Tag Archives: Sandakan

Orangutan of Borneo (Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center)

Imagine a baby orangutan loses its mother due to deforestation and illegal poaching. This orphaned orangutan is traumatized and in distress. Without help, its chance of survival is slim. The population of Bornean orangutan has been dwindling by 50% in the past 60 years. Currently, only 45,000-50,000 orangutans left on Borneo and 6,000 on Sumatra. In Sabah, there are about 10,000 orangutans in the wild.

Being more intelligent than chimpanzee, orangutan has emotion and feeling like human too.

The name “Orangutan” was derived from the Malay word Orang Hutan, which means the “Man of the Forest”. Orangutan is the only ape of Asia and found only in Sumatra and Borneo. Though orangutans won’t give you an eye-roll if you mistakenly call them monkey, people would laugh at you as apes have no tail. I won’t object if you say orangutan is my “cousin” because orangutan is the most human-like primate and its DNA is 97% similar to ours. And orangutans know what is love.

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center of Borneo

Orangutan is endangered and a fully protected wildlife in Malaysia. Harming orangutan or keeping it as pet is against the law, offender will face a mandatory prison sentence of six months to five years and/or fine up to RM50,000.

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center

However, law protection isn’t enough, we need a long-term conservation project, so Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center was established in 1964 to train orphaned orangutans to become self-reliant in the rainforest when they grow up. The Center is also the first orangutan sanctuary in the world to dedicate itself to the rehabilitation of orangutans.

Orangutan photo booth at the entrance

For over 50 years, 758 orphaned baby orangutans, who are the victims of logging, plantations and illegal pet trade, are rescued and brought to this Center. About 81.6% of them are successfully rehabilitated and 66% of these orangutans were released to protected forest reserves such as Tabin. (The released orangutan will be monitored for week, to ensure it can survive on its own.)

Viewing platform to see orangutan feeding in Sepilok

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center is Not a zoo, the orangutans here aren’t treated as pet either, so expect no animal show and touching of orangutan. The Center is located within the protected Kabili-Sepilok Virgin Forest Reserve, which covers an area of 4,294 Hectares (43 KM²) and serves as a natural classroom for orangutans.

Most Bornean orangutans in Sepilok are Pongo pygmaeus morio species

A baby orangutan stays with its mother for 7 to 10 years. During these vital stage, the mother will teach her young everything it needs to know to survive. Young orangutans, which are not parented, don’t have the ability to find food, build nest and climb. The Center takes the role as their mother to turn them into wild orangutans.

Orangutan Feeding

The best time to see orangutans is during the feeding time at 10am and 3pm every day. The food is meant to be “supplement” to orangutans, before they can live fully independent in the forest.

Layout map of Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center

Visitors leaving their bags in the lockers

Visitors are not allowed to carry their bag, food / drink and insect repellent (poisonous to orangutan if they get ahold of it) to the forest. Orangutans and monkey are highly curious and won’t hesitate to rob any object they find alluring. Visitors can store and lock their bags (for free) in locker of visitor building. Still, you must remain vigilant because your smartphone or shiny jewellery could be a target.

Boardwalk to orangutan feeding platform

After ticket checkpoint, visitors need to walk about 200 Meters on a raised wooden boardwalk that leads to the orangutan feeding platform. The walk takes about 10 minutes, so you better move earlier to be on time for the feeding (at 10am or 3pm). Along the way, you will see many towering tropical trees, the perfect habitat for orangutans.

Rangers keep aggressive macaques at bay

Don’t get excited if you see wild orangutan or macaque on the boardwalk. Never look into the eyes of macaque, as this is perceived as a challenge and provokes them. Whatever the tourism posters show you, adult orangutan is not cute. They can grow up to 1.4 Meter tall and weight up to 100 Kg. You really shouldn’t upset this beast which is 3 times stronger than human. Usually these fellows will leave you alone, otherwise you can turn back calmly and ask for help from rangers who station nearby.

Orangutan “apartment” on the tree. How many nests do you spot?

Orangutans make nests for bedtime every day by breaking and folding branches in the treetops. Just look up and I’m sure you will see some orangutan nests near the boardwalk. Sometimes you would see hornbill and eagle flying over the tree canopy.

Tourists waiting for orangutan

The Center is visited by an average of about 80,000 tourists annually. You will see hundred of orangutan fans waiting eagerly to see orangutan the first time at the viewing platform. It’s important to keep quiet to avoid scaring the orangutan away. Normally, you will see 4 or more orangutans come for the free food. However, during fruiting season, you would possibly see none. This might disappoint you, but you should feel happy that they can find enough food on their own.

Female macaque with sexy buttock

Sometimes it’s the naughty pig-tailed macaque that does the opening. The big red buttock of female macaque would stir up the crowd, “OMG, look at her butt!” “Ew.. That’s gross.” In fact, the swollen hip is a sign of ready to mate. To male monkey, she is as hot as Nicki Minaj LOL.

Baby orangutan coming for feeding

Orangutan is very good climber but clumsy in walking. There are a few long ropes that are used by orangutans to approach the feeding platform about 15 Meters away from tourists. At some points, someone would notice the movement of swaying ropes and blurts out “it’s on the way!”

The feeding time is at 10am and 3pm every day

One by one, these beautiful reddish-brown creatures swing along the ropes and land on the feeding platform. Most of them are juvenile above 5 years old. If you are lucky, you would see mother orangutan carrying her baby for extra diet there.

This orangutan seems content

They are given bananas and milk most of the time, sometimes sugar-cane, watermelon, vegetables, etc. The Center deliberately repeats the similar menu every day, a tactic to make orangutans bored of the monotonous food and more motivated to forage for other fruits in the jungle.

Orangutans enjoying food

Orangutan is a solitary and quiet animal. Most of them focus on eating, and occasionally playing or arguing with their mates. One or two greedy orangutans would stuff 4 or 5 bananas in their mouth, grab another bunch in their feet then go away.

Orangutans wouldn’t come back to feeding platform once they are totally independent in the forest

Every orangutan there has a name, for example, Mimi, Mariko, Kam Chung and Rosa, and they all have unique faces and personalities. Some are introvert, some are hyperactive and some are bully. Orangutans reach maturity at 7 – 10 years of age and can live up to 40 years old.

Orangutan always acts funny at feeding platform

The crowd is so awed by the playful and adorable orangutans. One orangutan couple even practiced mating after meal. You can watch the following video for the hilarious moments:

By the age of 10, orangutans will learn to identify more than 200 different food plants. They keep a memory map of location of different fruit trees and their fruiting time, and they would not visit feeding platform anymore. The rehabilitation costs about RM8,000 (≈USD$2,200) per orangutan per year (include toy)!

Cheeky macaques wait for their share

The feeding usually ends after 30 minutes. After all orangutans left, the pig-tailed macaques would have a family picnic at the platform to finish the leftover.

After the orangutan feeding, you can proceed to the Outdoor Nursery, or turn back to watch a 30-min video (in English) on orangutan conservation, which is played at 8:30am, 11am, 12pm, and 3:30pm in the Visitor Information Center.

