The Jungle VIP

After a relatively pleasant and thankfully short flight we landed in Pankalan bun where were greeted by our guide Majid. After a quick chat and what have you, we piled into a taxi for the 45 minute journey to the river where our Klotok (Long Boat) would be waiting for us. We hopped out of the taxi and walked along a short jetty to our boat, where lunch had already been prepared for us. (Great welcome that was!)



Majid talked us through what we would be doing over the next three days and much to our surprise and pleasure we found that we would be seeing Orang-utans that very afternoon! Alex’s program had only included seeing the Orang-utans on the third day at one of the camps. Now we found out that we would see them once that day and then at two more feeding stations / camps the next day with a jungle trek on the final day!! This was great news and we were now officially very excited! The boat started up as the rain clouds gathered and we headed off out into the main river as the rain began to fall.


Now what with me being a keen angler, I kind of have the eye for spotting things. It was our intention to try and see as much as possible on the route up into the jungle and take it all in. So once the rain cleared we raised the screens so that we could both sit and look at the surroundings and what was going around us. As we turned off the main river the river became flanked by very large palms which gave it and enclosed feel. As various vessels carrying various cargos made their way up and down the river you had locals out in their boats, moored up to the palms fishing away for their tea no doubt some even may have been fishing for the aquarium as many tropical fish from the river fetch good money.


We were taking in the surroundings, looking at the fishermen in their boats when something caught my eye. I saw some palms being wrenched about. I had to check, double check and check again in order to get my head round what I was looking at! It was a large male Orang-utan right on the waters edge ripping up the young palm shoots and having a feed!!! We couldn’t believe what we were seeing, a proper wild Orang-utan doing his thing! I made a bit of fuss about this and shouted to the young lad on board (who was the only one on the top deck), who just smiled and nodded. We assumed that this must be so common that the lads on the boat were going to be a bit blasé about it. We were pretty chuffed but maybe felt a little silly that we had made such a fuss.

So we carry on and I then spotted more palms moving around rather suspiciously! This time Dipi banged on the roof of the boat and we shouted Orang-utan!!! This time the boat slowed as we scrambled for the camera and video camera! This was really exciting and we caught a good glimpse of the Orang-utan stretched between two palms, fur all matted from the water. As the boat slowly glided back with the flow of the river the Orang-utan spooked a little and hid in the palms. We could still see the palms moving around and the guys on the boat were trying to coax it out. But with one lat crash and bang through the palms she was gone. Wow!!!! Now Majid tells us that this is very rare and that the last time one was spotted was more than two months ago! Get in eagle eyes Gander!! All those years of angling was paying off here. We can only assume that the lad didn’t understand us before when we spotted the big male.

Then only a few miles up stream I spotted another! The crew were very surprised by this and said that it was very rare indeed! It was a similar encounter to the last apart from managing to get a little closer this time.

Sadly we have no photos of these proper wild Apes. We did manage to get some shaky video footage which is good. We can’t describe what its like to see these great apes in the wild. The best word is probably unreal! We felt really lucky to see them in this way, something that not many people get to see on the trips.

Now, without going into detail with regards to each day, we would prefer to summarise as it may get a little tedious to read! Basically there are three camps where Orang-utans are re-introduce into he wild. They joining the wild orang-utan community but because at some time in their lives they have been dependant on humans these re-introduced Apes will never be truly wild. Therefore they still depend on the feeding stations situated within the camps. This is where you can get close encounters with the Orang-utans. They are obviously all different characters and each Aspects different to the next. Therefore some are more friendly than others. We visited one camp on the first day, and two the next day. The first one was an afternoon feeding and the two different camps the following day were morning and afternoon respectively.

Here are the photos from each camp.

Camp Tanjung Harapan.




Camp Pondok Tangui




Camp Leaky
There were a couple here that came out onto the jetties and sat watching us!

They were proper friendly! (as long as you had a guide near by)

This camp had the most Orang-utans

And the Biggest male! King of the swingers, the Jungle VIP!


Quite a few of the females had babies, which was good news!


On the last morning we went for a short trek through the jungle which was very cool, even if it was very hot and sticky! Majid filled us in on all sorts of plants and animals, and again we were very lucky to see a large cobra like snake and a lizard that even he has only seen twice before!

