I flew from KK to Sandakan – it is a short 45 minute flight,but it replaced a 7 hour bus ride over windy roads.
I few on Malaysian Airlines and was a bit excited to experience what I’ve heard is their great service.
The flight itself gave spectacular views of Borneo and Mount Kinabalu.
I had thought that KK had some Asian grit to it, but I was surprised at how poor those who live here are.
From the airport to my hotel, we past numerous “floating villages” or homes made of wood and tin placed on stilts in the water so that the occupants didn’t have to purchase land.
Sandakan was a must as it has some of the richest wildlife areas in South East Asia, including the Orang Utan (the world’s smallest elephant), sun bears (world’s small bears), the proboscis monkeys and amazing birds – including one that looks like a toucan.
Although it was originally established to export logs from Borneo by the Charter Company, the forest is mainly intact.
Pros Monkeys
I woke up today excited to see these cool creatures.
Getting to the monkey reserve on your own is no easy task – almost everyone takes an organized tour.
However, I was all set with the necessary information for where the reserve sends a shuttle bus to pick up adventures – all for just $13 CDN roundtrip.
It is one of the best deals out there.
It was just me and two others – Boris (a Swiss fellow from Logrono) and his friend Bella (a German girl from Hamburg).
It had taken them ½ a day to organize this and they still got it wrong – they thought that the bus left a 9 where as it left at 9:30.
They were just about to leave when I showed up. They were so pleased with the info I had that we all became instant friends.
Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Yougottabehere - Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary
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