Ticket (Conservation Fee)

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center is open to public every day (include weekends and holiday), so any visitor can walk in and buy a ticket to enter. No prior booking or application is required. The ticketing counter is open at 9am-11am and 2pm-3:30pm. The following are the ticket fees, which they call Conservation Fees (prices in RM, as of Aug 2015):

	Malaysian	Foreigner
Adult (above 17 years old)	RM5	RM30 (≈USD$8.50)
17 & below	RM2	RM15 (≈USD$4)
Camera & Video Cam	Personal: RM10 per unit (≈USD$2.80)
Camera & Video Cam	Commercial: Professional Filming / Photography (with 400mm lens and above). RM1,000-RM10,000 (ask the Center)

The ticket is valid for the whole day, and you can use it for entering feeding area and Outdoor Nursery. If you are crazy about orangutan, you can go at two feeding times with the same ticket on the same day.

Outdoor Nursery

Open in Oct 2014, the new Outdoor Nursery Building is an excellent addition to the Center. It is connected to feeding platform with 300-Meter boardwalk. Just follow the crowd and signage after the orangutan feeding and you will reach the building, it’s quite a long way though.

Entrance of Outdoor Nursery Building. There are left (air-conditioned) and right halls (fan only).

You don’t need to buy another ticket to enter Outdoor Nursery, a double-value to your tour. In the past, to avoid human contact and stressing the orphaned orangutans, Outdoor Nursery was a no-entry zone to tourists. Now visitors could sit comfortably in a hall to watch baby orangutans in action. We love them but we don’t want them to be so attached and used to human.

Outdoor Nursery in Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center

Outdoor Nursery is a play school for baby orangutans 5 to 7 years old to learn to climb. Orangutan is arboreal animal that spends most of its time on trees searching for food and building nest, so climbing skill is crucial for its survival. The Center won’t stop (actually they encourage this) young ape from exploring the forest on its own.

Training baby orangutans in Outdoor Nursery

Same as juvenile orangutans, baby orangutans are also naughty and playful. Everyone laughed when they saw the orangutans fooled around with their trainers. In the video below, you will see a mischievous orangutan grabbed and pulled the hair of a volunteer:

The glass works like an one-way mirror. Orangutans can’t see the people behind.

The Outdoor Nursery has large indoor halls with about 100 seats. Visitors can overlook the play area through the large window, but the orangutans outside can’t see us. They still can hear us if we are too noisy.

Orangutans gather at Outdoor Nursery

The baby orangutans are so cute, but each of them has a sad story. Most of them were admitted to the Center in malnourished, traumatized or injured condition, after they lost their mother. Under good care for some time, they will be paired up with an older orangutan to help them to develop the survival skills. This buddy system is used to replace a mother’s teaching and it works quite well.

Baby orangutans undergo training in Outdoor Nursery

You can be part of the conservation effort to prevent this charismatic ape from extinction. You may Adopt an Orangutan, which starts from a contribution of RM200 (USD$70) per year. They will send you the update and photos of your adopted “cousin” every 6 months. You also can work as a volunteer at the Center for an once-in-a-lifetime experience with orangutan.

How to get there

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center is located 25 KM to the west of Sandakan City (see Location Map). Public transport to Sepilok is available readily and the journey takes about 45 to 50 minutes one way.

By Bus

The following is the departure time of regular shuttle between Sandakan and Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center. The bus fare costs RM4 (≈USD$1) per person one way:
Sandakan City → Sepilok: 9am, 11:30am, 2pm, 5pm
Sepilok → Sandakan City: 6:30am, 10:30am, 12:30pm, 4pm
Tel: +60 12-8067067, +60 17-8632684

Or you can take the mini-bus (route: Batu 14) near to the bus terminal of Nak Hotel in Sandakan.

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center

By Taxi

You can hire a taxi for a return trip for about RM100 per car (≈USD$28)(negotiable). There is also a taxi stand in car park of Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center.

Facilities

Overall, the Center has adequate amenities for tourists as it is one of the most developed destinations in Sabah.

Toilet

The public toilet of Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center is probably the best in Sabah. It’s air-conditioned and handicapped-friendly. Visitors don’t need to pay any entry fee.

Toilets in Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center

Cafeteria

In the Center, there is a Sepilok Cafeteria where you can buy food (e.g. sandwiches, fried rice, noodle, omelettes), snacks and drink. It’s convenient but the place is quite crowded, you can expect a long queue to cashier counter during busy hours.

Sepilok Cafeteria

If you want great food and not in a hurry, I strongly recommend Lindung, which is only a 5 minutes walk away from the Center (see Location Map). They have nice restaurant, art gallery and exhibition.

There is also a small souvenir shop (in front of ticketing counter) in visitor building. The Center is managed by Sabah Wildlife Department, which is reachable by phone (Tel: +60 89-633587) and e-mail (sorcsylvia@gmail.com, ppous64@gmail.com).

Accommodations

There are many other things you can explore and do at Sepilok, for example, Rainforest Discovery Center, Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center, bird-watching, jungle trekking, so you may like to spend a few days there. Below are a few accommodations that are only a 10 or 15 minutes walk away from Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center:

1. Sepilok Jungle Resort

I stayed there before. The accommodation is quite affordable and very popular among tourists. This resort has 45 air-conditioned rooms and 15 fan rooms ranging from dormitory, standard, family to deluxe room with balcony. Though the rooms and facilities are a bit old, the nice swimming pool, lake and garden make it up.

Rates: RM38 per person – 190.80 per room (≈USD$10-50) (Online Booking available)
Website: www.sepilokjungleresort.com
Facebook: fb.com/SepilokJungleResort
E-mail: info@sepilokjungleresort.com
Tel: +60 89-533031, +60 89-533051
GPS Coordinate: 5.866024, 117.951640 (see Location Map)

2. Sepilok Forest Edge Resort

It’s about 700 Meters away from Sepilok Oran Utan Rehabilitation Center. The resort comprises of stylish Malay design chalets around green surrounding and hills with nice view. It has long house accommodation for budget travellers, as well as standard, family and superior chalets.

Rates: RM40 per bed – RM590 per chalet (≈USD$11-168) (Online Booking available)
Tel: +60 89-533190, +60 89-533245, +60 13-8859890
Website: www.sepilokforestedgeresort.com
E-mail: sepilokforestedge@gmail.com
GPS Coordinate: 5.867155, 117.950294 (see Location Map)

3. Sepilok Nature Resort

Sepilok Nature Resort has fully air-conditioned twin bed chalets feature beautiful lake or jungle view verandah and private bathrooms with hot water. The accommodation fees for Double / Twin Room start from RM265 (≈USD$75)

Website: sepilok.com
E-mail: mail@sepilok.com
Tel: +60 89-673999, +60 89-674999
GPS Coordinate: 5.867229, 117.949029 (see Location Map)

Click Here to see more photos of orangutans

Photos taken in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Kim Fung Night Market of Sandakan City

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Traveling is more than sightseeing in a foreign land. Only walking into the people and experiencing their lifestyle will inspire you to see the world differently, and a local market is always a good starting point. If you tour around Sandakan city of Sabah, a stroll at Pasar Malam Kim Fung (Kim Fung Night Market in English; 金凤夜市 in Chinese) in Saturday evening (5pm-10pm) will be fun, even if you aren’t in shopping mood.

