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Kinabalu Balsam

Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden of Kinabalu Park

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Kinabalu Park has one of the richest assemblage of flora in the world, with an estimate of 5,000 to 6,000 vascular plant species that cover the habitat from warm lowland forest up to cold alpine mountain zone inside a park area of 754 KM2. Though Kinabalu Park has become the most popular destination of Sabah, most tourists can’t even name 3 plant after a trip there. A short visit to its Botanical Garden will improve their travel experience considerably when they learn the wonders of our flora kingdom.


Pic: Kinabalu Park is an UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its mega flora diversity. Now it’s a Unesco Global Geopark too.

“The interest, and uniqueness of Kinabalu lies largely with its mountain flora.” -van Steenis, plant geographer


Pic: Liwagu Restaurant


Pic: the direction sign to Mountain Garden

Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden (a.k.a. Mountain Garden) is completely concealed by dense trees and pretty much neglected by tourists. The “secret” entrance is located in the wood between Liwagu Restaurant and Kinabalu Hall (Dewan Kinabalu). Just follow a small trail to the forest from road side and look for the direction sign. Some locals may have visited the park a dozen time, but they never discover this garden. Like my father, he was so surprised to see this “hidden garden” and didn’t know it has existed since 1981.


Pic: entrance and ticket counter of Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden

The garden is about 50 Meters away from the sign and you will see the long stairway leading to the entrance and ticket counter. The surrounding here is quiet, in contrast to other park areas full with noisy tourists. I heard many bird’s chirping and squirrels skulking behind the leaves. The air is cooling and refreshing too, as the garden is about 1,520 Meters above sea level, with a mountain stream named Silau-Silau River (the mean temperature of the water is 16°C) running through it.


Pic: layout map of Botanical Garden

The garden is only 1.4 hectares in size and there is a 700 Meters garden trail (see map above) with labels, so you can explore the garden on your own (but not so advisable). I strongly recommend you to join the 1-hour guided tour (at 9am, 12pm and 3pm daily) for a very small fee, or you will be disappointed and give it a thumbs down in TripAdvisor. Even botanists have difficulty to identify 25% of the flora in Kinabalu Park, so normal visitors won’t have much fun if they wander on their own.


Pic: umbrella tree (Species: Araliaceae)

Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden is not only about flowers, it also shows the endemic flora, fruits, ornamental plant, trees, local herbs and other special plant from Kinabalu Park. Though most plants are green, they are not made the same. A guide from Interpretative & Education Unit of Kinabalu Park will provide a 1-hour interpretive walking tour in the garden, in English or Malaysia language (depending on the nationality of the audiences). I forgot the name of my guide. Let’s call her Sumandak here. The first interesting plant that Sumandak presented was an Umbrella Tree, which is used by locals for birth control (female).


The garden trail is paved by concrete and boardwalk. The place looks more like a natural forest than garden. While listening to the guide, we couldn’t help to turn our heads around to appreciate the beautiful lush environment of lower montane forest.


Pic: wild banana tree

There are five wild banana species in Kinabalu Park. Their fruits are edible but contain plenty of oversized seeds, unlike the seedless banana that we buy from supermarket.


Pic: Medinilla Speciosa, with pink pendulous inflorescences

Nicknamed as Showy Asian Grapes, Medinilla Speciosa fruits all year round and its ripe berry (in dark purple) is an important food for birds and wildlife. The fruit is edible with sweet taste and might protect you from eye diseases. Medinilla is also a popular landscaping plant in highland.


It’s an enjoyable experience to hear Sumandak to explain the features of interesting plants. Everything said is in plain English, she didn’t use much scientific names and jargons that only botanists could comprehend (unless you request). You can ask questions too. Many plants are not pretty but very useful. Without an introduction from the guide, you won’t know the awesome things it does. It’s like knowing a new friend who looks low-key from outside but has charming personality.


Then we came to the nursery area of the rarest orchids and pitcher plants of Kinabalu Park. To prevent people to pluck them, the nursery is fenced, but you still can have a good look of them through the wire mesh. These fully protected species are highly sought-after items in black market.


Pic: Low’s slipper orchid (Paphiopedilum lowii) is the only epiphytic slipper orchid of Borneo.

Sabah is well-known among orchid mania, because more than 1,200 orchid species are found in Kinabalu Park. In general, the blooming months for most orchids are between Sep and Dec. However, whatever day you visit, you won’t see them all blooms at the same time.


Pic: Rotchcild’s Slipper Orchid (Paphiopedilum rothschildianum) is the State Flower of Sabah and has many names such as “Aristocrat of all slipper orchids”, Gold of Kinabalu and Sumazau Orchid. It’s endemic to Sabah and a highly endangered species. You have better chance to see it flowering if you visit in Oct or Nov.


Pic: Laughing Orchid (Bulbophyllum lobbii)

When gently shaken by breeze, the moving lip of Laughing Orchid appears like a naughty boy sticking out his tongue repeatedly. Actually the “tongue” is called labellum, which serves as a landing platform for visiting insects (pollinator). The blooming months of Laughing Orchid are Jan, May and Jun.


Pic: The Sexy Lady Orchid or Dancing Lady Orchid (Stikorchis species). I guess you can see how it gets this name lol.


One of the highlight of this tour is sighting of Pinhead Orchid (Podochilus tenuis), the smallest orchid in Borneo (some says it can be the smallest in the world). Its tiny flower is about 2 MM across (note my finger next to it). The funny thing is – it grows on a tree near the entrance but none of us notices it. See, that’s why you need a guide or you will miss many things.

Besides the amazing orchids above, Jewel Orchid (Macodes sp.), Rabbit Orchid (Stikorchis sp.), Necklace Orchid (Coelogyne sp.), Phaius subtrilobus and many other orchids also grow in this garden.


Pic: Begonia has the most variable form of leaves in plant kingdom. Researchers estimate that there should be at least 600 species of Begonia in Borneo but only 194 are scientifically described at present.


Pic: Begonia

Sumandak also showed us some Begonia flowers. There have been many publications about Begonia in recent years because over 50% of Sabah Begonia are unnamed and all Bornean species are endemic. It is an exciting botany territory filled with new discovery and surprise.


Pic: flower buds of Alpinia havilandii, a ginger endemic to Mt. Kinabalu and Crocker Range

Who would relate colorful flower with pungent ginger? I’ve been hiking in many forest of Sabah and always impressed by variety of colors and shapes of ginger flowers in the wild. Without ginger flowers, the view of rainforest will be less spiced up. 30 species of non-edible ginger are planted in Mountain Garden.


Pic: hybrid of Nepenthes lowii and Nepenthes edwardsiana

We entered the pitcher plant section. Suddenly a tour guide broke the silence with a 50-Watt megaphone and introduced a hybrid of Nepenthes lowii and Nepenthes edwardsiana to her tour group. Nepenthes lowii and Nepenthes edwardsiana have highly localized distribution. To see them in the wild, you need to climb Mt. Tambuyukon (a dreadful long climb), so it’s something worth to shout about.


Pic: bloated Nepenthes burbidgeae, the least common species in Kinabalu Park

Pitcher plant (or Monkey Cup) is a peculiar carnivorous plant which traps insects as food. Its genus name, Nepenthes is a Greek word meaning “removing all sorrow” (Go figure). The Mountain Garden has 5 species of them (all endemic to Sabah), including the most magnificent Nepenthes edwardsiana that has the most developed ribs on its peristome (rim), and Nepenthes rajah, the largest pitcher plant in the world (can hold up to 3.5 litres of water. Sometimes rat, lizard or frog is found drowned inside).


