We travelled to Sabah in North Borneo to see the Orangutans and lots more besides.

The history of Borneo, third biggest island in the world, is complex but suffice to say it is made up of three separate countries, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. Its a beautiful melding of cultures and a predominantly Muslim country. The people were all hospitable, friendly and welcoming – eager to share the delights of their country with us. The whole of KL, our starting point, as well as Sabah were bathed in the Malaysian and Sabah flags to commemorate their independence on 31st August 1957. Memorable, as it is also my birth year.

Green forests and plantations of palm oil compete for space. There is a sea of green everywhere we travel – our first stop Mount Kinabalu NP, the Botanical Gardens, and Poring Hot Springs. Many species are endemic to this region. 90 endemic orchid species including the smallest one in the world which was pointed out to us, (we would have missed it completely,) 9 pitcher plants, 850 species of butterflies – the list is impressive and long.

In Poring Hot Springs we traversed the canopy on swinging bridges which were frightening and delightful in equal measure. The sign on the top of each was clear 6 Orangs – six humans – Orang is the operative word for us too. Orangutan is Man of the Forest in its meaning.

Before attempting the walk there were some health warnings – are you pregnant, suffer from vertigo, have heart problems to which we gleefully said NO. The canopies were at least 50 metres above ground. We came down to hot springs gushing from the ground to rest tired limbs. In a private garden we were lucky enough to catch Rafflesia – on its first day of blooming as well a cinnamon tree.

It is named after Sir Thomas Raffles the founder of Singapore who came across it in 1821 – it is known as the rarest and heaviest flower ( can weigh up to 6 kilos) but in fact it is a endoparasitic plant which takes 9-21 months to incubate and then blooms for 5 -7 days. We saw it on its first day.