My Sabah On a Shoestring 3: Sepilok-Sandakan-Sepilok Part 1

The melodic song sung by an unknown bird woke me up at 6:30am at Paganakan Dii longhouse. This birdie flew in very close to the balcony and it was doing the same for a few times. Because I was curious to know what sort of bird that was singing, I forced myself out of the comfortable bunk bed, climbed down the bunk ladder gently, took out my binoculars and tip-toed out to the balcony. 

A flow of cool fresh air gushed through my nostrils and straight into my lungs as soon as I opened the door of the balcony. I tip-toed to the end of the balcony, I waited and I listened. I spotted some fast movements in the foliage of the ferns below and then it stopped. I sung that tune to call. I waited again. No sign of that birdie. Maybe my morning out-of-tune drove the birdie away.

While Aida was still asleep, I tip-toed out of the longhouse to catch some birds before our breakfast and our van pick up at 9am. With only a 10-minute drive from Paganakan Dii, will be the place where the Man of the Forest gathers. 

The morning look at the dining area of Paganakan Dii

A complimentary English breakfast prepared us for the day of another exploration. I managed to spot a few birds before departing Paganakan Dii: Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis), Yellow Vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier), Red-Eyed Bulbul (Pycnonotus brunneus), Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus), Rufous-Tailed Tailorbird (Orthotomus sericeus), Brown Barbet (Calorhamphus fuliginosus).

I felt a bit nauseous as soon as I saw buses and buses loaded with tourists got off at the entrance to greet the Man of the Forest. Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center, read more here. Oh well... I was one of them - the tourists too. After paying the entrance fee and a charge for my camera, we entered the gate on a beautifully maintained boardwalk which cut into the dense of the jungle.

"Crack..." .. all of us turned towards the direction of the crackling and rattling sound. The big movements of branches and trees swaying, our eyes opened in awe and like other tourists, I put my camera up, all ready to click. Here they came, the young ones and the huge ones. We welcomed them like the King of the Forest instead of what they were called as the Man of the Forest.

I love that move... a Perfect Split! Any Yogis-to-be would love to be able to do that

And they were all heading to one spot. Breakfast hall.

Orangutan canteen

It was queer to have more than a hundred of homosapiens watching a handful of these creatures feasting in the center of platform. While the homosapiens' drooled with the sight of orangutans, these creatures' mouths drooled with the sight of delicious tropical fruits. Even though I disagree with the practice of feeding the wild animals, for this case, it is exceptional. These orangutans were once dependent on the center for healthcare, food and training before becoming independent. These were the ones that came back to the center just to feed. There were others that had found their place and did not return to the center.

I observed this young fella feeding on the bananas and I thought it was greedy to have some  bananas in its feet too.

This young fella climbed up the cable and sat on a branch away from the group. It sat on its own feasting on the bananas. 

The right feet was grasping on a branch while the other was grasping the bananas. Not long after, I understood the reason why this young fella acted a bit greedy.

A group of these cheeky Pig-tailed macaques "attacked" the canteen... scavengers!

We spend only less than one hour on the entire boardwalk before they closed the gate. We felt a bit disappointed that they had to close the gate and we were not able to do any birdwatching. And so, we spend some time at the community hall to watch the video on the rehab center. Please be aware that this rehab center is only open during the feeding time.

Because Paganakan Dii only accepts cash for any payment and both of us were running out of cash, we needed to head to Sandakan for the ATM. It was convenient for us as there was a bus stop for a public bus which comes right into the orangutan rehab center to Sandakan. However, it it best to check the time of the public bus. We waited for almost half an hour for the bus to arrive and we managed to catch a male Brown-Throated Sunbird (Anthreptes malacensis) frolicking around.

A slow one hour bus ride took us on a 25 kilometers journey to Sandakan where we walked around the town to run our errands. The town itself was a bit disappointing, crowded and I didn't feel safe with its surrounding. 

Another slow ride back to Sepilok and we arrived at the roundabout turnoff to the rehab center at 3:15pm. There is a center next to the orangutan rehab and it was one of our itinerary for the day. At 3:15pm, it seemed a bit of a rush to explore. And because this day would be our last night, we decided to go ahead. A white Kancil car was waiting by the road and the driver was looking at us, as if he was inviting. We walked over to his car and after a short negotiation, we paid him to take us there to save us the walking time. Rainforest Discovery Center (RDC), here we come.

On my next Sabah post... a gliding wonder that almost smacked on our heads!