The exposed smooth orange-brown trunk of “naked tree” (Species: Tristaniopsis bilocularis) will catch your attention. It is endemic to Kinabalu Park and its bark peels in scrolls constantly. Villagers use its bark as mosquito repellent.


Then Sumandak spotted something moving on the floor. It’s a well-camouflaged stick insect that blends perfectly into mosses. It was busy pressing its tail to the ground to lay eggs. Nobody would see it if it stayed motionless. You may see it in action in following video:


Pic: thorny rattan

The largest of the mountain rattan is Plectocomia elongata (see photo above). Its thorns look so nasty that I want to stay 10 feet away from it. This rattan only flowers once in its life and it’s one of the 40 rattan species live in Kinabalu Park. Malaysian parents like to whip naughty kids with rattan, luckily they don’t use the species that has thorns.


Pic: yellow flower of Rhododendron retivenium

Rhododendron is also called wild rose. There are 24 species of Rhododendron in Kinabalu Park (5 are endemic to Borneo). Observant climbers of Mt. Kinabalu would see at least 6 species along the trail to the summit, if they are keen to stop and smell the roses.


Pic: Bird’s Nest Fern / Crown Fern, a common ornamental plant in Sabah.

608 species of fern are found in Kinabalu Park. Most ferns at or above the altitude of this garden are not found in other parts of Malaysia.

Other remarkable plants you can check out in Mountain Garden are Dawsonia Giant Hairy-cap Moss (world’s tallest land moss), fig, lipstick flower (Aeschynanthus), Kinabalu Balsam, bamboo, Kerosene tree (with combustible oily seeds), aroids (with heart-shaped leaf), wild raspberry, etc. As plants have different flowering and fruiting seasons, you won’t see exactly the same things every month. What I mention here is just a very small fraction of what Mountain Garden has.

Ticket & Info

Ticket Fee: RM5 (≈US$1.50) for Non-Malaysian, RM4 for Malaysian, (50% discount for visitor below 18 years old)
Opening Hours: 9am-1pm and 2pm-4pm daily (Last entry: 3:40pm, Gate closes at 4pm sharp)
Guided Tour: 9am, 12pm and 3pm daily
Location: Kinabalu Park HQ in Kundasang (see Location Map)
Tel: +60 88-8889103
Website: www.sabahparks.org.my

Other Tour

Near to Mountain Garden, there is another nature tour starts at 11am daily. A guide will take you for a 1-hour walk in Silau-Silau Trail nearby, a great bird-watching area. If you are interested, you may purchase ticket and wait at Kinabalu Hall before 11am. The fee is RM3 (≈US$0.90) for Non-Malaysian and RM2 for Malaysian (50% discount for visitor below 18 years old).

There is a Video Show at the theater in ground floor of Liwagu Restaurant at 2pm every day (and 7:30pm on Fri-Mon & Public Holiday). Ticket fee is RM2 (≈US$0.60) for Non-Malaysian and RM1 for Malaysian.

Photos taken in Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Lupa Masa Jungle Camp in Borneo Rainforest

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Some people prefer to camp in park equipped with Wifi, air-conditioning and cozy bed. To truly appreciate the nature, some campers want to get away from civilization totally and live among trees and wildlife, like Lupa Masa Jungle Camp. Lupa Masa means Forget Time in Malay language, you would lose sense of time there when you forget about your Facebook, your computer and your boss.


Lupa Masa is located between Borneo rainforest and lower montane forest at the foothill of Mt. Kinabalu, the UNESCO Natural Heritage Site of Sabah. To visit the camp, I met the camp manager, Michael from Scotland, at Poring Hot Springs. He marries a sumandak (girl) from Tamparuli and able to speak Malay fluently. He already blends into the community and now behaves more like a Sabahan wearing a “orang putih” skin (Caucasian). However, he hasn’t fallen in love with Durian yet.


Pic: Michael crossing a stream with a gas tank

Michael got some groceries from Poring and led the way. We walked on a gravel road in village and plantation for about 10 minutes, then we entered a soil trail that took us deep into the forest. The forest is an aged regenerated secondary forest that gives us much needed shade in muggy day. The trail is mostly mildly inclined, with a short section of steep slope.


Pic: nature trail to Lupa Masa

The walk was supposed to take about 30 minutes. I was carrying two bags weighed over 15Kg and one of them broke, so it took me an hour to reach the camp. Since this camp is near the boundary of Kinabalu Park and situated between rainforest and cloud forest, you would see wildlife from both habitats. This attracts naturalists who are expert in snakes, mammals, birds, etc. to stay in Lupa Masa. A snake expert even found 12 snake species in a day. But please note that wildlife sighting is depend on luck.

Camping in Lupa Masa

My “room” is only a basic hut with raised floor and a canvas roof over my head. Albeit being pounded by heavy rain a few times during my stay, the roof didn’t leak. It is near the edge of campsite and far away other shelters, so I feel so alone at night.


Pic: my private “chalet” surrounded by greenery

As there is no wall between me and the wood, I was fully exposed to the wildlife territory. In the morning, I was always waked up by a flock of noisy Buff-rumped Woodpeckers, and countless chirping birds came to check me out. Then cicada took the afternoon shift to continue the rainforest choir, at night it was the sound of frogs and crickets that sent me to dream land. I was like an outsider. Perhaps I should have tried to join their orchestra by making some rhythmic calls too.


Pic: my bed on bamboo floor

My bed is a few camper beds enveloped in mosquito net. Mosquito is the most active during dusk and I would find 4 or 5 of them bumping the net from outside. In other time, there were very few mosquito in the campsite. The temperature here during daytime is about 25°C (77°F) but can drop to 15 (59°F) or below at night. The camp provides blanket or you can bring your own sleeping bag. There are a few wires for me to hang my cloth between the poles in the hut. My clothing never turned dry in cold and humid days though.


Pic: camping tent in longhouse

If you want more privacy, you can choose to stay in shelter that has camping tent. In Lupa Masa, there are 6 shelters that can host up to 25 campers. The accommodation costs about RM70-90 (≈US$22-28) per night. Food is included, mainly vegetarian meals because they don’t have fridge to keep the meat. Some of the food that I had there were rice with curry vegetables, French toast, oat meal with fruits, fried rice, etc.

Night Walk

Night Walk is the highlight of Lupa Masa. You can see far more animals in the dark as most wildlife are nocturnal. You can choose easy walk that takes 2 to 3 hours, or long challenging trek that requires you to cross river and climb steep hill with more rewarding sighting. The guide fee is RM30 (≈US$9.40) per hour, RM75 (≈US$24) if 3 hours. You can share the cost with others if you go in group.


Michael seemed to be more excited than me in night walk. After dinner, we started our night safari on foot at 8pm. Spotting animals in the dark is no easy task because of their camouflage. You need a good torchlight and great eyesight. Anyway, you won’t need both when Michael is around, as he is an excellent spotter. Even if he showed me the things he found, it still took me quite a while to see it. His secret is to look for light reflection in animal’s eyes.


Pic: big juicy stick insect, endemic to Borneo

In case it rains, you better bring a raincoat. Leech is expected, so wear your anti-leech socks. I didn’t get any leech bite though there were many leeches around. We shined our torchlight to every corners to find those critters hiding in burrows, tree holes, bark, river rocks, shrubs and fallen log.


Pic: sleeping birds. Note the kingfisher has only 3 claws.

We saw a number of sleeping birds on the trees. It’s interesting that they turn into “fur ball” while asleep.


Frog are everywhere. I saw and heard many of them after rain, e.g. Lesser River Frog, Black-spotted Rock Frog, Giant River Frog, Montane Litter Frog. Some leaped away before I got close enough to take a photo. “You have to approach them like a Ninja,” Michael said.


Pic: a big long-horned beetle

Other animals that we spotted included Small-toothed palm civet, long-legged millipede, Agamid lizards, white lantern bug, spider, scorpion, tree-hole crab, dead-leaf grasshopper, trilobite, geckos, katydid and a green pit viper.


Pic: a giant forest snail

Suddenly Michael paused and smiled, “How much you would pay me for spotting a horned frog?”


Oh yeah, we found a Bornean Horned Frog, no, two!


Bornean Horned Frog looks like a little devil. Actually it’s a gentle frog. Its “horn” is an extension of its eyelid, to make its body shape looks like a leaf.


From his tattoo, obviously Michael is also a fan of horned frog lol.


Pic: a moth which was infested by parasite fungus which turned it into a “zombie.” This fungi can mind control its host to climb to the higher spot, to spread its spores.


Pic: Beware of aggressive fire ants on forest floor. Their stings can penetrate sock and very painful hence the name.


Pic: animation to show luminous fungus with the light on and off

Then Michael showed me something really special but we needed to turn off our torchlight. It’s luminous fungus that glows like green neon light on a decaying log. The glow is quite bright in the dark. We saw a few glowing mushroom too.

Some “trophy species” of wildlife photographers such as Western Tarsier, Slow Loris, Bornean Leaf Nose (snake), Wallace’s Flying Frog and Caecilian (a limbless amphibian) are known to be present at Lupa Masa, but you will need some luck to see them.

Day Walk

During daytime, you can take a stroll in the campsite or surrounding forest. Walk slowly and quietly in the morning, you would find a lot of birds around the camp. This place is great for birding because flock after flock of sunbirds, flowerpeckers, bulbuls and other forest birds frequent this camp during dawn and dusk. I saw Orange-bellied flowerpecker, Crimson-breasted flowerpecker, Broadbill, Ashy Tailorbird and Kingfisher during my stay.


Lupa Masa campsite is a garden by itself, planted with vegetables, fruit trees and flowers. The blooming orchid here attracts butterflies such as Rajah Brooke butterfly, tree nymph and birdwing butterflies in different colors.


Pic: Ginger flower that looks like a birthday cake (Species: Etlingera fimbriobracteata),


The boundary of Kinabalu Park, the most bio-diversified forest of Borneo, is just a few minutes walk away from the camp. The jungle is well lit by daylight, so you can enjoy the view of standing tall trees. The zappy Pygmy squirrel, the smallest squirrel in the world, is commonly seen busy moving up and down tree trunks. Look high above you would find bird’s nest fern and wild orchid on the trees.


Pic: a fig fruit that looks like red chili

Lupa Masa is one of the few places where you can find three types of corpses flowers, namely Rafflesia, Rhizanthes and Titan Arum (Samurai Flower). Their flowers take many months to bloom, so you should be very happy if you see such rare sighting.

River & Waterfalls

During hot day, one of the favorite activities of their guests is to soak in the icy river or pond of Lupa Masa Waterfall nearby. You can enjoy the cleanest (and Chlorine-free) flowing water from Mt. Kinabalu.


Pic: clean and unpolluted river from Kinabalu Park is only 10 Meters from the camp.

The water is shallow so it is safe for a swim, or you can just sit in the river for a free massage from river current (do bring beer with you).


Pic: you can tell how clean is the water from the photo. It’s so crystal clear that I can’t see the water. Sometimes otters and kingfishers forage for fishes here too.


Pic: Lupa Masa Waterfall near the camp (7 minutes walk)

For those who are adventurous, they can hike one hour uphill to explore the “hidden” waterfall, which is five times bigger than Lupa Masa Waterfall.

Amenities

The camp was started by Tom in 2010, with the concept of providing authentic jungle experience, so the amenity is basic. The campsite has solar panel and power generator but electricity supply is not available most of the time, so you better bring a torchlight (with spare batteries). There is no outlet to charge your phone and battery. No Wifi in camp, but my phone can receive 2G connection, slow but able to use Whatsapp and SMS.


Pic: activity hall where guests can sit around and relax

You can sit at the deck facing the river and dense forest, looking at starry sky and firefly. Tom said, “I’m so glad that this forest wasn’t turned into a paddy plantation.” Looking at the beautiful trees and river, I can’t agree more.


Pic: table where guests can have meal, chit chat and playing cards.


Pic: “mini-bar” for you to buy some soft drink, beer and wine. The hanging object is a shed snakeskin.


Pic: reading corner. Guide books on animals such as birds and snakes are available.


Pic: kitchen. The lucky guest would see Slow Loris around here at night. I saw an ant mimic spider the other day.


Pic: the toilet with creative door design.


Pic: you can choose to sit or squat


Pic: bathroom with bamboo shower head. The water is from the river, very cold and refreshing (I advise you to bath before the cold evening approaches).

Contact

To stay in Lupa Masa, you need to contact the camp to book a place prior to your visit.
Tel: +60 11-32024500
E-mail: LupaMasaBorneo@gmail.com
Website: LupaMasaBorneo.com
Facebook: LupaMasaRainforestCamp
(Now this camp is managed by Top Peak Travel)

The camp also welcomes volunteers. You can get free stay and meal if you contribute some labor work. There is no fixed requirement but you need to have special skill such as cooking, carpenter and house-keeping. You may contact them for more details.


Pic: photos with Michael (left) and Tom (right). I look like a dwarf next to them lol. Thank you for your hospitality!

Tom has stayed in Borneo for 15 years. He is actively helping the local communities across Sabah and Sarawak to develop their local attractions. One of his latest project is Lupa Masa Longhouse in Kudat. You may visit the website of his company (Adventure Alternative) for more info.

Getting there

You can take a bus to Ranau town from Inanam Long Distance Bus Terminal (see Location Map) or Kota Kinabalu Merdeka Field (see Location Map). The fare costs about RM15 one way (≈US$4.65) and the bus reaches Ranau in 2 hours. In Ranau, get a cab or bus at taxi station (see Location Map) / bus terminal (see Location Map) to Poring Hot Springs (where the staff meets you), the fees are RM40 (≈US$12.50) and RM10 (≈US$3.10) one way respectively and the ride takes about 25 minutes. It takes 30 minutes to walk to the camp from Poring.

More Photos

You may check out my photo album to see more pictures of Lupa Masa:

Photos taken in Poring, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Kampung Gombizau, Honey Bee Village of Sabah Borneo

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City people will freak out if they see honey bees building a nest under their roof. To most village folks, they are happy to see bee hives, because got honey, got money. However, beekeeping is not really something they do for money initially. In countryside of Sabah, it is fairly common to see one or two manmade bee hives in farm houses. The collected honey is mainly for self-consumption, but Kampung Gombizau (Gombizau Village) has turned honey bee farming into an attraction.


