Borneo - Orangutan, Tree House, Jungle Love

Sunset, distant island, sunken ship, calm sea lapping against the shoreline - check!

"Why?"    That has been the number 1 response we have received from people when we told them we were heading to Borneo for Spring Break.  But, who wouldn't want to go to Borneo was the thought in my mind.  The 3rd largest island in the world and largest in all of Asia.  One of only 2 places left on Earth (outside of a zoo) that you can see an orangutan.  Pristine jungle habitats mere minutes from an international airport, making entry and exit simple (a definite plus when traveling with a 3 year old).  On top of all that, we had special guests in town at that time so why not drag them along with us?

Keeping Annie's in business...

Nan and Poppy (Erin's parents) arrived as our first official visitors from the US to stay with us just prior to the trip.  They successfully smuggled enough comforts of home for us to last a long long time.

A varietal cornucopia of Annie's Mac-n-Cheese, Organic Fruit Smash-Ups, new PJ's, popcorn, books, real maple syrup, non-scented laundry detergent...you name it.  They were allowed 2 bags each of 50 lbs equaling 200 lbs.  I think 198lbs of it was food for us!  Thanks to everyone who had sent them gifts, Christmas Cards and memento's from home to bring to us.  It was so great to see the photo's from Christmas cards and put them in our glass-top coffee table to ogle.  Christmas in March!

Our digs for the week....

We went to Malaysian Borneo (there are 3 countries on the island - Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia) just outside of Kuching.  We stayed at a resort right on the beach of the South China Sea and buried in a jungle.  Our sleeping quarters?  Tree houses, of course!  The house surrounded by the jungle with the ocean literally lapping up on rocks underneath us.  This place was epic.  10 tree houses and a restaurant to eat at and hang.  2 beaches, kayaks, SUP's, and a pool that was one of the creeks that trickled down the jungle to the ocean re-routed to an area of rocks they layed out to capture some of the water.

Graeme was over the moon before we arrived telling anyone who would listen that we were going to Borneo and going to sleep in tree houses.  Well, once we got there he was ecstatic.  His favorite thing was yelling from our tree house to Nan and Poppy's tree house "NAN!"  "NAN!" everytime we were headed out for an adventure.


 So, like I said, we were living in the jungle.  Within the week, without leaving our resort we ran into the following animals:  Macaque monkeys, Silver Leaf Monkey's, Proboscis Monkey's, Green Leaf Snake, Green Pit Viper Snake, Flying Squirrel, Flying Lemur, Monitor Lizard, Chipmunk looking squirrels, dolphins, and that's just what we saw.  Who knows what we missed walking through the jungle that was camouflaged from our site.

Squirrel-Munk?

Green Pit Viper - aka "100 Pace Snake" because that's what you have left if bitten, 100 paces.  Also, that is about how far from our tree house this guy was.

Don't look down...

Jungle living...

Jungle taking over the signage...

"Orang" = Man  "Utan" = Jungle - Man of the Jungle.  That's how the Malay named what may be, at least in my opinion, one of the coolest mammals on the planet.  Unfortunately, thanks to mankind, there are only 2 places left to find them in the wild (the other being Sumatra).  There are about 27,000 Orangutan left in the wild and 20,000 or so are in Borneo.  Unfortunately that number is dwindling thanks to Palm Oil industry types obliterating the forestry to make way for thier spoils.  You can get all fired up about it by reading HERE.  

Please, Please, Please - check the labels of the products you purchase and DO NOT purchase the ones that are using Palm Oil.  If you don't buy + They don't sell = Orangutan's live.  Pretty simple.  

Somewhere in college I learned something about supply and demand or something like that and it may or may not apply here.  I'll let you be the judge.

Manap!

We took a ride a bit south to the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre where, if you are lucky, you can see them up close and in person, and in the wild.  Twice a day they put fruit out for the orangutan and call to them.  They have about 30 or so that they keep tabs on.  We were lucky enough to have our new friend, Manap, come and join us for an afternoon snack.  He is 13 years old and enjoys throwing food, sticks and rocks at people.  He took aim at one fellow gawker, lined him up with a cocunut shell and let him have it from about 30 feet away.  A direct hit!  It was pretty surreal watching his movements, habits and mannerisms.  He seemed to understand the guide from the Centre as he spoke to him and as it seemed Manap asked him for more food.  For such a big animal it didn't seem like he needed much of a tree limb or branch to stay balanced, and his feet were amazing to watch - reminded me more of hands then feet.

Graeme enjoying Manap from the comfort of his Mom's arms

While we were watching him it started to rain a bit.  He scrambled up higher into the trees and within just a few yards he was pretty much invisible.  If we hadn't been watching him go, there is no way we would have been able to tell he was there.  As it rained harder he actually found some large leaves and put them over his head to use as an umbrella.  Amazing.  He did come back down for some more pineapple and banana's so we hung out in the drizzle until he decided it was time to head back into the jungle, or just move 10 feet and be invisible to us...

