More exploring in Borneo

Anytime we spend a long time in one place, things start to get a little like ground hog day.  This past week, we decided to spice it up a bit and rent a car.  For a pretty pricey 70 Ringgit/day (about $23 US) we got ourselves the worst rental car we’ve ever had.  It’s a shoebox with 4 bald tires, a broken speedometer and gas gage.  The passenger window won’t roll down and it takes at least 4 tries to crank it up.  The latest issue with it is that somehow it’s gotten infested with ants.  But that just gives Jake something to do while we drive around.

Our first stop was Matang Nat’l Park and the rehabilitation center.  Andy and Jake had already been there, but I was dying to see the Orangutans and I wasn’t disappointed.  We saw an adult teaching a baby how to climb a tree (part of their “school”) and then we saw two babies playing with a sheet while the mama watched.  They were pulling it up over their heads, rolling around and wrestling with each other.  Occasionally, the mama would grab the sheet and put it over her head.  Very cute to watch.  The funniest part of the day however, was when the “bad monkey,” as Jake liked to call him, threw poo at Andy.  Technically, I guess he threw poo at all of us, but Andy was lucky enough to get hit….twice.  The monkey was quite frisky and didn’t stop with the poo.  He threw banana peels, watermelon rinds, mango skins and papaya….all at Andy.  Jake and I got a big kick out of that.

The next day we decided to head out to Bako National Park and go for a hike to try and see the Proboscis Monkeys.  We underestimated the terrain and found our flip-flops to be a bit of a hindrance, but we managed.  Unfortunately, we didn’t see any monkeys, but we did see a snake and a bearded hog.  The hog was about the funniest looking thing we’ve seen yet.  It has this huge long snout (with a beard), then it’s eyes are about halfway down, then the forehead just keeps going.  Add to that, it has really long legs...not very pig-like.

These naughty little monkeys like to steal
your snacks.  

He still fits on my lap...almost :(

Some other ways we’ve tried to beat the ground hog day feeling…we saw a local ballet depicting one of the Iban legends from the jungle, we’ve taken to having nerf gun wars at the marina when all the workers go home, and we’ve spent a lot of time with our friends Richard and Lee on s/v Before.  Jake has even taken up jogging in the mornings with me and we’ve managed to convince Andy to join us as well.  I can’t lay up in bed when I have a little guy wiggling my toes asking me to go run with him….the best motivator.

This weekend we’re flying to Jakarta to see an old friend of Andy’s and relax a bit (all this fun is tiring).  It’s serving a dual purpose in as much as Jake and Andy need to renew their visa’s for Malaysia as well.   When we come back, the most exciting thing of all…Jake turns 9!