Stay Wild — Borneo, Malaysia

Orangutans are on the Critically Endangered Species list. Their numbers have dwindled in the past few decades due to deforestation for palm oil production, and illegal hunting. Monita is a baby rescued by redapes.org, a rehabilitation center helping to conserve the orangutan population. (pc:redapes)

My friend, Gayatri, suggests our next adventure, let’s go check out Orangutans in the wild!! She expounds how critically endangered they are, how rare to see them truly in the wild (i.e. not in rehab/ rescue centers), and how time’s running out… The baby orangutan on my screen, grins back impishly, all its cute naughtiness reeling me in… We’re on, it’s a date! 

Politically devided into Malaysia and Brunei in the North, and Indonesia in the South, Borneo is a large island on the equator. It is the oldest rainforest, and the centre of evolution and distribution of many endemic species of plants and animals. Borneo is one of only two remaining natural habitats of the endangered Orangutans

Our best bet, it appears, is on the island of Borneo, in the jungles flanking Kinabatangan River. So via Kuala Lumpur we fly over to Sabah (NE Borneo). There the Jungle Lodge contact meets us, and is soon loading our suitcases… not onto the jeep I expected, but onto a narrow boat. I’m confused! Err, shouldn’t we first drive to the Lodge, check in etc., before taking the famed river cruise?! He grins wide,”No roads, Ma’am! River only way to Lodge!” Oh me, dumb city dweller!!

River Kinabatangan is the second longest river of Malaysia. The area is known for its high-biodiversity habitats. Much of the deeper River is a “protected area” supporting varied flora and fauna such as Orangutans, Macaques, Proboscis monkeys and pigmy elephants. The lower basin has also been declared a bird sanctuary.

This “last mile” river connection is simply spectacular! The sun’s gathered all his cloud cronies to chorus a rousing welcome, and the river beams, mirroring the sentiment. Dense jungles flank both sides, verdant and still. There’s a sense of freedom, leaving all our civilized world trappings, but also a deep vulnerability! The air is warm and heavy. We’re quiet, awed in beauty and wonder… is it my imagination, or does the stillness hold a silent watchfulness as well?! Seeing, but unseen, are some residents checking us out as we chug upstream?!

The Borneo bearded pig, recognized by its prominent beard, and a Monitor lizard, a native or Borneo, which commonly grows to 1-1.5 meters (3-5 feet!) in length

At the Lodge’s rustic portico, dinner that night is another amazing “event”! Those clouds hadn’t been only for show… as we chow down, pelting rain clatters on the tin roof… yet it’s not an evening washed away! We watch delighted, as a bearded wild pig, and monitor lizards come by, doing nothing in particular, just standing there in the rain… Looking for selfies perhaps?! Clicking I am, but with one wary eye on the portico’s clearance…Jeepers! Are we sufficiently off the ground?! 

Colorful spiders, bugs, beetles… the jungle is teeming with life’s little forms too!!

Next morning’s jungle trek sounds promising…The more the guide tries to manage our expectations (read downplay!), the higher soar our hopes of meeting orangutans!! Maybe a Borneo pigmy elephant too?! If you’re very very lucky, the guide intones…yeah, yeah, we knowww…!! 

The millipede curls up into a tight little ball on being disturbed!! So envious, can we do that?!

Even a guided rainforest walk, our shirts tucked in and bodies liberally sprayed, is so much more more riveting than any amount of Survivor from the couch! Sunlight streams through the foliage in shafts, and the forest resonates with the symphony of life! It smells forest, and the skin has a moist sheen… I’m in a group, yet the jungle has me cocooned by myself, filling all my senses.

Coiled up Mango snake on the branches above

The guide is pointing out constantly — A millipede, a snake coiled up in the branches, proboscis monkeys, grooming, lazing, sunbathing…! The white breasted eagle, high on the lookout, seems to relay: today  the pigmy elephant’s feeling too shy! As for the elusive orangutan… I feel their sly grins, still ear to ear — ha-ha! Sight-me-if-you-can!

The Proboscis monkey co exists with the Orangutans. Well identified by its unusually long nose, it is endemic to Borneo. One hilarious factoid: “This monkey also goes by the Indonesian name monyet belanda (“Dutch monkey”), or even orang belanda (“Dutchman”), as Indonesians found the Dutch colonisers often had similarly large bellies and noses.”! 🙂 (factoid source: wiki)
The white-bellied sea eagle can be found along the sea as well as along inland waterways

Late that night we grope aboard the canoe, for that famous river cruise. In this pitch darkness, my expectation of sighting anything is zero… But suddenly the guide’s pulling over, shushing us, shining a torch at the overhanging branches. Oops! Have we startled you, Owl…? Oh, that is your normal look?!!

A night owl in the dark night… wide awake, and looked so startled! Those eyes though are most fascinating. With spectacular binocular and night vision, they have three eyelids – upper for blinking, lower for sleeping and a sideways for cleaning their eyes!! pc: RShanker

Minutes later we are lighting up a sleeping beauty, a Kingfisher! Such a profusion of vibrant colors, on one so tiny! Most amazing of all, tiptoe on our stilled boat, we’re clicking from just about 3-4 feet!! This black night, just floating downstream, by the jungle and under the stars, was already special… But sneaking into their bedrooms (guide, how do you spot them?!!) and peeking at these birds, fast asleep or wide awake, from arms distance, makes this a once-in-a-lifer!

A beautiful stork billed kingfisher! At the dead of night, this is a bird asleep, and so soundly asleep it let us get almost 3 feet of it without being disturbed – despite being in the torch spotlight, and cameras clicking in rapid succession!

Cruising again next morning, still looking for orangutans, we find this huge crocodile, where we’d paused last night!! Whoa! There are crocs here?! “Yes! Borneo’s fairly infamous for killer crocodile attacks…!” Holy crocamolie!! So last night could easily have been a once-upon-a-timer?! The calm waters held more dangers swirling beneath, than the jungles on the banks! Icicles drip down my spine! Yet… isn’t this the lesson of the jungle?! That the Beauty and the Beast dwell alongside, separated by a flimsy thread, and that neither can be taken for granted…!

The Kinabatangan and other waters are infested with Saltwater and Borneo crocodiles. These are among the largest of the crocodile species, and the most aggressive. They are top predators and are known to prey on any animal within reach. Their conservation status is “Least Concern”. Crocodile attacks, often fatal, are common in Borneo.

Just then we get such a bounty of sightings — a heron, an egret, hornbills, macaques… my fears vanish like a toddler’s on getting treats! Like everything, there’s no order nor spacing — many show up all together, and then maybe none! It’s just as it should be — wild, unpredictable.

Crab Eating Macaques, grooming, resting…gossiping?! 🙂 Despite their name, they don’t typically consume a diet only of crabs. They’re known to be opportunist omnivores, eating a variety of plants and animals.

The river is unhurried, winding at times under canopies of green… realms of warm serenity. We’re still keenly looking out, for you know who…! But what I’ll carry back is this — idly floating along, watching the jungle, her inhabitants… at home, at lunch, at play… going about their typical day! And though somewhere just beyond our sight, there’s much grinning and back slapping, Orangutans, I no longer feel slighted nor taunted… You are a creature of the wild, and when (if!) you fancy, you’ll grace us with a grin, face to face!

The Purple Heron is a wading bird from the Heron family. These birds in the south east Asian habitats don’t need to migrate, and are primarily sedentary. Along the Kinabatangan river, their population has increased tremendously in recent years!

Our story remains one of non success— but is it really?! As we leave, our hearts are brimming with precious moments gathered. And this mix of emotions — on one hand, we feel humbled, small, insignificant. Contrarily, we also feel the weight of being the hugely transforming factor, exploiting, degrading rapidly, most often heedlessly… 

The Great Egret, a common bird along rivers, stalk their prey by standing still or wading silently for long periods, till unsuspecting fish or other small animals like mice, amphibeans, come within reach of its long bills. One snap, and the prey is usually devoured whole!

