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
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