Just wanted to tell that we are glad to present our photos from Borneo in Flickr. Much awaited pictures of Orangutans, nose monkeys and all the rest of the wonders of the jungle.
And also you can enjoy this small piece of backpacking lifestyle here:
Maiku
Erupting volcanoes! Boxing kangaroos! An elephant bull in the heath! Prehistoric monsters! What happened to a thief? Are the orangutans drunk? Lunatic rickshaw drivers! Temples in the deep jungle! Secret chambers of sultan’s palace!
This and much more on our Flickr photos! Have a look in HERE (or click the link in the side bar).
The ancestors believed that the mountain was sacred and that the spirits roamed the peak, but mainly they feared climbing to the peak due to never coming back. When the British conquerors arrived, they wanted to climb the mountain but the locals tried to stop them and warned them that they will stay in the jungle forever and never come back if they dare to knock on the spirits doors.
Of course, in nowadays Mount Kinabalu is still a holy place for the locals but the Brits and many other people from different nationalities climbed it and did not met any spirits of ancestors, but to experience the beauty of South East Asia’s highest peak and it’s views. A 4092 m of altitude and the experience of a lifetime, it’s a hard way up and costing, as calculated it costs like a 100 euro. Well, we were not that lucky (or stupid?) to climb to 4092 m but we surely made it to Kinabalu National Park and the Poring Hot Springs next to it.
Before I tell you about all this trekking/climbing/wild nature watching details, let me proudly share some facts. We are now in our 10th month of traveling of the trip. We have visited 17 countries and more then 60 cities. Our furthest and Southern most destination was not Australia as many of you have expected, we wished so much to make it there but since we were broke and exhausted, the need to get back to a routine life all played a major role stopping us. So the furthest point was Bali, Indonesia as you have seen in our Flickr pictures.
We have now started the way back up. Passing by the Malaysian Borneo (Maiku’s favorite destination) then heading to the KL, my favorite, and then the City of Angels aka Bangkok, which will be our last stop before we head home on 4th of February. Home to Finland!
But let’s not talk about that, there is still lots of experiences to tell and share before our journey home.
Malaysian Borneo’s biggest city is Kota Kinabalu, which means one of Air Asia’s destinations; we flew there from Jakarta and stayed at the best backpacker’s lodge ever, Kinabalu Backpackers. It was a small place run by a lovely young Chinese Malaysian couple. Borneo is magnificent, unfortunately Maiku got fever (again!) at the first 3 days which stopped most of our action – well the weather wasn’t our best friend either, this time of the year tends to be rainy. Floods!
But not to fear, nothing stopped us before and nothing will now, and so we decided to visit the jungles. I am no Tarzan but it’s worthy trying. So we took a bus ride to Sandakan, or the exact location will be Sepilok Orangutan Sactuary. Orangutans, as we discovered, are very shiny and gentle animals, it takes lots of patience to see one and be able to take close up photos of them.
We then decided to take a daily tour to meet the funniest monkeys ever, Mr. Nose Monkey and his family, the Proboscis monkeys which only exist in Borneo and live in the wild in the deep of the jungle. Guess what, we took a small boat (I had to face my water fears) and spent a great day with our expert guide Mr. Aji , tracking the lovely wild nature. All details come in Maiku’s future post, stay tuned: she will shock you!
It isn’t over here; in my next post I will share with you the experience of a lifetime, have you ever imagined me playing Tarzan, well 50 meters above ground and walking on a rope…
Sasi (Borneo,Malaysia)!
P.S: Have you seen a flower called Rafflesia? Biggest flower on the globe, pictures will be brought to you on MaikuSasi.com!
About half an hour before Jakarta, the views from train window changed from lush green rice paddies to shackles, trash and more trash. These slums and shackles accommodate thousands of dwellers, who have moved from countryside to the capital in hope of better life and jobs. I think it would have been better off in the rural area, where you can at least grow your own rice and vegetables.
Kids playing literally in between of the train tracks while their mums washing laundry on really dirty looking water sources – which probably serves also as drinking water wells. Fathers (if around) collecting garbage like plastic bottles and cardboard to sell, to get some money to buy food. I assume there would be days when the family stays hungry. Not a chance to school or medical care, not a chance to get out – unless some miracle happens. It doesn’t.
