Road Trippin' in Borneo

After some thorough planning and sage advice given by fellow travelers and many friends to pass through these parts, I had decided to visit Borneo. Known for it's fantastic array of wildlife, I had to drop by. It is seen as a one of the world's hotspots for large numbers of species of all walks of life, many of which are yet to be discovered; virgin forests I believe the phrase is, so I had to check it out.

The jungles of Borneo.

I flew into a place called Kota Kinabalu and from there made lots of little stops along the road, visiting small towns and seeing some special sights along the way, most of which were part of national parks. Getting around was quite simple, local buses and mini-vans, but what seemed to happen most frequently was for a local to stop and offer me a lift. I didn't really have the intention of hitching, but they stopped anyway; a young police officer, a older doctor and his family, a stall owner, a young boy-racer. All these different walks of life were more than happy to pick up a stranger just to satisfy what came across as only innocent curiosity.

The dominant language here is Malay, but basic English is relatively common also so they would want to practice it more than anything. Mainly the topics of conversation involved Manchester United at some point (sadly...). They love them here! I'm not sure if some of them even know that they are a football team, but it seems to be the "in fashion" to have any sort Man U clothing or decorations about your person. They've never heard of the Toon though...

Kinabalu National Park was the first major stop. Mount Kinabalu stands a foreboding 4100m above sea level and is a pretty major peak to behold, surrounded by rain forest. Although I didn't actually climb it (it takes a couple of days) I did manage to do a number of jungle treks and walks, some of which involved some cool canopy walkways. Pretty magnificent stuff and good fun too.

Trooping along in the tree-tops on the nice and rickety canopy walkway.