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Sipadan
Turtle at Sipadan. ( All under water pictures taken by Synove Granly thx !!) Borneo
Borneo is an Island that is made up out of 3 countries: Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. The Malay part consists of 2 semi independent states: Sabah and Sarawak. I chose to spend my last weeks in Asia in the Sabah part.
I was starting to run out of steam in Asia the last couple of weeks before arriving in Borneo. I was longing for something different but after my two weeks in Borneo I feel a bit bad that I won't be able to visit some of the other countries around here (Philippines, Indonesia, etc). Some other time!
Borneo is surely more interesting than main land Malaysia and it was a nice way to conclude my travels in Asia.
Sipadan
After 10 hours of travel I arrived in Semporna, a totally uninteresting town that is used as a base for trips to Sipadan and other Islands around.
Sipadan island is said to be one of the best diving spots in the world. People from all over the world fly in just for diving here.
The island is basically the top of a steep limestone pinnacle that rises over 600 m above the bottom of the
Sipadan
Chasing a turtle. sea. The drop off is nearly vertical and it is a very impressive. At one of the beaches the depth of the sea changes at once from +/- 1 m to 600m about 15 m off the shore.
Diving along the 'wall', hovering above the abyss is impressive enough in itself but there is also lots of marine life around.
During our dives we saw lots of Barracuda, a huge school of sharks but the most amazing for me were the sea turtles. They are all over the place. I think I saw over 20 on our second dive. They were swimming all around us. At one moment I was looking for my 'diving buddy' but I found a giant turtle swimming right next to me instead. It's illegal to touch the animals but at some times it was hard to avoid them as they seemed to be left, right, under and above us.
They are really huge. Several of them are the size of an average coffee table.
The more experienced divers were raving about all the rare small fish around but as a typical 'novice diver' I was too busy watching the 'big stuff' to notice those. Apparently
Sipadan
Yours truly with a very foggy mask after diving sometime I will get more interested in the 'small stuff' also.
The pictures on here were taken by some very nice Scottish people (Thank you guys!), as I'm not ready for underwater photography. I'm too busy concentrating on my breathing and on not crashing into the reef.
Too bad diving is so expensive so my budget could only afford one day (3 dives) at Sipadan. I stuck around for some snorkelling the next day. We went to other islands called Mabul and Sibuan. The last one was just a very small Island that looked totally deserted. It wasn't until I went for a run around the island that I discovered a military post with a huge machine gun installed, just like the one I had seen on Sipadan the day before. Some of you might remember the kidnapping of 20 tourists (several German) by the Filipino terrorist group Abu Sayyaf in 2000. Well that happened at Sipadan. Its closeness to the Philippines and the remoteness of the islands used to make the place a favourite target for these terrorist groups.
Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center
One of the most famous inhabitants of Borneo
Sipadan
Turtle close up is the great Orang Utan. This ape (don't call them monkeys!) can only be found on Borneo and Sumatra islands.
'Orang Utan' is Malay for 'man of the forest'. These really interesting animals have about 96 percent of their genetic material in common with humans. An adult male Orang Utan however is about 4 times stronger than a human. Good thing these apes are not aggressive because they could easily rip a human in half. Unlike most other primates they live solitary high up in the trees where they built a new nest for the night every day.
Unfortunately as so many great animals they have become an endangered species. Mostly because their natural habitat (rainforest) has been reduced dramatically. I could hardly believe that because flying over Borneo and driving through the country the only thing I saw were woods and trees. An ecologist who was sharing the dorm with me explained that most of what I thought was jungle, were actually palm plantations for production of palm oil. These palm tree plantations are useless as a habitat for the apes but they seem to expand every day because of their economic importance to Borneo.
I visited
Sipadan
beautiful fish the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre near Sandakan in Borneo. This centre takes care of baby Orang Utans that have been abandoned by their mothers and prepares them to be set out in the wild again.
The centre is at the outskirts of a protected wildlife park in which the apes can resume their life in the wild after rehabilitation. Others are set out in other forests around Borneo.
The park has become one of the main tourist attractions in a Borneo but most of the tourists just come over for 2 hours to watch the video and witness the feeding. I decided to spend 2 days there and it was really rewarding.
The feeding which happens on a platform about 500 m into the jungle. It is pretty interesting as it allows people to see a lot of the apes. Actually these feedings are only done to supplement the diet of the apes in the park as they are supposed to learn how to collect their own food. Most Orang Utan seem to come only from time to time for some 'dessert' and maybe for some 'people watching'. Indeed there's a huge crowd looking on at feeding time
Sipadan
scary fish and I had the impression some of the apes were observing us as much as we were observing them. Others were clearly showing off their (amazing) tree swinging skills.
