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From southern Thailand, we consumed an entire day in travel to get to Borneo, an island located in the most eastern part of Malaysia.  Borneo is the third largest island in the world.  (Do you know the first & second?  Greenland and Papua New Guinea.)

We began exploring in Kota Kinabalu (“K.K.” as the locals call it).  It was a wonderful city with great shopping.  On Monday we then flew to Sandakan, a city on the northeast coast of Borneo.  From there we traveled by a small outboard boat through 5’-6’ waves to Seligan Island, a green turtle hatchery.  That evening we were lucky enough to see a green sea turtle lay 105 eggs.  We then got to release into the sea some turtle hatchlings that had been incubated by the National Park rangers to ensure the maximum population possible.  Interestingly, Seligan Island is about 100 yards away from the Phillipines’ most southern island.  If you’re snorkeling, you have to pay attention to signs posted in the ocean floor to make sure you don’t drift into the Phillipines’ territory, especially since the southern islands recently have been home to terrorists.  Thankfully, more recently, U.S. and Phillipine military personnel have been actively pursuing the terrorists and Malaysian naval and army troups protect their borders.

After returning back to the main island (some one hour by boat), we then went for animal viewing at the Proboscis Lodge.  En route, we stopped at the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary.  We arrived in time to see the daily feeding of the semi-wild orangutans.  These animals have been saved after originally being orphaned when adult orangutan were killed by farmers.  These animals live in a jungle and come to a feeding platform to receive a ration of milk and bananas.  Eventually, they no longer come as they grow more accustomed to foraging for themselves in the jungle surrounding the sanctuary and are accepted into the wild orangutan groups.  It is important to note that there is absolutely no separation from the wild animals and us.  We were told to wear no jewelry or carry any shiny objects, even eyeglasses.  The orangutan may be wild but they are extremely intelligent and very curious.  At one point, Ed was filming an orangutan when he noticed Ed's camera and its little red light.  He came down the tree very quickly heading straight for the camera.  Ed retreated very quickly from this smiling guy (you'll see him close-up below).  

When we arrived at the Proboscis Lodge, we eventually did so by boat as it sits on a large river.  After relaxing and getting settled in, we went on a river safari.  From the boat, we were able to see and photograph Proboscis monkeys, wild orangutan and two vipers.  It was really quite easy to do so as the animals tend to move to the trees overhanging the water prior to nightfall.  On the following day (Wednesday), we again took a river safari in both the morning and the late afternoon.  In the morning, we saw many Kingfisher birds.  In the evening, we again saw the Proboscis monkeys as well as seeing Silver Leaf monkeys.  All in all, great wildlife viewing here in a lovely setting!

From the Proboscis Lodge, we traveled by land some 2-1/2 hours to Lahad Datu, south and east of Sandakan.  It was interesting because we went into the center of town to reach at ATM.  In doing so, however, it was like being in STAR WARS (the famous bar scene)  – except we were the aliens!  People literally stopped in the tracks upon the sight of a non-Asian individual.  Once the shock was over, the “hello’s” and smiles were everywhere.  It’s amazing to think of going somewhere in the world where we are still more unique to our hosts than they are to us!

From Lahad Datu, we had another 2-1/2 hour land transfer although this one was on rutted, mud roads to reach the Borneo Rainforest Lodge.  This lodge offers viewings of wildlife found in the interior of the island.  We began with a video viewing describing the area and then did a nature walk in the vicinity of the lodge.  Leeches are extremely common in this wet environment so we had to wear full slacks and boot protectors.  Even with this gear, we still had some leeches attach to us (thankfully, easily removed with a flick of the thumb).

In the evenings, we took night safari drives where our guides used spotlights to help us see the abundant wildlife.  We were able to view a red flying squirrel, a civit (sort of cat-like), lots of frogs, poisonous and non-poisonous snakes, owls, deer and on and on.  In the mornings, we spent time trekking on various trails beginning at 6AM.  Here we mostly observed the plants and fauna as the animals moved away as they heard us cutting through the jungle trails. 

On our last morning at the lodge (Friday), we enjoyed yet another walk, this time along a river in the jungle.  When then had to clean up for the long drive back to Lahad Datu, followed by an early evening flight back to K.K.  From K.K., we then returned back to Bangkok for two nights on our own. 

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