Part 49: The Orang-utans.....
I woke up in the cramped dorm to the welcome sight of this inconsiderate, and hugely annoying girl packing her mess up and checking out.
She was in her own world, making noise with out any awareness of her surroundings all through the night, completely oblivious to the fact that this was supposed to be a shared dorm, and that people were trying to sleep.
It was a really uncomfortable night with no air con. She hid the remote!!
Had this girl not been leaving, then I most certainly would have said something to her.
Also there was a horrendous rain storm all night which still had not relented. It wasn't the best nights sleep for me.
I felt the anger leave my body as this wretchedly inconsiderate creature left the room - and good bloody riddance!!
Anyway the complimentary breakfast of eggs, toast, jam, butter, tea and and coffee was simple, but most welcome and cheered me up. A free meal is a good meal.
I used the day to gather as much information on treks and climbs up Mount Kinabalu that I could. Discovering that being alone here was a distinct disadvantage, with single supplement costs increasing the price of the climb. In some instances paying double the cost!
My only option, other than pay the supplements, were to find groups to hike with. But based on what my first impressions of the travellers were here, this would most definitely prove to be a challenge.
There was no way I wanted to miss out on the 3 day trek, so I set out in the pouring wind and rain to check other tour companies.
It was illegal to climb the mountain without a permit, and its not the kind of climb you can just show up and attempt alone.
I enjoyed wandering in and out of the agencies gathering info and comparing prices, but it was clear that unless I teamed with other adventurers, this would be completely out of my price range.
There were so many tour agencies who all told me the same things.
As you know I'm not a fan of these coach load of tourists on excursions, but the public transport links are not the best making it difficult to go alone.
In the meantime, I found a cool cafe to take cover from the rain and contemplate my options, whilst sitting there watching the typhoon wreak havoc outside - it was thundering down!
Affectionately known as KK or 'Api Api' by the locals here, Kota Kinabalu is a growing city of around 500,000 inhabitants which lies by the coast overlooking the South China Sea on a narrow flatland and occasional hills, which in the distance hosts Mount Kinabalu.
I am told its quite some sight even though I had yet to see it through the rain clouds.
Since it was still highly unlikely I could climb the mountain at this moment in time, not only because the expense, but the wet weather too.
I instead decided to book a visit to see the baby Orang-utan sanctuary and the bizarre looking proboscis monkeys in their natural habitat the following day. I'd got the idea after speaking to a really friendly guy called Don at an agency who gave me some useful advice and offered to take me on a trip for a good price, or compared to some of the other tour companies it was.
But right now, the rain was getting progressively worse, and with the weather this bad, there really wasn't an awful lot to do - so I headed back to the hostel for the rest of the evening, where not a lot had changed with the guests there either.
Still, for what ever reason, nobody was much interested in conversation apart from the eccentric Canadian man on the run from the authorities.
The next day I was picked up by Don and another English couple in a small hatch back car, the typhoon had stopped, but not with out leaving a huge trail of damage. Trees were blown over, advertising boards wrecked, and roofs blown off - I couldn't believe the aftermath, it was quite a shock!
The drive to Shangri La Orang-utan sanctuary was pleasant, especially as we left the city. The forests and mountains were picturesque, when the sky began to clear, and It was at that moment I saw mount Kinabalu for the first time as the clouds broke in the distance.
Towering above all the surrounding mountains, it was unmistakable, almost godly, and WHAT a sight it was!
Apart from feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, it made me want to climb this magnificent mountain even more.
Don explained the Malays believe they go to the mountain after they die, and had a huge spiritual significance to its people.
I was just staring at it, thinking to myself, one way or another I had to climb mount K and couldn't help trying to compare it to the other mountains I'd climbed so far in Asia.
But travel is not always about beating one experience or comparing, it is about savouring each moment as it is presented to you, and thats what I am learning to do.
Shortly after we arrived at Shangri la rehabilitation centre, I was beginning to feel the excitement at spending time with the orang-utans.
