After leaving Bali we made our way to Borneo, Malaysia. We stayed on the eastern side of the island in the city of Sandakan, which is just teeming with wildlife.
Sandakan, and Borneo in general, is the real deal when it comes to being the rainforest.
There were random torrential downpours of rain, and more mosquitos (and mosquito bites) than I have ever experienced in my life.
Terrifying bugs abounded around every corner and we dutifully took our malaria pills every night!
No malaria for these backpackers, thank you very much!
We are actually still taking them now, as you have to continue taking the pill 7 days after you leave a high risk area.
Our first stop of the trip was at a rainforest lodge about 2 hours out of the city, and a short boat ride across the river.
It was a giant wooden compound, and mostly reminded me of a summer camp that I threw up at and then had to have my Mom pick me up from in the middle of the night.
I was 8, it was Alaska, what can I say, I have issues with camps.
We had communal meals with other people on the tour, and we all went out the boat tours as a large group.
We would spend 2 hours in the early morning, and then again around dusk boating up and down the river looking for animals. We definitely found them!
Monkeys are just everywhere. These are Silverleaf Monkeys that are actually totally wild, but had the calmest, sweetest temperament.
We were a little freaked out to be so close to them after being around the aggressive Macaques in Bali, which will tear your eyes out if you look at them funny.
But these guys just wanted to hangout, and didn’t even mind if you gave them a little pet.
They barely even acknowledged us, even if we were half a foot away from them. It was pretty amazing. They were also great little models for the camera!
We took a day tour out to see the Gomatong Cave, which is famous for it’s terrifying eco-system.
It was featured in all it’s disgusting glory in the Planet Earth episode on Caves. If you haven’t seen it, do look it up.
We were a bit horrified to discover this was THAT cave!
If only David Attenborough was there to narrate us through this bizarre experience ….
But! First! On the hike out to the cave we got amazingly lucky and stumbled upon 3 Orangutan having lunch in the tree-tops.
It was a mother and her baby, and then a giant male that seemed to be after her.
Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: The Grande Tour - Borneo
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