The lizard


Medicine Plant


Sandlewood


Pitcher Plants


Mad Vines (Majid is explaining how to get water from this one)


Gibbon


Dipi!


Along with the river trip along the jungle where we took in some of the jungle sights……


…where, on the boat, we ate wonderful food by candle light and chatted to Majid who was a top guide…


…where we slept on the top deck out in the open air and awoke to the sound of gibbons and all sorts of other animals (we also had many sounds to keep us occupied during the night, mostly fish splashing around and perhaps the odd crocodile!)….

…we also got close to one of the greatest and rarest creatures on Earth! The whole trip was truly magic!!

Cars, Boats and Planes!

We had two options with regards to the first part of our trip out of Pontianak and into central Kalimantan, one was to fly and the other was to hire a car, get dropped off at a local river (within one hour of Pontianak) in order to catch a speed boat that would take us through a systems of rivers, lakes and eventually along the coast to a place called Teluk Melano, where we were to catch a local bus for a three or so hour trip to Ketapang, where we would then get a flight to Pankalan bun (our pick up point for the Tanjung Puting National Park trip). Well we went for the more intrepid option of course. As most of you know I'm into lakes and rivers and we also both wanted to take in the scenery along the way, something that flying wouldn't really give us. So off we set in our hired car at 6am along the relatively bumpy road towards the river....


On our arrival there were several boats in the water, one of which we assumed that we would be going in; a nice white cruiser type number with big seats and plenty of room. The others were long fibreglass boats that sat very low in the water and look quite shabby. So anyway we sat down for our morning coffee, said cheerio to our new "brother" Alex and waited to board our chariot.

The crowds were starting to gather and people started to board boats following shouts from individuals who seemed to work there. So the small fibreglass boats were filling to the brim (four people to every three seats) along with all the various things that they can chuck and strap onto the top of the boats (for example, huge boxes containing 40inch plus TVs!). Thank god we were not in one of those eh. Then one of the little fellas grabbed our gear and started towards the, what seemed like, very full boat in the water. Much to the amusement of everyone one we asked (or pointed and waived our arms about) "aren't we on this one??" pointing to the white cosy cruiser. Most people laughed their heads off and we were guided to the speed boat, gingerly hopped on board and wedged ourselves in place! Well, I guess we gotta do it like the locals!!

To be honest we didn’t exactly mind as we expect to have to go through things like this. It really does add to the experience and is part of the fun (more in retrospect sometimes!). The engine roared into life and off we went!

Our view from the front!


The boat journey itself took around 3 hours (ish), along with a stop on the way for food and drink.

We saw some cool stuff along the way as was our intention to do so.


These guys are using palm leaves as sails in order to help get them home!

This is what we assume to be a fishing hous. Whether people live on them or not we dont know, but we thought they were quite cool. They were situated right out in the middle of some of the lakes we passed through. The sticks in the lake bed formed a funnel towards the house and underneath there was what seemd like a net that could be raised up.

Albeit at the expense of a very numb bum we arrived in Teluk Melano safe and sound. Now for the bus!!

The area where we got off was very “hustle and bustle” with a lot of noise and commotion going on. Bags were being passed over head and people jumping off and between boats like monkeys. We managed to get all the bags off in one piece and started to scan the area for the bus we had been told about. We got plenty of attention (we got loads of attention being the only Indian and white people there. This was the case for 99.999% of the time in Kalimantan, which was really cool). We stood looking a little bit like dumb tourists as we couldn’t figure out where the bus station or pick up point was. Amidst the many voices in Indonesian came a lads voice in Basic English and he asked where we wanted to go. He led us away from the harbour and pointed us in the direction of a small Warung with a bus parked outside it. After complimenting him on his English we said thanks and goodbye to him and trundled off to the Warung. We rocked up and found out that the bus to Ketapang was due in about an hour and sat ourselves down with a fizzy drink, sweating all the way!

Now the reasoning for spending so much time on the boat was to miss out large sections of what Alex called “crazy roads”. Referring to the state of the road more than the traffic you would encounter. Notwithstanding that, after we boarded the bus (which arrived dead early, or maybe a late one from before) we found that there was still a certain amount of “crazy road” left to endure! We were going through sections that would force the bus into a 45 degree sideways tilt and then dip onto what can only be described as makeshift bridges with large holes and gaps a plenty! We were both stood up inside the bus as it was rammed and it felt lie we were taking surfing lesions!

