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[ilovebdt]

Has anyone ever been to Borneo?

What was your experience like?

[skookum]

This was back in the 1970s. We took a boat from Suluwesi to Nunukan, in East Kalimantan. 500 people on board and only one toilet. Not even room for everyone to lie down - there were people sitting on the railing all night. Those who were fortunate to get deck space were very cozy, with one's own space for head and torso, but legs stacked a couple high. My neighbors on this boat were migrants from Flores.... Rice and fish a couple times a day (fresh fish, caught by the crew....) After 3 days or so we got to Tarakan and got off and stayed in a hotel. Some had to remain on the boat but by then had more room.

After a couple days, we left again and got to Nunukan the next day. Uhhh, one of those places I took a walk out in the country a ways, up a stream. I remember being attacked by a goose - fended the creature off with my umbrella!... It was quite a frontier region in those days. The Malaysian side though was more developed, albeit unevenly. Going up toward Sandakan from Lahad Datu the road was dirt in those days - crossing several rivers by ferry. A few kms. before Sandakan the road turned paved, then four-lane. The last couple kms. were close to a freeway. Sandakan seemed so modern after months in eastern Indonesia..... We went to the Orang Utan reserve. No one around, just us and the apes and a baby elephant. Some people (Filipino immigrants) invited us home for Xmas eve.... We climbed Mt. Kinabalu, the only real high mtn. on the island. Then on to Sandakan, Weston, Brunei, Seria, Bintulu, I forget all the places. The road goes right across Sarawak now from B.S.B., but in those days we hadda take a plane over one stretch of it. Finally Kuching, and a side trip to Santubong where there was a national park (mangroves, beach, sea, jungle), and then on to Singapore.

Just reminiscing, your mileage will vary, guess it's quite different now. In general Malaysian Borneo seemed in those days more modern and developed than West Malaysia, in the cities at least. Maybe not nowadays, what with Petronas towers and Petaling Jaya, etc..... but I haven't been back since to either side of the country.

[CdnEducator]

Sandakan, that Skookum mentioned, is an orangutan sanctuary. It's pretty interesting. Mt.Kinabalu is a popular place, I didn't climb it but knew people who did who liked it. Kuching, which means "cat" in Malay, is a pretty city with some arts and crafts to shop for. These three places are all at different points on Borneo.
Another detail is that Borneo is hot. Really hot. If you like a wet kind of heat, you'll like it.
There's a place not far from Kuching called Mulu where there are bat caves, it's interesting if you like things like that. The Mulu Resort is simple but very relaxing, nice wooden cabins connected by wooden walkways that blend in to the natural environment.
Borneo is not as developed as other places but if you like nature and tropics, you'll probably like it.