We finally arrived in Sandakan after a delay of several hours in KL, where our plane's fuel tanks were a 'little bit leaky' (eekl!). After the drama of being rushed off the plane which was surrounded by fire engines, we switched to another jet and set off on the most adventurous leg of our journey - Borneo. It was already dark by the time we landed and raining quite a bit. After a short drive we arrived at our digs for the night, Sabah Hotel, a traditional Malay residence set in the jungle on the outskirts of Sandakan town. We snacked on chicken and beef satay, took our malaria tablets then snuck off to bed for some much needed shut-eye.
The next morning we were up bright and early and were greeted by our tour guide, Leonard. First stop....Sepilok, one of the largest Orang -utan rehabilitation centers in Borneo. Only problem was....it was raining cats and dogs!
Unfortunately, the orang-utans, or 'men of the jungle' which is the local translation, are less active in wet weather as like humans they don't like to get caught in the rain, so we only saw three during our trip.
We did however see lots of smaller primates, which kept us entertained as we stood in the downpour, me with a sainsburys bag over my camera and Claire with a stolen shower cap. :)
Amazingly, the Orang-utan shares 96.4% of our DNA.(96.5% if you're ginger!), which is easy to see. Their dextrous hands and expressive eyes are hauntingly human.
The Orang-utan is an endangered species, but with the help of institutions such as Sepilok hopefully the numbers in the wild will increase over time. They truly are incredible creatures and something everyone should encounter, not in a sterile, soulless zoo, but in their natural habitat.
So...With our appetite for voyeurism of Sabah's wildlife well and truly whetted, we departed for the Billet Rainforest Lodge, our next point of interest and lodgings for the night.
.....to be continued.
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Location:Sandakan, Sabah
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