Kim Fung Night Market (Pasar Malam Kim Fung in Malay and 金凤夜市 in Chinese)

To foodies, Kim Fung Night Market is a gastronomic destination because a wide variety of Chinese and Halal (Muslim) street food are sold there. I’m surprised to see so many snacks and finger food that I never heard of.

Satay and grilled food

It is advisable you go with an empty stomach, so you can wolf down as many food as you want (enjoy the freedom. you can’t eat in such manner in hotel LOL). Do bring wet wipe to clean your hands.

BBQ sweet corns in different flavors

Under the dim light of night market, your smell and hearing senses would become more sensitive. The scent and sizzling food will be quite stimulating, when there is no door to shield your noses from those grilled chicken, cakes, buns, dumpling, baked corns, etc., which are so affordable and alluring.

Crowd in Kim Fung Night Market

Pasar Malam Kim Fung is an open market formed by hundreds of makeshift stalls lining up along a stretch of 200-Meter street between shoplots in Bandar Kim Fung.

Colorful knickknacks for sale

Besides food, they also sell various items such as clothing, T-shirt, toy, handicraft, shoes, music CD, pets, knickknacks, jewelry, accessories, gadgets, power bank and fruit juices. They expect you to bargain so don’t feel embarrassed to counter offer.

Thousands of locals flood the night market

What I like most about Kim Fung is – it’s an authentic local market that shows the colors and diversity of our society, it’s noisy but harmonious. Thousands of local buyers from different races and background filled this place every weekend, making Kim Fung one of the most vibrant marketplace of Sabah. The market was packed and I had to move with the flow of the crowd, occasionally stop at something that caught my attention.

Various Chinese buns

The vendors mainly targets at local people, not tourists. It’s very different from the popular Gaya Street Sunday Market in Kota Kinabalu city, which sells a lot of tourist stuffs such as “I Love Sabah” T-shirt, handicraft and packaged local food, but rarely hot local food. Another advantage of night market is that you don’t need to apply 10 layers of sunblock, and shopping is more comfortable in cooler temperature.

Grilled seafood and chicken

Kim Fung Night Market was started in Dec of year 2010, so it’s a relatively new attraction. I saw very few tourists there. Probably most of them are concentrated in Kinabatangan River for wildlife tour and overnight stay in jungle lodges, which are far away from city. Kim Fung Night Market is also not commonly included as one of the destinations in Sandakan city tour package, because many tourists need to catch their flight in the evening. Now you know this place so you may consider to pay a visit if time permits.

Lion or Fish Dance is performed every Saturday night

Yeah, one more thing. They have 1 or 2 lion dance performances from 8pm onward (no fixed time), but it can be other show sometimes. For example, they did “Fish Dance” in my last visit.

The show is a highlight of Kim Fung Night Market

By the way, beware of pickpocket, though there are police officers around. Don’t place your valuable belonging in the front or side pocket of your backpack. When you stand still watching lion dance or buying stuff, move your backpack to your front. The same rule applies to any country we travel.

Busy food Stalls in Kim Fung Night Market

The following is the direction to Kim Fung Night Market:
Address: Lorong Bandar Kim Fung 6, Mile 4, Bandar Kim Fung, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
GPS Coordinates: 5.856307, 118.077304 (see Location Map)
Opening Hours: 5pm – 10pm (Saturday only)

Kim Fung Night Market of Sandakan

The night market is about 6.5 KM (4 miles) away from Sandakan City Center. If you drive there yourself, expect for congested traffic and limited parking space there. For tourists, the best option is to get a taxi. Be very specific by saying you want to go to Pasar Malam Kim Fung at Mile 4. Miss one word and they would send you to “Pasar Kim Fung” (a wet market a few blocks away) or the taxi driver would think it’s another night market near Post Office (which open daily).

Durian anyone?

For return trip, you can find any taxi nearby the night market. You can ask the friendly police there for the location of taxi stand.

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home.” – James Michener

Photos taken in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Oxbow Lake and Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp

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I bet you love the beautiful seas and rivers of Sabah. The flowing water invites you for a playtime. But when I say “lake”, you would feel different emotions, like calm, laid-back and peaceful. These are exactly how I describe the beauty of Tanjung Bulat, one of the largest oxbow lakes in Sabah. An oxbow lake was used to be part of a big river in U-shaped. As river changes course, a body of water is cut off naturally from the main river and forms a lake.

Pic: ready to depart

To go to Tanjung Bulat Oxbow Lake (see Location Map), you can take a 25-minute boat ride from Bukit Garam, which is a riverside village 75 Km from Sandakan City and accessible by road. For my tour, I took the boat from Balat Jetty of Deramakot Forest and the ride took about 2 hours.

Bukit Garam Village

Bukit Garam (literally means Salt Hill) is a small village at upstream of Kinabatangan River. We stopped there shortly to buy some stuffs before going to Tanjung Bulat. I saw power line but electricity wasn’t fully utilized. Almost every house has satellite TV, but every grocery stores have no light on, except refrigerators that keep the soda drink cold.

Pic: the most interesting house in Bukit Garam

Bukit Garam is just next to Kinabatangan River (Sungai Kinabatangan), the longest river of Sabah, and it was flooded occasionally during heavy rain season. I even saw a house with water level markers of all major floods happened between 1963 and 2010.

Most of the land around Bukit Garam is clear for plantation, so very little forest cover is left. I noticed some tree replanting going on in a few sections of riparian to restore the forest along the river.

You can see from the diagram above that Tanjung Bulat Oxbow Lake has a small tributary that connects to Kinabatangan River. If the water level is high, our boat can send us straight to the camp. However, it’s dry season so we had to get off our boat, walked 450 Meters to the oxbow lake, then take another boat to the camp.

The walk takes about 20 minutes on a soil trail. Luckily the staffs of Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp helped us to carry our heavy luggage. The trees near the lake is so dense and tall. It’s part of a forest reserve where logging, hunting and farming are off limit.

Tanjung Bulat Oxbow Lake

It’s an easy walk and we came to an open area at the edge of Tanjung Bulat oxbow lake. This is the second Oxbow Lake I visit after Uncle Tan Camp in Danau Girang but the first time I was being so close to the lake. During rainy season, the Kinabatangan River will flood this lake and brings in fresh water.

Pic: silungapid tree next to the lake

I admire the beautiful tree trunk of silungapid tree, which is abundant around the lake. This tree can survive the flood in wetland and its fruit is an important food source for proboscis monkey, the endemic monkey of Borneo.

Pic: transit to another boat to jungle camp

When I was still busy enjoying the scenery, everyone was already waiting for me onboard.

You may check out the short video below to know why I like this place so much

For those of you who spent your childhood in outdoor, you would understand why lake holds such a special place in my memory. Every kids that time had a “secret” corner where they loved to hang around in group, and lake is the coolest place because we could swim and fish in it. Unfortunately, today most of my old-day nature playground has been cleared to make way for estate and agriculture.

That’s why I was so excited to see that Tanjung Bulat Oxbow Lake is kept in near pristine condition. It’s like a hidden lake in a dense jungle and it’s huge. The lake surface is about 95 hectares, with depth up to 30 Meters.