A foray into the wild is to sense the tango eternal, the rhythm universal. It is the renewal of a connection. Of understanding again how delicate and fragile is the web intertwining all of life’s forms. Of realizing that the impish grin of our cousin’s babe — be it human, or just one pair of chromosomes apart — both hang in balance on the harmonious, sustainable cohabitation of this planet, our one and only home.

Floating along river Kinabatangan… Flanked by dense forests, often meandering under verdant canopies.

Note: Unless otherwise credited, all pictures belong to the blogger DistantBeckons

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42 Responses

    1. Thank you Swati, so happy you liked this. Yes the pictures please me too, and they tell more than half the story! Thanks so much!

  2. I could actually visualize the jungle and every leaf! Wow! You write so well literally describing every single change in scene in minute detail. I knew when she stopped to understand where each wild life stood camouflaged amongst the wild jungle growth, as the river meandered through the same.

    1. Thank you so much Aniruddha! I must give credit to your powers of visualizing rather than my descriptions, you are too kind! Thank you for stopping by!

  3. Very beautifully crafted and written blog. It transported me to a kinder (perhaps gentler) world of creatures big and small. Loved the photos, especially of the baby orangutan and proboscis monkeys. Why no photo of the jungle lodge ? Keep your blog posts coming as you travel to different parts of the world – post Covid 19

    1. Thank you so much, Manashi, so glad to have you along on this jungle ride. That’s a great suggestion, I didn’t think of putting a pic of the jungle lodge per se, let me see if I can dig up one. Yes let’s hope the world opens up again for safe and healthy travel, thank you for your wishes!

  4. You saved a trip to me becoz I travelled each part while reading. It’s amazing blog as always. Keep writing.

    1. Thank you so much Anu, so happy you traveled along!! I hope that you won’t skip a trip to Borneo, just by reading… When things open up again, these jungles will be well worth the wait! Thanks so much 😍

  5. An excellent adventure article, may I suggest to send the article t National Geograhy for publication.
    You mesmerized us to travel and ride with you in the Nature.Our kudos

    1. Thank you so much Dr Sur! Your suggestion is high praise indeed, I treasure it! For me that itself is as amazing as getting noticed by NatGeo! 🙏🏽 Thank you for ever encouraging me on!

  6. Beautiful pics …. at first I thought they were from a wild life magazine 😊…. well narrated too 👍

    1. Thank you so much Dhunji! That’s high praise indeed for my pics, so happy you liked them! Thank you, and do browse by again!

  7. Your description is like me watching a movie of your adventure!!! Love it & this place will be in my bucket list. Thank you for sharing your adventure!

    1. Thank you so much Ann!! Definitely add to your bucket list, Borneo is so worth it! I rely a lot more on your imagination than my words to bring it all to life, but I’m glad if this piece helped spur your visualizing! 🤗 Thanks a lot!

  8. As usual I was with you on the journey – you are so talented and amazing to bring the jungle night and it inhabitants to life – beautifully written – I could feel the humidity. I have been to Sarawak – Kuching and on a jungle walk while on the hash house harriers run but didn’t see all the stuff you did – too busy holding on to vines and keeping my footing – thank you for sharing with us

    1. Thank you so much Geeta!! It’s so much easier and fun to relate to a place one has been to!! Would love to exchange notes with you! Sarawak – Kuching also provide possibilities of seeing orangutans, but I’m guessing they eluded you all too! 😅😅 Let’s go back someday together!! Thanks a lot!

  9. Awesome!!!! I was transported to the jungles of Borneo & felt all the emotions that you must have experienced, when you were actually walking through the jungles& the canoe ride.
    I love all your travel blogs. I get to see the world through your writings.
    Keep them coming.💖💖

    1. Thank you so much Vibha!! You’re always so partially kind to my efforts, keeps me going! Walking and floating down river is good , but getting your reactions, thoughts makes writing about it all the more fun!! Thank you so much!!

  10. I felt I was part of your magical, most fascinating adventure!

    You write so beautifully, every sentence made me feel.- I was present, & I such loved some of your phrase.
    Love & good wishes.
    May you kep on travelling.

