I was surprised to learn that most of the island of Borneo had once been almost completely covered in pristine primary rainforest. I didn't catch all of what he said (and it is hard to look any of this up in the guidebooks and brochures that want to put a positive spin on the palm oil industry) but Mike showed us a map of the region and explained that much of the land was sold for logging and palm oil plantation monocultures. However, someone purchased the area now known as Danum Valley and created the Danum Valley Field Center (DVFC) and took measures to conserve the land in it's original state. They petitioned to the government to protect the rainforest and not to allow the logging and palm oil industry to take over Borneo as this was going to have a negative impact on the environment...but their pleas fell on deaf ears. Money talks and the palm and logging industries created the jobs and infrastructure that seemed to be a bigger priority. So, now, Danum Valley is all that is left and the DVFC is a leading and very influential tropical rainforest research establishment in Southeast Asia and is in the top 3 biodiversity research centers in all of the world. Danum Valley covers 432 square kilometers and more than 90% of the land is covered with 'dipterocarp' forest (remind me to look that up later). Anyway, Mike's presentation was very interesting...I was kind of glad to have not really done too much research on this area before the trip because it was kind of nice to be learning it now, when we are actually here :) I think this falls under the category of "spontaneity" -something usually that is foreign to Brian and I :)
Our first romantic dinner (a generous wedding gift from Ed and Mary Jean Mahan) was just about to be served and the smells wafting out of the kitchen were calling our names. We chose a table in the center of the dining room just on the edge of the rainforest viewing platform (we would soon learn that this location is not ideal for evening meals because of it's close proximity to lights and hence, a prime hangout for bugs). We sat down and were promptly greeted by the pleasant staff asking for our drink order...water was all we wanted right now...we were feeling pretty parched. I had a thick fragrant carrot soup to start (that was so good I helped myself to a second bowl) and fried rice with vegetables as my main course. Brian tried an assortment of Malay specialties including chicken sate with peanut sauce and a succulent shrimp curry over rice. For dessert we had a variety of fresh fruits (mango, pineapple, asian pear) and we tasted a few of the cakes including banana "steam" cake (which tasted similar to a very moist white, banana bread) and we also had hot pineapple "gobler"...we think they meant to say "cobbler" but day after day some version of gobler is served...it's either an endearing lost translation or is the name of an actual Malaysian dessert...we'll have to ask Mitch later. (Regardless, the "gobler" at Borneo rainforest lodge should not be confused with the "gobbler" found at Wawa convenience stores across southeastern PA.) And only once did Brian have to gracefully spit his water over the balcony for accidentally (almost) swallowing a bug...guess it comes with rainforest territory.
The rains continued and pounded on the lodge's metal roof. We met a couple from Bel Air and chatted with them for a while and we were secretly overjoyed that our night safari ride was canceled...all we wanted was to was go to sleep...we had had enough excitement for one day! We found loaner umbrellas (this place has thought of everything) and carefully walked along the slick boardwalk back to our room...coated in DEET and sunblock we opted for a quick shower and I was not happy to find lots of ants walking around the bathroom floor and most concerning- up and all around the toilet...(this problem will persist until tomorrow night when I discover that spraying the toilet bowl and under the seat with 30% DEET is an extremely effective deterrent). Lukewarm water for a shower never felt so good and soon we collapsed into bed lulled asleep by the persistent rain and buzz of insects (hopefully all of whom were outside our room)...
Special thanks to Brian's cousin Eric Garfinkel and his girlfriend Laura Vogelgesang for sponsoring our night here tonight as a wedding present :) we couldn't have imagined better accommodations this far off the beaten path!
- Posted from abroad using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Lahad Datu,Malaysia
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