The Great Thinker....

We wanted more, so we headed on a converted fishing boat over to Bako National Park and we were not disappointed.  Cruising with our newest best friend and guide, Riman, he told us a successful trip to Borneo and Bako meant seeing Proboscis Monkey's and Bearded Pigs.  He said if we were lucky we would see them and that he would do his best to find them in the jungle and show them to us while also keeping an eye out for our safety.  The boat landed, we got off, walked about 100 yards and there they were.  A troop of proboscis monkey's in all their glory.  The noses on these primates are amazing.  Very "Jimmy Durante" looking.  They eat leaves and spend about all of their time in the trees.  They are rather shy - unlike Macaques - and pretty much don't hassle humans.

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As Maria and I were taking pictures of the monkey's from the beach a bunch of Bearded Pigs cruised right by us.  I thought Maria was going to run across the South China Sea all the way back to Ho Chi Minh City!  As they pranced on by, oblivious to us, it looked as if they were wearing heels and walking on their tip-toes.  They were way more interested in whatever it is that bearded pigs are interested in then us, but make no mistake, there are tusks under those beards and if provoked they will bite and attack.  We got our pics and moved on from them....

Tip Toe through the tulips...

A walk in the park....

Worth the effort...

So, within about 100 yards and 5 minutes of being off the boat, our trip was a success!  No need to hang out, just get back on the boat and go back, right?  Nope.  Our fearless guide took us on a 800m hike through the jungle to a secluded beach.  It was the hike that almost wasn't had it not been for Riman.  About 100m in Graeme was breaking down.  While there is a nice sea breaze on the beaches, once you walked about 10ft into the jungle the humidity went up to 99% and the air movement was minimal.  Tack on 100 degree temps and he wasn't having it.  I started to join his sentiment and thought it best to just take him back to the parks buildings and cool off.  Riman somehow convinced us to carry on.  Literally, because Graeme was done walking at this point.  We reached the beach much quicker then I thought we would and it was more of a scrambling climb then a hike.  We were up and down, clinging onto branches, roots, trees growing out of rocks, you name it.  While 800m isn't very far, doing it in these conditions while trying to carry a 3 year old, wasn't easy.



We had the option to have a boat pick us up to take us back to the Centre.  We thought about it for a second but hey, the Hawken family didn't come all they way to Bako in Borneo to lay up!  Off we went.  This time Riman and Erin had somehow convinced Graeme that hiking is cool and he was into it.  Scrambling up and down when his little legs would let him and Riman grabbing him and charging through the toughest parts with Graeme in his arms.  This guy was amazing.

A future John Muir?

Look over here Poppy!

When we weren't hunting down wildlife, Graeme spent his time with Nan and Poppy down at the beach.  White sand with a pristine creek flowing from the jungle into the ocean with a few Sandstone rocks sprinkled in.  Pure nirvana for a 3 year old and his Poppy to build forts, harbors, and make boats out of coconuts.

Nan love on the beach...

On the way back to HCMC we stopped over in Singapore for 2 nights.  I will leave my opinion of Singapore at this:  If you find yourself with a really long layover and can get yourself to leave the most incredible airport in the world (complete with a swimming pool, spa, hotel, outdoor gardens, movie theater, and more) or if you can convince your employer to pay for a "work" trip there - go.  Otherwise spend your money elsewhere because it won't last long enough in this city to enjoy it.  At $10usd per Tiger Beer (50cents in Vietnam) I'll let you figure out the conversion rates.

It is home, however, to what has to be the world's most spectacular zoo.  This place does not disappoint.  There is not one boring or bland exhibit.  You will see animals here that either don't exist anywhere else or no other zoo has.  You can literally eat breakfast with orangutans.  I don't think I need to say more.

Oooh Oooh Aaah Aaah!

White tiger love

Not to be overlooked on this incredible trip, it was my lovely wife's, and Graeme's magnificant Mother's, birthday!  Hopefully the time spent with family and wildlife lived up to her celebratory expectations.  Happy Birthday Honey!  We love you with all our hearts!

We are so delighted to have been able to share the time on this trip to such a special place with Nan and Poppy (Maria and Ross).  Graeme is so happy they are here and it was great to be able to take them on an adventure of a lifetime to Borneo.  So, thank you Nan and Poppy for making the trip all the way here and being brave enough to trust us and to follow us into Borneo.  I think after this trip the next time anyone asks them "why" they went to Borneo they will reply "Why not?  You should go too!"

To see all of the pictures from our trip please click HERE.

Jungle Love

Hoà Bình,
The Hawken's in HCMC

P.S.  We'd like to take a moment to say that our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of passengers and crew aboard flight MH370.  Hopefully closure and understanding find you soon.
#thetaoofgraeme