After a while though the roads got better and we were very kindly invited to sit down when seats became free. Again, the locals here are so friendly, smiley and polite. In general they are wonderful people. We passed through some slightly more dramatic scenery and we were starting to get excited about what lay ahead.

After what seemed like a lifetime (about 3.5 hours) we arrived at Ketapang bus terminal where we were barraged by keen bike taxis and the like wanting our business (and grabbing our bags!). We were firm with the guys and it’s all done with a smile and a bit of a laugh. We negotiated with an Opelet driver and set off in his not to road worthy vehicle. We arrived at the hotel only to find out that the place where we thought we were booked in was full! So we had to get the taxi driver to drop us off at another more costly hotel. It was a bit of a pain but by that time we just wanted to sit, chill and raid the mini bar!

There aint much we can say about Ketapang really. We veged in the hotel room for most of the time watching probably the worst films in the world, but they were English so we didn’t care to be honest! We had two nights there and n the second morning we set off to the airport for our flight to Pankalan Bun.

We had to take a picture of the plane, check out the duck tape holding the windows in place!!

Equatorial fun!

We had a reasonably pleasant trip (all bar the stop off where we saw turtle’s eggs for sale! Grrr!) down from Kura Kura Beach to Pontianak (which is the capital of West Kalimantan).


It had been arranged by Kura Kura through their contacts that we would be staying in Benny’s Guest house in Pontianak. We booked into the hotel and went to Joseph’s café where we had arranged to meet someone called Alex (another of the contacts from Kura Kura). After a warm welcome from football mad (Man United fan) Joseph....

....we were soon sat down with a large Bintang (brand of beer) and some grub. Alex then turned up and we got chatting. As it turned out he could not only give us a few pointers on what to do but his business consists of providing packages for tourists wanting to discover Borneo, with trips ranging from day visits to traditional Dayak Villages to grueling 21 days jungle treks right across Borneo! We were in good hands. So what we thought would be a difficult time was turning out to be a little more straight forward with one point of contact for finding out what to do and where to do it. Sweeeet (Alex loved this saying, as well as coooool! We taught him those of course). So we sat down and talked through what we would like to do and when. We looked through many of his photos and our excitement grew as we worked out a plan for the next week or so!

In basic terms, we worked out that we would like to go to the Equator Monument, a Long House (traditional Dayak dwelling) and then head to Central Kalimantan to go to the Tanjung Puting National Park, where the Orangutans live. We would be spending a few days in Pontianak itself in which time we would spend a day driving out into the countryside to visit the Long House.

The next day we started by spending some time getting to know Pontianak a little under the helpful guidance of Alex. We wandered around market stalls and shopping centers getting a feel for the place and the locals, whom were all very friendly and were all shouting “Hello Misterrr!” sometimes followed by “How are you?”. Super friendly and smiley people! That goes for Borneo in general really. They say Thailand is the land of a thousand smiles (should be the land of a thousand prostitutes and grumpy arses) but Borneo has been very friendly and deserves the Title thus far!

Anyway, after our morning of wandering around we decided that we would tackle our first tourist attraction and also the closest, the Equator Monument. Pontianak lies slap bang on the Equator and as a result a monument was built in 1928. In 1990 a duplicate was made but was five times the original size of the monument and was used to house the original one in order to protect it. Every March 21-23 and September 21-23, at midday, the sun passes over the equator line therefore making the shadow of the monument disappear! We were on the wrong side of the river for the monument so we had to cross it on a ferry in order to get on our way.

Boarding the ferry with a mass of locals on foot, bike and in car.


View From ferry.


We jumped into an opelet (small van with two rows of seats in the back and more people than seats) on the other side of the river and communicated to the driver where we wanted to go. After an abrupt stop and lots of finger pointing we literally popped out the back of the opelet and onto the street where we could marvel at the Equator Monument!

View from outside the Monument.


Some stuff about the Monument.


Us stood right on the equator!


It was very novel and quite cool!

The second item on our “to do” list was to visit the traditional Dayak Long House. This was presented as a package item by Alex and included the hire of a car and driver for the whole day (we needed the whole day). We could have taken a local bus but that would have been painful beyond belief! Plus with your own car you can stop where you like and take photos and what have you.


