Hello. Last time we spoke I was in Mulu (Sarawak State), or at least had been to Mulu and was in KK (Sabah State). KK was an interesting place, a bit edgy but I liked it. Not sure I liked the old men taking photos of me on the beach but hey when you look this good.... yeah right.
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| Siamil island - macro heaven |
Flew then down to Tawau (over the largest palm oil plantation I have ever seen, so very very sad) and on to Semporna for one night before heading out to the "number one dive spot in Asia" - the Semporna archipelago - Mabul, Sipadan and Siamil. Semporna is a bit of scabby hole, even though lots of westerners have to stop off there to overnight for Mabul walking around feels like you're the only white female they have ever seen. A bit odd really. Got a boat out to Mabul island the next day and began diving. 4 days and 15 dives later it was my time to leave. Not sure what I made about it. As with all diving, it depends where and when you dive and each one is different to the last and the next. One day it can be awesome and the next pants. Well, there is no doubt the macro diving at Mabul and Siamil is really cracking - pygmy seahorses, pipe fish, orangutan crabs, ghost shrimp, snake eels, morays, leaf scorpion fish, stone fish, devil scorpion fish, flying gurnards, nudi brancs, frog fish, juvenile bat fish, juvenile harlequin sweetlips, flouders, eagle rays, blue spotted rays, mandarin fish, sea snakes and the list goes on. I need to get an underwater housing for my camera to show you how awesome it is. Sipadan (the number one spot) is an immense site with walls going down a mile. It attracts huge numbers of hawksbill turtles, green turtles, white tip and grey reef sharks, baracuda, rays - all the big stuff, but I wasn't overwhelmed with its awesomeness. Don't get me wrong, it was good but I've had just as good dives in the Philippines. Plus, and this is a big downer, the rubbish in this part of the sea is unbelievable. Plastic is everywhere, and this has a major effect on the wildlife - I saw a dead turtle with a plastic bag hanging out of it's mouth. So all the conservation efforts across the world for these turtles makes little difference when people (including us) are throwing plastic in to the sea. It's just so sad. It's a good reason to not take that plastic people!
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| Probiscus Monkey - little willy! |
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| Kinbatangan |
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| Long tailed Macaque |
So feeling quite sad I left Semporna, having got very drunk the night before with some randoms I had met and sang some lovely karaoke in the seediest bar yet including Careless Whisper by Wham, and headed on the bus north to the Kinbatangan River. In this part of Borneo it's almost impossible to travel and see things independently, so I had booked a 3day/2 night tour at a lodge near a place called Bilit on the river itself. Had to get up at 5:30 each day to do a river cruise and then trek all day, cruise again and then trek at night. All very tiring might I add but saw some amazing stuff, including wild orangutans which can't be beat (no photos though!). I think Mr Probiscus was my favourite though... he came down right to the river to feed and sat watching us for ages. Lovely. Although a close second was MicroFrog - only 10mm long! and then maybe the sleeping Kingfishers, or the Hornbills... too many to choose from! Unfortunately, as with the diving, seeing all these animals is tinged a bit with sadness. The palm oil plantations in this part of Borneo are so extensive (like hundreds and hundreds of miles) the poor animals have no where to go. It is shocking quite how bad it is here and I can't see it getting any better even though I wish it could.
Today (25th November) I left Kinabatangan and got a bus to Sandakan, a city on the east coast of Borneo. It got flattened during WWII by the Japanese and was the site of the Sandakan Death Marches where at over 2000 British and Australian troops died in a horrendous march from Sandakan to Ranau. Very sad and quite brutal really. Only here for half a day really, I didn't have time to get to the site of the POW camp but maybe that's a good thing. I did go for a walk though and happened across this place - how civil darling! Apart from that, this place is quite quiet, a bit seedy but I actually quite like it. I'm staying in a hotel! would you believe it!? for ten of your English pounds, it has an amazing bathroom. The littlest things.
Not sure where I am headed next in Sabah but so far it's been up and down purely because it is so apparent that humans are impacting on the wildlife here so much, it's almost hopeless. It's not just the Malaysians either, we all eat palm oil and use plastic, I just wish there was an alternative.
It's taken me three hours to write this and I have had to endure the most miserable music ever.... urgh, get me out of here!
Flew then down to Tawau (over the largest palm oil plantation I have ever seen, so very very sad) and on to Semporna for one night before heading out to the "number one dive spot in Asia" - the Semporna archipelago - Mabul, Sipadan and Siamil. Semporna is a bit of scabby hole, even though lots of westerners have to stop off there to overnight for Mabul walking around feels like you're the only white female they have ever seen. A bit odd really. Got a boat out to Mabul island the next day and began diving. 4 days and 15 dives later it was my time to leave. Not sure what I made about it. As with all diving, it depends where and when you dive and each one is different to the last and the next. One day it can be awesome and the next pants. Well, there is no doubt the macro diving at Mabul and Siamil is really cracking - pygmy seahorses, pipe fish, orangutan crabs, ghost shrimp, snake eels, morays, leaf scorpion fish, stone fish, devil scorpion fish, flying gurnards, nudi brancs, frog fish, juvenile bat fish, juvenile harlequin sweetlips, flouders, eagle rays, blue spotted rays, mandarin fish, sea snakes and the list goes on. I need to get an underwater housing for my camera to show you how awesome it is. Sipadan (the number one spot) is an immense site with walls going down a mile. It attracts huge numbers of hawksbill turtles, green turtles, white tip and grey reef sharks, baracuda, rays - all the big stuff, but I wasn't overwhelmed with its awesomeness. Don't get me wrong, it was good but I've had just as good dives in the Philippines. Plus, and this is a big downer, the rubbish in this part of the sea is unbelievable. Plastic is everywhere, and this has a major effect on the wildlife - I saw a dead turtle with a plastic bag hanging out of it's mouth. So all the conservation efforts across the world for these turtles makes little difference when people (including us) are throwing plastic in to the sea. It's just so sad. It's a good reason to not take that plastic people!
So feeling quite sad I left Semporna, having got very drunk the night before with some randoms I had met and sang some lovely karaoke in the seediest bar yet including Careless Whisper by Wham, and headed on the bus north to the Kinbatangan River. In this part of Borneo it's almost impossible to travel and see things independently, so I had booked a 3day/2 night tour at a lodge near a place called Bilit on the river itself. Had to get up at 5:30 each day to do a river cruise and then trek all day, cruise again and then trek at night. All very tiring might I add but saw some amazing stuff, including wild orangutans which can't be beat (no photos though!). I think Mr Probiscus was my favourite though... he came down right to the river to feed and sat watching us for ages. Lovely. Although a close second was MicroFrog - only 10mm long! and then maybe the sleeping Kingfishers, or the Hornbills... too many to choose from! Unfortunately, as with the diving, seeing all these animals is tinged a bit with sadness. The palm oil plantations in this part of Borneo are so extensive (like hundreds and hundreds of miles) the poor animals have no where to go. It is shocking quite how bad it is here and I can't see it getting any better even though I wish it could.
1 comment:
Hi Em, and so the grand tour continues, a really wonderful experience, wish I was there with you. As usual a brilliant blog, fantastic,
Keep it coming and keep trucking, safely.
God Speed
Luv
Dad.
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