The jungle….

Touching down to a humid Malaysian Borneo, we had two days in the capital, Kota Kinubulu to book as much of Borneo as we could. We discovered that this was one country where planning from abroad was impossible- no emails were ever answered and it seems that all the tour operators have bought up allocations. Still, nothing beats local info and with local info filling in the gaps and adding colour to the words in Lonely Planet, we booked two stints in the rainforest, split up by a splurge of diving on a Maldives looking island.

There really is nothing to say about KK (Kota Kinubulu). Bombed to bits in WWII it is just a place to trade and move on. With half a day to spare we took O to a 'cultural' village showing how folk used to live in 'the olden days of Borneo'. H and J cringed their way around, but O loved it as he had a go at a blow-pipe!!.... and a catapult!!

The one really interesting, yet gruesome part was the 'house of skulls' where 42 skulls hung in the rafters, trophies of the tribesman, Monsopiad, obviously an avid headhunter! Some traditions are happily lost! There were displays of the costumes worn by the Babunas (Think that's the right spelling), the local Shamans. Shamans' in this tribe were always Women and the last one to practice in this community died in 1986. Not that long ago really considering we were only 10 miles from the capital city, not in the heart of the jungle!

Flight to Laha Datu early - up at 04.45 to get plane at 7am. The flight was breathtaking - passingMount Kinabulu's craggy top, over jungle and sadly Borneo's shame, the palm tree plantations.

Met at LD for a bone-rattling journey into the jungle, joined by two utterly charming and very funny dutch chaps. The trip into Tabin wildlife reserve was heart-breaking as to get to see a rainforest we had vista upon vista of palm groves as far as the eye could see. Occasionally a clearing would appear where scarred land met us, terraces being gouged out of the hills in preparedness for more palms - beautiful ancient rainforest lay chopped up ready for the loggers. Statistics that half of Borneo's rainforest has been lost still do not prepare you for it..

Tabin reserve nestled in a small valley just off a logging road. The rainforest is one side of the road, palm trees to the other. A huge (very expensive to dig) ditch ran alongside the palm side which we discovered later was dug to keep the rare pygmy rhinos out of the palms - arecent shooting by the plantation of a rhino had led to the agreement of the ditch being built …… such is the value of the palm oil!

So, Tabin -hidden 'huts' dotted through the forest, along the river and up wooden walkways along the valley top. A sort of tree-house experience. A walk followed after a quick cuppa - a slightly nervous H and J decided to go this one 'en famille' to see how O would cope with the jungle…. And they could not have been more pleased - he seemed to take to being in the forest like a duck to water - guess all those trips to Ashridge paid off - why should a humid forest should be any different to a 4 year old? Immediate pig-tail monkey sightings and lots of bugs later, famille Gerry returned to lodge, via bush near restaurant where we were shown a pit viper happily lazing on the leaves (Cue to H not to scream her head off as she hates snakes!!!) a few cuppas again and then off for a bone-rattling drive in an open air 4WD. This was rather more pleasing than the walk!!So far, so good -no leaches!Our guide, Manin was wonderful - 'eagle eyes' as he was known really did have the knack for sightings. Lots of birds, monkeys, bugs, but really (for us) the best part was just being in the jungle. The smells are wonderful, the sounds extraordinary. And it was helped off course to have a 4 year old who behaved impeccably and really added to the experience with the zeal at sightings that only a child can have. (Think Dutch chaps must have sighed a huge relief that their imposed teaming up with a 4 year old turned out to be a bonus).Return to lodge to sleep as we were by now very tired. Plans for J to head off on a night drive whilst H and O stayed in the lodge were scuppered as H and J were heavily canvassed by an eager O as to why he should not be left out. (Maybe a lawyer in the making?). As luck would have it, the Dutch guys ducked out so the Gerrys had a guide and driver to themselves. To say it was a fabulous experience is an understatement. The clearest stars set against the backdrop of huge trees, the deafening sounds of the forest, wild pigs, porcupines, squirrels, owls…. All enjoyed and returned to lodge happy … and exhausted!!

Up early (6am) for walk to a mud volcano. Having rained heavily the previous afternoon, leach socks were donned (see pics for stylish forest fashion!!). 4 mud volcanoes exist in Tabin - only one of them active so lucky us headed for this one. To be honest it was a bit boring - ok - said it!The mud bubbled tiny bubbles which one fellow tourist insisted on photographing for nearly an hour for the 'perfect bubble'. Add to this the twitcher couple we were to meet later on and we realized that we were very low down on the bug/bird spotting ladder!! Fortunately for us, Dutch chaps were PLUs so we had a few giggles with them laughing at the twitchers!! One such moment when male twitcher yelled feverishly 'STOP THE CAR….BACK UP'after a supposed sighting of a bird never seen before by his trained eyes, only for Dutch chap to say 'I think it looks like a turkey? No?'.The thing is, we think he was right!

One more afternoon and night drive - all of which were wonderful and still thoroughly enjoyed by O who had now teamed up with Dorice to find the birds in her book - being allowed to stand up in an open top moving car of course helped Os fun enormously.A walk to a gorgeous waterfall and a swim in its not-so clear water was fun - Dorice went beyond the call of duty, giving O a piggyback across two rivers. Tears really were had by O when we left the next day - he has enjoyed seeing the pictures in his rainforest book come to life! H and J left too with a very warm feeling for this place and its staff.

But can't leave Tabin without another J rant about the devastation of Malaysia and Borneo by the wretched palm tree. I know economists will tell me it rescues the local economy and sociologists that it ups the standard of living of those umpteen locals employed in the industry. BUT…surely these are tactical issues that an alert world could help solve in myriad alternative ways, without allowing the strategic disaster of the disappearance of the rain forest. I am not exaggerating…. As we drove down the west coast of the Malaysian Peninsula, I really thought the country had been renamed Sime Darby, so many times did that corporate name feature at the front of plantation after plantation.

I feel pretty helpless to do anything about it but I will find out what products use palm oil and endeavor not to buy them…….otherwise I guess it's Greenpeace and the like! Hear hear from H!