Pic: many village house has a hollow log (a native beehive called gelodog) for beekeeping.


Kampung Gombizau is in Matunggong and about 2-hour drive from Kota Kinabalu City. When you head to Kudat town, you will see a brown signage “Gombizau Honey Bee Farm” at the roadside, about 40 KM before the town. Turn to that junction and you will reach Gombizau (See location map), after driving two minutes on a small paved road (watch out for potholes).


Pic: ticket booth of Gombizau. Entry fee is RM5 (≈US$1.55) for adult (above 12 years) and only RM3 (≈US$1) for child (6-12 years old).


Pic: bottles of honey for sale in a booth near to entrance of Kampung Gombizau. Price ranges from RM20 (≈US$6.20) to RM38 (≈US$12) per small bottle.


Pic: big bottle of honey bee, about RM60 (≈US$19) to RM105 (≈US$33) each.


Pic: cute honey bee handicraft made of beads, available for a couple of dollars. The villagers are Rungus people, who are skillful in making beadwork.


Gombizau is a real village with a population of 260 and not an industrial area. A villager led us to a rubber plantation about 30 Meters behind the village, where the bee farm located.


Under the shade, there are dozens of “honey bee hotels”, the man-made bee hives for the honey bees. The most common bee species in honey bee farm of Borneo is Apis cerana (Eastern Hive Bee).


A worker showed us how to collect honey. First he used smoke to neutralize the attack-induced scent (pheromone) released among the bees.


Then he opened the top cover and took out a movable frame hive, to which honeycomb attached. There are about 7 movable frames in a box. This allows the beekeepers to take out the honeycomb, harvest part of it and put it back, without damaging the nest structure, otherwise the bees would abandon the hive.


Pic: close-up of honeycomb

The whitish top portion are honey cells sealed by wax capping. The middle parts are cells filled by pollen, the color is depend on type of flower visited by the bees. Pollen is the only source of protein for feeding the broods. Some cells contain pupae, which is edible and rich in vitamin and minerals. Note the bee on her finger. It’s a drone (male honeybee) without sting. Drone is developed from unfertilized egg (with only one set of chromosomes), a son without a father. All worker bees are female developed from fertilized eggs (diploid).


They cut the honeycomb into small pieces and invited us to taste the golden sweetness of raw honey. It’s really sweet, with a flowery aroma that is absent from sugar.

“Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.” (Pro 24:13)

Types of Honey

Before I left the village, I would like to buy some honey. I thought there was only one type of honey, then I found out there were 3, each with different price tag. So I asked the villagers if these are due to difference in quality. According to them, farm honey is the cheapest (RM20 per bottle), wild honey is 2nd (RM32), and the most expensive honey (RM38) is from stingless bee (Trigona genus). You had seen the farm honey bee, so what are the other two?


Pic: Giant Honey Bee is open nesting bee and doesn’t live in cavity

Most wild honey is collected from the nest of Giant Honey Bee (Species: Apis dorsata, Local Name: potiukan). Giant Honey Bee is open nesting bee so you can’t farm it in cavity like other honey bees. Besides, Giant Honey Bee is aggressive and considered one of the most dangerous animals in Borneo, its sting can penetrate fire fighter’s uniform, so honey gathering is carried out at night. They build their hive under the branch of tall tree (over 50 Meters high in many cases), and native honey hunter needs some guts and skill to climb up there in total darkness to harvest it. Each hive stores over five litres of honey and can be sold for RM200 (≈US$62) per litre.


The next honey bee is Stingless Bee (known as Kelulut locally). Its honey is sweet and sour in taste. It is the most expensive because it is the hardest to extract.


Pic: stingless bees collecting nectar. They are relatively a lot smaller than honey bees.


Pic: the exit tunnel of stingless bees (Kelulut)

Stingless bees are quite common, even in sub-urban area. You can see them nest in crevice of houses and tree holes.

The most distinctive feature of stingless bee nest is its tube-like wax tunnel as the opening of the nest. When I was a naughty kid, I liked to pinch the tunnel to close their “door”. They don’t sting. The only defence they have is to secrete something sticky onto my hair, so I didn’t give them due respect. Now I know that stingless bee is also an amazing bee.

Interesting Facts about Borneo Honey Bees

If you want to learn more about honey bees, I highly recommend the book “Honey Bees of Borneo” (by Nikolaus Koeniger et al). A lot of information of this article is from that book. I list a few interesting facts mentioned in the book:

  • Out of 9 honey bee species (Apis genus) in the world, Borneo has 5, so we are high in bee diversity, and Sabah has a Bee Research Center in Sabah Agriculture Park of Tenom.
  • Honey bee species naturally found in Borneo are Apis Dorsata (Giant honey bee), Apis cerana (Eastern hive bee), Apis andreniformis (Dwarf bee), Apis koschevnikovi (Red honey bee) and Apis nuluensis (Mountain honey bee).
  • In contrast, most part of Europe, Africa and America only has 1 honey bee species, i.e. Apis mellifera (Western Honey Bee).
  • During colonial era, British tried to introduce Western Honey Bee to Borneo but failed, due to mites, diseases and predation.
  • Apis nuluensis is the true Borneo honey bee, as it is restricted to mountain range of Borneo (1,500m-3,500m). Nulu means “Mountain” in Kadazan language.
  • Apis cerana is the most widely used in honey production in Borneo.
  • Apis dorsata is well-adapated to low light, so it can see you in half or full moon night. Harvesting honey from its nest is only safe being done in moonless night.
  • To avoid cross species mating, different bee species which share the same geographical area have different mating time. e.g. Apis andreniformis is 12:00-14:00, Apis cerana is 14:00-16:30.
  • Mating with the wrong species can be fatal, the genitals of both sexes would be locked, and both will drop to ground and die.
  • Robbing honey from other bee nests are common among honey bees.


Pic: honey bee and stingless bee on a flower

Between year 2005 and 2009, Sabah imported about 341 tonnes of honey product, which is worth about RM5 Million. During the same period, only 26 tonnes of honey was produced in Sabah State. This means the demand for honey is high, and our honey has big market.

A Need for Standard & Branding

The authors of “Honey Bees of Borneo” also urge for the development of an international quality standard for Asian Honey Bees. Currently the quality standard of honey is based on Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera), the most researched and farmed honey bee in the world. The biochemical characters of Asian and Western honey bees are different, so the honey of Asian bees would be graded as low quality, if the criteria is based on Western bee standard, it is like comparing orange to an apple.


A small bottle of imported honey can be priced over RM50 in the market, but we sell 1-litre of local honey for only RM25. Is foreign honey really SsssOOOooOOo…. much better than our honey? The most expensive honey in the world is ‘Elvish’ honey from Turkey, which costs US$6,800 per Kg, because it is extracted from a 1,800m deep cave. Hey, Borneo is richer in flora (flower & herb) variety and our environment is cleaner. Can’t our honey ask for a premium price too?


Not only that, our honey is also lack of nice packaging. Most Sabah honey are sold in a glass bottle in the market and roadside without any label or quality seal. Would you pay RM100 per bottle for such presentation? There have been complaints about adulteration of honey too.


Nevertheless, there are a few local companies try to package and brand our Borneo honey, which is a good move. But we still need an official quality standard for Asian honey, so we can compete with Western honey in international market. Otherwise our local farmers will dump indigenous honey bees and farm only Western honey bee, a more profitable species.