We saw 4 or 5 Oriental Darters (Anhinga melanogaster) on the way to jungle camp. Also known as Snake Bird, Oriental Darter spears fishes with its long and sharp beak. It’s a threatened bird species, but you can find a good number of them at Tanjung Bulat. Great egret is also common here.

Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp

Here is a brief but inspiring story about the camp. Tanjung Bulat Oxbow Lake is well-preserved as a marvelous destination because of one fisherman, Mr. Malik, who started the jungle camp in year 2010. Malik is born 40 years ago in a fisherman family of Orang Sungai community. He was used to swim (that time had no crocodile) and fish in this lake since he was six. During that time, fishes were plentiful and wild elephants were everywhere.

Pic: Tanjung Bulat Oxbox Lake

However, over the three decades, the well-being of the lake was gradually compromised when people used destructive fishing methods such as poisoning, and the forest was encroached for plantation. The situation became so severe that the lake got no fish for a year, so Malik decided to protect his beloved lake from further deterioration. We both share the similar childhood so I fully understand his sentiment.

Pic: photo of me and Mr. Malik (right). He looks serious but he is a friendly guy who is passionate about his work.

The lake and its adjacent land is a 450-hectare area under multi-layer land title of State Government, oil palm company and villagers, so Malik had to work with the authorities and different parties to conserve the oxbow lake. Some villagers were so unhappy initially.

With the support of native chief, Tanjung Bulat was included as part of the 1 Village 1 Product Rural Campaign and helped the village won the national and international championship in Gerakan Desa Wawasan (Rural Vision Movement). And villagers saw the fishes coming back, so they turn from against to acceptance. Now the fish stock gets a 60% recovery.

Back to our tour. Within 10 minutes, Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp was in sight. The wooden building with stilts in the photo above is the dining and activity hall. The camp is built on high ground so it is safe from flood even during wettest season.

Located in high point, the camp overlooks Tanjung Bulat oxbow lake. Every visitor is automatically drawn to this hall for this panoramic killer view. I would say Tanjung Bulat has one of the most spectacular lake view in Sabah. Without other man-made structure at the lake, it’s a 100% wilderness.

You can see half of the lake from the camp. At the left of photo above is an isolated (almost) forest surrounded by the lake. It’s mainly marshland with dense wetland trees, which is a little paradise for birds, reptiles and arboreal animals.

Pic: fish farm with black and red Tilapia (freshwater cichlid fish). Two Little Herons were fighting there for this prime fishing spot. The highly sought after seafood such as udang galah (giant river prawn) and Freshwater Gobi also found in this lake.

The weather was so good and we could see the reflection of cloud on the lake surface. I was completely immersed myself in this tranquil environment as if the clock had stopped ticking.

Pic: a 2-Meter monitor lizard that wanders near the camp. Monitor lizard always avoids human contact so it isn’t a threat (except infant).

There is also a 3-Meter crocodile living in the lake. It is wary of the human presence and keep a distance from our camp. It always patrols in the water, and its movement is so slow that it looks more like a floating log. We like this croc so much that we name it “Dicky”.

After we checked in, a tasty lunch buffet was already waiting for us, and it’s really nice to enjoy our meals next to a lake.

Pic: Panjaram Pancake, a famous local snack of Bajau people

We had fried noodle, chicken wings, tomato fish, local vegetables (fern) and a deep-fried pancake called panjaram (a.k.a. UFO Pancake).

We were supposed to have a river cruise in late afternoon to check out the crocodiles, proboscis monkey and other wildlife around the lake, but it was raining dog and cat. So I just grabbed a coffee, enjoyed the nice breeze and view. It was so relaxing that I fell asleep. During dusk, I saw Rhinocerous and Oriental Pied Hornbills, Brahminy Kites and Blue-eared Kingfisher. I also heard screeching of proboscis monkey in the forest across the lake. Tip: bring a binocular for more excitement.

Accommodation and Amenities

Though the accommodation of Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp is basic, it is clean and comfortable. We got mobile phone network coverage. The signal is weak but we can call and text the outside world.

The camp can fit about 15 people at a time. Electricity by generator is available from 7am to 9pm. You can even ask them to on it until 11pm. But noisy generator is too near the camp so it’ll be off during bedtime.

Pic: our bed with mosquito net. It was warm during daytime but cooling at night. We all had a good night sleep.

Toilet and bathroom are only 15 Meters away. The water from the lake is crystal clear. Malik told us that he used stones, sand and cotton to filter the water, a simple but effective technique he learnt from a Japanese engineer. The water of the lake looks murky, but it is almost as clean as the tap water, because it’s from the upstream of Kinabatangan River.

The toilet and bathroom are clean and basic too (no funny smell). Hot shower is not available but you will love the freshness of having a cold shower in hot day. As there is no lighting, you better bring a flashlight so you can find your way to toilet in the dark.

Tree Planting

Since the camp started 5 years ago, over 500 trees were planted to contribute to the Corridor of Life project. Basically it’s a long term conservation effort to restore the forest along the riparian of Kinabatangan River, to connect the fragmented forests, so the wildlife can use the forested river bank to move freely to other forest for food and mates.

The next morning we were brought to the tree re-planting area just behind the camp, to plant some trees before we left. Many trees have grown tall over years and some have bear fruits. This dense wood also becomes home for some birds such as Hooded Pitta. During fruiting season (especially in August), orangutan would be sighted here.

Actually the staffs had done the hard work for us. They cleared an area for the tree planting. All we needed to do is to dig two holes and planted two seedling. The common trees chosen for replanting are Pokok Bayur and Asam-Asam (wild mango), which provide nesting place and food for orangutan respectively.

As a city folk who seldom uses hoe, it’s no easier than I think. The soil is held firm by many tree roots. Just digging two small holes already made me sweated in the morning. Anyway, I’m glad that I’ve left some green footprints, a perfect way to end my journey here.

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

To visit Oxbow Lake Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp (or Danau Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp), you can book the tour with Aseh Travel & Tours, a licensed travel agent which practices Responsible Tourism.

Below is the contact of Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp:
E-mail: tgbulat_junglecamp@yahoo.com
Hotline: +60 12-8656773
Website: kinabatangantbjc.blogspot.com

Photos taken in Kinabatangan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Tour to Deramakot Forest, a Well-Managed Forest of Sabah

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We can’t eat our cake, and have it too. At least this is how most environmentalists see logging, which usually means the end of world to wildlife and ecosystem in that forest. Deforestation is really a threat to flora and fauna of Borneo. However, we can’t totally ban logging, like we can’t simply stop fishing for the purpose of conservation. Though Sabah government phased out logging in 2007, lumbering is still an important economy activity. Even USA, Canada and New Zealand export log.

Pic: misty logged forest in Deramakot

What if, we can harvest the timber in a sustainable manner that minimize the impact to our environment? Deramakot, one of the Sabah forest is able to achieve that through Reduced Impact Logging (RIL). This is a great news because 70% of Sabah forest is commercial forest that allows logging.

Nevertheless, many conservation solutions only sound good on paper, so it’s better we see the reality with our own eyes, and that’s my goal to visit Deramakot Forest Reserve organized by Aseh Tours.

Deramakot Forest Reserve

Deramakot is a 55,507-hectare (equivalent to 66,000 soccer fields or 555 Sq. Km) mixed dipterocarp forest in the middle of Sabah and north of upper Kinabatangan River. Deramakot is also the first and longest-certified tropical rainforest in the world as a well-managed forest under FSC™ certification since 1997 (Forest Stewardship Council).

