We had an absolutely wonderful experience and a refreshing change of pace during our three-week Malaysia/Borneo trip. It was a shock to the senses shifting from the flat, dry dustiness of the eastern Mongolian steppe to the lush, exceedingly diverse rainforests of Malaysia. Beyond the really interesting sights, the smells and the sounds were amazing and they cannot be explained. You have to be in a rainforest – spend nights in the rainforest – to get a full sense of the magic of this planet.
We confined our travels to natural areas and tried to vary the habitats a bit with the exception of our first stop, Fraser’s Hill about two hours north of Kuala Lumpur. We spent a few days in this very small tourist town in the mountains where we could acclimatize a little and ease our way into a comfort zone with some reliability. It was a nice transition place from the Mongolian winter to the equator. The mountains tended to have temps in the 70’s with cooling breezes- just perfect conditions! It would be very hot and sticky later in the lowlands.
We confined our travels to natural areas and tried to vary the habitats a bit with the exception of our first stop, Fraser’s Hill about two hours north of Kuala Lumpur. We spent a few days in this very small tourist town in the mountains where we could acclimatize a little and ease our way into a comfort zone with some reliability. It was a nice transition place from the Mongolian winter to the equator. The mountains tended to have temps in the 70’s with cooling breezes- just perfect conditions! It would be very hot and sticky later in the lowlands.
We spent the majority of time in Sabah, the eastern Bornean state. We spent four days at the Danum Valley Conservation Area in the south, staying at a field research center in some of the last remaining low dipterocarp forest anywhere in SE Asia. Because we stressed our naturalist backgrounds, we were allowed the opportunity to mix with some of the researchers and to access some fascinating wild areas. We made some fast friends and learned a lot about the diversity and natural systems of the place.
Next, we enjoyed a couple nights at Uncle Tan’s jungle camp along the Kinabatangan River in eastern Sabah. The seasonal floodwaters had just receded (uncharacteristically late, this year) and we trudged through a lot of mud. It was a beautifully wild place. Long-tailed macaques and bearded pigs frequently visited the camp, which featured rustic accommodations (mattresses and bug nets), a restful pace and wonderful foods. The highlights were boat safaris when we saw orangutans, hornbills and crocodiles. Julie loved the night safari when she came face-to-face with a 5” Blue-legged Tarantula and held a huge scorpion. We also felt lucky to experience the place with a fun, considerate group of fellow explorers.
We closed our trip at the Kinabalu National Park, which highlighted a very comfortable sub-montane forest with great trails beneath SE Asia’s highest mountain peak. It is one of the most bio-diverse places on the planet. The sheer number of different plant and animal species is staggering. For example, this relatively small reserve area has over 300 bird species (many being unique to this one spot on Earth) and over 1500 orchid species. And they’re cool looking!!!
We ate very well the whole time and public transportation is plentiful, cheap and a snap. Julie enjoyed her leisurely mornings sipping tea and writing in her journal. Predictably, I had a fantastic time bird-finding as I always do in new places. I easily saw over 200 species with 169 of them being ones I could identify as new for my life list – a list that now exceeds 800 species. I had many favorites, but I’ll include just a couple of them in the photos below: the Asian Paradise-Flycatcher (a pic borrowed from Wiki-Commons as we couldn’t get a good one, ourselves) and the Red-bearded Bee-eater, pictured with a fresh, juicy cicada.When we are asked to recount any of our trips, the standard answer to the question, “What was your favorite part?” seems to be “the people.” Well, same case, here. The Malaysians we met were so friendly and many were smiley and giggly. They were very cute and hospitable. I want to re-visit this place, but I don’t know that we’ll be so lucky. We are not wealthy and there are other places we want to see as well. We will be happy to settle for these once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
Little cuties, these:
Stunners:
These are bugs!!!
