New Year's Eve in Borneo

What better place to ring in the New Year than Borneo? That's what we thought when we reserved a "chalet" at the Lankah Syabas Resort in Kota Kinabalu. Borneo is an island that is "shared" by Malaysia and Indonesia. Malaysia is officially a Muslim country, but you are allowed to attend the church of your choice. About 60% of the population are Muslim. Men are allowed to have up to four wives. I'm not sure if this is a Muslim thing or simply a Malaysian thing. Last year, a little over 13,000 marriages in Malaysia involved a new wife being added to the family. The last cannibals in Borneo were reformed 50 years ago. At least that's what they told us when we were driving through remote stretches of jungle.

When we boarded the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 737, they were playing music from the Lawrence Welk era. It was Christmas carols on a Wurlitzer organ. That same weekend, another Boeing 737 flying between the islands of Java and Sulawesi disappeared and still has not been found (five days later). A ferry also capsized off the island of Java with over 600 people aboard. Some of the passengers floated in the ocean for five days and travelled over 120 miles from the wrecked ferry before being rescued. After hearing about all of that, the organ music on the plane seemed like a very trivial matter.

The resort where we stayed is run by an Aussie couple and the atmosphere is decidedly laid back. There is a friendly little pony called Raleigh that runs freely around the property. When we first arrived, he spotted us from a distance and ran directly at us. I feared new video footage for "When animals attack" was in the making, but it turns out he just wanted to say hello. We have pictures of the pony and all the other cool stuff we saw on our Google Albums site (see link below). There were also a couple of sheep walking around, and one sheep head-butted Maggie when she petted it.

The beach was a disappointment for us. In front of the resort is a narrow, sandy beach that is completely littered with trash. Unfortunately, this is what most beaches are like in Borneo. The Malaysians are the worst litterbugs I have ever seen. Piles of trash line the highways in most of the beautiful jungles and valleys. One person explained that Malaysians used to wrap all their purchases, food and other items in banana leaves. These wrappers could be discarded anywhere and they would blend back into the vegetation. The advent of plastic bags and the Malaysian tradition of discarding wrappers on the ground have resulted in a trashy landscape.

On our first day there, we went on a private tour with a guy from the UK named Martin. A nature lover who is very passionate about Borneo, Martin took us to Mount Kinabalu and the Poring Hot Springs. Fortunately, there is much to see other than the hot springs themselves. It was very hot and muggy that day. As in Thailand and Bali, we saw many, many dogs running loose as we traveled through Borneo. None of them looked hungry, but I doubt if any of them have ever been to a vet for a checkup.

On New Years Eve, there was a big party in the second floor restaurant/bar of the lodge. A full buffet was laid out, and the entire carcass of a pig was on a separate small table away from the other food. A large handwritten sign above the pig stated "Non Halal". I can't imagine a Muslim person mistakely eating a pig, but maybe there is a legal requirement that non-Halal food be labeled in Malaysia.

We were assigned to a table beside a boorish Australian gentleman named Drew. His job is to secure customs clearances for his company to ship spices all over the world. He spent nearly two hours explaining that to us. We spent much of the evening thinking of reasons to leave Drew alone at the table. Ironically, just days prior to this trip, I had mentioned to a colleague at work that I have never met an Austrialian that I didn't really like. They are all such likeable people and fun to be around. Maybe Drew isn't really Australian... When we returned to our table from our first "Drew break", the buffet has been closed and the pig carcass removed from the little table. I noticed then that the little table where the pig had been resting had a chrome pole running up through the center of it. Soon the young Malyasian ladies were on the little table, dancing around the strippers pole. Their dancing was provacative and showed a talent that must have required hours of practice, but it seemed as if they were just having fun and they were completely unaware of the keen interest that some of us paid to their moves. At one point, the white haired, overweight, elderly Australian man who owns the resort, joined the ladies on the small table. After that, his six year old daughter (grandchild?) took her turn on the pole. I couldn't decide if the little girl on the strippers pole was charming or disturbing. I want to say she danced very well, but that would sound creepy, wouldn't it? Fortunately, nobody actually "stripped", so I was spared the decision of sticking around to leer and nake ladies vs. grabbing Maggie by the hand and loudly announcing my disgust at the behavior on the stripper's pole.

On our last day, we went on a jungle cruise to see monkeys. The Proboscus monkeys are the most interesting, because of their large ugly noses. Unfortunately, they tend to stay high in the trees and they are not attracted by the fruits that the lady at the dock sold us. Fortunately, the Macaque monkeys on the remote fishing pier were very eager to catch the hairy fruits that we tossed to them.

I am always on the lookout for examples of good luck that have been bestowed on me. That day, my good luck involved NOT being on the same boat as the loud, whiny children who rode on our bus to the dock. I was also fortunate to get some pretty good pictures of monkeys, despite the rocking boat and the overcast skies. Take a look at the pictures here:

Borneo, Malaysia