Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Rashidah and my trip to the waterfront city of Kota Kinabalu was largely a brief, relaxing getaway to one of the more touristy areas we've visited in Southeast Asia.

Kota Kinabalu is the capital of the state of Sabah on the Malaysian side of Borneo. Its name comes from nearby Mount Kinabalu, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its biological diversity; it contains between 5,000 and 6,000 species of plants, an excess of 300 species of birds, and greater than 100 mammal species. Kinabalu comes from the local Dusan language and means "revered place of the dead", while Kota is Malay for "fort", "town", or "city".

The area began developing as early as the 15th century by the Bruneian empire and grew to be a major trading post. With the decline of Brunei over the course of the next few hundred years it became increasingly autonomous. Due to its strategic and commercial importance, the area was under duress throughout WWII during Japanese occupation. Frequent Allied bombings terrorized the area, leaving most of the city destroyed only to be slowly rebuilt over the coming years.

Hanging Out at a Local Café

The city itself doesn't overwhelm you with its beauty, but I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of Asian and western infused restaurants that litter the downtown. Rashidah and I ate well each meal, and were not lacking for intriguing cuisine opportunities.

The highlight of the trip was our day spent at nearby Sapi Island, which is a mere 15 to 20 minute boat ride from central Kota Kinabalu.

Headed to Sapi Island

Welcome to Sapi Island

Entryway Dock

The bulk of the day was spent relaxing on the beach and snorkeling.

Local Monitor Lizard

View from the Main Beach

Kota Kinabalu allowed Rashidah and I an opportunity to read, rest, and relax, in that regard it succeeded. Overall though, I was largely disappointed with the city and Sapi Island. While opportunities exist to venture outside of the city to mountain climb, take a jungle tour, or explore river rapids, the city itself doesn't have much to offer. Similarly, Sapi Island was advertised as having beautiful beaches and diverse marine life, while all I discovered was a comparatively overcrowded, ordinary island - at least based on Southeast Asia standards - that lacked marine and coral diversity.

It wasn't until after I arrived that I realized I didn't fit the demographic that the area targets: families and infrequent visitors to Southeast Asia looking for a "real" jungle experience. Unfortunately unbeknownst to them, they are provided with a run-of-the-mill adventure that lacks the authenticity - and far greater fulfillment - of many other opportunities that exist throughout Southeast Asia.

While we had a wonderful and relaxing trip, I would be reluctant to revisit Kota Kinabalu.

Kalimantan (Tanjung Puting National Park)

I must begin on a somber note and a moment of silence... Rashidah, Bryan, and I had a serious conversation prior to traveling to Kalimantan, which is the Indonesia side of Borneo, about possibly cancelling the remainder of our trip. Less than a week prior to traveling to Kalimantan, Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed off the coast of Kalimantan between Belitung and Borneo. The crash was partially due to the seasonal storm season in Indonesia; as we were flying on a less than reputable airline we were understandably cautious. Ultimately, we decided to make the trip.

Upon safely landing in Pangkalan Bun, we were immediately shuttled to the city center. Pangkalan Bun is a port city that garners little interest outside of visiting tourists excited to see one of the few places in the world to observe orangutans. For this reason, we were surprised to see the port was completely full. We soon found out that this was the primary port for the recovery of the capsized plane. There were massive recovery ships with mounted cranes and a handful of helicopters with a variety of national flags represented.



Within an hour, we set out into the jungle on our rugged, yet spacious riverboat. Upon entering Tanjung Puting National Park, I felt an immediate sense of calm wash over me, as if I were transported to a place of absolute peace and acquired a heightened awareness of nature. The sights and sounds brought to mind the film Anaconda, obviously excluding the violence and most of the danger.

This shack, perhaps more than anything else, reminded me of that fateful scene from Anaconda where Jennifer Lopez and her team find an abandoned shack symbolically set aside as a final warning not to proceed any further up the river. Don't worry, we didn't listen either.

One of the many real dangers in the jungle we came across was this baby crocodile, which also happened to be the only crocodile we saw during our trip. However, our guides reassured us that crocodiles are ever present and there is a reason why it is incredibly rare to see an orangutan or anyone wading through the water.

On a less serious note, we spotted a number of rare, endangered proboscis monkeys endemic to Borneo. The proboscis monkey is most distinguishable by its pendulous nose, whereby males intimidate rivals and impress females. Humorously, Indonesians call proboscis monkeys monyet belanda or even orang belanda, which means Dutchman or Dutch monkey as Indonesians thought the monkeys had similar large bellies and noses.