    1. Thank you so much Ayesha!! I loved that you joined me on this travel, wish we could sail away on a trip for real!! Knowing your love for Nature and the great outdoors, I can see how this resonated with you… I’m glad I could bring it to you. Thank you, and cheers to your wonderful wish!!

  11. Once again, you are weaving travel magic, putting Borneo on my bucket list! Your gift is Covid Defying Virtual travel!

    1. Thank you so much!! That was a good one: covid defying virtual travel! 😉 😉 So very happy you enjoyed this one, and yes definitely put it on your bucket list!! I’d be tempted to revisit with y’all, for all you know I’ll get to meet the orangutans!! 🙂 Thank you for sharing the thoughts!

    1. Thank you so very much!! So glad you enjoyed this piece, the pictures and the writings! Yet it’s a discerning and interested reader that “goes” there, thank you for being that kind of reader!

  13. awesome! it was like being there. and such a vast informative description of the wildness. crocomolie it was a shiver journey! thank u for taking us there!

    1. Thank you so much Deepa!! So glad you enjoyed it, loved your “being there”! Yes indeed seeing the croc in the very same place was quite the shiver, even in retrospect!! So happy you paused by!

    1. Thank you so much Rashmi!! Kind words indeed, puts me squarely on cloud 9! Spurs me to do more, and try to do better… thanks,I’m so happy you’re journeying along!

    1. Thank you so much Mr Shroff!! I’m so glad you browsed by here, and enjoyed a virtual trip. I hope I will be able to take you along to other places too, with further posts. Thank you so much!🙏🏽🤗

  16. As I always say, you are in the wrong profession my friend. You weave magic with your words and your camera. You take us along with you on these journeys to distant lands. You brought the jungle and its inhabitants alive. I felt your excitement, fear, awe, sense of wonder, everything along with you. Keep the wanderlust and the storytelling on. Thank you so much for sharing…

    1. Thank you so much Supriya!!! Loved it so much that you felt a resonance with all my emotions on the journey!! That meant the world to me! This sentiment is precious food for a wannabe blogger, it spurs me on despite all my internal misgivings.😅💕 Thank you so much for taking the time to make a difference 🙏🏽

    1. Thank you so much!! Yes indeed, I echo every frustrated sigh, this pandemic has had us on hold for ever so long!! But am so glad you got a short virtual getaway from this post. For all our sakes, I wish you’ll be able to answer the call of the wild soon, so we can exchange notes, and travel again. Thank you again, so happy you paused by here!

  18. Mesmerising! Your way with words is something else! Each and every time I read your posts, I am lifted gently on the wings of your words and transported to faraway lands, to be a part of whichever destination you take me to. Amazing blogs. Thank you for all these wonderful journeys!

    1. Thank you so much Anjali!! Wow!! I soared on the wings you gifted me!! Such an amazing feeling I got reading your high praise, I’m still feeling giddy!! And from a lyrical writer like you!! Thank you dear, your kind encouraging words make a world of difference, and perhaps you, being a writer, know how critical that is to us! 💕💕🙏🏽

    1. Thank you so much Dane!! I’m pleased as punch you stopped by here, and enjoyed some color and excitement!! Your pausing to let me know, equally brought me joy and that added spring to my step. I’m all the colors of a rainbow now! Thank you, dear friend!

  20. Superb!
    “The sun’s gathered all his cloud cronies to chorus a rousing welcome, and the river beams, mirroring the sentiment”. Ye that sentiment… that reflects and percolates through all your posts, a rhythm that resonates so easily with the readers.

    1. Thank you so much!! Your using my line, to capture an essence of my writing that you noticed, has meant more to me than my original line by itself!!! 💕🙏🏽 Also your being on this journey with me, through the various posts it appears, is something that I cherish deeply. I’m in your debt, thank you!🙏🏽

    1. Thank you so much dear Anjana!! I’m feeling extra high that a nature-lover and traveler like you enjoyed this. And your wish, my command!! Now if I “keep ’em coming”, don’t blame me! 😅 Thanks a lot, your encouragement is soul-nourishing! 🙏🏽

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