Welcome To Kinabatangan Jungle Camp
Trip Start
Nov 10, 2010
1
7
9
Trip End
Dec 22, 2010
Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
Thursday, November 18, 2010
I packed up a small backpack to take to the jungle, my next destination, but it was popping out all over the place, and so wasn't my finest work; it meant I didn't have to lug around my big backpack though. We had an 'American breakfast', which was scrambled eggs on bread with huge baked beans and two very pink hotdogs that not one person touched.
We stopped at a high street in town to get money and drinks, but the ATM wouldn't accept Kim's or my card, so we headed off around the corner to a Western Union, where people were just standing around, signifying we'd joined a queue, apparently not. When we got to the ATM we learnt that people do not keep their distance, and as I stooped in to see the Malaysian height ATM a little man appeared at my elbow and said 'you okay lady', to which I swiftly replied 'please move'. He couldn't see anything, as I had to stoop to block the sun, and I filled the whole hole anyway, but I still wasn’t keen to have him peeking in. Kim said people were staring at us as we waited and that it was probably because they'd not seen such a tall girl - I explained they probably just thought I was a tall man with long hair.
Some 100-Plus and a Boost Bar were purchased, but neither kept me awake for the bus ride: 100-Plus is meant to be an energy drink that's 'lemony,' as Kim confirmed before admitting she’d never actually tried it.
We stopped off at a cafe for drinks again an hour or so later, where Sue, Lonna and I had Happy Birthday sang to us, as well as a cake to chomp on. It was a rich cream cake that even I couldn't finish, so Sue did. It was quite lovely for Arkin, the tour guide, to have bought us a cake, but I had to wash it down with cold Milo before it stuck to my oesophagus.
We arrived in the jungle three-ish, where we took our little boats up the river to the jungle camp on Kinabatangan River. We all signed the visitors' book and looked for any familiar names or places before us, then back to the boats for a river cruise. We saw monkeys and lots of birds, but no elephants of orang-utans. During dinner we had a discussion about accents, and I was quite dismayed to have my Welsh accent criticised by three southern hemisphere residents! They said it wasn't high-pitched enough: I'll take criticism where it's due, but only from people who know what they're on about! Tut tut. Dinner was a selection of curries and rice with Tiger beer, before heading off to bed to rest our weary heads.
My last day as a twenty-three-year-old and I feel no different, just quite sweaty from the lack of air out here; no theatre shows or Times Square this birthday, just sweat and wellies.