So early one morning we set off in our hired car for the long house. The journey itself was quite eventful as Alex filled us in on all sorts of history about the area, Borneo and himself (he is a very knowledgeable bloke).

We also passed through some interesting villages and areas where we were able to see how people lived day to day. The cities are an eye opener as it is but the countryside and jungle are another story. People live in shacks and small huts, bathing and washing clothes in the rivers etc etc. It’s difficult to describe to be honest, but it makes you thankful for our mod cons and a good lifestyle. At the same time they also put you to shame with their happiness and smiles! It would be nice to go into detail with regards to the real cultural and living differences on here but it is best saved for chats over a drink on our return. Let’s just say; we got it easy!!

Alex filled us in on the different tribes and immigrants within Borneo, one of which were the hard working Maduras who migrated from another island in Indonesia. He told us of how they would quarry stone and minerals from the area in times of hardship when the crops were bad or whatever it was they were doing at the time went pear shaped. They were industrious people who never gave up and worked very hard. This actually lead to their downfall as the locals became jealous of their wealth and drove them out of the country or simply killed them. They then claimed the land / areas back from the Maduras. We stopped at one of the remaining Maduras owned quarries for a quick sneak around.

Alex talks us through what we are looking at and some history as the fires used to crack the rocks sit smoldering in the background.


The stone you can see here was once a hill just like the one in the back ground.


Some of the fools gold we found. There was a big vein of it running a good few meters through the quarry. Dipi loved it! (well it did sparkle)


Onwards we went and after a while it was time to stop for some grub and refreshments. Where we stopped was an area of historical importance. Cutting a long story short, West Kalimantan was taken over by the Japs between 1942 and 1945 where they massacred 21,000 of West Kalimantan’s people. They were then overthrown by the people of Kalimantan after they were weakened by the A Bombs in Japan. Nine mass graves were found at the site where we stopped for lunch and a memorial was built along with a carved stone wall depicting the full story. This was a nice little surprise for us as Alex didn’t let us know about this within the itinerary.

The main tower within the monument.


The carved stone story board.


A close up depicting the japanese arresting the heads of authority from all the tribes and races within west Kalimantan. (They were betrayed by an insider and this is how the Japanese managed to get all the heads or chiefs)


Another part of the wall depicting the slaughtering at the mass grave sites. As the people were lined up they were shot one by one and fell into the graves.


Borneo is rich in natural resources (google the full list because I’m not going into it all on here!), one of which is gold! “His friend” had once worked at an illegal gold mine (of which there are many, along with illegal logging and other such activities in Kalimantan) so he was quite knowledgeable of what goes on. He pointed out a sound in the distance and identified it as a gold mine, so we went for a closer look.



We had to be careful not to be spotted by anyone as he explained what we were looking at and that the area had been burnt in order to make way for the mine. After the mining process the only thing left were piles of sand that in essence was good for nothing. The land had gone from lush jungle to bare sand with the obvious by product of mercury being washed directly into the rivers and water system (thus entering the food chain).

Kalimantan suffers as a result of its natural resources with people only seeing the short term dollar and not the long term effects or sustainability of their actions, illegal or not.
After lots of head shaking we headed back to the car pondering the future of other such areas and the environment in Kalimantan outside any of the national parks.

We woke the driver from his lunch time kip and off we went to the long house.


This particular example had been built for 7 generations, and scientists have dated the wood back to 1875 (seems like less than 7 generations to me, but there you go, maybe they don’t live very long!) It houses forty families side by side down the 180m length of the building.

Long Houses are built on stilts (they house animals and what have you underneath), so we had to pick the safest looking "ladder" or "steps" up.


The long house is made up of three sections....

Outside terrace....


Inside covered terrace....


And living areas, all stretching the 180m along the houses total length.


We were shown around one dwelling and the fella who lived there was an artist and wood carver. He talked us through some of the very deep meanings of his work!!


One of the dwellings serves as a shop for the long house and their families.


The longhouse was an interesting experience, and again I would echo what I say above with regards to our lifestyle and what have you.


We headed back to Pontianak and took a few more snaps with our heads filled with all sorts to ponder over.

Kids in the river.


Sunset over the mountains.


On our weary arrival back in town, our sights were now firmly set on our third and final visit (and the whole reason for visiting Borneo) which would involve us leaving Pontianak and travelling to central Kalimantan and onto Tanjung Putting National Park, home of the Orangutan.....