Pic: oil palm plantation at the edge of forest reserve

To reach Deramakot, we drove 237 Km from Kota Kinabalu City (190 Km if from Sandakan City) on paved and gravel roads. After we entered the final 70 km of bumpy gravel road, we saw oil palm plantation and secondary forest along the way. We also passed by some tree nurseries, logging camps and forest replanting zones.

We saw pile of logs from Deramakot ready for public auction to international and local buyers. Each log is marked with ID that can trace its exact location where it was harvested. These logs from Deramakot can generate an annual income of about US$4 millions for Sabah. Some buyers such as IKEA do offer premium prices (15% to 20% more) for certified logs as compared to uncertified logs.

Pic: group photo at entrance to Deramakot Forest. We saw two Black Hornbill there.

Visitors are required to get the permit from Sabah Forestry Department to enter Deramakot. They welcome tourists who are accompanied by experienced tour guide. Strictly no walk-in visitor. We drove through four security gates which guards the forests (i.e. Ulu Sapa Payau, Tangkulap and Deramakot) of Yayasan Sabah and Sabah Forestry Department.

Pic: a funny signboard for forestry staffs, which says (translated), “Satan’s Notice, Stop and Read: 1. Going home early huh? 2. Want to go ‘Happy Happy’? 3. Absent from work? 4. If so, go to Hell!” LOL

After the last gate, we entered the Deramakot Forest Reserve. We saw no more oil palm and the road condition was much better. It’s possible to access the bumpy and gravel road to Deramakot by sedan or saloon cars during dry season. The road can turn muddy after rain so 4WD is a safer choice.

Pic: Warning about wildlife crossing. Note Michael Jackson at the right. LOL

We would run into heavy truck or wildlife in forest road, so we moved at a slow speed of below 40 KM/H. While driving, our tour guide was also keeping an eyes on the forest for wildlife and birds. We saw Barking Deer (Kijang) and long-tailed macaques on the way.

Pic: a funny signboard of “Playboy River” (Sungai Buaya Darat), more photos here. This river does have crocodile.

Night Safari

We were losing daylight but Deramakot base camp was still hour away, so we just slow down, turned on the spotlight of 4WD and did a dusk drive along the way. Most animals here are nocturnal and we spotted common palm civet and two leopard cats. I also saw Badger and Sambar Deers in next day.

In fact, Deramakot is one of the few places in Borneo where all 5 Bornean cat species are found (namely, Sunda Clouded Leopard, Bornean Bay Cat, Marbled Cat, Flat-headed Cat and Leopard Cat). Leopard Cat is almost a guaranteed sighting, but other 4 cats are in very low density. Clouded Leopard and Bay Cat are endemic to Borneo and highly secretive, but NHK filming crew managed to capture the former cat.

You have 50 to 60% chance of seeing orangutan in the wild at Deramakot. About 792 orangutans dwell in this forest (statistics 1999). Too bad I didn’t see any, but their presence is evidenced by their nests left on the trees.

Pic: female Sambar deer

Other potential sighting of wildlife in Deramakot includes Pygmy Elephants, Banteng (Tembadau), Sun Bear, Binturong, Flying Lemur, Gibbon, Reticulated Python, Porcupine, Pangolin and Wild Boar. Anyway, this is not a zoo and the animals here are quite elusive and not used to human presence, so you will need some luck.

In 2010, the world?s most endangered otter species hairy-nosed otter (Lutra sumatrana) was “rediscovered” in Deramakot when everyone thought it had extincted. To me, it’s quite surprising that so many rare wildlife can be found in a logged forest. Deramakot is a relatively new nature destination, we would uncover more gems when more people explore this forest.

Deramakot Lodge

We arrived Deramakot around 7:30pm and check-in to Deramakot Lodge. Please note this is not a hotel so there is no hotel staff welcomes you with a phony smile. We just collected the key from forestry staff and we were on our own. Though the accommodation is basic and not tourist-oriented, it is clean and comfortable.

Pic: This is the chalet where we spent two nights. Each chalet has 3 rooms (2 units of Double bed room and 1 unit of Queen bed room) and a living room (no TV though). They even have ramp for wheel chair. There is an old resthouse with 3 bedrooms (2 units of Double bed room and 1 unit of Triple bed room) but it would be reconstructed.

Pic: One of the room in chalet, with fan and air-conditioning. Every room has an attached bathroom with hot shower. Blanket, pillow, towel, soap and shampoo are provided. Electricity is available 24×7. Wifi is available during weekdays and there is no phone network coverage. There are another two chalets nearby, which have dormitory bedrooms with bunk beds, you can see their photos in my photo album. The lodges can host a total of 31 people at a time.

The chalet is near the forest edge so you would find wildlife foraging around. I saw long-tailed macaques, crested serpent eagle and flying lizard near my chalet.

At night the light at our balcony became a magnet for hundred of moth, beetles, katydid, cicada, etc. You can look at this photo and count how many they are. They are just everywhere. I had to close the door fast before they flied into the house. The bug also attracted a Brown Wood Owl looking for easy meals near our building.

Pic: watching video about Reduced Impact Logging

There is no canteen, restaurant, shop and room service in the base camp, so you have to prepare your own food, or you can request the forestry staffs to provide food catering (for a fee) like what we did. We had rice, vegetables, chicken, fish and fruit for every meal (quite delicious). We were quite well-fed actually. After dinner, we were invited by Sabah Forestry Department to watch a video about Reduced Impact Logging in Deramakot.

Reduced Impact Logging (RIL)

Now you may wonder why wildlife can do so well in a logged forest. Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) is the answer, as you might have expected. RIL is a very big topic and someone can write a book to talk about it. I’ll only scratch the surface here. To learn more, you can visit website of Deramakot.

Conventional Logging is destructive. Basically, the loggers just bulldoze everything to make way, cut down all valuable timbers and leave a mess behind. This unsustainable method hurts the forest so much that it needs 50 to 80 years to regenerate.

In contrast, RIL employs different harvesting strategies that leave the forest mostly intact, to a level that it only takes 25 years to regenerate. Moreover, logged forest of RIL will be left to recover for 40 years before next harvest (felling cycle).

Pic: fig fruit is an important food source for orangutan and hornbill

To be more friendly to wildlife habitat and ecology of a rainforest, RIL doesn’t cut fruit trees and small trees (less than 60cm in diameter). It also leaves buffer zone for riparian, steep slope, watershed, and other elements that keep the forest healthy and stable. Though the logged forest is degraded to some degrees, it still remains very livable for local flora and fauna.

Pic: orangutan nest on the tree

RIL also reduces the soil damage by 50%. This is crucial because top soil contains Mycorrhizal fungi community that acts as a root extension for indigenous trees to absorb water and nutrients more efficiently. This measure promotes faster forest restoration and cut the cost of rehabilitation from RM5,000 to RM300 per hectare! Besides, silviculture and tree replanting are carried out to keep the forest in good shape. Auditors of FSC will come to check the forest regularly for re-certification (or revoke).