In fact, it’s happening. Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (Sabah) has imported European honey bee Apis mellifera (subspecies: agustica, a.k.a. Italian bee) from Australia for a trial run in Sipitang. The Italian bee is more docile and productive (generates 20-35 kg of honey) than Apis cerana (3-9 Kg).

Two months ago, I visited Melita Honey Farm in Tasmania, Australia. The range of their honey products is impressive, you can find ANYTHING related to honey, such as ice-cream, skincare, soap, lotion, candle, mug, candy, toy and medicines, so colorful… The shopping experience was so fun that I bought a lot of things. This is something Sabah should learn from the others.



Pic: Melita Honey Farm in Australia.

Do you like Sabah honey? Please tell me what you think about our local honey.

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Photos taken in Matunggong, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Tabin, the Sanctuary of Borneo Wildlife

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Located in east coast of Sabah, Tabin Wildlife Reserve is one of the best kept lowland rainforest of Borneo. I don’t want to hide the fact that most lowland of Sabah is now blanketed by oil palm. Tabin is surrounded by sea of oil palm, making it an oasis of the ecology desert (oil palm). In fact, this 112,000-hectare protected forest reserve harbors some of the rarest and endangered Bornean animals such as Pygmy Elephant, Sumatran Rhinoceros and Orangutan.


Last month I visited Tabin for 3 days. Though large part of Tabin is secondary rainforest being logged in the past, the forest regenerates really well over the decades. Tabin also has 9,000 hectares undisturbed primary forest known as the Core Area. Do you know that there are nearly 1,000 tree species in 50-hectare area of Borneo rainforest (Temperate Forest is up to 100 species only)?

Macaques

Guess what was the first animal I saw in Tabin. Can you recognise the “aliens” below?


Pic: “Aliens” in Tabin

LOL they are actually the butt of pig-tailed macaques, a common but cheeky monkey. At the left is a male with its testicles, the sexy red butt at the right belongs to a female ready to mate.


In late afternoon, you would see dozens of macaques gathering on the ground feeding, socializing and grooming one another. Tabin Resort doesn’t feed them so they keep a distance from human. But you better lock the door and leave nothing outside your room, because these monkey know how to open door and ransack your stuffs.


I was surprised to see a long-tailed macaque among a herd of pig-tailed macaques as if it’s one of the members. Wonder if both species speak the same language.


Pic: Bornean Gibbon foraging on a fruit tree. You can always hear their “whoop-whoop” loud and long call early in the morning at Tabin.

There are 9 primate species in Tabin, but gorilla isn’t on the list (though the movie says King Kong is from Borneo). The most famous primate here is Orangutan. Tabin is one of the releasing spots for rehabilitated orphan orangutan from Sepilok. To ensure they can survive in the wild, rangers will track and evaluate the new comers for 2 weeks.

Tabin Wildlife Resort

Tabin Wildlife Resort is the only accommodation and tour operator in Tabin Wildlife Reserve. To visit Tabin, you can book a full board tour package with them (Accommodation, meals, transport, activities and guide services are included). They also offer special tours such as bird-watching and frog camp. Please note walk-in tourist might not be entertained.


Pic: River Lodge of Tabin Resort

After an hour of bumpy ride on 44-Kilometres of unsealed road from Lahad Datu town, I checked-in to River Lodge of Tabin Resort around noon. River Lodge is just next to Lipad River and you would see foraging animals at the river bank sometimes.


The chalet looks small from outside, but the room is really spacious and completed with attached bathroom/toilet, private balcony, air conditioner, ceiling fan and hot water shower. The accommodation is comfortable and electricity supply is available 24×7. I’m happy.


Pic: Hill Lodge of Tabin Resort

For honeymooners, Hill Lodge offers more luxurious and private space, so nobody can hear what you both busy doing in your room. I think it’s great for family too.


Pic: Sunbird Cafe of Tabin Resort

Sunbird Cafe is where I have my buffet meals (and free flow of coffee) and it is the gathering point for all activities. The cafe has Wifi so you can check your Facebook, but the line would be slow if too many guests are sharing the connection.

Dusk Drive & Night Safari

Compared to my jungle trips in other places of Sabah, the activities at Tabin are really leisure, nothing made me gasping for air there. But I sweated a lot, as rainforest is warm and humid, when the dense trees trap the heat and moisture under their canopy during daytime.


We started our Dusk Drive at 5pm. Unlike Africa, where you can see hundred of animals on open grassland. In Borneo, you need to look quite hard for the animals hiding among the dense wood. Luckily, the guide does the job for us. A napping monitor lizard high on a tree set off the excitement.


As the habitat of about 260 lowland bird species (FYI, oil palm estate only hosts 9 to 12 species), Tabin is a favorite destination of bird-watchers. Out of 8 hornbill species in Tabin, I saw 4 of them (Oriental Pied Hornbill, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Wrinkled Hornbill and Bushy-crested Hornbill) during my stay. If you are a hardcore birder, they will bring you to Core Area (virgin forest) to look for Blue-headed Pitta and Blue-Banded Pitta, which are endemic to Borneo.


Pic: Crested-serpent eagle is the most common eagle here. We also spotted Wallace’s Hawk-eagle and Changeable Hawk-eagle.


Pic: Bornean Falconet

The highlight is Bornean Falconet (a.k.a. White-fronted Falconet), which is endemic to Sabah and the smallest raptor in the world (about the size of a palm). There was a group of three perching on a tree very far away from us. Fortunately, our guide let us to have a better look with his high-power telescope. I tried to photograph them through the scope but the photo was blur, well. 🙁


Then we heard a loud roar from the elephants deep in the forest beside us. “It was a mother calling its calf”, our guide said. Though there are 200 to 300 elephants in Tabin, sighting of them is not guaranteed. We waited there for over 15 minutes but no sign of them coming near. When I almost gave up, two Bornean pygmy elephants emerged from the wood behind our truck! After wandering on the gravel road for a while, both of them headed to a neighboring plantation for juicy young shots of oil palm. Somehow this smart mammal figures out the time when electrical fence is being turned off lol.


The daylight was out soon and lot of fireflies flickering on the trees, but we didn’t stop the fun drive. On the way back to resort, our guide turned on the spotlight and here we went for a night safari. Besides a pair of sleeping Rhinoceros Hornbill on the tree, we saw other nocturnal animals such as Common Palm Civet and Leopard Cats. We were also watching a red giant flying squirrel took off from a branch, it could glide 100 Metres from tree to tree, we were told.


Pic: a Buffy Fish Owl. A Brown Wood Owl was nearby too.

Night Walk

Dusk drive is cool but it would be more thrilling to walk around and search for other forest dwellers in the dark. After dinner, everyone grabbed a flashlight and explored deep in the jungle. We pointed our light to the shrubs, tree top, forest ground, tree bark, etc. and came across something interesting.


Pic: Crematogaster inflata, these ants look like carrying a “gold” knapsack, which is the enlarged metapleural gland that can secrete whitish defensive fluid and their bites are very itchy. Thank you Arthur Chung for the ID.

A single tree of Borneo can house 1,000 insect species. There are at least 50,000 insect species in Tabin, which is enough for you to explore for a lifetime.


Pic: mushroom growing on an elephant dung. Everything in rainforest is recycled and exist for a reason.


Pic: a small snake waiting quietly for its prey.


Pic: a giant river toad covered with irregular bumps. The big glands behind its eyes secrete poisonous fluid so don’t touch it!

Lipad Mud Volcano

The next morning we went to the Lipad Mud Volcano, something that makes Tabin special. The jungle trail to the mud volcano is 700 Metres and requires only 20 minutes trekking. We saw some fresh and old elephant dungs along the way, an evidence that elephants frequent this area. Anyway, I only found a tiny mouse deer and a few forest leeches.


Pic: a coral fungus


Pic: the Lipad Mud Volcano is as big as a football field and it is still growing. This might be the largest mud volcano of Borneo. Can you spot the tiny people in the photo?


Pic: elephant tracks at mud volcano

Animals love mud volcano as it is rich in sodium and calcium, the vital minerals that are not readily available in their normal diet. That’s why this is a good spot for wildlife sighting, as animals come here regularly for “salt lick” in late afternoon.


We love mud volcano too, not for salt lick but for skin care. Some says the mud is really good for skin so we collect some for facial SPA later.


Some prefers to enjoy the muddy face mask on the spot.


However, the outer ring of mud volcano is dry mud mixed with coarse sand. To collect the finest and silky wet mud, you have to go to the sources located in the centre, where you can see fresh mud burping and bubbling up from the ground. The mud in centre is deep and soft, so your shoes would be trapped in it. Some even lost their pant here (yes, that happened before).


Pic: the 5-storey observation tower next to the mud volcano. You can overnight there for more animal sighting.


Pic: making handprint certificate with volcano mud.

Lipad Waterfall

After getting ourselves dirty in mud volcano, we got on our truck and moved to Lipad Waterfall. The nature trail to the waterfall is only 400 Metres but we needed to cross a river as deep as our waist level.


Because of the heavy rain the night before, the water looked a bit murky, but it was clean and cooling. We washed away our mud at the river and took a dip in the waterfall pool.


Pic: Lipad Waterfall, pristine and unpolluted.

Other Activities

There are more things to do in Tabin. Just to list a few here.

You may check out the exhibition in Trogon Hall gallery, where they display some photographs and information of Borneo bio-diversity.


Pic: elephant skull in the Gallery

After a long day of trekking, it’s time to relax your tired feet by trying out the Rainforest Foot Soak at Eagle’s Nest. Various traditional tropical herb and plants (e.g. Kaffir lime leaf, Aloe Vera, Lemongrass, Betel Leaf, Pandanus Leaf, Galangal, Tumeric) are put in the hot water, and you can rub your feet against the smooth pebbles at bottom.

So that’s my Tabin trip. You can see that our rainforest is an eco-treasure worths protecting and preserving. The good news is – Sabah government and NGOs are working together to connect all the isolated forest of Sabah, so wildlife can migrate freely among them for food and mates. In future, Tabin forest reserve will be part of the Heart of Borneo.

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Photos taken in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Glow Worm of Borneo

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Night walk in Borneo rainforest always excites me, as I would stumble upon something cool, weird or even creepy. Besides firefly, many bugs can glow. Many had been telling me about a worm that glows in the dark but I never saw one. My luck came when I did a night walk in Crocker Range Park two weeks ago.

As it was a cold night in the month of Ghost Festival, it was kind of eerie to see something like ghost fire moving in the dark. When I shined my flashlight to the yellow-green color glow, I saw only a bug crawling on forest floor. When I moved the light away, the glow appeared again. Then I confirmed that this bug emitted the light. It looks more like a millipede though.

You have no idea how happy I am to see glow worm the first time, I’ve been looking for for one for years! This glow worm is a larvae of the beetle from Lampyridae (firefly) family (Thanks to Arthur Y.C. Chung for the ID). In the photos, you can see the yellow light on its tail, which glows through bioluminescence (the production and emission of light by a living organism).


Pic: glow worm can roll its body like a millipede

The glow is a “cold light” and it serves as a warning signal to predators such as frog. In fact, this larvae is mildly toxic. I put it on my hand and felt that its body was cold.

Its glow should be in yellow-green color, but I couldn’t replicate the color in photograph under strong light. You can see its glow is shown as yellow-green in the dark:

Cool huh? I know there are other types of glow worm. I’ll share with you if I see more. Wish me luck.

Photos taken in Keningau, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

10 Weirdest Bugs of Borneo

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Borneo is the Kingdom of Bug. Do you know each rainforest tree supports up to 1,000 species of insect? And this doesn’t include other bugs which have no leg, many legs, 8 legs, etc. Most of them can make girls scream. However, I’m really fascinated by bugs, so “bug hunting” is always my favorite activity during jungle trekking. Below is a list of 10 weirdest bugs of Borneo (in my opinion).

No. 10: Stalk-eyed Fly

“You need long eyes to get laid.”

No, Stalk-eyed Fly doesn’t need a long penis to impress female. The long eyestalks projected from the sides of the head of male fly is a symbol of sexy. Female always prefers to mate with the male fly which has longer eyestalks.


Pic: a pair of mating Stalk-eyed Flies


Pic: this male Stalk-eyed Fly has eyestalks longer than its body.

Imagine both of our eye are 2 Meters apart. Would you marry a guy like that?

No. 9: Lantern Fly

“The unicorn in world of insects”

Lantern Fly gets its name because people thought its snout was luminous at night (No, it doesn’t). Actually the “nose” is an extension of its mouth for feeding on the sap from plant and tree.


In 19th century, there is a widely circulated myth that persons bitten by Lantern Fly will die if they don’t have sex within 24 hours. Well, Lantern Fly doesn’t bite, so I guess nobody is killed this way.


Whatever, due to its peculiar mouth and colorful wings, Lantern Fly is a favorite subject of photographers. You would find it stays still on tree bark during dusk.

No. 8: Pill Millipede

“Be a slimeball when in danger.”

When disturbed, pill millipede will roll its body into a ball to defend itself.

When pill millipede rolls into a ball, I would give it to a clueless city girl, telling her that it’s a beautiful nut. She would keep it in her pocket. Then I’ll wait for the scream. *hahaha*

You can see a Pill Millipede “rolls” in following video:

No. 7: Whip Scorpion

“This bug might be fond of SM sex.”

With leathery carapace and a whip-like tail, Whip Scorpion looks like a kinky lover. Probably it also enjoys whipping its prey to death? Just kidding.

To know its weapon, you may keep your face very close to Whip Scorpion for an unforgettable surprise. Last time my camera was too near to this bug, and it sprayed very potent chemical (a mix of acetic acid and octanoic acid) to my lens. The smell was so terrible that, for hour, my camera smelled like a stinky socks soaked in strong vinegar.

The good thing about Whip Scorpion is – it can control the population of roaches. Ask your mom to keep a few in the kitchen as cockroach killer and vinegar supplier. 😀

No. 6: Violin Beetle

“The musician of insect’s world?”

Violin Beetle reminds me of a fable about a lazy grasshopper who plays violin and doesn’t listen to ants’ advice to stock food for winter. Whoever see Violin Beetle will be amused by its funny shape.

Violin Beetle is quite a secretive creature and I only see it once. Beware, it is not a romantic violin player. When threatened, it’ll emit a noxious fluid that can hurt your eyes and hands when contacted.

No. 5: Cave Centipede

“The creature from the darkest corner of hell.”

I bet most of you are afraid of centipede. How about a fast moving centipede with long legs?

