Around the world

2.am wake up call ( at least for those who slept) and let’s do the highway to the summit with 50 other persons! Good side of waiting in a jam…you are not starting too fast! After overtaking almost all of them, we make it to the top in 2 hours!! Unfortunately it is really cold and we don’t want to wait 45 min to see the sunrise…so we decide to start the descent…

we are really lucky with the weather, it is absolutely gorgeous! The granite is shining with the first rays of light! It is going to be our reward for the next hours! We are back the base camp at 7 am and after the breakfast, the worst part of the trip is still in front of us! OH MY GOD! 2300 meters in 8 km….that’s hard! For the knees and for the legs. We looked like handicapped when we reach the HQ! So we decide to go straight to the poring hot spring 50 km away…

Well, after seeing wild Orang Utans we are not really shore if we want to go to Sepilog since it is more of a touristy thing, at the end we decide that actually, although many tourists go there, a rehabilitation centre (for injured, house pets, …) is not a zoo, and they try to make people aware of the precarious situation for Orangs. It must be noted that driving trough Sabah’s main roads makes us feel almost sick due to the quantity of oil palm plantations. Basically it is the ONLY thing you see, with sometimes some ridiculously small patches of intact forest. It’s sad, foremost knowing that very little can be done since kernel palm oil is used almost everywhere…

Now, back to the rehabilitation centre, as we entered we meet a guy holding a sign: “silence please”, all excited we thought there was an Orang there, we where mistaken, there where three!!! Soooo cooool, and not even so many people watching. Most people arrived around 3pm when the centre staff feeds the Orangs that decide to show up. Remember it is not a zoo, there are no boundaries, nets, nor cages, just a “playground” in the jungle where they can get easy bananas

As the banana time was getting closer, more Apes arrived, including a huge Alfa male (that had been in rehabilitation 10 years ago) that stayed for almost an hour and a mother with her 2 weeks old baby.

Although they are not totally wild animals it was extremely interesting and touching having the chance to observe our close relatives from so close and for so long without them being scared.

BTW on their websites you can help the centre with an adoption: http://www.orangutan-appeal.org.uk/sepilok-rehabilitation-centre/

Our secret goal was to spot wild orangutans…well mission accomplished! Cruising early morning on the river we even had the chance to see some proboscis monkey, silver-leave monkey, gibbons, and some gorgeous birds while trekking at night time!

Malaysia try to push 5 star resort travellers, which is really sad because lots of things are without reach of backpackers travellers. Danum Valley, Tabin Reserve and further Mont Kinabalu national park are managed by only one company that aims “wealthy” people! Nature and UNESCO world heritage should be “available” for everybody. Furthermore, backpackers allow a lot of local families to work! I really don’t get the governement politic!

For exemple, if you want to go to Tabin, the choices are either the 800RM (250CHF) 1 night 2 days package to the exclusie lodge or 1 day at 350 RM (100CHF) just for transportation and a 20 min walk to the reserve. On top of that, public transports do not exist between Lahad Datu and the reserve which make it difficult to visit it!

Anyway, we shared a taxi we two guys from the hostel. After the short walk we climbed the look out platform with view on the mud pools that are an important sources of minerals for animals wihch means a great spots for viewing wildlife. As usual you need to be lucky! That is part of the deal! we saw a few hornbills, two warrants, monkeys and….a wild boar… .

First day backpacking, but first we go shopping in Semporna, we both need shoes half an hour later Sarah is a proud owner of her first pair of pOma!!! The plan for today was to get a bas mini (mini bus) to Lahad Datu and then go to Danum Valley conservation area, unfortunately they are booked for the next 2 weeks, so we are stuck in Lahad Datu. In the evening we met a swiss coupple that showed us some pictures of Pulau Derawan, a small island in Indonesia just south of Tawau where the Manta Season is at it’s peak… We might go and have a look, we’ll see.