Borneo Rocks, Part I: Mice, Snakes, Spiders, Pigs, Apes, Monkeys, Oh, YEAH!!

So all that talk of cowardice and fear of jungle animals was really for not. Don’t get me wrong we saw plenty of wildlife, which was at times startling but never really scary. For instance, our first night in Sarawak we were visited by an unexpected guest in the middle of the night, which definitely disrupted my sleep but did not send me packing.

To stretch our budget Sven and I decided to stay in a cheap $45RM a night hotel (for all of you not familiar with the ringgit that is a little less than $15USD for a private room with hot water and a.c. – you could go cheaper, you can always go cheaper in Asia, but the trade off is not always worth it) for our three nights in Kuching. Pleased with the general cleanliness of the room, bonus hot water, and comfy a.c., we were patting ourselves on the back as we went to sleep that first night for not having indulged in the 3+ star hotel around the corner (which was mind you only $120RM – less than $40USD so still cheap). But that all changed at about 2:30am when I was abruptly awoken by a scurrying noise way too close to my bed. When I opened my eyes, I saw the shadow of what appeared to be a not too tiny rat crawling up the curtains. With a quick scream, I woke Sven and was across the room to the safety of a chair in no time. Though Sven would have preferred to just return to sleep, he kindly woke up and after a thirty minute cat and mouse chase around the room, managed to scare the mouse (it was not a giant rat after all) into the closet where Sven promised it would remain for the rest of the night. I was not convinced but he agreed to keep the lights on and I did my best to sleep buried in my sleep sheet for the rest of the night. The next day, Sven gave me the option to move to another hotel but after some thought I decided it was just a mouse and we just moved to a new room instead.

That was just night 1. And though most of you probably think jeez it was just a mouse, I still count it as my first brave encounter with the wildlife of Borneo.

As for more scary wildlife, we found them as well. For our first adventure in Sarawak we took a day trip to Gunung Gading National Park to see the rare Raflessia flower, the world’s largest flower, averaging about 1 meter in diameter. It blooms for only a few days before dying so we were thrilled to find out that this National Park had one in bloom the day we arrived. It was only a short trek into the forest to find it but we hired a guide to take us there.

Along the way, the guide was also helpful in spotting many creepy crawly animals.

Like this centipede (I think), which is harmless but we also met his cousin who is deadly.

And this giant deadly spider (which Sven swears he found on his shoulder during our jungle trek a few days later- yikes!). The guide said it could kill a man with one bite.

And this equally deadly snake. This we found on our own and were only told later, when a park ranger looked at the photo, that this was not a snake you wanted to get too close to.

So many deadly animals in a short 1 hour jungle trek. I have to admit I was not looking forward to our upcoming trekking adventure.

But before we embarked on that trip we had the chance to visit some gentle and awesome giants in the rainforest that made me forget for awhile that there were things to fear in the
jungle.

Ahh, the orangutans! Although Sabah is more famous for its orangutan rehabilitation center, Sarawak also has a center, which is equally wild but not overrun with tourists. The center is set in a huge nature reserve outside Kuching so we went for the day. Established in the early 1970s, the rehabilitation center has rescued 11 orangutans from captivity and reintroduced them to the wild. Since then another 12 orangutans have been born in the reserve so in all there are 23 wild orangutans living in the reserve. Tourists are invited to come to witness the daily feeding of the orangutans but there is no guarantee you will see one. Especially when it is fruiting season and food is abundant, the orangutans have no need to return to the feeding area so there is a good chance that you will sit and wait with no luck. That is actually what happened to us. No orangutans showed up but when were leaving one of the rangers spotted a mother and her baby traveling through the jungle and ushered us all into the forest to get a look at them doing their thing.

It was awesome. We hung out under them for close to a half an hour watching the baby (actually she was like 5 years old) move about from tree to tree while the mother tried to open a coconut. The baby was definitely curious about us, coming down the tree to check us out and trying to piss on everyone’s heads. Our pictures are pretty crappy because we couldn’t use a flash so after a short while we just gave up and enjoyed ourselves. It was definitely a highlight of the trip.

It was after this that we took leave of Kuching and civilization and headed to Bako National Park for some jungle trekking. By this point, I was most concerned about crocodiles. Everyone I spoke to nodded assertively when I asked about crocodiles. Ada, ada, ada (have, have, have) was all I ever heard but no one seemed in the least concerned. Even the ranger simply said well yes of course there are crocs in the park although no one has actually reported seeing them at Teluk Limau (the beach we were heading to). So reassuring! As for the leeches, after several days moving through the rainforest without spotting one on me, I was over them. Plus, it was simply too hot and grueling to worry over little bugs that simply suck your blood and fall off. Especially, when there were crocs lurking about.

Needless to say and of course, thankfully, I never ran into a croc and to be honest after about 2 hours of hiking up and down these gnarly jungle trails, where roots and thorny leaves tried to trip and rip you up at every turn, with a pack that was way too heavy, too little water and in heat that you can only imagine, scary animals whatever shape, size, or intention were the least of my worries. Actually, at some points during our trip I was praying to see a crocodile or tiger just so I could be put out of my misery. But Sven will fill you in on those details in the next post. I just wanted to note that I discovered that my fear could easily dissipate under circumstances that instilled a different kind of pain and torture.

Anyway, our two days in the jungle did not turn up much wildlife. Actually, all the cool wildlife was camped out near the park headquarters where there were cozy dormitories, showers, and a restaurant. At least, we were smart enough to stay one night here and got to spy the three most famous residents of Bako National Park.

The bearded pig, which seems practically domestic as it roams through the park grounds.

The Probiscous Monkey, which is a rare species found only in Borneo. Ben and I did not have the pleasure of spotting the bizarre looking male but we did come upon several of the funny stub nosed females.

And finally, the marauding Macaques. By now Sven and I are plenty familiar with the Macaques, they are everywhere on campus so we are aware of their brave antics around humans. Basically, they are opportunists and at Bako, they are especially bold, taking advantage of every unlocked window or open pack or easily startled woman they can find.

Sven very much wanted to bear witness to a Macaque pack attack and on our last day in thepark, we got a real show. I would say we witnessed a pack of 50, headed by one alpha male, move through the
dormitories expertly searching out loose windows and the like. Anything that was not strapped down was theirs or in the case of one woman, anything not strapped tight to her backpack was open game. At the final dormitory, the Macaque pack hit the jackpot when they discovered that some silly tourist had left the window to the kitchen open. In a matter of seconds, two monkeys were in the window and back out with a bag full of fruit. Even when the man staying in the dorm emerged with a big stick, the monkeys, with numbers on their side, did not budge. It was only when the rangers showed up that they dispersed (with the food though). Apparently, they do know that the rangers do not mess around.

Well, I think that covers my review of our wildlife encounters in Borneo. Save one…

They weren't wild but well-loved dogs are a rarity in these parts.

We made it out of Borneo unharmed by the many beasts that lurk there and I would say that I managed to remain pretty brave throughout the trip. Even during our stay in the jungle, I slept pretty well! For the most part, the wildlife was one of the best parts of the trip. The orangutans were incredible and the probiscous monkeys bizarre. The only animals that gave us any real trouble were the mosquitoes! StB