landed his first catch inside 2 minutes, it took us a little longer but eventually, through a team effort, Tracy reeled in our very own (small) catfish. We collected all the fish we caught and the guides later barbequed them for our dinner.

In the evening we had another boat tour where we saw large families of probiscous monkeys and more gibbons. At night time we went trekking in the jungle again, this time just around our campsite. It was quite eerie as everything was pitch black and we had to shine our flashlights around and look for any pairs of eyes that would reflect the light back. We found a frog, a bat more insects and a beautiful Kingfisher asleep on the low branches of a tree who didn't seem to mind flash photography in his face the slightest bit annoying.

Day 152

In the morning we were able to get up early again to join the new arrivals on their morning safari as we were only a small group of 7 people, unfortunately though it was raining and there was very little wildlife to be seen. After breakfast we left the camp and had to catch a minibus from the highway in the direction we now wanted to travel.

It took us until 4.30pm to reach Semporna, a small port town which acts as a gateway for boat transfers to Mabul island where we had booked our evenings accommodation with the dive operator Uncle Changs. Unfortunately they only operate 1 transfer a day to the island and it leaves at 7.30am so we had missed it. We had to cancel our accommodation and change our scuba diving to a day trip, meaning we would have to spend both nights on the mainland rather than the tropical island. We didn't really have a choice in the matter though as we would need to catch an early bus back to Kota Kinabalu after we finished diving.

We then needed a place to stay in Semporna and Uncle Changs recommended the Dragon Inn, next door to their office. It was a really interesting 'floating hotel' all raised on stilts above the sea. We dropped off our bags and had a look around the small aquarium. After dinner we retired to our room as the days transport costs had mounted up beyond our expectations pushing our spending in Borneo well over budget.

Day 153

We both bounced out of bed as today we had booked to spend the day diving at Sipadan island, reputedly one of the top 10 dive spots in the world. We went to Uncle Tans dive shop in Semporna which is south Borneo and because of the late transfers out of the island we booked a day trip to Sipadan.

We then had a transfer a little later to Mabul Island where the dive shop is located. We had some breakfast (toast, noodles and coffee) and then sized up in our dive gear before heading to the boat.

On the transfer from Mabul we met some nice people who were off to dive and snorkel Sipadan and also on the baot to Sipadan we met some lovely people called Lindan and julia who were from Australia and new Zealand and a guy called Michael from London (but German) so we spent the trip out there talking to them because they had been diving for a few days there.

While we were travelling out there we were also looking out for whales and dolphins because they had been spotted recently on the trip out but we didn't see any there or on the way back.

When we reached Sipadan we had to sign in because the majority of the Island is now a military base as its also claimed by the philippines despite it being owned by Malaysia. In about 2004 21 American tourists were abducted from the Island so they've now classified it as a military base although most of the guards look like they are sunning themselves with big machine guns. We had to sign in because there are only 120 permits a day to dive Sipadan and we book ahead so we were lucky because we met other people who did not and were put on a waiting list.

We had three dives that day and we had no idea what to expect except that there would be lots of amazing sea life. When we went down on our first dive I think we really saw how different it would be as we saw seven sea turtles which were AMAZING!!!! As well as that we saw lots of amazing sealife and having been diving a little before each of the sealife we saw would have been a major talking point or highlight but this place was just filled to bursting with all sorts of amazing things. All in all that day we saw loads of sharks, turtles, barracuda, sting ray, coral and the most colorful fish you've ever seen. Its going to be hard to dive anywhere else after this.

Two talking points were on the last dive where both of us actually went up and stroked a sea turtle as it went past. It really did not mind and just casually swam past us which was a real highlight. The final one was when Joe swam into a shoal of barracuda (there must have been about three hundred) and they all surrounded him like a tornado. As they were surrounding him, he lent back and looked up at the surface and the strong sunshine came down from the surface and bounced from all the fish all the way down while they were spinning around and it was really a magical thing to see.

Then after the dives we went back to mabul Island where Uncle Tan's diving shop was and picked up the transfer back to the mainland where out hotel was and we had a meal with julia and Linan before hitting the sack because we were pretty tired by this point!!


Day 154

Today we had a massive trip from Semporna to Kota Kinabalu which took nine and a half hours. After getting to Kota Kinabalu we went to the old hostel we stayed in called the Kinabalu Backpackers and went out for some pizza. Then we hit bed hard as we were so tired from traveling and needed some sleep. This was pretty much all we did this day.

Day 155

We spent the day walking around Kota Kinabalu and checked our bank statements. We have been keeping a track of the money we've been spending but after Borneo and the Philippines it had taken a big hit so we now knew we needed to lie low for a while and save some money.

We got a flight that night to Jakarta and booked into a hotel called the Alpine hotel after almost getting ripped off by taxi drivers. Then we went back to sleep again because we were so tired from travelling.

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