Now prepare yourself for an excess of orangutan photos taken over the course of a couple of days in Tanjung Puting National Park...

Tanjung Puting National Park is home to 220 species of bird, 17 species of reptile, and 29 species of mammal, which include sun bears, civets, clouded leopards, barking deer, gibbons, proboscis monkeys, and orangutans among others.

   

On Borneo there are 5,000 known species of trees compared to just 34 species native to England.

Words do not exist to properly express my wonder over the course of these couple days. To hear the great apes howl of freedom is magical, it sparks one of those few moments in your life when you experience an existential calm and reassurance that somehow the world isn't all bad and we as a species will find solutions to even our most challenging problems. Then, you are washed over with the realization that we spend our entire lives searching for these precious moments, moments of absolute peace and contentedness. We would give anything to experience these moments more often, which is why it is vitally important to understand the value of ensuring places and moments like these endure. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard for all life, and guarantee that the serenity of these dwindling escapes remain intact for all generations to come.

To accomplish this will require concerted effort, both within Indonesia and abroad. Indonesia provides roughly half the world's supply of palm oil, which overwhelmingly comes from Sumatra and Kalimantan. To meet the world's growing demand, tropical rainforests are being illegally decimated to make room for growing palm oil plantations that use slash and burn techniques to destroy rainforests, while also greatly increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Most don't realize that Indonesia is home to the third largest variety of animal species in the world: trailing only the Democratic Republic of Congo and Brazil. However, it has overtaken Brazil as the fastest forest clearing nation in the world, leading to the disappearance of indigenous tribes and critically endangered tigers, elephants, rhinos, and of course, orangutans.

It may seem like an insignificant gesture, but something as simple as checking food labels could make all the difference as extracted palm oil is used in many everyday products: lipstick, shampoo, ice cream, detergent, chocolate, cookies, biodiesel, soap, and bread. Products marked with an RSPO or Green Palm label are regulated and deemed sustainable, which is why they are endorsed by the WWF. For progress to be made and to ensure the sustainability of the world's remaining treasures, we need to be the change we wish to see in the world.

The final stop on our riverboat trip came at the famed Camp Leakey: established by Dr. Birute Galdikas, a disciple of Louis Leakey who also mentored Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. At 70 years old, she has spent a significant portion of her life dedicated to protecting orangutans. When she initially established the camp, she had spent days wading dangerously through swamp water and untamed jungle looking for a location to do her research.

Orangutan comes from the Malay / Indonesian words "orang" meaning person and "hutan" meaning forest. Hence, the word orangutan means person of the forest. These people of the forest are the most solitary of all the great apes and also happen to spend the most time of any of the great apes in trees. Dominant adult males have distinct wide cheek pads and produce long calls that attract females and intimidate rivals. Younger, or less dominant, males look similar to adult females. Their diet consists of primarily fruit, but also bark, honey, insects, and bird eggs. They can live over 30 years in the wild and are among the most intelligent primates: capable of building fairly sophisticated tools and constructing elaborate nests each night.

Another unexpected surprise was the appearance of one of the neatest animals I've ever encountered, the gibbon. I later found out that gibbons are the fastest and most agile of all tree-dwelling, nonflying mammals. Watching them move effortlessly through the trees only added to my wonder. They also often left me laughing as they would quickly grab a few pieces of fruit and vanish into the trees to cherish their prize. This was incredibly amusing as the orangutans were either aloof or indifferent of the theft, while the gibbon seemed exceedingly satisfied with its subterfuge.

The gibbon waiting for its moment...

Now for more orangutans...

A mother headed to her crying young.

The little guy latching on for protection.

It was an incredible final segment of my trip with my old friend Bryan, and I loved sharing the experience with Rashidah, but eventually it all had to come to an end. Ultimately, Kalimantan was one of the most untouched, magical places in the world I've ever been.

As the reality of our trip coming to a close began to set in, the experience left me with a powerful desire to continue to advocate for sustainability and raise awareness of these invaluable wildlife experiences. And if I'm being honest, a powerful thought occurred to me as we were leaving the jungle, it briefly left me with an overwhelming sadness that just as quickly turned to fleeting anger: how is money worth more than anything I just experienced?

Although it is devastating to know that massive portions of this untamed jungle are regularly destroyed for illegal logging or palm oil extraction, I have to live with the solace that if you've read this far, you too are committed to making a difference.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss, The Lorax.