Borneo

Our Adventure in Malaysia began in Borneo for two weeks. The first thing we did of course was to see monkeys. The Semenggoh Wildlife center rehabilitated Orangutans who showed themselves when bribed with fruit. It was amazing to watch them eat the fruit- like coconuts by hitting them against the tree and peeling them with their lips. They were also fairly close in proximity and by close I mean you had to get out of their way while they were walking by you. This was also the beginning of the group we met and traveled with, meeting Marij (who randomly came up to us and asked if she could go to Bako with us), who brought Tom and Charlie to meet us later, and Natalie (our fellow American) who we had met in Singapore... let the good times roll.




Bako National Park was a land of monkeys, Macaque, Proboscis, and Lemurs. The little cheeky macaques steal everything that isn't tied down and some of them will chase you for what you have. If you don't have some sort of stick with you to scare them away you might as well run. Screaming doesn't help. The Proboscis are very regular in their daily feeding at the mangroves. We didn't know this of course and we went around on some treks to try and catch them in their natural wild state. Below here is a pitcher plant, the biggest we saw on the treks, about 9 inches tall. Brilliant colors and lots of dead bugs at the bottom. The beach was nice to have lunch at and to go for a dunk in to get out of the 90 degree heat and 100% humidity.





Notice the big noses, thats what they are famous for. And those noses are only found in Borneo.




The bearded pigs stand about 4 feet tall have big bearly beards kind of like Peter's here in the picture. While the days were spent treking and nature watching the nights were spent haggling for cheaper beer prices and drinking the rewards!


The last week we hired a car and drove around to the other two national parks we could get to . The first was Niah Caves NP where we able to talk to a man that lived in the caves to protect his stake in the collection of a specific swiftlets birds nest (a delicacy when put into a soup we are told). With a mixture of guano, bird, and rat poo the cave was a delight to the nostrils. It was crazy to see the ropes that the nest collectors would climb and suspend themselves on. On the way there we say all kinds of interesting insects- hammerhead worms, red millipedes, cotton ball spiders, a plethora of colorful caterpillars, the disco snail, and lots of dragon and butterflies (all technical names).










The river that bleeds tea



Lambir Hills NP was our last stop with the group and as such we made sure to stop at the liquor store. Lots of drunken video clips were the result... and a late morning getting to the trails to see the waterfalls.



The leech that ruined it all.... As we were driving back to town so Charlie and Tom could get their bus out Charlie noticed a big slimy thing on her foot. Once it was determined to be a leech (silly us not to check before we left because we had been taking pictures of them on the walk) we quickly pulled over, jumped out and took more pictures before burning it off. In all the excitement my bag, and Charlie's shoe were left on the back of the car. The shoe made it, while the bag sadly did not. Lost was the journal of Oz and all contact info, so if you are reading this send us an email with your addresses or you may never hear from us again. And what a loss that would be for you all (sarcasm).




The Chinese temple was closed, so we entertained ourselves outside. Free fun all day.

Got a new camera!!!! very exciting. The pictures will now be better than ever (?)