Santubong, Borneo

The island of Borneo is the 3rd biggest island in the world (behind Greenland and New Guinea). About 1/4 of the island in the north is Malaysian, a minute percentage in the northeast is occupied by the Sultanate of Brunei while the rest in the south is Indonesian.

The rain forest on Borneo is one of the oldest in the world, estimated to be about 140 million years old. In all that time one can easily comprehend how many endemic species have evolved. Amongst those are the famous orangutans along with the Sumatran rhinoceros, Borneo elephant, the clouded Leopard, etc.

And of course we (as a species) have managed to almost entirely erase 140 million years of nature‘s doing in a couple hundred years due to extensive logging and poaching. Most of the above named species are either on the brink of extinction or getting there.

We landed in Kuching and took the one and only "Grab" to our hotel in Santubong, bout an hour’s drive away.

My first impression was that Borneo reminded much more of Mauritius than other parts of Malaysia or Indonesia did so far.

A magical sunset on the Santubong River

It’s difficult to explain, of course some things are clearly visible like the coconut trees, "Flamboyant" trees lining the motorways and coastal roads or villagers selling mangoes and papayas. Other things, still visible are more subtle like road markings, the flowers in people’s gardens, the way rust forms on corrugated iron sheets, the yellow and brown patches on municipal lawns.

And finally there are things that pertain more to feelings of home: the light during the day filtered by the clouds, the sensation of the sun warming your skin...

Roxana and Lea having fun

Anyways, we finally got to our hotel, the Damai Beach Resort. It was an old hotel but still had a certain charm to it. As a matter of fact it reminded me a lot of 1980’s Flic en Flac in Mauritius. At the hotel, things got even better when we were moved to a chalet by the beach after complaining that our room was too dark and cold.

During our stay we enjoyed the pool and restaurant of course. Unfortunately Mara got sick and we had to visit another dispensary where a doctor diagnosed a throat infection and prescribed antibiotics. I must say that the two visits we paid so far to Malaysian dispensaries have left a positive impression on me. Both times we were seen within minutes, and the places were clean and tidy. The bill was 40 Ringits (official rate for foreigners) medicines included.

In Santubong, I guess our two highlights were the cruise up Santubong River and the visit to Sarawak cultural village.

We booked the cruise, then moved it to the next day because Mara had fever then moved it back again to the original time since she was feeling better... but in the meantime they had to arrange a private cruise in order to accommodate us ... all the better for us!

Waiting for complete darkness to spot fireflies

We were meant to spot river dolphins, monkeys, crocodiles and fireflies. Apart from the dolphins we were lucky to see the three other animals. The most impressive was clearly the crocodiles... it is one thing to see crocodiles behind a fence in a zoo or park but it is something else seeing them in the wild. We saw some in Ecuador years ago and it’s always sent shivers down my spine. What was rather unpleasant though was the amount of pollution in that river: cans, soda bottles, plastic bags and other refuse. It was quite literally rubbish!

The following day we went to the Sarawak cultural village where we learnt a little more about the native tribes of Borneo. The village showcased different types of abodes and customs and the villagers wore different attires. Now, these people might not physically very intimidating (the men average 1m60 and 60kg and have an average build), but when you know they can hit a moving target 80m away with a poisonous dart using a blowpipe and that the Dayak tribesmen used to take the heads of their enemies as trophies you tend to remain humble.

I tried my skills at the blowpipe and I did hit a (fixed) target about 10 metres away... However the best part of the visit was the cultural dance.

They Dayaks are fearsome fighters

For more pictures of Santubong