Dawn Drive & Morning Walk

Morning offers the best photography opportunity to capture beautiful view of misty rainforest. We waked up very early and started our exploration by 4WD around 5am. Deramakot Forest is lively during dawn. We heard the loud call of Bornean Gibbons and bird chirping everywhere. Unlike the muggy city, the air here is refreshing and cooling.

I didn’t see any large area of exposed soil (a bad characteristic of traditional logging practices). Deramakot Forest Reserve is divided into 135 compartments for sustainable forest management and lumbering. About 75% of Deramakot must remain undisturbed or closed to forest management activities at any given time.

To enjoy the fresh and clean air, we decided to get out of our car and took a leisure morning walk. According to biophilia hypothesis, humans have a psychological need for greenery and contact with nature is a basic human need. That explains why a walk in the wood is always a pleasant experience.

Deramakot is an excellent bird watching site. We spotted or heard Rhinocerous hornbill, Asian Paradise Flycatcher (twice!), Buff-necked woodpecker, whiskered tree swift, Black-headed bulbul, Blue-eared kingfisher, Oriental dwarf kingfisher, Crested Fireback, Changeable Hawk-eagle, Racket-tailed Drongo, Yellow and Black Broadbill, White-crowned shama, etc. Black & Crimson Pitta, Great argus pheasant, Bornean Bristlehead and 8 species of hornbill also live here. Our guide says the “feature” birds here are Helmeted Hornbill and Wreathed Hornbill.

Then we picnic under a shelter. Deramakot isn’t a destination for mass tourism and we were the only tourists there. I really enjoyed the secluded moment.

Jungle Trekking

Near the basecamp there are two jungle trails for you to see the forest logged by both Conventional & RIL methods. Each trail is about 1 to 2 Km and takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour of hiking, they are quite well-maintained and not challenging (but watch out for a few slippery and steeper areas).

During our visit, it was dry season so the forest floor was covered by layer of dry foliages. Only a few tiny leeches were around so I didn’t even bother to put on my anti-leech socks. Not many wildlife was found though. I heard the flapping of a few hornbills above the canopy.

The forest seemed like a young secondary forest in good quality. Though they were logged before, there are still many standing tall trees that provide plenty of shade. Sivilculture is also in place to remove other competing plants such as climbing vines and scrubs that hinder the growth of timbers.

Pic: Darah-Darah (Myristicaceae), a tree that “bleeds”

Along the nature trail are rich variety of big and small trees labeled with interesting local names like Ghost Durian (Durio grandiflorusurat), Worm Eye Smooth Leaf (Parashorea malaanonan), Thin-skinned (Memecylon edule), Bitter-Bitter (Eurycoma longifolia). I hope they can use info-rich signages that tell visitors the special use / story of each plant. For example, the sap of Paliu tree (Antiaris toxicaria) is used in making poison dart.

Pic: When burnt, this resin smells like the incense in Buddhist temple

I’m not a plant expert and only can tell you that there are many species of famous timbers such as Seraya (Shorea), Kapur (Dryobalanops) and Keruing (Dipterocarpus) in Deramakot.

Camera Traps

For some fun, we collected four camera traps that were deployed in different wildlife hotspots in Deramakot forest a few months ago. Normally the camera trap is strapped on tree trunk one Meter above ground and the batteries can last about 3 to 6 months.

Two of the camera traps were near to the road to “Whitehouse”, which is a building painted in white and has nothing to do with US President, haha.

The gravel road to Whitehouse is narrow and bumpy. We saw a lot of elephant dungs on the road. Whenever our car turned at a tight corner, my heart would beat faster, imagined that our car would bump into an elephant face to face. That would be a scary but exciting moment, but we saw more dungs instead.

After driving 27 Km, we arrived Whitehouse and found the place was raid by elephants. The Whitehouse was attacked! Don’t worry, Obama wasn’t there.

Pic: the water tank was punctured by elephant tusk. I have no idea why they were so mad. Probably these elephants are the members of Republican Party in US.

Unfortunately, one of the camera traps was broken and another one was out of battery. We downloaded the photos from other camera and had fun looking at those cheeky selfie by monkey, palm civet and wild boar.

Pic: wildlife captured on camera trap

Camera trap is a useful tool to monitor the number and types of wildlife. The shot is in color if taken during daytime, black & white if shot by infrared at night. The most commonly captured animals are mouse deer, barking deer, macaque and wild boar.

Going to Deramakot

Deramakot is a unique destination because it’s an eye-opening experience for tourists to witness the abundance of wildlife in a logged but well-managed forest. The positive news is the model of Deramakot will be implemented in 81% of other commercial forest (a total area of 1.8 million ha). Uncontrolled and unsustainable timber exploitation will become history.

Pic: Junction to Deramakot (another 70 KM on gravel road)

To enter Deramakot Forest, you need to write to Director of Sabah Forestry Department to apply for entry permit for yourself and your vehicle (fees apply). However, for safety concern, it’s quite likely that they will reject your application if you visit Deramakot without guiding by travel agent or tour guide. I think the last thing they want to hear is some clueless tourists being gored by a wild elephant or lose in jungle.

Therefore, I advise you to book a tour package to Deramakot through Aseh Tours. They will arrange everything for you, from permit, 4WD transport, food, accommodation to guide services. The fee is between RM2,000 to RM3,000 per person (for a 3 or 4 day trip).

Below are the contact of Sabah Forestry Department:

Sabah Forestry Department (HQ)

Address: Locked Bag 68, 90009, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia.
Tel: +60 89-242500
Fax: +60 89-671303 / 672579 / 669170
Website: www.forest.sabah.gov.my
Facebook: SabahForestryDepartment

Deramakot District Forestry Office

Tel: +60 89-278801
Website: www.deramakot.sabah.gov.my

For more photos of Deramakot, please check out my photo album.

Photos taken in Tongod, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Lankayan Island, Living next to Turtles & Sharks

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Tell me, what would your dream tropical island look like? Is it an island with sandy beach and beautiful sea under blue sky? Well, there are hundreds of such islands in the world, but when you dive in their sea, many islands only have underwater desert with very few marine lives present.

Lankayan Island (of Sabah, Malaysia) is more than sandy beach and crystal clear seawater. It is an island “approved” by sea turtles and sharks, a paradise for both tourists and wildlife. Please read on to see why or you may watch the beautiful photo slide show of Lankayan. Lankayan Island is only 5 hectares, about the size of 10 soccer fields. You only need 15 minutes to walk one round of this island. Though Lankayan is tiny, it is one of the important marine protected area and turtle nesting sites.

Look at the white sandy beach and turquoise-colored sea of Lankayan. Everyone smiled when they reached this dreamy destination. 70% of the island are covered with lush Pandanus sp trees.

The Corals

Coral reef is the rainforest of the sea and a habitat for over 2,000 reef fish species. Out of 700 coral species in the world, 400 live in our sea. Coral is very sensitive to pollution, destructive fishing, global warming, etc.

You don’t need to go far for snorkeling. Just jump off from the jetty and you will swim among high density of colorful corals.

Say Hi! to Nemo of Lankayan. This photo was taken in water less than 1 Meter deep. Lankayan has huge area of shallow costal reef. During low tide, the water only reached my waist even though I was more than 30 Meters away from the shore.

