English Tea House & Borneo Jungle Mon2 - Fri6 Feb09
Yes, I paid a visit to the English Tea House. It is a restaurant on top of a hill overlooking Sandakan. I had shoulder of lamb Malaysian style, a bit tough but fully compensated by superb sauce. Then blueberry and Lychee crumble with custard, yes custard, delicious. They also make an excellent cup of tea (a rarity out here). Chatted with Michelle the waitress who has worked there since it opened 7 years ago and has 4 children, all girls.
Now I am going to Bilit Lodge on the edge of the Knabatangan River in the rainforest/jungle with Ray and his wife Hamdia, who is very pretty. Hamdia was brought up just down river from the Lodge and will stay with her mother who still lives there. On the way we stop for lunch at the restaurant in Sepilok Jungle Resort and I meet Ray's 'big boss', John Lin who is also a local leader. He is getting ready to travel to Sandakan Airport to be a part of the delegation to meet The Sultan of Brunei who, with his family, is paying a visit to the area. The authorities have put up thousands of flags to welcome them.
Next we have a 2 and half hours drive, through mainly Palm Oil plantations, to the bank of the Knabatangan River. Now we are deep in the rainforest. There are many trees here and it is raining. We cross the river in a small totally open motor boat which has planks of wood across it to seat 8. There are only 3 of us plus bags so plenty of room. The Lodge is a series of timber buildings joined by a long raised wooden walkway under which there is a lot of water overflowing from the river. Right next to the edge of the river is the dining area with wooden tables and benches and very welcome tea and coffee. Everything is built on stilts but the water is not far from the bottom of some of the walkways and the ground floor of a storage building. All of the people here are very happy and friendly. There are boatmen, guides, the cook, cleaners and general helpers. Some of their wives and children are there sometimes, making it a family atmosphere. This is a great place to be.
However it is raining. February is between the rainy winter season and dry summer so we are a bit unlucky but press on anyway with the trips. First we go down river in the same boat, me and Ray, 2 Swedish girls and 2 grey-haired Italian guys. This river is 530 km long and about 100 metres wide just here. It is quite fast flowing with much debris, logs and other bits of trees whizzing by. In the trees we see 2 families of Long Tailed Macaques, 2 families of Proboscis Monkeys and a Pygmy Borneo Elephant (the monkeys were in the trees, not the elephant). It is raining so didn't take many photos but got a few good ones. Then back to Bilit Lodge for dinner, basic Malaysian but very tasty and welcome. I chat to the girls, they are 22 and 26 and on a six month self organised tour of Asia. Their next stop is Bali.
Next day we are up and ready at 6am. Sadly the Swedish girls have departed, they arrived a day earlier than us. This time the boat goes up river and turns off into a very narrow waterway into the jungle. We dodge branches and vines, going very slowly, we eventually get to a large lake called Oxbow because it is shaped like an ox's horns. Around the lake we see more Macaques in small groups in the trees, also a Serpent Eagle and several Snake Birds (they have long necks). Going back through the waterway, we have to duck under a very large spider waiting for prey in the middle of it's web. Back to the river and the Lodge for breakfast.
For our second trip today, we go upriver again but this time we are dropped of on the bank and have to walk for an hour to the lake. Led by Ray, then me and the 2 Italians and a helper bringing up the rear. Well, it is very wet and muddy. We have all hired wellies and leech proof socks but the mud and water is up to the tops of our boots. Ray looses a boot 3 times finding the best route, stuck in the mud. At one point, he can't find a way around a large puddle with thick jungle either side, so he cuts down a tree (he has a very sharp knife, they were headhunters until quite recently in this area) and lays it across the puddle and we have to balance across it. Along the way we see huge millipedes, long thin ones maybe 30 cm/1 ft long and short fat ones 2 inches diameter. They are not edible. More spiders, and we have to keep checking for leeches. They can jump apparently, can be small or quite large and they feed on your blood. You feel a sharp prick when they start. When we got to the lake we all had to take our shirts off to check for leeches, so was sorry the Swedish girls weren't there for me to assist them in this task. I had 4, all on my clothes fortunately, although one of them is in my pocket and was attached to my camera. You have to pull really hard to get them off. Now we have a picnic lunch on a timber platform by the lake, vegetable rice, chicken and fish. I chat to the Italians, I think they are a couple, they have been travelling the world for 25 years, six months travelling, six months working to pay for it. Next onto the boat for the trip back to the Lodge and free time which I use to catch up on some sleep.
The third boat trip today (5th in all including the first river crossing), we go down river. It is still raining, heavily now, and the Italians decide to give this one a miss but we have 2 young girls, children of Lodge workers, with us. We see more Proboscis and Macaque monkeys and get very wet! Then dinner and an early night. We have a 5am departure time tomorrow, extra early because we have heard that there is a bridge down on the road back to Sandakan.
Next morning, Ray, Hamdiah and me are collected by the boatman (the same one throughout, a great guy, always happy and helpful). By now, much of the walkway, the landing stage and the ground floor of the store are all under water. We board the boat from a higher part of the walkway, the boat having been brought in across what should be land. We are taken across the now very swollen river to the car which fortunately is a 4x4, and make good time until we get to the stationery queue back from the broken bridge not far from Sandakan. I need to get to the airport for my flight back to Kuala Lumpur and there is obviously no way we are going to get the car through to the broken bridge, let alone across it. So Ray organises someone to meet us on the other side, we get my bags and walk! The bridge is easy to walk across, in fact the 4x4 could have made it but might have done more damage in the process. We meet the other car, where I have to say a sad farewell to Ray and Hamdiah and I am driven to Sandakan Airport.
Now I am in Bangkok on the way back to England. My 6 week trip is nearly over. I am looking forward to seeing everyone again, especially Leon.
All the Best,
John
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