Sabah, North Borneo Orangutans, Caves, and Wild JunglesPrepared by Harold Stephens
Travel Correspondent for Thai Airways International
The very name Borneo spells adventure and romance and that’s just what it is—adventure and romance. Just mention the name and you almost expect Earl Flynn and Dorothy Lamour to open up on the big screen. Unfortunately those types of movies are gone but the island is still there and Thai Airways has direct flights from Bangkok to Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei in north Borneo. It’s an easy hop from there to Saah.
Other than just a name, Borneo is the third largest island in the world, centred in the Malay Archipelago, and is considered to be part of Southeast Asia. Administratively, however, the island is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The term Borneo was used by the Dutch during the colonial period. In Indonesia today, the island is referred to as Kalimantan. East Malaysia, or Malaysian Borneo, refers to their States of Sabah and Sarawak.
Our safari adventure begins in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah. The very moment I saw our guide-to-be I knew I had seen him someplace before. His name was Roland Ng. But where? He came all the way overland from east Sabah to our hotel in Kota Kinabalu to greet me, wild life photographer Don Bianco and my nephew Joe Shafter. Richard was here to take us on a safari through the jungles in the remote eastern section of Sabah, the Malaysian state in north Borneo.
The jungles of Sabah have held a fascination for me ever since I can remjember. I had visited the long houses on the Redang River in Sarawak and explored the Nipa Cave; and now Sabah was waiting. Don, Joe and I had just climbed Mt. Kinabalu, the highest mountain in Southeast Asia and were resting up in our hotel when Roland arrived. Like I said, I couldn’t remember where I had seen him.
But first, something about the jungles. The jungles, or rain forests, in eastern Sabah are deep and brooding and the abode of some of the world's last remaining wildlife. Approximately 220 species of wild animals have been recorded in Borneo, including 92 species of bats. Living in the treetops are tree shrews, proboscis monkeys, macaques, gibbons, and squirrels of half a dozen species that include the giant squirrel and the flying squirrel. Occasionally, orangutan are seen, the original "wild men of Borneo."
For those interested in orangutan, the world's largest orangutan sanctuary is at Sepilok, about a half hour drive from the town of Sandakan. Young orangutan which have been abandoned by their mothers, or which formerly were under captivity by humans, are rehabilitated here until fit enough to be returned to the wild. Visitors can come to watch the animals being fed. They are, to say the least, entertaining.
On the ground in the dense forests of Sabah we can find porcupine, sun bear, sambar, barking and mouse deer, civets and other wild cats, Asian wild elephants and the rare Sumatran rhinoceros. Their habitat begins at the opposite side of the bay from Sandakan where a series of tributaries lead to the Kinabatangan River, one of the main rivers in Sabah that flows northeast to enter the sea east of Sandakan.
And it was here, along the Kinabatangan River that our safari would begin. For a starter we planned to visit the Gomantong Caves that had been recently opened to the public.
Ronald was the chief guide for S.I. Tours, a new "special interest" travel company in Sabah, and was about to lead us into the wilds. After only a few minutes of talking with Roland, I knew his love was the outdoors. He knows every corner of northern Borneo and has a tale or anecdote to tell at nearly every turn in the road. On the 360-kilometre drive (260 as the bird flies) over a partly paved road from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan, he kept us thoroughly entertained with his stories.
"Over there is Ranau," he would say, pointing to a small village. “That was where the Sandakan Death March ended. Few people are aware but more Australians died here than on building the infamous Burma railway."
Roland then tells how the Japanese, when the Allies were closing in, decided to move the prisoners inland from Sandakan, 200 km, through the jungle to Ranau. When the Allies did arrive at the end of the war, they found only six survivors from the 2400 who started out from Sandakan on the Death March.
We left Kota Kinabalu by comfortable minibus in the morning and by nightfall were in Sandakan, the former capital city of Sabah. Today it's a major commercial centre where the products of the interior—rattan, timber rubber, copra, palm oil and birds' nests from the Gomantong Caves—are brought to be loaded onto boats for export.
The city lies at the entrance to a huge bay and its docks sprawl along the waterfront for many kilometres. The bay itself is dotted with islands, some of them with excellent beaches. There is always the hustle and bustle of boats, large and small heading to and fro from the islands. Sandakan is one of those old forgotten ports of Asia that you read about in adventure tales or see in old movies.
The next morning we set out in a ten-metre skiff propelled by a powerful 200 HP Mercury outboard. We zoomed crossed the bay, watching dolphins leap out of the water, and by mid-morning reached the opposite shore where a four-wheel drive vehicle was waiting to take us to the Gomantong Caves.
The caves have been known ever since the early Chinese came to Borneo to trade centuries ago. They are a source for swiftlets' nests which are the raw material for that famous Chinese delicacy, birds' nest soup.
The caves are truly remarkable, huge limestone caverns as large as cathedrals. With sun light filtering down in long slender shafts from openings far above, we watched men climb long, precariously placed bamboo poles, laced together with rattan, some a hundred feet high, to collect the nests from the roof of the caves.