Pic: a lonely Barracuda swimming near the beach.

Besides coral reef, the wide sea grass bed also attracts foraging turtles and fishes. Visitors can swim, snorkel, dive and kayak in Lankayan. The dive center of the island also offers basic and advanced PADI scuba diving courses there.

The Chalets

Lankayan Island Dive Resort is the only accommodation on Lankayan Island and it is luxurious.

They have 23 wooden seafront chalets that face the sea (mostly at sunrise direction), and the beach is just a short walk away.

The chalets are on twin or triple sharing basis and include water heater, air-conditioning, mini-refrigerator, safe with 4-digit PIN, etc. I just love the warm ambiance created by wooden structure. But the best part is – the resort is eco-friendly, it uses Hydroponics Treatment System to treat effluent from resort before discharging it.

The super sea view of the balcony. Needless to say more..

You may watch the 4-min walking tour video of Lankayan below:

I waked up at 5:30am to take photos of sunrise at the balcony. Too bad the sky was gloomy. However, I saw something more interesting. A number of juvenile black-tip sharks were foraging in front until 6:30am. Btw, Whale Shark sighting from Mar to May is also a highlight of Lankayan.

Two sea turtles and a school of Jack Fish were passing by too.

Turtle Hatchery

What impresses me the most is the turtle conservation project and the number of turtle hatchery on Lankayan. Selingan Turtle Islands Park is the most popular turtle nesting site of Sabah but it is always fully booked. Lankayan is the next best alternative (good chance of sighting but no guarantee).

The peak months of turtle nesting are from Jul to Oct. The two common sea turtles that nest on Lankayan are Green Turtle and Hawksbill Turtle.

I was there in July, and the turtle hatchery area is full.

If you want to observe turtles, you can hang the wood tag on your door knob (blue tag for turtle nesting and yellow tag for hatchling release). Their staff will knock your door to inform you.

Releasing Turtle Hatchling

Once the baby turtles emerge from sand, the staff will release them ASAP for better survival rate. They will not wait for everyone to start the “show”, just to remind you.

It takes turtle hatchling 3 to 7 days to dig and get out of the sand by group effort. The baby turtles were still so hyperactive despite long hours of digging.

You can see the baby turtles in video below:

There were 125 baby turtles to be released. The guests were so excited, as if they were becoming parents. To avoid predators to predict the release, the staff picked a random location to free the baby turtles. We were asked not to move as the turtles would run all over the place.

Pic: the race started and all the hatchling vanished into the sea in minutes. In year 2011, Lankayan released about 40,000 hatchling. Sounds like a big number, but less than 1% will survive to adulthood.

Turtle Nesting

Around 9pm in second night, I heard people busy moving outside my chalet, with chattering mixed with excitement. Then a staff told me that there was a green turtle nesting nearby. I grabbed my camera and joined a group of enthusiastic guests to see turtle laying eggs. We were asked to be quiet and keep a distance, as the turtle would turn back to the sea if it was disturbed. Photo taking with flash is also not permitted (that’s why my photos look dark).

We stayed still and silent around the turtle, observing the event with the aid of a dim torchlight, as if we were witnessing a sacred ceremony. It took the mother turtle half an hour to unload all her 50 to 80 eggs into the pit she dug. Then she covered the hole with sand. I was showered by sand each time she scooped sand to the back. The staff said turtle purposely spread the sand all over the place to cover the smell, so the predators can’t pinpoint the nest.

It was a long and slow process. The turtle would stop and take a breather once in a while, as if she was sighing. Finally she was done and headed back to the sea. In year 2011, there were 500 nesting on Lankayan Island.

The staff dug out the turtle eggs to transfer them to hatchery. The eggs look like ping-pong (actually it’s soft, like a sac than shell)! Sabah is one of the few Malaysian states that bans the trading of turtle eggs. Unfortunately, turtle eggs are still being sold illegally. In Sandakan, if someone shows an OK finger sign to you, that means he wants to sell you turtle eggs.

The staff also lets us touching the turtle egg. Sadly, Peninsular Malaysia still consumes turtle eggs today. For example, Terengganu was used to be an important nesting site of leatherback turtle. Due to egg consumption by human, its population drops 99% since 1960s, and now leatherback is a critically endangered species.

To protect the eggs from predators, the staff transferred the eggs to hatchery. The hatchlings will emerge after 50 to 60 days. I really appreciate what Lankayan does for the environment.

Above are some turtle nesting statistics in case you are curious.

Reef Guardian Exhibition Center

Lankayan forms SUGUD Islands Marine Conservation Area (S.I.M.C.A.) with Billean and Tegaipil, two nearby islands in Sulu Sea and Coral Triangle. SIMCA covers an area of 46,300 hectares of open sea, shallow coastal reef and sea grass bed. Reef Guardian is the manager of SIMCA and they have an exhibition center on Lankayan.

This building is also a “Combat Center”. They have radar to detect fishing boat that intrudes the marine protected area. Many countries completely destroy their corals and overfish. When their sea has nothing left, they come to our water to steal.

Pic: Sea turtle has existed more than 210 millions years, but human can wipe them out very soon.

Reef Guardian is open daily 8am-12:30pm, 2pm-4:30pm and 8pm-9:30pm. A 15-min video presentation about SIMCA is played on every Mon, Wed & Fri at 12:30pm. You may visit this center to see some interesting photographs and specimens about marine ecology. Do donate some money to fuel their combat.

Lankayan Restaurant

With panoramic sea view, the new Lankayan Restaurant makes meal time a very enjoyable experience. The design is modern but it won’t block nature away from you. You can listen to the sea and feel the sea breeze inside.

Good food, good view… everything in Lankayan is designed to make you lazing around.

I love the colorful sofa. The atmosphere is soooo.. relaxing.

They have good variety of local and western food. Every meal is different from the last one so you won’t feel bored. Just to name a few, BBQ chicken wings, fried noodle, pudding, prawn, lamb… If I’m not mistaken, the food is halal (for Muslim).

Pic: beautiful sunset over Sulu Sea

Pic: Lankayan is one of the few places in Sandakan where you can see Mt. Kinabalu, the highest mountain of Malaysia.

More Photos

Want to see more beautiful photos? Check out my Flick photo album then.

Created with flickr badge.

How to Get there

Lankayan is 85 KM at north-east of Sandakan city (location map). The boat ride from Sandakan Yacht Club to this island takes about 1.5 hours.

To visit Lankayan, you need to book a tour with the following agent:
Pulau Sipadan Resort & Tours Sdn. Bhd. (License: KPL 2536)
Website: www.lankayan-island.com
Facebook: lankayanresort
Tel: +60 88-238113 / +60 89-673999
Address (Office):
Kota Kinabalu City (KK): Block B, 1st Floor, Lot B-1-1, Plaza Tanjung Aru, Jalan Mat Salleh, 88100 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Sandakan City: Block C, Ground Floor, Lot 38 & 39, Mile 6, 90000 Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia

Lankayan has 35 dive sites, you may arrange a scuba diving trip with Asia Diving Vacation too.

Would you agree if I say Lankayan is the most beautiful island of Sabah?

Photos taken in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Sepilok Laut Reception Centre (SLRC) in mangrove forest of Sandakan

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Here are some updates of the new upgrade of Sepilok Laut Reception Centre (SLRC) in Feb 2012. If you plan your trip to Sepilok Laut based on my earlier blog about SLRC, you may need to read the following changes.

Pic: Sepilok Laut Reception Centre (SLRC)

1. New Boardwalk of SLRC

Sabah Forestry Department has constructed a 700-Meter Belian (Ironwood) boardwalk to connect existing SLRC to camping ground in Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve in early 2012.

The new boardwalk will allow you to explore the pristine mangrove forest of Sepilok Laut, without walking in this muddy swamp.

Pic: Mangrove Discovery Centre and the new boardwalk

Pic: This 700-Meter boardwalk is built 2 Meters above the ground.

I visited the new boardwalk a month ago and found that this new boardwalk is great for bird-watching, as you can enter deep into the mangrove forest to look for mangrove bird species.

During my 1-day birding tour there, I spotted the following birds along the boardwalk.

Black-and-Red Broadbill
Black Drongo
Bornean Whistler
Buff-necked Woodpecker
Common Iora
Copper-throated Sunbird
Hill Myna
Jambu Fruit Dove
Kingfishers (5 species!): Ruddy Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Oriental-Dwarf Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher
Lesser Green Leafbird
Mangrove Blue Flycatcher
Mangrove Whistler
Red-billed Malkoha
White-chested Babbler (not confirm)
Yellow-bellied Bulbul
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch

The boardwalk is also a nice way to see mangrove ecology and wildlife upclose. You would see proboscis monkey, macaques, monitor lizard, crocodile and mangrove viper here, depends on your luck.

Pic: Mangrove Reception next to SLRC boardwalk.

The main mangrove species in Sepilok Laut are bangkita (Rhizophora apiculata), tengar (Ceriops tagal), nyireh (Xylocarpus granatum) and geriting (Lumnitzera littorea).

Mosquitoes are active here during dawn and dusk. Do bring insect repellent. You will be deep in the forest, so there is no shop around to sell you this.

After 30 minutes of leisure walk, you will reach a Camping Ground at the end of the boardwalk. In year 2011, I had to walk nearly 1 KM from this camping ground to SLRC on a rugged forest trail. Now hikers can take the new boardwalk to SLRC, which is easier.

2. Trail to SLRC

In the past, for tourists who wanted to do a jungle trekking from Sepilok to SLRC, the trail started at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. This trail is poorly-maintained and turns muddy after rain.

Now the new 7-KM trail starts at Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC) and passes by two waterfalls. I haven’t tried it but I assume it is better. You may click the trail map above for more details.

Other than what I mentioned above, nothing much is changed in Sepilok Laut Mangrove Discovery Centre. The naughty long-tailed macaques are still around. I miss them so much. But I didn’t see Paul, the alpha male this time.

3. Night Walk at SLRC

Again, I did a night walk at SLRC. I started my walk on a rainforest trail from SLRC to Camping Ground, then return to SLRC via the boardwalk. By doing so, I could see nocturnal animals of rainforest and mangrove forest. Cool huh? Unfortunately, it rained that night so I had to rush back. Anyway, I still photographed some interesting flora.

The new facilities of SLRC definitely made my experience there more enjoyable.

After enjoying the view of misty mangrove forest in the morning, I headed back to Sandakan city by speed boat.

If you love being in touch with forest, Sepilok Laut Reception Centre (SLRC) is really worth a visit, as it allows you to see two ecosystems, i.e., rainforest and mangrove, in one place. Have you been there? Please share your experience with me.

Photos taken in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Silver Leaf Monkey (white form) of Sabah Borneo

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Silver Leaf Monkey or Silvered Langur (species: Presbytis cristata) is a common primate in South East Asia. Normally its fur is in dark and silvery grey color like photo below, but a group of “white” Silver Leaf Monkey is recorded in Kinabatangan, Sabah (according to the book A Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo).

Pic: normal Silver Leaf Monkey is in metallic grey color

Being one of the rarest primates of Borneo, the distribution and number of white Silver Leaf Monkey are so small that I didn’t expect to see one during my recent wildlife tour in Kinabatangan.

Pic: Danau Pitas Lake of Kinabatangan

Therefore, I was so excited to see a group of them at Danau Pitas, one of the 20 Ox-bow lakes in Kinabatangan. However, as Silver Leaf Monkey herd is always on the move, you shall not expect to see them in the same place.

Unlike the cheeky macaque, the white morph of Silver Leaf Monkey is very elusive. Though I wish to take a very good look of them, they were hiding behind the leaves, high on the tree. There were about 4 to 5 of them in this group in the forest next to this lake.

When I moved closer, they started to flee and leaped to other trees.

One of them stayed around. I knew it would be gone soon, so I couldn’t keep my eyes away from it, just to enjoy the sighting as much as I could. To be precise, white morph of Silver Leaf Monkey is a bit reddish in color. Its tail is longer than its body. Silver Leaf Monkey is diurnal and arboreal. Its main diet consists of fruits, leaves and shoots.

Oops… here it ran again, such a shy and agile monkey.

It still made a short appearance before vanishing into the wood. I couldn’t complain because it was lucky to see them.

You may visit Danau Pitas if you come to Kinabatangan Floodplain in Sandakan. According to my guide, a 27.4-feet python was captured here in year 2002. Who knows you may see other strange creature in this lake.

Photos taken in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Smoking Fungus (spores dispersal)

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Borneo forest has rich variety of mushroom and fungi, and Mycologists describe Sabah as an El Dorado for fungi experts. Personally I had seen hundreds of fungus species in different shape, size and color during my jungle trekking. Just check out my fungi photos, some may not even have a name.

When I was walking in the mangrove forest of Kinabatangan, I spotted this huge fungus (see photo above) on a tree. Someone calls it Monkey Stool or Monkey Chair Fungus, as it’s big enough for a monkey to sit on. Maybe it is a some kind of Bracket fungi or Shelf fungi.

It’s a parasitic fungus growing on living tree. Look so big and heavy, I’ll be rich if it is a Lingzhi, a highly valuable mushroom used in traditional Chinese medicines.

This is the biggest fungus that I’ve ever seen, so I checked it out closely. I noticed some tip-like structure at the bottom. I have no idea whether they are spore-producing asci or sacs. Anyway, I took a few photos and left and thought that’s.

Later I came back to this place again for a night walk. I scanned every tree with my torchlight, in search for nocturnal wildlife such as slow loris and civet. Then I saw a plume of white mist swirling upward from this fungus, as if it was on fire. A spore dispersal was happening! I couldn’t see the tiny spores, but I knew millions of spores were being spread.

Though it was a windless night, the cloud of spores drifted slowly through the slightest breeze, forming various smoke figures in air. The following is a video of spore dispersal that I found in another location of Sabah.

Pic: I also could see the spore cloud at its bottom.

Spore discharge is not uncommon but rare to be seen. The smoke of spores is almost invisible during daytime. In the dark, I found that I could see the smoke far more better with yellow light than white LED light.

The spore launch didn’t seem to thin out even after 10 minutes. The smoke remained dense and I didn’t dare to breathe deeply, as I was afraid that the spores would fill my lung and germinated into mushroom. Hehe, that is unlikely though.

Photos taken in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo