I thought life
could not get better than being in Bali- I was wrong. After spending 10 days in
Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo) I have seen it all (well, actually not quite yet). I decided months ago that I
couldn’t possibly leave peninsular Malaysia without a trip to BORNEO! There
were only two things that I just had to do- see wild Orangutans and SCUBA Dive
in Sipadan-I did both, and so much more.
Sarah and I
arrived in Borneo and stayed the night in KK. The next morning we took a
crowded mini bus to Kinabalu Park to see the highest peak in SE Asia. We
completed the longest hike in the park besides the summit- the Liwagu trail.
View from the canopy walk in Poring Hot Springs
The third day we
took a bus from Ranau to Sandakan (was supposed to come at 2pm- ya right, were
still in Malaysia). After waiting for the bus for nearly two hours, it arrived,
though not as we planned. The driver told us that we had to buy tickets ahead
of time and all the seats were full. We had to take that bus, so we sat on the
stairs in the bus for a 4.5 hour journey. I was honestly just happy to be on
the bus! After arriving, a friend I met on couchsurfing picked us up at the bus
station, took us to a wonderful dinner on the rooftop of a building in
Sandakan, and helped us find a cheap dorm. It never ceases to amaze me how many
great people there are in the world, that are always willing to help you out!
The next morning
we took a slow mini bus to Sepilok to start our wildlife adventure!!!! The
start of our 3D/2N trek with Uncle Tan’s started and we were off to the Sepilok
Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre. We saw two semi-wild Orang Utans!!!!! After
that, we left for the Kinabatangan River to see wildlife! Sarah and I were
expecting to be possibly the only college students- nope there were three
others- Natalie and Briony from the UK and Elise from the States! The five of
us had a blast! The jungle camp we were staying at had no running water,
electricity for only 6 hours a day, and we slept under mosquito nets- it was
amazing!!!! The first night we went on a night boat ride and saw the largest
bat in the world (the Flying fox), the Buffy Fish Owl, Hornbills, a Malay civet,
and tons of other species.
The two semi-wild orangutans from the sanctuary
The following
day we woke up at 6am to do a morning boat ride- we saw crocodiles, monkeys,
birds, and others. A few hours later, we went on a jungle trek and ran into 3
WILD ORANG UTANS!!!!!! There was an adult male, female, and juvenile Orang
Utan. The male was not thrilled at our presence and kept breaking off large
tree branches and throwing them at us. It was crazy!!!!!!!! We also saw the
coolest insects I have ever seen! -the Lantern bug, and its babies.
Lantern Bugs :)
There were tons of amazing species of butterflies
And lots of dragonflies
A wild juvenile orangutan in the WILD!!!!!!!
Proboscis Monkey!
That night we
went on another jungle trek! This was my favorite- our guide Leo could find anything!!!!
We found sleeping Scarlet Rumped Trogons and Black and red Broadbills. Leo was
also able to spot a File-eared tree frog from over 15m away! The spider species
that we saw were also incredible!!! WOW, BORNEO IS TEEMING WITH WILDLIFE!!!!
File-eared tree frog :)
Sleeping Scarlet Rumped Trogon
My favorite bird the entire jungle trip (besides the owls)- the Black and Red Broadbill
Morning we had to leave- saying goodbye to our new friends
On the third day
of being jungle people, we went on another boat ride back to the dock (a 45min
trip) and Sarah and I were off the Semporna so I could get my permit to dive
Sipadan!!!! Well, we didn’t make it to Semporna in time and I missed the ferry
to the island. We sat in an incredibly packed mini bus for over 4 hours in
awful traffic! At least we made it to Semporna that night so we could take the
ferry in the morning. We woke up the next day and we headed to Mabul Island!
The second we arrived, the divemasters told me they were waiting for me to
leave for Sipadan (a forbidden island that only 120 people a day are allowed to
visit). I was so excited that I forget to put on any sunscreen and I just
grabbed my swimsuit and ran. I picked out my wet suit, BCD, and other dive
equipment and jumped on the boat. I was too excited to be nervous but Sipadan
is generally a place that experienced divers go, and I am not to that level
yet. But, my adventurous self just had to do it- and it was 100% worth it!!!! I
have never done anything more exciting; I was smiling so much at some points
that my regulator would leak water. 6 other divers, two divemasters, and myself
headed to the first dive site. The second site, Barracuda point, is one of the
top 10 dive sites in the world and I now know why! I swam in a school of nearly
one thousand chevron barracuda (each over 1m in length), schools of thousands
of jack fish, and a school of nearly one hundred Pumphead parrot fish (some the
size of a table!). I saw over 50 sea turtles (most green but some hawksbill)
and dozens of reef sharks! The dives were all wall dives, so I was swimming
with walls of intricate and vibrant coral on my left and the abyss of the open
ocean on my right. This was the first time I dove in water that there was no
floor in site. It was extraordinary!
View from the ferry ride to Mabul
Water off the shore of SIPADAN!
ME DIVING WITH BUMPHEAD PARROT FISH AND A SEA TURTLE!!!!!!
Reef sharks galore :)
Friendly sea turtle :)
Schools of Chevron Barracuda surrounding me!
Bye bye Sipadan- I will definitely be back in the future!
After completely
three amazing dives at Sipadan, I knew that diving was definitely my favorite
thing ever- so I spent the rest of my time in Borneo diving and getting my
Advanced Open Water Certification. The night dive was my favorite- I got to see
a sleeping turtle, 2 lionfish, a Spanish dancer, a PYGMY OCTOPUS (I was so
excited I went crazy!), and a million other spectacular things. One of the
greatest things I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing is putting your
torch to your chest, the whole sea being pitch black, and waving your hands in
the water. The bioluminescent plankton begin to glow and the ocean looks like a
night sky full of stars. I also got to do my first deep dive- that was also
great! I got to learn about underwater navigation and guide my own dive- pretty
cool!
Although I did
not have an underwater camera with me some kind divers took photos and sent
them to me! A French couple on my dive boat had a camera and they were so amazing and
took photos of me (photo credit for the diving pictures goes to Priscilla and Tristan- you are the best!). I figured that I would love scuba diving but not this much!
Now I have 2 of the most expensive hobbies possible- travelling the world and
diving. Dang, I am just going to have to make sure I have a job one day that
allows me to do both. If anyone knows of one, let me know!
Next blog will hopefully be about my adventures this past weekend in Cambodia :)
