We had made plans about how we would get to Sepilok before leaving for Mount Kinabalu . At the time the 6am taxi ride seemed fine but when the alarm went off at 5am it really wasn't welcome. We were both exhausted but to make it worse neither of us could walk properly. We managed to sort ourselves out though and made it in plenty of time to the local bus station. The second we got out we were hounded by people asking where we were going and trying to get us to their kiosk. Luckily we already had an idea of the company to use and went straight for their desk. Within minutes our bags were safely on the bus and we could settle down for the 6 hour bus ride.

We planned to stay in Sepilok which is the home for the Sepilok Orangutan sanctuary. The problem with this is that there is no official bus stop. When we came close the man on the bus came up and told us to get ready. We then pulled up at a roundabout and jumped out. The bus quickly sped off leaving us on the side of the road in the baking heat . Luckily there was only one road and so we started to walk but we then saw a man waving at us shouting 'taxi'. He offered a sensible price and so we jumped in and he took us off to our resort - the Sepilok Forest Edge Resort.

Here is where things become complicated. In our heads our booking made perfect sense. There was a variety of accommodation including a hostel and chalets. We had agreed to spend the first night in the hostel and then move to a nice chalet the next day to celebrate David's 30th birthday (my treat). This was clearly too hard for the staff to understand. First they demanded we give them a hostel voucher (we didn't have this considering we don't have a printer and most places we have been don't offer printing), then they said we had missed our booking and we should have arrived a day earlier. I kindly try to explain that they were mistaken and asked if I could use the computer in front of them to access my email booking and show them the dates. They seemed determined to ignore this simple solution and told us there was no booking for the chalet either and they were fully booked. At this point I did become slightly mad considering they had already insisted I pay the full amount in advance. Again I offered to open the email with the attached booking document. After what seemed an enormous waste of time the owner gave us a key for the hostel so off we went but when we got there it was a twin room. By this point I have to admit I went slightly crazy but I think it was a combo of lack of sleep, painful stiff legs and that they were messing up my plans for David's birthday. Equally a twin would have been fine but now it was the principal I was fighting for. So I dragged David and our bags back to the owner and calmly insisted that the situation was not acceptable. Suddenly she produced a key for the chalet and asked us to stay in the chalet the first night and then switch to the hostel which was all she could suggest considering we had no booking!!!!!!! A few deep breaths on my part and we headed off to the chalet which was lovely and actually did work out better in the end than the original plan.

We decided it was time to just relax and so we spent the afternoon eating, drinking and then decided to head to the pool. I was a little bit unsure of this given the huge storm clouds above but we went anyway. Sure enough within 10 minutes the heavens opened and it was pouring but David quite happily kept swimming despite the storm. This was fine for a few minutes but we realised it wasn't going to stop and we were stuck. We were packing up debating about trying to run on our useless legs when a girl from the bar appeared with 2 large umbrellas to rescue us as she was worried we were going to get sick. Back in the chalet we dried off and got ready for dinner before a ridiculously early night.

The next day we had only a 10 minute walk to reach the Orangutan sanctuary but this was still a very warm, sweaty trip at 9am. The centre runs around the feeding times with one in the morning at 11am. We joined the massive crowds of people from the tours and waited in the stifling heat. Orangutan literally means "man of the jungle" (Orang is malay for man and Utan means jungle). From a distance one of the ropes starting to bounce, then a few trees started swaying and suddenly an orangutan cartwheeled along the rope to land on the feeding platform. Soon he was joined by about 4-5 others and we sat and watched as they ate and played eventually getting bored and disappearing into the jungle again - or so we thought! We were left behind with a few others watching some black jungle squirrels eating the leftovers before making our way back to the start. On turning the corner a massive crowd had stopped on the walkway then from within it we heard a guide calmly shout 'walk the other way' and then suddenly screaming 'quickly move now'. Then we saw it, a large male orangutan had jumped onto the boardwalk and was chasing them. We moved aside to let the crowd pass but David and I got separated and I stupidly walked into a dead end and was joined by a french women. Unfortunately we were also joined by the orangutan! I kept zigzaging to get out of his way whilst slightly panicking but the poor frenchwoman was grabbed on the leg. No harm was done but she kept shouting 'help me, help me please' only no one did - not even the guides! Eventually I escaped and he let go and everyone quickly headed for the exit. There we encountered two more hanging about in the low trees. After some time we decided to leave and I went to get my bag from the locker (you are not allowed to take anything in except cameras). As I went to get my bag the women on the desk shouted at me, I turned and the orangutan had jumped on the rail behind me, this time I squeeled and ran out without my bag. We waited while a guide came and distracted him far enough for me to go back. I am sure they are not that dangerous and wouldn't harm but equally I wasn't willing to wait and see! We were lucky though the guides said that this had been one of the best close encounters for tourists for some time.

After a quick drink to recover we decided to walk the short distance along the road to the rainforest discovery centre (RDC). This should have taken 20 minutes. It was on the flat but by this time it was midday and easily felt about 35 degrees. However about 40 minutes later we realised we could see the roundabout where we had originally been picked up by the taxi. Something had gone wrong and we really couldn't work out why. We turned around but by now the heat and our silly stiff legs were taking its toll and on we went in silence. Finally we came across the entrance. From this direction there were numerous signs etc and it was obvious so we walked back turned to work out what happened and there was nothing in the other direction. Oh well!

The RDC is a research centre in the rainforest with lots of walks and a canopy skywalk. We walked around for a short while but soon quit and found a taxi back to the chalet. We then spent the entire afternoon and evening in the bar drinking and eating whilst a huge thunderstorm raged for hours. I told the staff it was David's birthday and then the waitress came over with a bowl of chocolate ice cream and a candle and we both sang happy birthday whilst his face went bright red, brillant!

The next day we decided to head to Sandakan, a town about 25km from Sepilok but a much easier place to catch a bus from. We decided to go there via the proboscis monkey sanctuary. It is actually impossible to get there without a taxi or on a tour. It is based within a large private palm plantation. The proboscis monkeys live within a small area of mangrove left behind. This put extreme pressure on them for food and water and eventually they ventured into the plantation grounds causing chaos. The owners then decided to protect the remaining mangrove and form a sanctuary where they offer the monkeys additional food in the form of sugar-less pancakes. This is vital considering proboscis monkeys can only be found in Borneo.

We drove into the sanctuary along bumpy dirt tracks and came to a feeding platform. There were a few other tourists but nothing like the Orangutan sanctuary. We stood quietly watching the trees and soon monkeys crept closer and closer but finally decided it was safe and came by the dozen including babies! We both preferred this experience in the end.

When we had finished we headed to nearby Sandakan. In reality there is not much to say about it (or do). We went for a walk and headed towards the one main attraction of Agnes Keith's house. She was a famous novelist who lived in NE Borneo with her husband from 1930s. Her husband worked for the forestry commission. She wrote several novels the most famous of which is "three came home". This explains her experience of life in a Japanese POW camp in Borneo during WW2. This was later made into a film. Her husband's efforts were also celebrated when the largest flower in the world (found in Borneo) was named after him - Rafflesia keithii.

We both loved her house and would certainly like something similar if we ever lived in a tropical country and had lots of money. Anyway for those who have been to Borneo or are thinking of going we would highly recommend her books (we bought two of them to read).

After the house we relaxed in an "English teahouse" in the grounds with a cream tea whilst looking out over the bay.

The next day we were heading back to Kota Kinabalu to continue on to Mulu National Park. More to come soon.

Thank you for all the messages, we love reading them so keep them coming!

Lots of love

David and Brenda xxx