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My Sabah On a Shoestring 3: Aida's Dream Hotel

There is always a purpose in a journey. Aida has been drooling in wanting to stay and experience this accommodation. I haven't got any idea and all I heard was Aida's rambling on how good and impressive this place was.

Since I was on holiday and there were two attraction spots nearby that I wanted to check out; so I told myself to go with the flow! 

After a night of mozzies camping along the Kinabatangan River, it was a nice treat to stay in something cozy. Another reason I agreed to go with Aida was because the price met my limited budget.

Welcome to Paganakan Dii...

A journey by a local bus from Kampung Mengaris to Sepilok took us almost two hours. We were sitting close to the rear of the bus and then I heard the bus conductor shouted, "Sepilok!!" Sepilok!!". I was disorientated and then I heard another call "Sepilok!!". We fell asleep. I quickly woke Aida up and we grabbed our backpacks to get off the bus. I felt a bit embarrassed because the locals sitting nearby were staring at us.

We were picked up by a van after a call made by Aida and the van was new, comfy with air-condition. About 5 minutes of the van ride, we were surrounded by oil palms and mini recreation facilities were tucked in between the palms. The van ascended a slope that took us on a higher elevation and I saw the lowland rainforest below amidst the oil palms plantation. Midi, the quiet and stocky van driver ushered us to the reception area. A friendly, soft spoken gentleman, Yus; greeted us and showed us to the "longhouse". 

Aida and I initially had some problems pronouncing that "Pa-ga-na-kan" word. Sabah has the largest indigenous community known as the Kadazan-Dusun and Paganakan Dii literally means "The Family". 

I saw Aida's eyes were full of enthusiasm admiring every corner of the architecture of Paganakan Dii. The "longhouse" is actually a dormitory style with bunk beds and we were lucky that only a few were taken. So, we were able to have choices of which bunk beds for us to lay our tired bodies on. As I opened the doors behind our bunk beds, I was relaxed to be able to view the secondary rainforest on the balcony.  

While stepping on the balcony, I was amazed with the additional features they added on. Safety net! Wow! A bonus point for this longhouse.

The picture was not well taken to show the safety net clearly. Well, I am sure you can find it.

Wherever I go and stay whether it is in a resort, hotel or a backpacker's, the utmost important room that I must be satisfied with will be the TOILET and SHOWER ROOM! I did an assessment by randomly checking the toilets and the individual shower rooms. Toilets... clean, no rubbish strewn around and there were bum papers available. Sniff, sniff... hmm... OK. Shower rooms, clean, not much hairs gathered on the floor, there is a water heater for each room (even though I don't use water heater) and sniff, sniff, sniff... no smell. Great... all checked and ISO-WCHINNER approved!

It was an evening for us to just relax and do nothing. We took our own sweet time to unpack, shower and get ready for dinner. Aida went crazy with my camera and started to take pictures in almost every corner she saw on our way to the dining hall.

Aida went crazy and did her bouldering

Woks as bathroom sinks

A spot to relax and unwind

This is a perfect place for us as there are breakfast, lunch and dinner available, otherwise it will be a hassle for us because we totally relied on the public transportation. Our beds per night came with a complimentary breakfast and the cost for a bed per night was RM30 (Thirty Ringgit). 

The warm lightings in the dining hall and the quietness of the night with only a handful of guests were just what I wished for; a perfect dinner ambiance. I love those classic, simple wooden tables, stools and chairs that made the entire place matched with the feel of the jungle. There were tables under the roof and outdoor dining area. We went for the outdoor dining area where we sat under the stars. Also, we were attracted to the tables which were reused wooden cable reels.  

Dining hall and reception (below), lounge (above) and outdoor dining area at night

An outdoor dining table was a wooden cable reel. Cool, heh? This image was taken from http://paganakandii.blogspot.com/2008/07/wee.html

Yus, our friendly receptionist wore a different hat now by being our server, brought us the menu and took our orders. In a hospitality industry, every staff must wear more than one hat. For the staff here, they wore more hats than any other staff in a luxury resort and this made them multi-skilled. I know because I was once there; been there done that!   

Their reasonable priced menu came with a selection of Asian and Western cuisine. Yus told us that during the peak season, this place will be full and we must be patient with the chef and the servers. We were lucky that we came at the right time. After filling up our tummy, we went up to the lounge to discuss our plan for the next day. 

