Sabah, Borneo

Sabah, Borneo

Day 1 Kota Kinabalu

Arrived in Kota Kinabalu in Sabah! We hung out at the local markets then booked bus tickets to Poring Springs. We had an early night after splurging on dinner and cocktails – roughed it from here on.

Day 2 Kota Kinabalu to Poring Springs

Up at 7am and in a taxi to the bus station. Then under beautiful blue skies we pulled out at 7.30am and headed north towards Mount Kinabalu. We passed a huge mosque out of town and then open countryside with a few small villages now and again.

For an hour the road twisted and climbed towards Mount Kinabalu which we could see looming in the distance. It’s the highest mountain in South East Asia and to climb it is one of Sabah’s attractions. Frankly I’d rather stick pins in my eyes, give birth to a chair, eat my own arse off etc. So while others jumped off at the turnoff to the mountain, Mark and I smugly sailed past sitting on our lazy arses. The road continued to wind and twist which made Mark sick – he’s never good on mountainous roads.

After three hours we finally arrived at Ranau which is the closest town to Poring Springs. We were the only ones to get off and had no idea where to go. From the highway we walked into town where we met a young guy who rang his brother at Poring Springs to come and get us. After half an hour he arrived in an old van and we headed out of town past a busy, colourful market down on the riverbank.

The nineteen kilometers to Poring Springs was lovely - lush and green. Half an hour later we arrived at the tiny village opposite the national park. Leaving our backpacks at the gate we couldn’t wait to see the springs.

Getting there was just gorgeous – across a bridge over a fast running stream then a walk through the rainforest. There are about six different ponds, some hot and sulphurous natural springs and others cold water. The setting is very pretty especially with the Rainforest Cafe set amongst the trees.

One of the must-do things in the park is the ‘canopy walk’. It’s much further than it looks on the map and it was a long strenuous walk halfway up a bloody mountain. Three long walkways are suspended from the trees way, way above the jungle floor. The whole thing sways and creaks and even though I hate heights I was determined to do it. I was glad to see a lot of other terrified faces though.

At last at the bottom we ordered food and drinks at the Rainforest Café then decided to look for somewhere to stay. Just across from the park gate was a small shack-like house with a room attached. The house belongs to Jonah and his family while the room next is called Ernah Lodge on a hand painted sign at the front. We asked at the café next door and someone ran off to find Jonah. He’s a friendly little man and very excited about renting the room. He proudly showed us inside and we were surprised to find that we had two bedrooms, a tiny bathroom lined with corrugated iron and a cement floor as well as a small sitting room with a tiny lounge, tables and chairs and a television. The furnishings were basic bits and pieces and we loved it.

Also attached to the Lodge is a small massage room where Jonah’s wife works. He became excited again when we told him we’d both like a massage – they obviously don’t do too much business. Mark had a massage first then we had a swim back over in the park in the pretty, coldwater pool – so nice to cool down from the heat and humidity which had kept us wet with sweat all day.

Back outside the park everyone was calling out ‘happy new year’ – a big thing here apparently. In one of the market stalls we noticed hundreds of handmade ornaments of the Rafflesia flower. This is supposedly the biggest flower in the world and only flowers for a few days a year. I asked the stall lady about it and she said “you want to see?”. Incredibly it was in flower now and she ran off to find someone to take us there. In minutes the tiniest lady imaginable led us up the road to the top of the hill. She was barefoot and looked eighty but we could barely keep up with her. Around a bend she took us to a family sitting in a grass and bamboo shelter and handed us over to a little boy who took us into the forest. Up and down muddy tracks, across a tiny stream we at last came to the Rafflesia deep in the forest. It’s a reddy brown colour and about eighteen inches across. This was amazing and we felt very David Attenbouroughish.

On dark we were ready for our New Year’s Eve in Poring Springs. We walked over to the Rainforest Café in the park where we’d booked a table for dinner. We shouldn’t have bothered as we were the only ones there except for a table of European scientists who ate and ran. A tiny bat did laps of the café and we could hear forest noises all around us – beautiful!

At 9.30pm we headed back to the Lodge while the locals called out ‘happy New Year’ and a group of teenage boys in a ute drove up and down the street – great excitement in Poring Springs. I couldn’t keep awake till midnight but Mark stayed up to see in the New Year – Happy New Year, my darling!

Day 2 Poring Springs to Sepilok

New Years Day. At 8am we had breakfast back at the Rainforest Café then, after a swim, set off with Jonah and his wife for Ranau. The bus arrived at 9.50am and we were soon speeding east.

After three hours we arrived at Sepilok. Again we were dropped off on the highway and again we weren’t sure where to go. A track off the road had a few cars with touts waiting so we crossed over to get a lift to the hotels. There are only a couple of places to stay and we quickly decided on the Jungle Resort. It’s an inexpensive place in a beautiful jungle setting and built around large ponds.

For lunch we hung out in the Banana Café at a table next to the pond. The gardens around the pond have flowering plants and huge fan shaped palms. At the desk we booked a Guided Night Jungle Walk inside the Orangutan Centre. By then thick clouds had come over and the rain was pouring down like only tropical rain can do. It was quite lovely really and a good excuse to have an afternoon nap.

At 7pm we were ready for our jungle walk. The rain had stopped and, in pitch darkness, we followed a young girl along a muddy track. At the Centre we met the ranger who asked us ‘you have torches?’ Of course we didn’t because no-one told us to bring one. This meant we had one torch between the three of us – brilliant.

For the next hour we very slowly walked through the forest while our poor guide tried to find anything even mildly interesting. In total we saw two millipedes, one bird and a snake curled up asleep in a tree – a bit of a letdown but a nice experience anyway.

Day 3 Sepilok

We woke at 8am for showers and breakfast at the Banana Café. I kept seeing an interesting looking old lady who always seemed to have people come up to talk to her and decided to get to know her before we leave.

Then it was time for the orangutans! After breakfast we walked over to the Orangutan Centre where we followed a crowd up and down long wooden walkways till we reached the feeding platform about ten minutes later. While we waited for the orangutans to appear, lots of small monkeys and a bigger pig-faced monkey turned up to pinch some of the free food. The feeder eventually climbed the platform with a bucket of bananas and sugar cane. The excitement built and everyone had their eyes fixed on the jungle.

Soon we could see some branches moving and then they appeared. It’s an incredible sight. About fifteen orangutans turned up for the feeding. No-one scrambled for food – all very orderly really. They all arrived by swinging along ropes set up in the trees and attached to the platform. The humidity in the jungle must be about one hundred and fifty percent – so bad that the inside of our camera fogged up and my hair looked like I just had a perm.

At three o’clock we went back for the afternoon feeding. Although the sun was shining again after a short downpour, the humidity was so much worse. The feeding platform and jungle around was almost hidden by the steam.

At six o’clock we were back at the Banana Café for drinks and dinner. I spied the old lady again and made plans to have breakfast with her the next morning. Her name is Francine Neago, and she said in a very French accent ‘you want to talk about orangutans?”

Day 4 Sepilok to Sandakan

At 8am we met Francine in the café. We talked for an hour and found she’s one of the most interesting people we’ve ever met. I don’t know exactly how old she is but she looks at least eighty (sorry Francine if you’re younger). She’s a scientist trying to set up a school here to teach people about orangutans and about their survival. She told us about the corruption at the Orangutan Centre and how there soon won’t be enough primary jungle left for the orangutans because the government is destroying it to plant palm oil trees. Soon there will only be secondary forest left and even that might be under threat. She’s an expert on orangutans and has even taught one to ‘speak’ using a computer in the USA. Once she lived in a cage with orangutans for six months so she could study them and when she lived in Sumatra she had a full grown pet alligator that lived under her kitchen table. Actually she’s definitely the most interesting person we’ve ever met!

After breakfast we left Sepilok for a few days in Sandakan before flying back to Kuala Lumpur for the next part of our Malaysia trip.