For those who don't know much about Borneo, it is a large island in Southeast Asia divided into 3 sections. Most of the northern section is considered part of Malaysia, the central and southern regions belong to Indonesia, with a small area in the midst of Malaysian Borneo that is the country of Brunei. We spent our time in the Malaysian region - in the state of Sarawak, outside of the main city of Kuching. We chose to stay at a local farm/homestay called The Kebun, where our accommodations were small, open-air (hence the buggy) rooms in a replica of a typical Iban longhouse. Lots to love about the longhouse, although we could have done without the ever-present mosquitos, the trek to the bathroom, the sign that warned "watch out for crocodiles" about 10 feet from us, and the 24-hour power outage that hit on our 3rd night. While we certainly had our moments of frustration, we think we did an admirable job of remembering that it was all part of the adventure. Pictured here is the longhouse. Our rooms were all the way at the end.
One of the great parts about The Kebun is that it comes with a rental car, affectionately named the Green Bunny by the owners. It was an early 80s green corolla with a stick shift, purple shag "carpeting" on the dashboard, and a pre-programmed Garmin Nav that took us everywhere we wanted to go in Sarawak. Keep in mind, they drive on the left side in Malaysia, so Brian had to re-master a stick shift with the clutch on the opposite side - we were impressed!
The first day we didn't venture too far from The Kebun (letting Brian get used to the car), and went to a somewhat sad animal rehabilitation center in the morning, followed by a beautiful and challenging (read: crazy steep and crazy humid) hike through the Kubah rainforest to a glorious waterfall where the kids quickly changed into bathing suits and jumped into the clear, cold pools. Somehow the hike back also felt like it was uphill the whole way, and both Brian and I were quickly reminded that we are not 25 years old anymore.
The next day we woke up early to learn more about the wildlife of Borneo. First stop was Jong's Crocodile Farm. We were somewhat expecting a sad "zoo" of crocodiles, but were shocked to discover an entire habitat dedicated to breeding all members of the crocodile family. There must have been hundreds of crocs there - from babies to "grandpa"- in all shapes and sizes. We got closer to them than we imagined we would, but never felt that we were too close. The habitats were enclosed, but huge - and the crocs seemed well taken care of.
From there, we were off to Semenggoh Orangutan Center, dedicating to rehabilitating orangutans so they can be released back into the wild. Unlike Matang, where we had visited the day before, there were no cages or enclosures. Semenggoh is a sanctuary where visitors can watch these amazing creatures in their natural settings - with the addition of special ropes for them to climb, and twice-daily feedings by the park rangers. Hard to explain how breathtaking it was to watch these great apes, but we were all in awe. They steered clear of the tourists (although we were warned that if one approached and tried to steal our camera, Don't Fight Back!), and seemed very content swinging from the ropes with their babies attached, and letting the babies give it a go on the ropes as well. We were sad to leave, but visiting hours are limited at Semenggoh to 1 hour, twice a day, in order to allow the orangutans a less stressful environment.
Those High Sierra Camps probably seem like quite the bargain now.
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