The contrast to the central Jakarta is huge: sky scrapers, fashion boutiques, good cars. For us, Jakarta was mainly just an unavoidable destination to fly out. So the only day we had in there, we had already earlier decided to use for a zoo visit. I had read from Jakarta Post daily that there was four white tiger cubs been born just few days before, and also I wanted to see the Komodo Dragons since we didn’t had a change to visit the island itself.
To get to the zoo, you have to take a city bus. So we were waiting for one in the bus stop, and when the right number arrived, Sasi asked the money charger if it goes to the zoo. “Yes, to the monkeys”, he confirmed happily and had a little monkey imitation dance as well just to make sure. When we had to change to another bus, Sasi asked again, and this time both him and the money charger (different guy obviously) had the monkey dance. It seems Indonesians like monkeys the best.
The zoo itself was a bit shocking sight what comes to the living standard of animals. By development country measures, it is actually rather good, but the Third World zoo standards are far from the European ones. Having said that, the living conditions of the animals in the cages were far, far more better than countless human beings we saw during the trip.
Some of the much-liked monkeys seemed quite apathetic, just sitting and staring, some even begging for treats. Same with most of the bears except the ones which were neurotic. Orangutans lied on their backs looking like extremely drunken hobos. We also wondered if the Komodos were tranquilized. Thinking back, it seemed as the whole zoo would have been high. Apart from big cats, which seemed mostly irritated and bored.
We didn’t first find the white tigers at all. I even learned the word in Indonesian when asking directions to ‘harimau putih’. At last, there was one male. But no cubs or their mother. I had assumed though that they would be out in public since they were still so small. I was disappointed anyway. But then Sasi wandered a bit further and came back to me eyes glittering: you have to come here fast!
He had managed to find the care-keeper of the tigers, and had agreed with him to take us to see the puppies. So backstage we went, and he rolled up a plastic cover of one cage. And there they were, four cubs and their mother. The cutest little things ever, pure white and fluffy, shining blue eyes just barely open. They couldn’t yet walk properly since they were only about two weeks old. We were not allowed too close not to disturb the nursing mama, but even from a bit further and behind the bars, it was still the experience of a lifetime.
Sorry about the bad picture quality, had to take them obviously behind the bars and without flash.
And the names of the little ones?
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono named after four Indian white tiger cubs Ayu, Asri, Kasih, and Sinar in Ragunan Zoo.
“Kasih is to love others, Ayu is beauty, Asri is for the environment, and Sinar is a light of kindness,” President Yudhoyono explained about the meanings of the cubs` names.
The four tiger cubs, consisting of three females and one male, were born in the zoo on December 26, 2008.
ANTARA News
(Indian? I guess the daily means Bengal tiger.)
THIS, by the way, is an excellent tiger site.
Maiku, who loves tigers.
Ps:
On isot valkoiset tiikerit karanneet,
on kadonneet jäljet länsituuleen.
Ja rukous kiirii moskeijaan hiljaiseen kun
isot valkoiset tiikerit katoaa pimeyteen.
-Dingo
I had a working day from Hell: busy, nothing seemed to go right, story collapsing, panicking under the deadlines… and in the middle of all that, I got a phone call: you have to come now, the babies are hatching!
So we left everything, jumped to a taxi and speeded through the highway from Beirut to Southern Lebanon to see sea turtle babies. The driver was speeding like 150km/hour and I looked desperately the reddening and lowering sun. We had to get there before sunset, since darkness is dangerous for the newly hatched turtle babies due to predators.
After Tyre there was no highway but a narrow village road in the midst of banana plantations. We drove and drove, and Army checkpoints started to be more and more frequent. Until we came to a huge sign which said that all the foreigners passing this point should have security clearing from the Army intelligence headquarters at Saida. Of course I didn’t have one, and the soldier looked at my blond hair quite suspiciously when Sasi insisted that we are Lebanese, all of us. This was the way to the Israeli border, which was now about two km away, and also the way to the huge UN peacekeepers (Unifil) base close by. We were let by though, only to realize that we had driven too far anyhow. Our destination was before the final checkpoint, in Mansouri.
Finally we spotted the Orange House – which was surprisingly enough orange in the middle of green banana and citrus plants. Darn. And before we even got our bags down, we were hurried to the beach since the baby turtles couldn’t wait any second longer. Sun was down now, and it was getting dark. So we ran after Habiba, one of the two ladies taking care of the nests voluntarily. She dropped to her knees on the sand and stared to dig, and indeed: there was already a few turtle babies on the sand.
We had totally 56 alive loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtle babies which were let to the sea. Later Habiba and her partner Mona told us that two types of sea turtles come to lay eggs to the beach: in addition to loggerhead, the big and rare green turtle (Chelonia mydas) also nests in here. Green turtle has been declared critically endangered by the World Conservation Union. They can live for more than 100 years, taking about 30 years to start producing eggs, loggerheads a bit earlier. So these babies we would come back to this beach in about 25 years – but only one out of thousand will return, added Mona.
The turtles have been safe on this beach since the area was under the Israeli military surveillance during the Israeli occupation until 2000. Also, because the areas next to beach are agricultural area, there is no bright lights and noise of residences and beach resorts to scare the timid reptiles away. This is one of the only still existing natural sandy beaches (without buildings, resorts, army bases or just plain trash dumps) in the whole country – the only ones turtles can come to lay eggs.
Mona and Habiba are truly incredible women. Orange House is Mona’s family home which was abandoned during the Lebanese civil war in 1980′s. She lived abroad for decades, only to come to have a holiday in the house in 1999. That was then when she saw a turtle for the first time. Says Mona:
“I was walking in the beach, when I heard noise. It was this huge, beautiful turtle creeping through the sand, coming to lay her eggs. I toke a picture, and the turtle screamed to me. She went back to the sea, and never returned back because I scared her – what did I knew, I was a tourist. I still pay that back now. That was the start of me and the turtles.”
Mona contacted a marine biologist to get information, went back to Netherlands, left her job and life in there and returned to take care of the nests. Habiba teamed her about a year later to help in the work. Together, the ladies opened Orange House as bed&breakfast, and its truly a paradise with lush garden.
Ladies didn’t even leave the turtles alone during the Israeli aggression in 2006, when the missiles kept whistling down from the sky, except for two utmost hottest weeks, when Hizbullah was shooting rockets to Israel just behind the house. When they come back after 16 days, two Israeli missiles had hit the house. Mona says they ran directly to the beach to see what happened the turtle nests. She admits it was a bit stupid thinking afterward. “We didn’t know if there was unexploded bombs or something. Luckily, there wasn’t.” Most of the turtles survived even during the war – the irony is that the nests were protected from humans who were scared to come to the beach during the bombings.
Now, after 8 years of work, Mona and Habiba have sent about 5000 baby turtles to the sea. Local fishermen say they see more young turtles now than before. I can’t say how much I admire the ladies and their work. It is really touching how they have dedicated their life on that.
Early every morning, they walk the beach to find the tracks of mummy turtles in the sand. Then they search the area, and once found, the nest is carefully excavated and the eggs checked. After that, the nest is reburied and the women put a protective grid of wire mesh on top, as well as a final layer of sand. The grid will protect the eggs from hungry foxes and wild dogs. And after about 45 days, the babies start to crawl their way up, and then Mona and Habiba come to the rescue again.
Another task the ladies do is to clean the beach, every single morning. The sea spits back to the beach all the garbage people throw to it – sometimes Habiba and Mona find bottles with Hebrew tags in them. Nowadays also they find a lot of rubbish from the Unifil base – Italian water, French mustard, Spanish candies… But thanks to their hard work, the beach is now pristine clean. We enjoyed really our time in the sun in there – the whole 2km beach was empty but us and 3 other Orange House guests. Marvelous!
We really had a good break from Beirut hectic life in there. I simply loved the beach and the house itself: its beautiful, airy and well decorated rooms, the garden with its all animals: dog, cat, parrot, goats… My beloved husband surprised me even bringing a cake to the beach on my birthday. The only problem was, the candle didn’t lit in the wind!
Maiku
Ps. You find the contact info of the Orange House in our Top picks page, and more pics on our Flickr.