The caves are open to the public but permits to visit them are required and they must be obtained in advance from the Forest Department headquarters in Sandakan.
We spent the night on the bank of the Kinabatangan River in a comfortable lodge operated by S.I. Tours. It wasn't the Hilton but it was perfectly adequate and peaceful. Roland explained that many travellers come to the camp with the intention of staying for only a day and end up remaining much longer.
We had our evening meal on the verandah, watched the sunset across the river and, as darkness closed in, we listened to the strange and unfamiliar sounds of the jungle. And, in between shrill sounds and calls that sent chills up our spines, we listened to the even more strange and fascinating tales Roland had to tell us.
"My ancestors were head-hunters," he said, and then he told us about his grandfather, the last of the headhunters and the parang with human hairs still on it that he kept. "Up until the end of the war some tribes still hunted heads. To be a man, you had to take at least one head," he added. We went to sleep glad that some things had changed. And I still couldn't remember where I had seen Roland before—if I ever had.
Before dawn the next morning, while clouds hovered low over the river and jungle, we headed farther up the Kinabatangan River. Hornbills and egrets lifted up from the branches of trees that hung over the water and purple herons sat on tree trunks protruding from the river. Their reflections, and those of all the jungle, were captured in the still waters of the river. Everything seemed unreal, with vapor rising up from the water as the day became warmer. Don photographed monkeys that came so low out of the trees they almost whipped his cameras away.
This area is virtually inaccessible except by dugout canoes used by the natives or else small riverboats. The many tributaries and streams form a maze of waterways that those without experience could find their way in but possibly never find their way out of the forest again.
Cruising the rivers in a small boat is the ideal way to observe the wildlife of Borneo and sightings of the native proboscis and other monkeys are common along the banks in the morning and evening. For sighting other game, however, it's necessary to leave the river, which is what we did that afternoon and the days that followed.
After lunch, Roland led us on a trek into the jungle. The air was filled with the pungent smell of decay and the chatter of far-off gibbons and a billion insects. In some areas the hum of insects was so intense we could hardly hear one another talk.
We followed the course of the river, stopping to rest and to study the plant life. Elephant droppings were everywhere, and the destruction they caused from their foraging was obvious. Many trees were knocked completely over and the path they made looked like a bulldozer had moved through the forest.
The proboscis and other monkeys kept at bay and, except for birds in the heavy foliage above, there was little wild life to be seen. But we knew that strange creatures of the dense forest watched us pass. Then, suddenly, we heard elephants trumpeting and crashing through the thicket somewhere ahead. They had come up from the river and were heading into the forest. It was impossible to keep up with them. Their sounds grew fainter and fainter.
It's estimated that there are between 500 and 2,000 elephants in Sabah alone. They were probably introduced several hundred years ago by the sultans of Sulu who brought them as work animals. But we can be sure elephants are not indigenous to Borneo. The lack of fossil remains and the lack of indigenous names for elephants used by the natives leads scientists to the theory that they are not native to Borneo.
The Kinabatangan River is one of the main rivers in Sabah and flows generally northeast to enter the sea east of Sandakan. Although logging is widespread along the upper reaches of the river, below the Sandakan to Lahad Datu road the jungle is relatively untouched and here most of Borneo's wild animal life is found. One can't help wondering about the rest of Borneo. What exists in Kilamantan, the Indonesian side? What other wild rivers are there to explore?
We returned to Sandakan after our jungle trek and, before departing for Kota Kinabalu, Roland took us to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre for a last look. He knew many of the animals by name. "This is Alice," he said as one young orangutan came up to him and he took her hands. At that very moment I recognized Roland Ng. I had seen him before—in LIFE magazine. In one of the past issues, on the last page titled "Just One More," there's a full colour photograph of Roland holding hands with an orangutan. I knew I had seen him before!
Next week, with all the news about the public picking out a new Seven Wonders of the World, I will tell readers what my choice is.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
I receive a number of e-mails from Tunku (which means prince in Malay) Mahmood. I enclose many of his mails because he always has something interesting to add.
Q. Hi Mr. Stephens, yes there are lots of adventures out there for people who care to look and indulge. I think that I told you that when I went up the Endau Rompin National Park I went to see a crashed aircraft.1952 De Havilland Vampire jet fighter WG871. Not too many people know about it and my friend Mr. L M Bean has made a study of it and it is so detailed I am sure you would like to see it. We have a bunch of photos and some great memories of the trip, something like 40 plus waterfalls to climb to get there. The wild life was great. The Tiger is well and alive and there are Elephant, Tapir, and wild Barking deer. The Samba deer all make their presence felt and we heard wild pig and monkeys and had views of the river and jungles that are a photographer’s delight. –Tunku Mahmood of Johor
A. Dear Tunku Mahmood. Thank you for your e-mail. Perhaps more people should feel the way you do.--HS
Harold Stephens
Bangkok
E-mail: ROH Weekly Travel (booking@inet.co.th)
Note: The article is the personal view of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the view of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited | 
