Monday at Myne Resort

Our final rainforest walk was about an hour and a half and was a nice, slow hike where we saw an eagle and more long tail monkeys (and thankfully no leeches).

Breakfast was a wedding gift from Brian's friends Mike Sottile and his girlfriend Dijana Nedelcovych- thanks guys! We had vegetable omelets, bananas tempura, french toast (with the crusts cut off), freshly squeezed mango/orange juice and more snake skin fruit. We looked out onto the (now) familiar rainforest wall at the butterflies and tiny birds flitting about. There was a fine mist over the canopy but nothing but blue skies behind. It was bittersweet as we were saying our goodbyes to Mike, our beloved rainforest guide, and the Australian family we've spent the last few days getting to know. We all exchanged emails and promises to share photos and maybe a visit someday?

We headed back to our room for- you guessed it- showers and re-arranging of our suitcases for the next part of our journey. The guys were there to pick up our stuff at 10 on the dot and we went to the lodge to settle our bill, obtain our Danum Valley blood donation certificates (a token of appreciation from the tiger leeches), and to turn in our review of Mike who we thought the world of...I basically wrote an essay about how wonderful he was. He even - on his own time - hiked back to the spot where we saw the orangutans to look for one of the Australian's camera lens caps. Literally a needle in a haystack...and sure enough, he found it and returned it to him. We simply could not believe it. Not to mention that that place was easily 1.5 hours hike there and back? Talk about dedication...

Anyway, all packed up and ready to go, Mitch informed us that she had good news. Instead of spending 2 nights in our next destination by the river, we could spend one there and one in Sandakan which would allow us to see the Sepilok orangutan rehabilitation center. Our tour company was even able to make the switch without us having to pay anything extra...we decided to go for it. We were glad to have seen some orangutans in the wild, but would be really cool to see even more up close. Cameras ready, we got into the pick up truck (but not before hugs and photos with the reception girls and Mike) and we were off...for a 6 hour ride to Bilit, a small town next to the Kinabatagun River. The bumpy road out of Danum Valley was rather empty except for a giant pig who ran across the road in front of us. We were hoping to see some elephants but maybe it just wasn't our day...

The Borneo Rainforest Lodge kindly packed us a lunch to go...mine a plain cheese sandwich (white bread of course with crusts cut off and a single slice of kraft cheese) and Brian was adventurous with his egg salad sandwich. For a snack we had banana bread and a local orange, which was green in color with a thin peel and very sweet and full of seeds. We watched the landscape change from the bustling, developed and politically charged city of Lahad Datu to the more rural and seemingly impoverished region of Bilit. We passed a little neighborhood known as "Paris" Mitch told us, and shortly thereafter saw some graffiti on the side of a shack which read "I <3 Paris" but Mitch said "there is no Eiffel Tower here". Palm plantation after palm nursery after palm plantation and palm oil trucks in front of and behind us the entire way...we noted that some of the larger palm plantations had elaborate entrances not unlike the vineyards of California. We (wrongly) assumed that Malaysians would make up the majority of the workforce on the plantations but Mitch said that the "Malaysians are picky and the pay on the plantations is not enough for most Malaysians...rather, the workers are mostly immigrants from surrounding areas...Philippines, Indonesia, and China."

We saw lots of school children again in their uniforms, road side markets, houses on stilts (which Mitch explained was 'cultural', kept the houses cooler by allowing better air circulation and also protected from flooding) and "suicide dogs" as Mitch fondly referred to the dogs that would dart into oncoming traffic. The ride seemed to take forever (I only fell asleep for a short time) but finally we arrived to the smiling faces and chilled washcloths at the Myne resort. A kind man named "Tan" with shoulder length dark hair, a rather dingy work shirt and no front teeth (who was trying to hide the cigarette he was smoking) showed us to our room...up up and up at least 5 flights of stairs...we wondered why we were up so high when it didn't appear that they had many guests but we soon realized that it was because of the view of the river from this room...it was pretty nice even though we had to work for it!

We settled into our pleasantly air conditioned cabin (AC-how exciting!) and noted that the walls of our chalet #3 were all wood paneled except for a neutral painted accent wall and the entrance which boasted wood paneled wallpaper which we found rather amusing :) the staff had creatively formed our towels into swans on the bed (which I had to remind Brian of later when he complained of no towels)...we got ready for our first river cruise which Mitch had specially arranged to be private for us.

