Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary

Waking up @ 4.30AM can throw a few surprises - at the homestay I woke up as usual at that time to find Haaji Salabiya cooking up the breakfast. That made me really hungry but had to wait till 6AM to dig into it and what an amazing breakfast it turned out to be. I ended up having 5 servings of it as it was the best food I had in ages and I only had to stop when I couldn't physically eat anymore. Han had a good laugh and later everyone had a good laugh once Han told them about it. Saying bye was hard - especially to the kids - it must be hard for them forming connections only to see the visitors leave in a very short time.

We arrived in time to Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary for the morning feeding. The first surprise moment was walking towards the ticket counter only to realize that there was an orangutan just chilling on top of the entrance. The feeding itself was anticlimactic as only 2 orangutans came out to the feeding and we decided to flag a visit to Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary as it might have turned out the same while having much higher admission fees.

After returning to our inn we had lunch and then everyone except Len went over to the Rain forest discovery centre and it turned out to be a fun experience. We spent a fair chunk of time in the botanical garden and once we started walking into the forest area - all of us got the giggles.

The giggles were compounded when we got to the hornbill tower. It was a massive platform which rose above the canopy and it's supposed to be a good way to spot birds etc. We didn't spot any birds but I definitely gave the love birds on the viewing platform a scare when I ran up the tower causing vibrations and shaking it a bit. Elliot, Zak had a good laugh about us spotting the horny bills instead of the horn bills on top of the tower while Ana enjoyed our madness from below.

Hornbill tower

Ana at the bottom

Elliot and Zak trying to spot birds

On return to the inn we found out the reason as to why there were no birds around. There was massive construction of canopy walkway going on and it was noisy as hell. Maybe when the walkway is complete the birds will come back to that area.

We returned to the inn and sat in the cafe sharing stories. It ended up being a good way to laugh and bond - more so when Zak started concocting this wild romantic adventure between the wild pig {that escaped the dog earlier in our travels} and the crocodile - which I've named 'The Kinabatangan Affair'. :-)

In the evening, everyone ordered Roti Canai since it looked so good after I had it in the afternoon. After dinner Elliot, Len, Han and me had a long game of darts and that turned out to be an exciting game. I lost narrowly to Len but it was awesome fun. Today turned out to be a mixed bag - disappointment at not having seen more orangutans counter balanced by the amazing amount of laughs that we had as a group.

Tomorrow is the return back to KK for some rest and relaxation.
Amit

Homestay

I had an amazing sleep but got woken up a couple of times with monkeys landing on the roof and scurrying away. The morning brought clear skies and we went for the sunrise cruise.

Out fishing

Elliot spotting some wildlife

Sunrise on Kinabatangan River

It sucked not having binoculars or a super zoom camera, so I didn't really capture any moments but we did end up spotting a couple of species of monkeys, different kinds of birds and 6 out of 7 varieties of Hornbills. The most exciting event was seeing a wild pig escape a dog by jumping into the river and swimming across to the other side. Such behavior is supposed to be suicide since there is a high probability that it'd get eaten by a crocodile but fortunately for the wild pig there were no crocodiles around.

The great escape

What was again a shock to the system on the river cruise was that on one side of the river it was rain forests while on the other side it was palm oil plantations. After the river cruise ended, we got back to the camp and the girls decided to take it easy while Elliot, Len & me went for a jungle walk along with the jungle guide. The only thing we saw were heaps of butterflies but it was a good way to stretch the legs after sitting in the boat for an hour.

We got back to the camp and i took a quick cold shower to no avail as I was soaked in sweat within 5 minutes. We returned the KOPEL base and were assigned homestays. It was 2 people per house and luckily for me I had Han with me - which meant that I could atleast have some conversation with my hosts who didn't speak English. The family I stayed with was a farmer, Penanman and his wife, Haaji Salabiya. It was a simple home but very open and welcoming. It reminded me of 'thota' in a lot of ways. Their grand kids were around and they opened up to me and we took heaps of photos.

Haaji Salabiya with her grand kids in the kitchen

Ana, Ari & Saroha {the youngest one}

Penanman with his grandkids

Me with the kids

The food was amazing and it was the best Malaysian food I've ever had. Home cooked meals are something else entirely. As we were heading back to KOPEL centre - they let me borrow a traditional malay dress that I had to wear later that evening for the cultural performances. En route we stopped at an ancient burial hill which is now also a bat cave. Ana decided to stay in the van as she wasn't up for climbing any more steps for a while.

The burial chamber was an interesting experience mainly because it had similarities to ancient Egyptian burials. After that we climbed to the top of the hill and the views from there are amazing but again all you can see is mainly palm oil plantations and at the edge you see the rain forests start.

After the burial caves we came back to KOPEL centre and since we saw the villagers playing volleyball we thought it might be a good idea to join in. The locals though were too engrossed and we kept waiting for 20 minutes or so before Elliot and me decided to skip that and go and play soccer with the locals in the nearby field. 

Volleyball under the bridge

It was a fun game and our team did win. The kids were really friendly and because I got on with them well they asked me if I was a muslim.When I replied in the negative they weren't phased at all and I hope it was some sort of a realization for them that it doesn't matter what your religion is because first and foremost we are human beings.

There were 3 foreigners within the village but they were pretty serious and didn't even greet any of us. On the walk back to the centre one of them was close by so I said hi and tried having a conversation. They were from Belgium and were doing some volunteer work. She had a very 'holier than thou' attitude though and Elliot found that strange as well. I think those volunteers are missing the point if they are not having fun or not being friendly to visitors to the village.

We were all apron'ed up and were divided into different teams to go with cooks for different dishes, so we could learn how to cook. Len did most of the cooking in our team as he is a good cook. The bugs and insects flying through the window most definitely added extra protein to our dishes. :-)

After the dinner, we were asked to dress up in the traditional costumes that we were given and then most of the villagers who were playing volleyball earlier that evening gave us a cultural performance. 

Zak, Ana, Len, Elliot and me in traditional dresses

It was surreal and amazing because in the background were these amazing thunder clouds and lightning. It definitely made for a memorable moment. Towards the end of the performances our whole group was pulled into the dance and were asked to dance with them. We were like mechanical robots compared to the gracious movements of the dancers - even though the movements looked simple. 

Traditional drums against thunder and lightning

Dance performances

Our group joining in the dance

Group photo

After the performances finished we returned to our homestay to retire for the night. Tomorrow is the trip to the orangutan sanctuary and really looking forward to it.

Till later,

Amit

Mescot Jungle Eco-Camp

The view from my room was stunning in the morning. After a quick breakfast everyone rushed to be out on the road by 8.30AM - which is when the public bus would arrive. It was a good 40 minutes later that the bus actually showed up and what a ride it turned out to be.

They had some crappy Steven Seagal movie playing and everyone seemed mesmerized. So much so that our booked seats were occupied by some locals who wanted a closer view of the proceedings. All of us decided to sit in the back as we weren't particularly keen on watching the movie. The bus also had a toilet in the back {right besides where I was sitting} - the only problem was that the door was kind of jammed, so it was hard to open it and once you opened it - it was hard to close it and that had some unintended side effects.

A local started feeling sick from all the curvy,hilly route but because he couldn't get the door open - he ended up vomiting in the aisle and in a bucket. Then a british tourist who wanted to use the toilet, gave out a little scream as the toilet door swung open in the middle of her business. The gentleman behind me and myself kicked the door shut from outside but it was still pretty funny.

Potent Bananas

After our lunch stop, the next 2 hours to our destination was eye opening. All there was on both sides of the road were palm oil plantations. And occasionally you'd come across a harvested piece of land and it looked ugly. The problem with palm oil plantations is not so much that they are destroying the environment but the fact that they are eradicating various species of flora and fauna and thus causing a massive imbalance in the system. And it is unfair to just ask people to stop doing it without providing an alternative means of making a living as most of the palm oil consumption happens outside of Malaysia. There are no easy solutions to this one except for raising awareness worldwide about the impact of using palm oil as a primary ingredient in various things.

Palm oil plantations

Harvested land

There was one point in the bus ride where I got angry with Len. There were a couple of kids in the seat in front of him who were curious about foreigners in the local bus and turned around to have a look. It was a nice photo and I got one but after that Len started bribing them with the small bananas so that they could strike a pose for him. At some level I felt enraged because it was treating the kids like objects to be manipulated rather than just capturing a moment. But I guess irrational and sentimental things like this don't hold any significant value.

As we neared the village we could see the rain clouds coming up and as soon as we got off the bus it started raining heavily. We headed to the KOPEL base in the village and had a quick briefing by the jungle guide and as the weather cleared up for a bit, we hurried towards to our rainforest eco-camp.

Rain Clouds gathering

Mother

Zak, Ana, Elliot & Len

Me

By the time we got off the boat near the jungle camp it had started drizzling. We were shown our huts and the girls got the one closest to the base while the guys got the second hut while I got the third hut - which was slightly separated from the rest and I had the hut to myself. The plan was to unload our packs and then go for a sunset river cruise spotting wildlife and birds.

By river cruise time the heavens opened up and there was no way we could do the cruise as there would be nothing to see in the rain as all animals and birds would've taken shelter from the rain. And the intensity of the rain was heavy as well, so there was nothing to do but wait and see if the rain would stop .

Rain coming in

Len and Ana

Zak

Torrential downpour 

Since the rain didn't ease off the cruise got cancelled and the plan was to have a sunrise cruise the following day. With nothing to do we all enjoyed some hot drinks over a good, long chat followed by a wonderful dinner. Rain eased off slightly, so the jungle guide decided that we could go for a jungle night walk. There was some resistance to the idea as there would still be nothing to see but we decided to give it a shot. Needless to say the walk was disappointing as we didn't spot anything. Only thing I did spot was an owl but that flew away as soon as my head lamp shone at it.

The jungle night walk did drive home the point how incapable we are of surviving in the wild as our sense of vision and smell is completely useless while the animals and birds can probably smell us from miles off from the insect repellent that we slap on in the jungle combined with the crashing noises we make while walking. We returned shortly after to our camp and the walk back to the hut was terrifying.

