Borneo and Birthday

Firstly, thanks to everyone who has commented on blog and sent birthday greetings! I really appreciate it. Sorry I won't have time to reply to blog comments individually (actually, I don't know how!)

Anyway let's talk Malaysia.

Well, Kansai Airport, the nearest one to Kyoto and Osaka, is amazing. Recipe for a new airport: Take one island, flatten all the mountains on it, build an incredibly long bridge for cars and trains, and start building. Mix and stir for 20 years and keep adding billions of dollars. Our Malaysian Airline flight was uneventful albeit a bit bumpy, and on arrival in KL we caught a bus to the LCC terminal (domestic one) where we were leaving from early the next morning. Of course I knew where we were staying (Tune Hotel - 500 m from the terminal) but hadn't booked it. Sod's law: they were full! Anyway there is always a plan B and we found a less convenient place about a 20 min taxi ride away on the other side of the Sepang F1 circuit. Booked a 5:30am taxi, had dinner and crashed. Nice to eat fruit again after Japan where 1 apple costs R15 and a peach about R20. They were huge export quality but still.

Our Air Asia flights to Sandakan, east Sabah were fine for a low cost airline. We shared a taxi with some Kiwis to Uncle Tan's and then waited for our trip to the river. It is really hot and humid here. We had a tasty lunch and then off in a minibus to the Kinabatangan river, about an hour in the bus and the same again by boat to Uncle Tan's jungle retreat. We are with a nice bunch of people and the staff here are something else. They are a 24 hr cabaret act. There is always someone singing or playing the guitar. (Mike Hall would love it!!) Place is basic with huts sleeping up to 6 on mattresses with overhanging mozzie nets. Yep, them bitey things are here too but supposedly not malarial.
Even though we did see the detrimental affect of commercial plantations, for the most part the riverine areas look great. We saw loads of animals and birds in the 3 days we were there. I think a separate birding trip somewhere in Borneo would be fantastic looking at their bird books.

For my birthday, at dinner time they had organised a cake and everyone sang "Happy Birthday" (the English and Malay versions) accompanied by the "Uncle Tan's singers" complete with guitar and tambourine. Quite amazing to spend my 50th out in deepest darkest Borneo. Even though it was my birthday and "they" should have known, it was only on our last morning that the elusive orangutans showed themselves. They are solitary and we were lucky enough to see two of these "Men of the Forest" sitting in trees eating. That was the treat to top all others.

We are now back at Uncle Tan's ops base in Sepilok, outside Sandakan. We visited the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary this afternoon and are back on a plane (2 actually) tomorrow. First back to KL and then on to Kota Bahru where we will spend the night en route for the Perhentian Islands (Perhentian Besar to be precise: check them out on Google Earth - if they are only half as good as they look...!). Hopefully we find somewhere to stay!!