When it comes to monkeys it's not really difficult for most people to get enthusiastic. I must say that I have never been really fond of them. The ones I saw before (macaques and baboons) I didn't find cute or adorable at all. But these were different. They are not 'monkeys' anyway but 'apes' (no tails and bigger brain capacity) as my ecologist friend explained. I really loved watching these animals and so I stuck around a bit longer than planned.
The first day I stuck to the Rehab centre and its surroundings. I went to see the feeding 2 times but made sure I was there before most tourists arrived and long after most tourists and apes had left and that's when the coolest things happened.
In the morning about an hour after the feeding with only 3 people left waiting for something to happen all of a sudden the guard told us to keep still as he had spotted a 'mother with baby Orange Utah'. It was
Sipadan
Another beautiful fish an adorable sight to see the little one hanging on to/climbing all over its mother while she was picking up the leftovers from the feeding.
In the afternoon, when the crowds and all apes had left, we saw all of a sudden a juvenile ape return and trying the climb on the boardwalk where a couple of people were left. It was trying to make contacts with us (trying to grab our hands and cuddle) but the guard instructed us away from him. But the little fellow was persistent and was really trying to play with us. He seemed really disappointed that everybody was moving away from him.
The main reason why visitors can't touch the apes is that we could easily transmit diseases.
When they arrive in the centre they are nursed by the people there and they are given the love and attention they did not get from their mother. But after some time they are released into the wild and have to learn to survive on their own.
This little girl had just been come from nursery into the wild 2 weeks before and was still very attached to humans.
On my second day I
Sipadan
Ugly fish. Are you impressed by my fish identification skills or what? I do know that it's not a good idea to touch this one went on some walks into the 'real' jungle and managed to see some of the apes 'in the wild' together with a lot of cool birds (Hornbills) . Some other 'friends' I met there were those damned leeches again... arghh!
On my way back I heard that something was following me and when I was almost at the centre, there she was, the little girl Orang Utan from the day before. She was on the path in front of me rolling around on the ground, waiting for me to come by.
I tried to walk around here. When I was almost past her and she was looking straight in my eyes I couldn't help smiling. A fraction of a second later she had grabbed my hand and leg and wanted me to pick her up. Keeping in mind what the guard had explained me the day before I shook her off and walked on. When I looked behind, she was sitting there staring at me with those sad big brown eyes... heart breaking!
Mount Kinabalu
One of the main reasons I came to Borneo (apart from diving Sipadan) was to climb Mount Kinabablu. This mountain at 4095
Sepilok
Juvenile Orang Utans having breakfast m is the highest mountain in South East Asia. The climb is recognised by a lot of hiking guides as one of 10 best hikes in the world.
Though it is not spectacularly high it has some really interesting features.
The vegetation on the way up is very varied. The mountain basically rises out of the Borneo rainforest. During the climb that is uphill for 95 pct of the way, one passes through the dense rain forest with a lot of local fauna the first kilometres. After it changes rhododendron forest where the flora is most impressive with a lot of orchid and (insect eating) pitcher plants. Around 3000 m the vegetation is reduced to bushes not higher than your waist. Higher up there's nothing but bare rocks.
But most impressing about the mountain is that it stands like giant among the other mountains/hills in the region which makes that with clear weather, one can play God and watch over a large part of Borneo Island from heaven.
I did not take a tour as is generally recommended in Borneo but just tried to fix it all myself. It took a lot of time and hassle but was a
Sepilok
Monkey watching the apes lot cheaper and more interesting.
On the bus over there I met Eric, a giant (2m /110 kg) Canadian and we agreed to attempt the climb together (sharing the cost of the guide). While we were securing or climbing permits 2 other independent travellers showed up: Stewart and Correne. So the four of us started the walk together at 10.30 am. After a couple of 100 m I noticed that I would not be able to keep up with Eric and Stewart. Eric is a professional rugby player who just finished the season in New Zealand and was heading for South Africa for the start of the season there. Steward is a hyperactive Brit and 'ultimate Frisbee' (?!?!) player. Both of them shot away to the top and I decided to stay with Correne. As we were going up, I was getting really tired and out of breath all the time. Correne was taking the lead the whole time and I had to give it all to keep up. I may not be in the best of shapes now (I haven't run for weeks) but I could not believe I could not keep up with a 'girl' ?!?!. Was I
Sepilok
"What are you looking at?" really in such a bad shape? ( A nice case of prejudice against women by yours truly). After I dragged myself up all the way to the base camp and the guide told me that we had done the climb in a very good time I was even more puzzled.
It became clearer when I found out that the 'girl' I had been climbing with was a professional Ice Hockey player and part of the Canadian National Team (that's right the gold medallists from this years Olympics). My 'male pride' was restored 😉
But the prospect of going to the summit the next day with an 'all star team' of professional Ice Hockey and Rugby players and a superhuman hyperactive Brit was a bit scary.