Another section of dining area below

Aida spoke about how she was impressed with the owner on his designs and the construction of this place. Anton Ngui, the owner, constructed some sections of this place by recycling wood taken from an an old school in the 60s and an old barn. Another bonus point to Paganakan Dii for their commitment to conserve the natural resources as much as they can. Another reason to why Aida was impressed with this concept because she has her dream to build a tree house using recyclable items like plastic bottles. She was close to achieving that a couple years ago but... Perhaps, Aida will realise her dream in Sabah and not in Langkawi. I wish Aida a better luck the next time and working with the right people with a genuine heart for conservation. 

We walked around Paganakan Dii before mid night to see if we have any luck on owls. No owls, no night birds and it was "good night" for us. Catch me again on my next blog post on our morning in Paganakan Dii and to the exact spot where the Man of the Forest gathers...


Links:
1. Amidst The Foliage of Sepilok (Read more on the stories of Paganakan Dii Tropical Retreat)
2. Paganakan Dii Tropical Retreat (Official website)
2. More great comments from a blogger... (I didn't take any picture of toilet and bathroom, so please click here for more pictures of the interiors)

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My Sabah On a Shoestring 2: Pitta Lurer And Cave Dwellers

Bart, our guide was tip-toeing on the forest floor, whistling gently while tracking down on this elusive feathered winged creature. We followed along and with our cameras ready. Not long after I remembered that I had left my torchlight at our sleeping den. And so, I had to dash back to our campsite to grab my torchlight. 

On my way back to the position of Bart and Aida, a Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela) was up above me spreading its wings to dry. Wow!

That eagle was not what Bart was going after. Suddenly, I saw Bart's eyes went big and was signalling us to come quickly. He caught it!

We couldn't believe that Bart got this Black-Headed Pitta (Pitta ussheri)  to stay on as it was curious with Bart's whistling. We had almost 10 minutes to "drool on" this pretty Pitta until it realised that we were not the same feathered kind. Aida's and my lifer!! In that 10 minutes, we had totally ignored the mosquitoes around us and the high humidity of the forest.

 Some bug that looks like an UFO, hmm... a spaceship bug then??

As we continued on the trail, we found ourselves walking up a short steep slope and then scrambling up on rocky terrain. 

Hundreds of bats greeted us at the entrance of the cave.  The wind welcomed us and gave us a cooling effect on our bodies. The strong smell of guano tickled our nose as we walked on soft carpet of guanos. I was intrigued with the dung beetles (Scarabaeidae) that crawled out each time we lifted up our legs off the guanos. Unfortunately, I couldn't get to photograph them because when those beetles crawled out, they quickly dug themselves into the fresh guanos again.

This cave is Gua Batu Supu, according to Bart. Gua Batu Supu is one of sites in Sabah where the dead people were placed in log coffins and left in caves. Based on a writeup by Yunus Sauman on Cave Burials in Sabah, there are at least 13 sites with ancient log coffins in Sabah. The tradition is still being carried on today by some local tribes, including the Dusun Sungai community at Tongod and Ulu Kinabatangan and the Dusun Segama groups at Kampung Tawayari, Ulu Segama. 

 Bart showing the log coffin

 Log coffin but where are the remains??

Some log coffins are known to have craved designs like a buffalo, snake, crocodile, tongue, fish's tail or even a plant. These designs in places such as the Kinabatangan Basin reflect the close links of local folk with their natural surroundings.

Some strange lights?

Sunray puntured through the darkness

Amazing cave! I was reluctant to leave the cave but it was time to move on. We decamped and on board the boat down river back to the jetty in the pouring rain.

Rain clouds ahead of us before it started to pour

From Kampung Mengaris, Kinabatangan, where we waited by the road for our bus  ...

 The pictures above and below is a totem pole completed by venturers of Raleigh International

A species of stick insect picture was managed to be taken just in time before the bus arrived

to the place where the Man of the Forest gathers...

Many thanks to Bart for showing us around. He can be contacted at: badboybartx@yahoo.com, for request of a nature guide in Kinabatangan River.


References:
1. Cave Burials in Sabah by Yunus Sauman

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My Sabah On a Shoestring: Wild Beings of Riverside

Kinabatangan River - 560 kilometers, Malaysia's second longest river and Sabah's longest.

Most nature lovers would know that this river provides an important source of livelihood for its native people known as Orang Sungei (literally means people of the river) and as well as to its vast diversity of wildlife. At the lower Kinabatangan River, which is known as Sukau where tourists would flock to see wild Probosis Monkeys (Nasalis larvatus), Orang Utans (Pongo pygmaeus), Bornean Pygmy Elephants (Elephas maximus borneensis), estuarine crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) and many more. 

The award winner of Asia's leading Green Hotel, Sukau Eco Lodge would be a perfect choice for most nature lovers to spend their holiday at Sukau. The temptation was there but their exorbitant package rates drew us away. And so, Aida and I decided to experience Kinabatangan River on a shoestring.

The bus ride from Inanam to the Kinabatangan bridge took us more than six hours of travelling before arriving Kampung Mengaris, Batu Puteh at 3am. Bart, our guide, greeted us on the pitch dark road of the village decorated by millions of stars up in the black sky. Some people did say that Langkawi is the best place for stars gazing but this place has beaten Langkawi.


Bart, a localised green badge guide, is also a friend of Aida's via projects that both of them worked together. So, I was fortunate. As it was still the wee hours of the morning, we had to salvage as much sleep as possible before setting out on our exploration. And so we slept on the jetty under the Kinabatangan bridge.


The glimpse of sun light at 5:45am woke me up and this was what I saw.

The planning stage only began after our breakfast at a local shop and the overall itinerary was dependent on our budget. After all the "brain-storming", we decided to take the river cruise after lunch. Meanwhile, Bart took us to Perpaduan Village, about 15 minutes drive away to an observation tower surrounded by oil palm plantation.


As I was looking from the top of the tower, I was pondering on the battle between our lowland rainforest and the palm oil plantation. Who would win? Will both of them live in harmony without creating extinction to the wildlife?

Bart spotted Red Leaf-Monkeys (Presbytis rubicunda) on the salt-lick trail. These primates were so shy and they jumped away quickly before I could reached out for my camera. My primate lifer!


Other flora and fauna along the trail:

Some sort of fungi. Anyone can help to id please?

A damselfly! Which I thought it was one earlier. Many thanks to Mandy for correcting me. It is an Antlion (Myrmeleontidae family)

River cruise at 2:30pm when Bart took us down river for 10 minutes. Could it be his instinct or he may had made appointments with these beings? We spotted them within that 10 minutes!

Another primate lifer! This one showed her teeth at us. I was surprised that Probosis monkeys would do that 

A wild estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). Alas, not those in the crocodile farm

We headed upriver after that which was our initial plan. The plan was to camp in the forest and it was a 45-minute ride upriver by boat. Why that campsite? Because of the stories about a cave nearby that made us drooled.


The 45-minute ride became almost a two-hour journey. We saw two groups of Probosis monkeys, Black Hornbills (Anthracoceros malayanus), Darter (Anhinga melanogaster) , Green Imperial Pigeon (Ducula aenea)  and lots of Blue-Throated beeaters (Merops viridis). 

Green Imperial Pigeon (Ducula aenea)

Aida with her brand new Canon G12 camera

Wonder why they call the village Kampung Mengaris. Mengaris is referring to those Tualang trees (Koompassia excelsa) that are found abundance along the river.

Lots of fig trees were fruiting along the river that had attracted the pigeons, hornbills, long-tailed macaques and many more

We arrived the campsite at 5pm and we were set to embrace the mosquitoes. There was sufficient time for us to set up our "sleeping den" before the sun starts to set after 6pm.

The kitchen area of the campsite. This nice wooden hut is not for us.

View of the river peeping from our "sleeping den"

Our enthusiastic guide, Bart arranged for a night walk behind our campsite. This was our wishlist to spot: Slow Loris, Flying Lemur and Giant Squirrel... but well, at least we did try to wish. With our pace, we took two hours instead of the intended walk of one hour.

 These sort of fungi illuminates in the dark after shining your torchlight on them

Bart spotted these scorpions mating. According to Bart, this species of scorpion will spray a mist of liquid that smells like vinegar in self-defense or escaping from a predator

 An appreciation to JK of SiputKuning for his help to identify this snail which is endemic to the Borneo lowland forest. Thanks JK!

It was a long day and I was looking forward to crawl into our "sleeping den".

Hey, Aida... I did control that night. You were saved from being "gassed" 

I have always love hammocks. Being my first time climbing onto the top of a double-storey hammock, thanks to Aida's idea, it was a bit tricky. Not long after we snuggled into the warm comfortable fabric of our hammocks, the mosquitoes came and joined us. On the next morning, I noticed a few droppings on the flysheet and we realised that Long-tailed macaques were also sleeping above us on the trees.


What's our itinerary on the next day? Next post ba...

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