When we arrived to the boat dock we were greeted by a group of Muslim women all wearing head scarves and carrying tote bags. Mitch spoke to them in Malay and they were excited to learn that I was a nurse in the USA...turns out, they were all nurses who were traveling along the river to deliver medications. They were so excited they asked for a photo with us :)

We climbed aboard a fiberglass boat with Captain Tan and Mitch and set off in pursuit of elephants. Brian and I were so thrilled to be able to just sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery without having to hike or trek or walk :) The river was brown, muddy with logs floating across. Captain Tan expertly weaved in and out to avoid them. I was impressed with how smooth our boat ride was despite all the obstacles. Rainforest landscape seemed to line both sides except for the occasional patches of (as Brian described them) "desolate" palm plantations. The rainforest areas were just teeming with life...butterflies and birds flying all around, the hum and buzz of insects, and the rustling of trees such that you knew there were lots of other animals around even if you couldn't see them...the palm plantations on the other hand were eerily silent and still.

We saw a few other resorts and some single shack like homes by the river. Some had docks with what appeared to be a bath house (do people here just use this river as a showering drain and toilet?) side by side with areas designated to wash dishes. I couldn't bring myself to ask Mitch about it for fear of coming off as sounding righteous and/or judgmental. We saw children playing after school still in their uniforms and Mitch explained that the left side of the river has to cross every morning to get to school on the right side. That complicates things, I thought.

The breeze and wind generated by the boat ride felt so good after so many days in sweltering rainforest. Suddenly we slowed down and took a sharp left turn..."Orangutan!" Mitch yelled and there he was all by himself 30 feet or so up in the treetop...just sitting. I have no idea how she saw him!



We continued along and saw a boat sitting on the left side with it's 2 passengers focused on taking photos- looking just beyond them nestled in the brush were 2 elephants! A mother and baby! They were snacking away on bamboo. Captain Tan eased the boat over to them so we could get a closer look...amazing! Both had curved ivory tusks and their ears would flap as they chewed down their mid afternoon snack.



The baby had thrown leaves and dirt on her back which Mitch said helps keep elephants cool and dry. These Borneo Pgymy elephants are the smallest elephants in the world. The WWF (World Wildlife Fund not to be confused with World Wrestling Federation) has tagged some of the elephants in this region to track their migration and patterns so they can study how to best protect them. Here is a timely and sad story that will melt your heart...

Joe the orphaned pgymy elephant

We watched the elephants for a good hour or so...until they decided to go back into the rainforest. Brian and I thought the nature show was over but really it was just beginning. As we cruised back up river, Mitch spotted a tree of proboscis monkeys. She called this tree "Haram" because there was a dominant male perched on one of the top branches and the rest were females with young babies or juvenile male and female monkeys. These were the strangest looking creatures I had ever seen! They looked like Pinocchio- especially the females. This is the best female shot I got:



The male proboscis monkeys have really long noses and the females have prominent noses but not nearly as long as the males which can grow up to 10 cm. The longer the nose, the more attractive the monkey (apparently). And they also have characteristic large, round bellies. In Indonesia they are nicknamed "Dutchmen" because the Indonesian people thought they looked like the Dutch colonizers who had large noses and bellies to match (disclaimer- No offense to any Dutch people- this is just a fun fact I learned on Wikipedia and not an expression of my personal opinion). The babies clung to their mothers and the smallest were very black and smooth in appearance compared to the lighter color and downy red-orange hair on the older infants. Apparently these monkeys are very protective over their infants and do not allow any other monkeys to hold them- even within the same group. The dominant males remain in "charge" of the families (or "bands" as they are called) for up to 6-7 years and are then usually replaced; when a new male takes over, the babies are often at risk for infanticide :(

Up to 60 individuals can make up a "band" of these monkeys and spread out over these 2 trees it seemed like this group was approaching that number. Our boat was just between the 2 trees and our necks craned up to watch as mother/baby pairs climbed up and others slept or walked from branch to branch picking at leaves. Mitch said these monkeys have very sensitive stomachs and usually prefer a diet of mostly leaves...fruit can cause severe bloating and even death sometimes. They all seemed very laid back and relaxed and didn't seem to mind us being there at all...

We decided to move along and came upon another couple of trees absolutely full of monkeys! This time, the long-tail macaque (pronounced ma-caw), the same monkey we had watched from our balcony in the rainforest. These monkeys seemed more active than the others and the tree was just bustling with activity. Monkeys lined up on a tree branch grooming each other (and yes, eating whatever it is they were finding)...some were playing with each other, some eating, mothers and babies just hanging out together...babies clinging for dear life.



The babies are born black and then at 2-3 months of age develop a coat of fur similar to the adults...(we saw a couple of very new ones). The adults ywere mostly grey in color with a distinctive almost widow's peak appearance on their heads. Captain Tan moved our boat closer and closer until we were practically 2 feet away from the monkey's on the lowest branches.



Brian didn't like being so close and asked if there was any risk of aggression with them and Mitch said as long as we didn't show them our teeth (a sign of attack to them) we should be ok...lips pursed, we watched as they became increasingly more active with us just under them jumping and swinging from tree to tree...we became rather uncomfortable and quietly whispered to Mitch that we wanted to get the hell out of the target zone...visions of thousands of monkeys jumping on our boat suddenly flashed before my eyes and we were getting a little nervous...Captain Tan high tailed us out of there...

Another tree, a little farther downstream had more proboscis monkeys...these guys were much more active than the group we saw earlier and Brian asked why...Mitch said it is a bachelor group...upon closer inspection with the binoculars I could tell that they all had the extremely large noses. They were swinging on vines and moving from one tree to the next. We also felt a bit too close to these guys as well...bring the largest monkey in Southeast Asia, just a couple of them could probably take over our boat! Captain Tan slowly backed up and let us watch from a safer distance. Nearby, Mitch pointed out a rope the was strung from one side of the river to the other...she said that these ropes are strategically placed by the WWF to allow for the orangutans (who cannot swim) to get from one side to the other. A couple of the proboscis guys were eyeing it up...



We could not believe how many animals were here along this river. We really didn't know what to expect of Bilit, but we were completely (and pleasantly) surprised to have seen so much wildlife...we enjoyed the wind as the the boat glided back to our resort and Brian shot some nice landscape photos of the river at dusk.

By the time we got back we were starving but dinner wasn't for another hour. We decided to go have some snacks in our room (up the million stairs to get there) and enjoy the view from our balcony...good thing for our snack bag! When it came time to head for dinner, I stepped out of our doorway first and immediately ran back inside..."what's wrong?" Brian wanted to know..."Bats!" I screamed...they were every swooping under the awning that covered the staircase all the way down down down the however many stairs there were. Ugh, I was so hungry, what were we going to do??? I decided to put on my hat and Brian coaxed me out of the room. After a bit of hysteria (on my part), we nicknamed the walk the "bat walk" and came up with a plan...I kept my head down while Brian said whether we were approaching more steps "step, step" and when I just had to "walk, walk" would gently remind me when it was best to keep my head down, "head down babe" OMG. It was awful and felt like an eternity to get to the bottom!

But we finally arrived at dinner...there were only 2 other guests on the open air terrace and they already had a table set for us with a framed menu on the table. We were hungry but were we this hungry?? Looked like a 5 course meal was about to be served...special thanks to Brian's cousin Bob Schiff who treated us to this as a wedding present. A salad with vinaigrette dressing was served first followed by cream of mushroom soup and then for the entrees...ginger shrimp, curried lamb, bok choy, green beans and mixed vegetables with tofu and jasmine rice...we could barely make a dent! As we were eating, a mother pig and her 8 piglets wandered through the parking lot generating a stir...for dessert we had "cobbler" (very similar to gobler) and fresh fruit.

Full at last, we were ready for bed, but wished we didn't have to do the bat walk again...no choice..."keep your head down babe, walk, walk, step up step up, head down..." We showered off the DEET, turned on the AC, and collapsed into dreamland. Our room tonight was a wedding present from my friend Pam DeMeo...thanks Pam, that was our first hot shower in days!!! :)




- Posted from abroad using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Bilit, Malaysia

Canopy walk, monkeys and leeches- oh my!

Today was an early day...we were heading to the infamous canopy walkway. We set out at 6:30 AM and after a good 30 minutes of hiking with Mitch, Mike, a Tasmanian family of 4 and a couple from San Diego, we arrived at the walkway...it is a series of 5 bridges linked from one tree to another 27 meters off the rainforest floor (it was pretty high). Just at the beginning of the canopy walk, Mitch pointed out the "shy plant" aka "mimosa"...a tiny fern that when touched completely closes all its' leaves...very cool. I have a video to share later.

The morning mist was just starting to disperse when we set foot onto the wooden walkway. Slats of wood (reinforced with thin wire to help prevent slippage) went lengthwise down each section of bridge and then every so often a support slat would run opposite. The bridge seemed spring loaded as a person ahead of you stepped, the walkway would bounce a bit (sometimes a lot!)...I was glad that the railings (composed of an orange, rusting metal) were higher than my hips because sometimes it would feel like the next big step would throw you right up and off of it entirely! Green chain link fencing made up the side "rails" and stiff wire composed the suspension.

The view from up here was spectacular...nothing but forest every which way. We heard the call of a hornbill and watched as it flew from one tree to another (Brian snapped some good action shots) and then as a second (we were told the second one was female- based on her "call") flew over to join him. Their beaks were so strange...when I looked close with the binoculars it looked almost like a double image- the top part seemed like it had an extra piece, somewhat resembling that of a toucan. But Mitch explained that they have very tough beaks that help them to tear open fruit which is their main source of sustenance.

It is so hot and humid up here! I can barely stand it anymore and if you know me, you know I normally love this kind of weather...but I suppose when there's no pool in sight, no bartenders bringing you drinks with little umbrellas in them and when you're forced not only to wear closed toe shoes (ugh) and socks (double ugh) but also leech socks (yuck!) it is not as appealing...

We took our time walking across the canopy and stopping briefly at each little "tree house" along the way. The first stop had an extremely large bee hive wrapped around the tree about 20 feet up from where we were. At first I couldn't really tell what they were talking about because the sky was so bright and I didn't see anything at all. But then Matt (guy from San Diego) zoomed in and took a photo and showed me that the hive was completely covered in buzzing bees. Wow. We all treaded lightly and spoke softly around there so as not to disturb them. The next tree house was bi-level and had a wooden staircase going around the side of the tree to connect to the next bridge...Mitch shared with us that up to a few years ago, you had to actually climb this tree to get to the next bridge! She said there used to be a net (to catch you if you fell I guess) and that the guide would go first and help the next person up using some kind of rope and pulley thing! Glad we waited for the construction of this lovely double decker tree house before we came...otherwise I might have only seen the first 2 bridges ;)

We didn't see much wildlife from up here...I guess we were too high and the lush trees were simply too dense, but the views were impressive and Brian managed to snap a few of his signature wide angle photos along the way. I was kind of wishing I didn't wear these stupid leech socks as they were curling up my toes and kinda hurting and I hadn't yet seen one leech today...oh well. Our walk took about 2 hours total and then we headed back to the lodge for a nice, satisfying breakfast.

Today's activity was river tubing and I felt bad but had no interest in submerging myself in that muddy river! Brian really wanted to go so I encouraged him to go along without me. After breakfast we headed back to our room so he could change and grab the under water camera. As he was ready to go out the door I asked "did you remember your sunblock" (he hadn't), "how about your mosquito repellent" (no, again)...I ran back in to grab both for him and help him put it all on...he was impatient with how slow I was spraying him with DEET and stomped his foot on the deck and whined, "baaabe, I gotta go all my friends are waiting for me!!!" I just love him, He is so freakin cute sometimes :)

I took a shower, dressed in some casual non-trekking clothes and flip flops (heaven) and sat in my favorite blog spot at the lodge. The low picnic like table had 3 extra large european style pillows on each side and I lined them up and laid right across them.....now this feels like a vacation. I didn't get much blogging done though because I fell right to sleep and was woken up to Brian standing over me...having just walked all the way back to our room and then discovering I wasn't there to let him in. Tubing was really nice and refreshing, he said, aside from a few rocks along the way...he showed me some photos of him wearing a helmet with the Australian family. He was particularly anxious to show me his "new friend Lewey" on the under water camera and up popped a picture of a brilliant green iridescent iguana that he found wandering along a railing where our laundry was (still) drying from yesterday. We hurried back to the room to see if he was still there but he wasn't...(From now on, every time we come back to the room Brian will look for him- of course always referring to him by name and correcting my spelling of his name when it came time to blog about him).

He took a shower and came out and said "did we eat lunch yet?". LOL! We really had done so much today already. It felt like one of those days (usually Monday) that just seems to drag on for so long that by the time evening rolls around you find yourself wondering if it was Tuesday? Time check: 11:14 AM; no we had not yet eaten lunch, I informed him :)

Exactly 46 minutes later when the kitchen opened, we were sitting patiently waiting to be served...today's lunch was a shower gift from my Aunt Terry Nagle- thanks Aunt Terry! We had delicious roti bread...stretchy Indian bread similar to naan but thinner that was grilled quickly on each side for us and then a generous portion of the potato curry ladled on top...it was spicy and warm comfort food. A tiny blue bird was darting in and out of the tree in front of us as we ate. She was so fast that every time I tried to point her out to Brian he would miss her! For dessert we had tempura bananas...the bananas here are much smaller and brighter yellow than we get at home. They are also always perfectly ripe...probably because they grow all over the place here. We also tried snake skin fruit, well I tried it- but only after telling Brian exactly where I had packed the benedryl in the event of an unlikely allergic reaction. It's a very strange looking teardrop shape fruit (a little smaller than a pear) that really looks like snake skin! When you peel the thin coating open it looks like a garlic clove in that it has 3 sections...it tasted pretty good (kind of like a pear but sweeter and drier) but was so strange we made a video of me eating one to show you...(unfortunately the internet here is too slow to add photos or video so I will add it in when we get home).

Brian wanted to "relax" again, so I took advantage of this rare opportunity and we each laid on opposite teak couches and snuggled in with pillows to look out on the rainforest. We ordered 2 of those tropical lemongrass pendant leaf drinks that were so cool and refreshing...drinks were on my friend and previous coworker Dr. Rosa Hyatt- thanks Dr. Hyatt! Relaxing didn't last long because Brian spotted what looked like monkeys on a nearby tree so we wandered over to investigate. Sure enough, just as we approached where we saw them, the 3 of them had shimmied down the tree and crossed the path right in front of us! I couldn't help but think of the flying monkeys in the wizard of oz as I watched them cross with their hunched over posture (they didn't have wings or caps on though). We realized that this show was happening in front of us and we didn't even have a camera with us to capture it- figures! The one monkey climbed a vine and swung and teetered on it about 10 feet from me for a few minutes...long enough for me to get a good look at his face (menacing?) his gray hair and his extra long tail...then he expertly jumped up onto a branch above and ran towards the center of the tree. It was then that we realized we were standing in front of our own cabin and could continue watching their antics from the comfort of our balcony...so that is just what we did. The three of them kept us entertained for a good hour or so...at one point I was tired of craning my neck and went back inside...Brian whispered softly "babe hurry up come here, look" and by the time I ran out there he said very candidly with such a straight face that I was too late and "had just missed it"...what did I miss?? "2 orangutans riding rhinos and dueling each other". What am I going to do with you?? To that he said, "you married me, so you're stuck with me"...
And then it was time for our dusk walk...was supposed to be an hour but was more like 3...this Mike is relentless! Brian and I were not prepared for a 3 hour tour that after a short rainfall was FULL of leeches. We all had dim flashlights with us but at first it wasn't dark enough to need them although after hiking for only a short while, I discovered that they were useful in helping to see if leeches were on me, and yes in fact they were...gross!! Thank God for these leech socks...but these slimy little suckers were crawling out of the woodwork tonight. I kept finding them on my shoes and socks and we were finding them on each other. I was extra brave tonight and wore just a tank top and at one point felt and fought one off my chest! Ugh! I cannot describe in words exactly how disgusting this feels! Jeremy, one of the Aussies in our group, kept us distracted from leeches and entertained by doing Steve Erwin impersonations (absolutely hilarious) and telling us crazy stories of life in Shanghai, China where he has been working managing a high end bar on the 30th floor of an expensive hotel (presidential suites going for $27,000 USD/night). We did catch a quick glimpse of a red tail monkey on top of a pretty bare and very high tree...Mike said there must be some kind of predator around because it was odd to see a monkey all alone so high up.

I became a pro at flicking leeches off of me before they had a chance to draw any blood but they still managed to get me because I would be itchy in that spot for quite a while (although I guess it's possible that this was psychological). No wildlife tonight, that is, except for the exceptional leech show. I dragged Brian back to our cabin in a beeline so I could shower off all the leech goo that I felt like I was covered in. He didn't want to shower yet because we still had a night drive to look forward to, but I knew I wouldn't be able to relax until I inspected my body over for any hidden leeches (thankfully, none).

Dinner was pleasant (now that I was proven leech free) and was a thoughtful shower gift from my mom's god-daughter Dana Durkin- thanks Dana! Mitch highly recommended the fish so we tried the king mackerel in coconut sauce and we weren't disappointed. Turmeric rice on the side and Brian also tried the shrimp curry and lamb masala. Oh and for starters we had a wonderful chicken curry soup (with egg noodles) which was probably the spiciest dish yet. It was literally a thin curry that Brian threatened to drink through a straw (fortunately no straws here at the rainforst lodge!). For dessert we had sliced guava, coconut egg custard, and a multi color square that smelled and tasted exactly like (or rather, how I would imagine would taste like) play doh. 2 glasses of chardonnay to round it out and we could have fallen right to sleep...

After dinner I had hiccups and Brian kept making fun of me and said I sounded like an "unidentified rainforest creature" (let's hope this new nickname doesn't stick). We climbed aboard the truck for the night drive but unfortunately there was a dense fog and it was difficult to see any wildlife. We did see a civet cat run through the brush and spotted a mouse deer on our way back to the lodge (this deer is small and resembles a rabbit more than a mouse if you ask me). If that drive was one more minute we both would have fallen asleep despite the bumpiness. Back in our room Brian was excited to finally shower...as he was getting ready he all of a sudden was in a panic and ran outside in his boxers. I chased him out (thinking something was in the room) but he was just fighting with another leech...this one managed to find it's way all the way up to the edge of his socks where he skin began. He noted that when leeches are full of blood, they are easier to remove. Yuck!!!

Bed after (more) showers never felt so good. (Have I been saying that every night??- Because I really mean it tonight). Our lovely room was sponsored by Brian's friends Sara and Evan Bronner as a wedding present- thanks guys! We certainly slept well :)

- Posted from abroad using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Lahad Datu, Malaysia

Baby Turtles hatching and released into Sulu Sea...amazing!

Happy 6 month anniversary Brian! I ordered these baby turtles to hatch today just for you :)

- Posted from abroad using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Lankayan Island Malaysia

Saturday evening in the rainforest

After lunch and a few hours of relaxation (oh and 3 quick loads of laundry in the sink because our clothes were disgusting...whose idea was this place for a honeymoon anyway??), we felt rejuvenated and relaxed... we sat for dinner in a private corner at the main lodge. Dinner tonight was a special wedding gift from our good friend Marlo Polonsky- thanks Marlo! My first course was a delectable soup called "winter melon soup"...it was a clear, lemongrass based broth with cubes of clear veiny "winter melon" (which I certainly had never heard of- but was similar in consistency to watermelon, just not sweet) and coarsely chopped carrots with whole lemongrass. Brian had fish and chicken satay with fried rice and vegetables and I had whole grain rice with steamed pumpkin (pumpkin in the rainforest??) and chicken satay. For dessert we had "leftover gobler" (which was just as tasty as last night) and steam cakes with coffee...we were going to need some caffeine to keep us up for tonight's night drive and night walk...both rescheduled from last night.

After dinner we all climbed aboard an extra large white pick up truck with cushioned seats facing each other in the back. Mike perched up on top of the driver's area in a specially rigged seat and laid out the rules of the road...if we see something on the right, then only the people on the left can stand up...he explained he would be using a light to look for wildlife and to be careful not to follow it with our eyes because we may get dizzy...simple enough. With that we were off...

Despite the rules, I did follow the flash light anyway...maybe I would be better at spotting wildlife than Mike? He flashed it quickly up and down the trees, I was surprised how bright it was! Everything else around us was pitch black. He spotted first a flying lemur...it was way high up in a tree and I couldn't believe he had found it at all. It was about the size of a small cat and at the moment just sitting. He turned off his light to see if we could get it to fly away and it worked! It jumped just when my eyes had adjusted back to the darkness and Mike flicked the light back on it just in time to catch it's bat like underbelly before it landed smoothly on a nearby tree...

We continued up the very bumpy road when he caught sight of something flying. We stopped for a moment, turned off the engine to wait for it, when something ran by the car- lights on and just before it ran into the brush we caught a glimpse of a leopard cat! It's colors were amazing. Mitch explained that this was one of the smallest cats in Borneo and rare in terms of sighting because they are so fast. Lights off again and we caught a flying squirrel. Very similar in appearance to the lemur from earlier.

The bugs were swarming all around Mike's light and therefore, us. Not mosquitos (I actually have yet to see one) but a massive variety of other flying insects...beetles, moths, smaller fly like bugs...who knows what these things are...?? But they are everywhere, and one actually flew straight into my mouth. Yuck!!! Guess I won't be talking anymore tonight!

We reached the limits of Borneo Lodge after about 45 minutes drive and our turning point. The driver made an awkward U turn and killed the engine and all the lights so we could enjoy "nature's light show"...the fireflies. They were really pretty...at times I wasn't sure if I was looking at a star or a firefly? And it was kinda nice to just sit for a quiet moment after that bumpy ride - I was sitting next to an older couple who at this point were practically laying in my lap. Despite it being night, it was still incredibly hot and now in the pitch blackness I was still feeling bugs land on me I just couldn't see what kind they were...After a few minutes he started the engine back up again and we were heading back with Mike flashing his light in the trees. I didn't realize it until now that he was looking for the red reflex of an animal's eyes...which is why he was just flashing the light so quickly.

We were almost back when they suddenly stopped short and had identified something seemingly very exciting on the right side (which meant Brian and I could stand because we were seated on the left). But I couldn't see a damn thing and at this point Brian had had enough of the heat and was showing little interest. Everyone seemed to be having trouble seeing whatever it was that they discovered so Mike grabbed my camera, scaled brush tripping up a steep hill along the way and being careful not to disturb this thing...he snapped a few photos with my camera while Mitch held his light...he brought the camera back to us and I was shocked to actually see the strangest animal ever...a tiny primate known as a tarsier. It is the smallest primate and yet has the largest eyes (in proportion to body) of all mammals which makes it a great night time hunter. It is entirely carnivorous and feeds on all varieties of insects as well as frogs, snakes and bats. It is sometimes called a "bush baby" and it's classification had long been controversial because it had mammal like features as well as rodent like ones including webbed hands and feet and long rat-like tail. I was grateful to Mike for getting me a picture...they said that they are so rare to see them and both our guides had only seen them once or twice before...

Back to the lodge where we had a few minutes to get ready for our night walk. Leech socks on, we started hiking with Mike, Mitch and a few others up the road. First we stopped by a small pond where Mike pointed out several frogs that were so perfectly blended in with their surroundings I don't know how he saw them at all! We even saw 2 frogs mating- I am sure they were not happy with the light being shone on them! He said that wherever there are frogs means that snakes are nearby and sure enough he spotted 3! One was striped and the other 2 greenish-brown in color. They were all fairly small (which made me feel better).

We continued walking and the only other thing we saw were 2 civet cats. I hope you are sitting down for this. Civets are best known for producing some of the most expensive coffee in the world known as "Kopi Luwak". Basically, the civets eat the coffee beans and once they pass through their digestive track (i.e. once they poop them out) the beans are collected, roasted etc. The coffee produced (they say) is best because of 2 mechanisms- civets only eat the best beans (selection) and coffee is made better as it is fermented in their intestines (digestion). The coffee industry in general considers this nothing more than a novelty item and real coffee experts poo poo it (pardon the pun) but nevertheless the demand for it is there and (crazy?) people continue to pay upwards of $700 USD per kilogram. It is widely farmed now in Asia (which one would think would decrease it's value since the "selection" aspect is removed) and it is estimated that over 50% more civet coffee is sold rather than what is actually produced (i.e. much of it is counterfeit)...and with that, it is bedtime.

We cannot wait to shower (again) and climb into our cozy bed with the sounds of the rainforest to put us to sleep...special thank you to Brian's family friends Richie and Roberta Guralnik for sponsoring our room tonight as a wedding gift...after today's events we will surely sleep soundly!

- Posted from abroad using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Lahad Datu,Malaysia