We were staying at some very basic (the cheapest) huts/cabins at the base camp and would make the climb to the top, early the next morning for sunrise (the time when the views over the region are usually best). Most groups leave between 2 and 2.30 am to make it to the top by 6 am for sunrise. Our guide decided that given our nice times that day we could leave at 3.30 am
Sepilok
Little girl Orang Utan who came to greet the audience and who I would meet again later on. and we would still make it. Great! That meant I would be suffering again big time, trying to keep up with the athletes.
That night I basically slept 3 hours at most. Couldn't get asleep before 9 pm and at 00.15 some very loud Malaysians started to prepare for their climb at 2 am!!!!
The first 100 m up I felt like I was going to die. I was gasping for air (The air gets really thin if you get close to 4000 m). The path (rocks) was steep and slippery and it was pitch dark and cold. The Brit was going up at his crazy pace and I was falling behind quickly. As we kept passing people that started long before us I was getting exhausted very fast. I was staggering like a drunk, swinging from right to left over the rocks. I had to take breaks all the time and it felt like I did not get any closer to the top. But than I noticed Eric and Correne had stopped and were waiting for me. We took some snacks (never knew an orange could be so good!) and than they dragged me along at a steady but
Sepilok
Meet and greet. firm pace and at 5.45 am we were all standing on the top.
Oh boy, it was worth it! The views were amazing. You could see towns that were over a 100 km away and even some of the Philippines islands in the distance. As it was getting clearer more and more of the region became visible while the clouds rolled in and out in the valleys underneath. It felt really like being on top of the world (cliché!). When the sun started to rise the whole sky was coloured in pink, yellow, orange and red. Simply amazing. One of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed. Some 'Snickers' bars (real chocolate!) made the experience complete.
It was freezing cold at the top though. I could hardly press the button of my camera as my fingers were frozen through my gloves. So after only 20 minutes at the top we started our descent. The views were great all the way down to base camp. With the day light it became clear how steep the climb was in some places. Still can't believe I ever got up there in the dark. We had a second breakfast at the base
Sepilok
Mother and baby camp and than went straight down to the valley and around 11 am we arrived there. None of us could keep our legs from shaking. We had been walking for over 7 hours and I was awake for over 10 hours.
After that we wanted to get to Kota Kinabalu as fast as possible to get some sleep, so we were waving down busses and soon found one that wanted to take us. There were no seats available however so we would be standing for 1.5 hr trip. Soon the three of us were lying down in the aisle, sleeping. At my hostel they probably thought I was drugged because I did not manage to say a single coherent phrase when I got there.
One thing is for sure: If I want to climb the mountains in the Andes later this year, I better start preparing soon.
Kota Kinabalu
So the mountain was great but I wasn't the only one who wanted to climb it... I tried to secure a place to sleep on the mountain a month in advance but it was fully booked. People advised me to get to Kota Kinabalu and wait and
hope for a cancellation. I did and got a booking for 5 days later. So I would have to keep busy in KK (they love the abbreviations and pronounce them in English) for a while. I went to Brunei for two days (more on that later) and spend the rest of the time relaxing in KK.
KK is the capital of Sabah and it's a nice little town by the sea. Not too much too see but a good place to relax and recharge your batteries before and after the climb.
One funny thing about this town: It is the base for trips to the mountain and you can easily see who has done the climb recently... All of them are walking around, limping form muscle ache... yours truly included
10/05/06
I got up at 6.30am. Got breakfast (noodle soup) and packed my bags. Left the guest house for the KK bus station at 8 am. Took my first bus of the day to the airport at 8.30 am. Flight to Johor Bahru (JB) on main land Malaysia at 10 am. Rough flight with lots of turbulence. Arrived at JB airport at 12.30. Bus (Nr 2)
Mt Kinabalu
Pitcher plant: insect eating plant. The insects that fly in attracted by the aroma, get stuck and are eaten alive... to JB town at 1.15 pm. Changed for bus (nr 3) to Malaysian border at 2 pm. Went through immigration ("Belgium: Eddy Merckx!") and got on a shuttle bus (nr4) to the Singapore border across the causeway. Went through Singapore Immigration and customs (made me think of the immigration and customs in the US: not so nice). Got on another bus (nr 5) to the subway station. Took the subway at 3.15 pm and arrived in Little India at 4 pm. Little bit of walking and checked in my hostel at 4.20 pm.
I would have forgotten it was my 28th birthday if it wasn't for the +/- 50 mails with BD wishes I received. Thanks a lot to all of you. It was a great surprise. I will try to reply to you all but I think it might take a couple of weeks before I can handle all mails.
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Peter
non-member comment
ultimate frisbee
Fijn, als je terugkomt spelen we eens 'ultimate frisbee', heb dat in Letland ook eens gedaan. Nodig die Brit maar al uit, ik begin alvast te oefenen... Die Mt Kinabalu ziet er indrukwekkend uit, ik hou het voorlopig bij de Muur van Geraardsbergen. Tot binnenkort (nou ja :-)), Peter