Back to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah's Gateway

In the morning, there was a short jungle walk behind the lodge. For birdwatchers, there are hornbills, kingfishers (we saw one), egrets, darters, owls, kites, eagles, broadbills, doves, storm storks, herons, hawks, ospreys, and many others. My birding consists of ..."what's that green bird...ooh...that one is yellow..."...and so forth. Lots of different primates, snakes and birds...the trip here was a big success with the exception of wild Orangutans - very difficult to see in the wild.

By boat back up the Kinabatangan River to Sandakan to catch a plane back to Kota Kinabalu and a transfer to the Shangri La Tanjung Aru Resort.

view of Mount Kinabalu from the plane

The Shangri La was a huge resort offering panaromic views of the sea and outlying islands. This was the relaxing, luxury part of the trip...sitting around the pool and taking trips into K.K. ( Kota Kinabalu) to watch a Malay cultural show and visit a night market.

Taking a second lap around the night market looking for something unique, a vendor was just setting out his goods. I thought one of the three very heavy items was a necklace and wanted to buy it. Dominick, our guide, explained that this was part of a Penampang Kadazan traditional costume. It was not a necklace but three extremely heavy belts worn at the same time, a tangkong, usually an antique family heirloom handed down from mother to daughter. Broken gongs are melted down and turned into small brass rings which are looped through thin strips of rattan to make the belt. We would have thought the dealer was joking and wouldn't have understood the importance of the item if Dominick hadn't explained all about it. We bought it ...why?...I don't know..it was unique and we were in our "hunting-gathering" mode. The dealer wasn't happy about selling it. According to Dominick, there was a big native festival coming up and he could probably sell it for a lot more than we paid for it.

Tangkong brass belt

If you a thinking about a soft-core adventure or are looking for the real thing...the 2000 Eco-Challenge was held in Sabah...Borneo is the place for you. Sabah was definitely the best part of the trip with trips to Turtle Island, Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary and Sukau (none of which require any physical activity). But even the parts that were out of my comfort zone made for unusual and interesting experiences and we're both glad we visited.

It is NOT EXPENSIVE. Contact Discovery Overland Holidays in Kuala Lumpur or other agencies if you so choose. Mas, of Discovery Overland, called us three times throughout the trip to make sure everything was going out satisfactorily. You will be pleasantly surprised. And, it's easy to combine with mainland Malayasia, Thailand, Singapore or other Asian countries.

Say hello to these marvelous primates for us and take lots of film...