The Sanctuary was in the nature reserve attached to the Rasa Ria resort, which is a feeder to the more famous, but far more touristy Sepilok orangutan sanctuary 6 hours away on the east coast of Sabah. I very much liked how they limited the number of visitors here.
We watched a small introductory film, learning Orphaned baby orang-utans go through their first stage of rehabilitation here before being returned to Sepilok for the second and final stage.
The rangers are doing all they can here at Shangri la to teach them how to survive in the wild, rescuing the orphaned babies from poachers and habitat destroyers, shockingly hunting them for their orange furs!! As if these incredible creatures aren't endangered enough.
After the presentation video, we were led on a short walk through the forest towards a wooden viewing platform, just in time for feeding.
The nature reserve is within the forest and they could wander off and do their own thing if they chose to, which I loved.
Soon as the food came out, the baby orang-utans were not far behind.
They were a little tentative at first, but they seemed happy to hang upside down, playfully showing off to us as we watched from a platform inside their jungle home - it was adorable.
There was a little fracas as they fiercely protected their food from scavenger long tailed macaque monkeys who were very clever in staging their food raids.
I could have happily watched these adorable babies all day, but after a good hour and several pictures later we made our way back to the car for the next part of the day, to find the proboscis monkeys.
This was a further hour away in the car, almost 130km from Kota Kinabalu and a wonderful place near Garama village, where we were taken on a tranquil river side cruise through the jungle, in a narrow motorised boat on search for the odd, and equally remarkable proboscis monkeys in the wild.
In order to take a closer look we trekked the last section on foot through the forest.
Don instructed us to make no sudden movements or noise to startle the monkeys and to tread carefully.
This was a wonderful experience, searching for them in their complete natural habitat tiptoeing through the trees.
These primates can be really unpredictable, and I did not really know what to expect if we encountered any, but after walking quiet a while deeper into the mangrove forest, avoiding large crab holes, sadly we did not see them.
It was time to head back to the boat and sail a little further down the river to see if we would have more luck.
To my left were a pair of waterside houses with young children swimming in the river, and then to my right, high in the trees, finally we spotted the proboscis monkeys, one of the oddest looking creatures I've seen.
The locals call them the 'dutchman' here, so named after the Dutch colonisers many years ago, for their similarly large noses and bellies.
Protected by law in all regions of Borneo, these endangered species can only be found on the island living in groups, consisting of a highly sexed and dominant alpha male with up to 10 females.
Behind us on the river, the sun was just beginning to set, and directly ahead, was mount Kinabalu, this was a truly fantastic setting - an experience which Don told me to savour.
We slowly drifted back to the rivers edge where a delicious barbecue feast awaited us of grilled fish, chicken, rice, fruit, sweet potato and Sabah tea.
The company was wonderful, listening to Don tell us stories of the tribes, legends and surrounding areas. His personality was so infectious the kind of person you could just listen to for hours.
By now it was pitch black, with the distinctive cries of the monkeys and wildlife prominent in the background, but the day was not over yet.
We got back into the car for another drive further down the river bank where yet another boat await us. This time a longer and more traditional boat once more took us gently down the river in the darkness.
Don began flashing a small green torch light upwards, and then out of nowhere hundreds of fire flies filled the air. They illuminated and glowed in the darkness all around us, and in the distance you could hear the islamic call to prayer from a nearby mosque, it was a quite spellbinding moment as I looked on all around me.
We continued to drift for a while. The cloudy night time sky was perfect, covering up the moon light - the darker the better apparently.
Very much reminiscent of a planetarium with the fire flies resembling twinkling stars.
The boatman again made his way back to the rivers edge, and a really friendly chap handed us a fresh coconut each.
What a great end to this nature filled and educational day.
It was saddened to learn of the endangered species, but I was satisfied that the rangers and authorities here, were doing all they could to protect them from poachers.
They were in safe hands.
My mind boggles at the very thought of why anyone in their right mind would hunt, or poach something so precious.
When Don dropped me back off at the Hostel later that evening, several new backpackers had checked in.
This was my chance find a group of adventurers.