You can't see anything and all you can hear is the sounds of the jungle and when you are walking alone that can be a terrifying prospect. It didn't help that stories of pygmy elephants and clouded leopard coming to the camp sometimes got passed around. It took me forever to get to the hut - atleast it seemed like it. The small battery powered LED's that showed the path didn't do anything to ease off the sense of fear. Once in my hut, I closed my door and put my backpack against it. I didn't want to make it any easier for any curious animals to explore my hut.

Let's see how tomorrow morning shapes up to be.
Amit

Low's Peak - 4095 m & back

We got woken up at 1 AM by a very noisy chinese contingent and I definitely could've done with an extra half an hour's sleep. The other bad news to start off with was that Elliot was having a massive headache and had decided not to do the climb to the peak.

We had butter/jam/toast with some coffee and started up the mountain around 2.45AM. It was pitch black and combined with the cold it was super hard climb. At some point during the climb Len overtook us and for most of the climb it was Zak and me. Some sections of the mountain were scary as you had to pull yourself up using the rope that ran across mountain. Zak started worrying as to how we were going to get down this steep section. The thinning air also meant we had to take a lot more breaks.

The final check point was Sayat-Sayat hut and you needed your pass in order to proceed further from here. Only 140 odd people are allowed to climb the mountain each day to preserve the environment around the mountain. There were so many people smoking at Sayat-Sayat check point that it definitely impacted on me. Soon I started feeling nausea and it was hard work using my breathing to control it.

With each passing meter I started struggling a lot, so Zak came up with a unique solution. We would walk 20 steps and then stop for a breather. The scene got funnier as other people who were feeling breathless started following Zak's instructions as well. The whole 20 steps things definitely helped heaps as otherwise I'd have struggled to get to the top. Soon Han joined us and Zak left me with Han, who then guided me up the last 500 m or so.

It was an awesome feeling getting to the top of the mountain and luckily the weather was perfect and we got a clear view of everything. At the top I caught up with Len and Zak and that's where we got to know that Elliot had decided to give the summit climb a shot and was following right behind. And that's when Len revealed that Elliot actually has a prolapsed disc in his neck region - which made the effort even more commendable. The scale of beauty from top of the mountain is hard to describe and even harder to capture as you don't get a sense of scale. After taking a few photos we headed back down.

Zak, me & Len at Low's peak

Sunrise over the mountains

Shadow of the mountain

The world below

The climbers

Ana makes it

Elliot makes it as well

Getting down was easier and I ran a good chunk of the way down to Sayat Sayat hut and as soon as we passed the band of smokers again I started feeling a little nauseous again. At the hut they asked if I wanted a certificate that I did the climb and I said no. I don't need a piece of paper to prove that I did the climb and also it would be an additional headache trying to carry it around in my backpack without crumpling it.

Han & Zak climbing down

Easy climb down

Towards Sayat-Sayat hut

All of us had a good second breakfast at Laba Rata guest house before we started our descent to the base of the mountain again. Len and Elliot disappeared on the walk down while I walked slowly and steadily giving Ana company as she was really struggling because of her knees. The plan was to take the other route back down as going back the route we came was sheer madness.

The descent

Couple of guys from the Filippino group {I should've remembered their names} and Ana at a rest stop

Throughout the climb down we were passed by porters running up and down the hill carrying stuff to Laban Rata - that's how travelers are able to have their buffets. It is amazing stuff to see and just makes you feel so unfit and insignificant. They get paid by the weight they carry - so I'm sure it isn't an easy living but atleast they are making a living.

A porter carrying stuff up to Laban Rata

Ana & me

Rain clouds coming in

In the clouds

It started raining towards the later half of the descent and the forest just came alive with all sorts of sounds and it was amazing to hear. Ana & me formed a game where we would try and find the next piece of flat land and yell out 'flat' to keep Ana's mind off the steps that we were climbing down. It was a fun game.  Overall talking to Ana and Zak through the entire trek it's pretty clear that we don't get paid as well as they get paid in Australia and it's really tempting thought to shift base across the ditch but that means starting life and career from scratch again.

The cruelest part of the descent is saved for the last as there are a whole bunch of stairs before you can exit the Timpohon gate. We finally did it and by the time we got to the Kinabalu Park headquarters - Elliot & Len had been waiting for us for a couple of hours while Zak waited for Ana and me at the Timpohon gate for almost an hour. We had a buffet lunch at the headquarters before we caught a ride to the inn we were staying at for the night.

A view from the inn

The place had beautiful views but there was nothing to do for miles around. Everyone got themselves a massage to relieve the pains from the climb but I decided not to and had a long nice warm shower and had a quick nap before the group dinner.

The food at restaurant was reasonably priced and it was delicious to boot, so I didn't mind it so much. It is incredible to think that all of us walked about 19KM while ascending and descending 4 KM - all within 2 days. Tomorrow we head out to Mengaris Village - a 5 hour bus ride from where we were, to the jungle eco-camp.

Later,

Amit