Most bugs are attracted to light, but this eerie bug hates light. You can find a lot of them on the wall of a cave. Their bites are nasty so watch where you put your hand during caving.

Cave Centipede looks just like a freak coming out of our nightmare.

No. 4: Leech

“The friendliest dweller of rainforest.”

If you walk in the deep forest of Borneo, you will be greeted by hundreds of this little annoying blood sucker. Not only it makes girls scream at highest pitch and maximum volume, I had seen it makes many big guys jumping in panic.


Pic: Leeches want to add you as a Food Friend

Leech is blind but it survives the hostile forest environment by being the most persistent bug. When it senses your body heat, it’ll come for you and never quit until it gets a few drops of your warm blood. They are especially abundant during wet season.

Once it gets on your skin, it’ll look for the warmest (most sensitive) spot of your body for a buffet. By the time you find out, it already becomes a hanging blood bag 3 to 5 times bigger.


Pic: leech crawling on camera

The anticoagulant in leech bite will make your wound bleeds profusely for hour, a terrifying scene for the weak-hearted.


Pic: a fully-fed leech

To get rid of leech, you may read my article on “How to prevent leech bite?”

No. 3: Ant-Snatching Assassin Bug

“An insect that wears carcasses as trophy.”

Ant-Snatching Assassin Bug is not only weird, it is also disgusting. They mainly prey on ants. After sucking the ant dry, Ant-Snatching Assassin Bug will put the dead body on its back. It can stack more than 20 dead ants at a time.

Seeing such corpse-carrying behavior may cause discomfort to your stomach (I think it is funny though), but it is a good camouflage to confuse its predators such as jumping spider.

My photos may be not so clear. You may check out better close-up photos here.

No. 2: Horsehair Worm

“Horse hair? It is more like the hair of a demon!”

I wish I’ve never seen this sinister parasite, as it makes me sick just by thinking about it.


You know mantis is a fierce predator feared by all insects, but it is a victim to Horsehair Worm. One day I saw a mantis running restlessly around, then it fell into a basin. To rescue it from being drown, I grabbed the mantis. Then I saw a worm crawling out of its butt, it was so GROSS.

Horsehair Worm enters insects’ body when the victims (e.g. mantis, cricket) drink water containing its larvae. When the worm is fully grown inside its host and ready to get out, it’ll control the brain of parasitized insect, causing it to seek water and drown itself, then it’ll wriggle out from the ass of its host and return to water.

Horror movie does happen in real life. Luckily, Horsehair Worm is harmless to human.

No. 1: Stick Insect

“A walking twig.”

Besides being the Weirdest of all, Stick Insect is also a winner of Best Camouflaged and the Longest Insect in the world. The longest insect in the world is a 56.7cm-long (22.3 inches) stick-insect (species: Phobaeticus chani) found in Sabah.


Pic: a stick?


Pic: No…. It’s a stick insect.

The look of this bizarre bug resembles a stick, and it behaves like a stick too. When it moves, it rocks back and forth to imitate twig swaying in the breeze. Even its eggs also look like seeds, to fool the carnivorous predators. If Charles Darwin saw Stick Insect, he would think it evolved from plant.


Pic: a pair of mating stick insects, looks like two sticks fucking each other..

Many species of stick insects are parthenogenic, which means the females can produce eggs (offspring) without mating with males!


Pic: giant female stick insect (species: Haaniella echinata) in Danum Valley, it is endemic to Borneo.

There are around 3,000 species of stick insects in the world, and they have rich variety of shape and size.

So, which weird bug is your favorite? 🙂 Nevermind if you dislike them all, they dislike human too, so it’s unlikely that you would find one of these bugs in your house.

Photos taken in Sabah Borneo, Malaysia

Climbing Mt. Silam with Sabah Crabs

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After enjoying the nice view of Darvel Bay on Tower of Heaven, I went to climb Mount Silam. With a height of 884 Meters, Mount Silam is one of the highest mountains in Lahad Datu. Plant and animal enthusiasts will find that a hike on Mt. Silam is filled with pleasure surprises, due to rich variety of unique and endemic flora and fauna here. Thanks to Sabah Forestry Department, who keeps this mountain pristine in its 698-Hectare Sapagaya fully protected forest reserve.


Pic: Mt. Silam and its Tower of Heaven (Menara Kayangan)

Mt. Silam is classified as an Ultramafic Coastal Mountain. In layman’s terms, the soil in Ultramafic environment is reddish brown in color and formed by ultrabasic rock. The soil has high concentration of heavy metals such as magnesium, iron, nickel, chromium and cobalt, but poor in plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The ultramafic substrates are “toxic” so the plants which can survive here are very different from other vegetations. That’s what makes Mt. Silam so special.

The Summit Trails

Climbing a 884-Meter mountain may sound taxing. But no worry, I started the climb at 620 Meter elevation (near the Tower of Heaven), so going up and down Mt. Silam took me less than 6 hours. Do bring raincoat, water and energy bars with you, as there is no shelter and water station along the way. Wear comfortable hiking shoes, and a trekking pole would help, though the climb is not tough.


Pic: the start of the summit trail is just behind the Tower of Heaven.


Pic: the trail signage. The dig-a-hole instruction makes me laugh. There is no toilet on the mountain.

As shown on the signage above, there are two trails to the summit, i.e. the easy but longer Kalung-Kalungan Trail (estimated 2.5 KM), and the shorter but difficult Kayangan Trail (estimated 1.5 KM). To get the most out of this climb, I did a “loop” climb by ascending via easy Kalung-Kalungan Trail and descending via Kayangan Trail.

The Kalung-Kalungan Trail is fairly easy and I spend most of the time walking. Kayangan Trail is steep and narrow, a bit challenging and it is quite slippery after rain, you need to climb and get dirty, so I only recommend Kayangan Trail to experienced hikers.


Pic: the paved walkway and lower montane forest (cloud forest) at the start of summit trail.

My climb starts at the lower montane forest zone (altitude: 540M – 770M asl), the trees here have relatively shorter and thinner stature than lowland forest. They get even smaller (but denser) when you move up to higher altitude.

Silam Crabs

If you pay attention to the forest floor near the tower, you will see some cute and orange-red Silam crabs foraging among leaf litters. This land crab is endemic to Sabah and only confined to ultramafic forest of Mt. Silam. Personally I call it the “Ruby of Mt. Silam” or you can call it the Sabahan Crab, haha, whatever.


Pic: Silam Crab (Species: Geosesarma aurantium)


Silam Crab can be found up to the peak of Mt. Silam. Isn’t it weird to see seafood living on mountain? The red-orange shell (carapace) of this crab also reminds me of the color of steamed crab served on dish. Most of them are shy and flee to crevices before I can photograph them. A few are bold to face my lens. When threatened, they tap the ground with legs, making sound to warn the invaders.


Pic: boardwalk under construction, watch your steps.

Mt. Silam is open to public in year 2012 so it is still new. Sabah Forestry Department is busy improving the amenities and accommodation.


After 100 Meters of paved walkway and boardwalk, I came to the nature trail, no more man-made structure and support after this point. The air is as cooling as air-cond and I was wearing a thin T-shirt, but I still sweated a lot due to the long hike. The trail is well-maintained and the route is clear, so you won’t lose in the jungle, even without the trail markers. There was no forest leech during my visit. Though the trail is not tourist-friendly, most people won’t find it too hard to hike Kalung-Kalungan trail.

The Animals

Besides Silam Crab, there are some wildlife living in Mt. Silam. However, most of them are small animals.


There are 23 mammal species such as Sambar Deer, Banteng (Wild Ox), Giant Flying Fox, Slow Loris and Bornean Gibbon on Mt. Silam. Bearded pig (wild boar) is the easiest one to spot as they seem to eat day and night. I saw a few groups of macaques on the trees too.


Pic: forest snail that looks like a trumpet


Pic: giant millipede

If you like birdwatching, there is a mix of lowland, sub-montane and coastal birds in this area. A few noteworthy birds are Black-backed Kingfisher, Rufous Piculet, Chestnut-crested Yuhina and Red-bearded Bee Eater. I saw Emerald Dove, Leaf Warbler and Blyth’s Hawk Eagle.


Pic: Black and yellow Broadbill


“Hi!” from a curious warbler.


Pic: Tiger Beetle that looks like an ant

Tiger Beetle is the Olympian runner of insect world. If human is as fast as a Tiger Beetle, he can run at 770 KM per hour, meaning he can run from LA and reach New York within 6 hours on feet.


Pic: an unknown spider

The Plant

The plant biodiversity of Mt. Silam is amazing, as there are 374 tree species in four main forest types on different altitudes of this small mountain, each has its unique characteristics:

  1. 200M – 300M: Lowland ultramafic forest
  2. 330M – 540M: Upland ultramafic forest
  3. 540M – 770M: Lower montane ultramafic forest
  4. 770M+: Upper montana ultramafic forest (Mossy Forest)

Keep your eyes on the grass, flowers, bamboo, trees, etc., they can be endemic plant of Sabah and Borneo.


Pic: strange leaves


Pic: (left) Poisonous berries of Flax Lily, (right) Bangkau-Bangkau, the Enigmatic Bornean Tree endemic to Sabah.

Orchids

Orchids are everywhere, especially around the ridge area at 800M and above. Many orchids here are epiphytic, which means they live on trees that provide them support and more sunlight on higher spot.

They grow on the tree, mossy carpet, slope… Too bad I didn’t visit during the blooming months of orchid, which usually occurs in Feb and Mar after rainy season. Anyway, a few were generous to give us a showtime.


Pic: this orchid grows high on top.


Unlike the flamboyant big commercial orchids, native orchids are generally very small and not easy to spot.


Pic: this heart-shaped Jewel Orchid (Species: Corybas serpentinus) is only found in Sabah and the one I want to see the most, but sadly no blooming.. So I only can show its photo from poster. Another tiny orchid that I want to see is Porpax borneensis, which is also endemic to Sabah.

Pitcher Plants

Pitcher plant is abundant on Mt. Silam, you have to be blind to miss it. Some species such as Nepenthes reinwardtiana, Nepenthes tentaculata, Nepenthes macrovulgaris and Nepenthes stenophylla are endemic to Sabah or Borneo.


Pic: pitcher plant in the garden near the Tower of Heaven.


Pic: The top of Mt. Silam is blanketed by this small Nepenthes tentaculata, the most common montane species in Borneo. Note the hairs on its lid.


Pic: the upper pitcher of Nepenthes macrovulgaris (endemic to Sabah)


Pic: the lower pitcher of Nepenthes macrovulgaris in red color


Pic: just to show you how big is the pitcher plant on Mt. Silam.


Pic: some frog species live and grow inside the pitcher plant. Scientists still try to find out why.

Upper Montane Forest (Mossy Forest)

Mossy forest is normally found from 2,000M up to 2,700M above sea level, but you can find Mossy Forest after 770M elevation on Mt. Silam. Mt. Silam is experiencing Massenerhebung effect, a natural phenomenon that different vegetation zonation “compressed” on a small and isolated mountain.


Pic: the mossy forest of Mt. Silam on higher altitude.

The Mossy Forest is characterized by small pole trees and mossy ground. Cushion moss is important for the water balance of ecosystems in the forests by storing large amounts of water. Such wet environment is important for orchids.


Pic: Vivian, our guide standing next to the the trees full of epiphytes.

The ground, tree trunks and branches of Mossy Forest are covered by thick humus layer and enveloped with mosses.


Pic: a mossy stick insect blends into the mossy environment perfectly.


Pic: walking on the ridge near the summit. You can see the exposed reddish-brown ultrabaisc soil. The fern in the photo is Dicranopteris curranii (local name: paku resam), the most abundant fern species, it is ecologically important for moderating harsh surface temperature environment.

For more reading on natural wonders of Mount Silam, you may download the pamphlet below (published by Sabah Forestry Department):

Personally, for hikers in Sabah’s East Coast, I think Mount Silam is the best mountain for an enjoyable half-day climb, because it is easy and rich in flora and fauna. For more info (accommodation, direction, etc.) about Mt. Silam, you may read my earlier post about Tower of Heaven.

Photos taken in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Sundew, plant that eats insects

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Pitcher plant is the most well-known carnivorous plant of Sabah, but very few know that Sabah also has sundews (or Drosera), another type of insectivorous plant that traps and “eats” insects. There are over 190 species of sundews (Drosera species) and they are widespread in the world. Anyway, Sabah sundew is an interesting “discovery” for me.


I guess the reason most people don’t see sundews is because they are tiny. As shown in photo above, each plant is about the size of a 5-cent coin. They are almost invisible to those who are not actively looking for them. However, its bright color leaves make my search easier.


Sundews usually grow in acidic wet soil. This plant needs a lot of moisture, so you may spot them in the humid area of swamp, island and even highland. I found some at the sandy river bank of Binsuluk River near Membakut. It is probably a Drosera burmannii species (tropical sundew).


As the soil in which they grow is infertile, sundews lure and trap insects with their sticky tentacles. Once they capture the insect, they will digest it and absorb its nutrition and minerals as a supplement.



Sundew is very small, so I have to use special lens like a microscope to zoom-into its rosette for photo-taking. It is a very beautiful (but odd) plant when seen up-close.



Check out the droplets at the tip of its tentacles. They look like morning dew, right? That’s why they are called sundew, which means Dew of the Sun. Actually these droplets are mucilage, a sticky secretion that glues the prey such as ant.


Sundews are fun to look at (especially during feeding time), so someone even keeps them as “pet”. Sundews are protected plant in some countries. I don’t think Sabah or Malaysia has any law to protect sundews.


Sundew has long stem that carries flowers far away from the sticky trap of its base, so it won’t accidentally trap its pollinators.


Pic: The flower and buds of sundew.


To confirm my specimen is really a carnivorous plant, I purposely put a few ants on its leaves. Note the leaf at the right has very long outer tentacles, which are also known as snap-tentacles. In nature, the sweet mucilage of sundew can attract insects.


The trap works. The sticky mucilage immobilizes the ants. Their movement becomes slower and slower. The more they struggle, the more they are enveloped by mucilage. Bigger ants are still able to escape in my experiment.


The final blow comes, when the movement triggers the inner and outer tentacles of sundew to bend toward the ants, pressing them to contact more sticky mucilage (see photo above). As a result, the ants are either die of exhaustion or asphyxiation in about half an hour. Sundew will then secrete enzymes to digest the captured prey, dissolving it into nutrient soup for consumption.

I’m glad that sundews don’t eat human.

Photos taken in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo