Braving Borneo

after 2 days in the jungle, I am now back on line in the seaside town of semporna.  I’ll catch up with my back-blogging in a bit (jungle was beautiful!), but for now let me share some first impressions of Semporna.  And admit to making my first 2 rather big-ish travel mistakes today.  Well, aside from the losing-lens fiasco, but that was more like an incident than a mistake.

Getting to Semporna worked like a charm : our transfer out of the jungle lodge was on the phone with the Sandakan/Semporna express bus driver and the two buses basically met up at a junction and we moved from bus 1 to bus 2.  I was about mid-line to get on bus 2, and after a few people got on, the rest of us were informed that upstairs was sold out and there were only VIP seats downstairs available.  Which would cost 50 ringgits, instead of 40.  (this is a difference of about 2.80€)   I pushed my 50 ringgit note at the guy and said it was fine, the other backpackers followed suit.  Perhaps the best 2.80€ ever spent.  We had big, cushy, reclining seats with footrest, there were only 8 seats on our floor (double decker bus), TV screen with movies playing, etc. So what could have been a cramped 4 hour bus ride was actually a nice nap, some reading, and sharing stories with my fellow travelers!

So now I’m here, and mistake #1 happened immediately.  2 couples also coming from the Nature Lodge did not have their stay in Semporna booked.  I told them about Scuba Junkie (with whom I’m booked), and that after my research it seemed like the best deal in terms of value for money.  So we shared taxis from the bus depot into town, and they all signed on with Scuba Junkie.  so far, so good.  BUT until that all happened, apparently there were only 2 people in the dorm room where i’ve booked a bed.  There are now 6 people.  🙁    Live and learn.

Mistake #2:  after dropping luggage at the lodge and signing in for my dive trip starting tomorrow, I went for a walk about town.  Feeling like I’m now on dive holiday, I didn’t bother changing clothes and so went out in my baggy capri pants and tank top.  Until today, I have not felt hassled at all in Malaysia – that all changed dramatically.  This may be a town where dive adventures commence, but it is still muslim Malaysia, and I felt that quite quickly.  I won’t be going out with exposed shoulders anymore.   Which frankly is annoying – the men wear whatever they want to be comfortable in the heat, but women are expected to cover themselves up or be treated poorly.  As much as I try to be tolerant to different belief systems and ways of life, this one gets me.

And finally, after my not-so-pleasant stroll through town, I realize why the guide books don’t have much to say about Semporna. There’s not much here, and it is not exactly a pretty town.  Really glad I’ll be getting on a boat first thing tomorrow morning and heading out to Mabul island.  I won’t be missing anything here.

Today started early, up at 4:30 so I could get to the airport in time to catch the first flight to Sandakan.  By the way, inter-Malaysian flights are incredibly inexpensive, usually costing between 20-30€ to get from one city to another.  You could also take a bus for only about 8-10€, but then you’d spend 6 hours on the road.  Hence, I’m flying.

I was at the S.O.R.C by 8:00, giving me an hour to have a coffee, check my luggage, etc before everything opened up.  Orang-utans are native only to Borneo and Sumatra, with 90% of the remaining Orang-utans living in Borneo.  They are highly endangered due to de-forestation and very low reproductive rates.  The name Orang-utan, btw, translates roughly to “man of the forest” which is a pretty accurate description as they share 96.4% of the human genome.  The rehabilitation center is set up to rescue orangutans (orphans, illegally kept pets, injured, etc), treat them, prepare them for and eventually release them back into a life in the wild.  It’s pretty cool.

I took about 100 photos and need to sort through them, then I’ll update this post.  But right now, my ride is arriving for my next trip: on to the Kinabatangan River!

P.S.  Jill, as per your request, I’ve adopted an orangutan.  Her name is Chikita, she was rescued when she was only 1 month old and she’s now 2 years old.  And happy to have a new family!  Better start reading up so you know how to care for her – I’ll be there in December, you know.

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Okay, here are a few pictures added.  I actually took 141 photos, I’ve so far sorted them down to 82.  I’ll have to keep working it, in the meantime here are a few of my favorites to give you some views into the Orang-utan visit.

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Flights are booked, itinerary defined, and departure date approaching. But right now I'm in Malta and heading out to catch some afternoon sun - I'll post the plan for Borneo asap. It's going to be an exhilarating endeavor!