Borneo

We caught the flight from Depansar to Kuala Lumpur in the afternoon on Monday which meant we arrived in Kota Kinabalu around 8pm. KK (as it's known) is the capitol of Malaysian Borneo. My friend Meg had recommended Masada backpackers to us and when we arrived we were not disappointed. Lovely staff, clean rooms with AC and hot showers. You would have thought being 30°C and god knows how humid we wouldn't want hot showers, but backpacking around makes you very sticky and cold showers just don't quite give you that 'clean feeling'.
My friend Meg is a beautiful girl from Tasmania who I met when she came to do a school exchange in Italy. We had some cracking adventures in '08 and I've been lucky to have seen her since she moved back home. Now she flutters back and forth from Tazzy to Borneo to see her boyfriend Andy and we were lucky to catch her on one of her visits.
The next day we had the honour of her showing us around KK. We went to the museum - which I would recommend - and learnt about the history of Borneo. It was interesting to read about the Dutch and British rule within Sabah and about the Japanese occupation during WWII. A story which moved me in particular was The Death March. Between 1942-1945 the Japanese invaded and occupied Sabah and in that time took British and Australian soldiers captive. Towards the end of the war the Japanese knew they were going to be attacked from the east and almost certainly lose, therefore they decided to move from Sadakan to Ranau. They forced their 2345 prisons to walk the 260km through the thick jungle. Some survived as long as they did partly from their knowledge of the jungle and sneaking off to eat tapioca, but by the time they reached KK only 6 prisoners had survived - all Australians. Apparently this is considered the single greatest atrocity committed against Australians during war time.
There's a bit of history for you..
From the museum, Meg took us to the top of Signal Hill where we had a beautiful view of the city and the islands.  She showed us where the old city boundary used to be and how it has been expanded through reclaimed land. I still don't quite understand this idea of pushing the sea away to make more land... surely doesn't it just flow back in? Oh well I'm sure someone will explain it to me.. We watched the sunset go down with G&Ts in our hands.. It was magical!
A big difference, I've noticed, between Bali and Borneo is the race mixtures. Borneo has far more Chinese influence, as well as being less Hindu and more Muslim. Christianity appears a lot stronger here too. The Chinese influence is apparent in the food and I've been loving trying something different from rice and chicken. If you ever do come out here definitely try Roti. Roti is a special bread they cook on the stove often served with some kind of curry, either inside or with. Becki and I are definitely fans! There is more variety with noodles and vegetables as well. They cook with more garlic and their spice blends are definitely different. There is also an obvious economic difference as well between Bali and Borneo. More people seem to have some kind of job working in cafes or in shops in Borneo, rather than just selling local fruit on the side of the road or being taxi drivers.
On Wednesday we got a shared taxi up to Mount Kinabalu Park. Very smooth 2hr journey through the bornean outback. This was the first time I'd properly seen virgin rainforest. I died. It is so. beautiful. It goes on for kms and kms, untouched, rolling mountains, with Mount Kinabalu towering over them all. Just stunning! It was lovely to breath some mountain air as becki and I arrived at the grand gates of the UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE (since 2000). Becki mentioned our lodge was 2km away which we thought isn't too far.. The 1st km was fiiine... Once we got off the beaten track the final km was STEEP up/down hills. It was at this moment, when becki was reaching for her inhailor for the second time and I showering in my own sweat, that we thanked our lucky stars we had backed out of full day trek up Mount Kinabalu the following day.
Instead we decided on some nice trail walking around the base for the day. And it really was great! Walking through the forest along the river, listening to the birds and cicadas sing. I kept thinking "This is exactly what I came here for". I was a little surprised how few small mammals, insect and reptiles we saw. In fact, aside from the odd ant it was basically just us and the trees. So for anyone planning on going, do go, but go for the walking and not to observe the fauna. That night we stayed in Mount Kinabalu Mountain Lodge with not a single bit of noise pollution, just the sounds of nature all around us. Heaven.
Our final night in KK we celebrated Meg's birthday which was really lovely. If you are ever in KK hit up El Centro bar, their food and drinks are amazing! 
We got a plane to Tawau the following morning, where we caught a taxi to Semporna. As we were driving along all I kept thinking was 1) "Bloody hell where does the palm oil stop and the forest start?!" 2) "This place is a shit hole...". The rubbish everywhere, the smell, the city in general really has nothing to offer. Becki made a good point saying that if the area is dominated by big palm oil companies, there is no where for the locals to create jobs through agriculture or tourism. I was a little worried then when we arrived at the backpackers as to what we'd do for the next 4 days..
Luckily Borneo Global Backpackers is also a diving shop so we organised a full day on Saturday with Cynthia and Leo. Becki and I are both total newbees to diving and I can say that both Cynthia and Leo were brilliant!  They took us out to Sibuan Island for two dives and some snorkeling. They made us feel so comfortable, were so patient with us (it's super weird at the start to convince your brain it's OK to breath underwater) and we both had the best day! If you do hit up Semporna - and only do if you want to dive, there is nothing else to do here - then I would thoroughly recommend BGB dive shop.
So what to do with our final day of holiday? Get on a boat with lots of Chinese tourists apparently. We spent the day snorkeling around PARADISE (aka Boheyouland and Mantabuan Islands). The highlight of the day was definitely our guide George (aka 50-something Malay man) serenading us as we looked out over the Semporna archipelago. He will be the next big hit*.
So after two weeks of Becki in the hospital,  gorgeous island hopping in Bali, seeing stunning rainforest and mountains in northern Borneo and scuba diving on the eastern coast,  I can say that we are finally heading to our project in Sepilok. I'm unbelievably excited!! I know I won't have any Internet whilst at the centre but I'll do my best to take lots of photos** and blog whenever I can.
Next stop: Conservation project with our big ginger cousins! Wish us luck!

                                                               S x

*videos coming soon
**when I eventually figure out how to get my pictures and videos off my gopro and onto this blog.. sorry!

Bali!

We flew from Heathrow on Monday 19th via Hong Kong. The 11hr flight was pretty tough. Both Becki and I commented on the strange feeling of how for us, it felt like no time had passed but in reality we had lost nearly half a day. Our lay over in Hong Kong meant we had time to have a coffee with Becki's sister Tess, which was lovely. At this point I was basically a walking zombie so I stayed close to Becki and she led me back through security and onto our final plane to Bali. The journey was 4 1/2hrs of which Becki and I were awake for the first 10mins. 
Kuta is a bustling city full of shops and mopeds & taxi's. People constantly offering you anything from a lift, to fruit or a massage as you walk by. I really felt like I was in Southeast Asia and it was exciting!
We decided on a 'go with the flow' attitude towards finding hostels which I think compliments my hobo-chic attire perfectly. We were dropped in Kuta centre where we wandered in the hot, thick air until we found a nice hostel called Sayang Maha Mertha.  Unfortunately I think we underestimated our jet lag and both passed out as soon as we arrived. We eventually woke up, went down to the hostel bar for our complimentary drink of orange squash, organised the following days travel and passed out once more.
We woke up at 6am, packed our things and hopped into a mini van which was taking us to the port in Podang Bai. Unfortunately about 30 seconds before the van showed up Becki was sick, meaning you can only imagine how the rest of our 5hrs of travelling in a bumpy van and fast boat went down. We arrived at the port where we were herded like cattle towards the dock to be told that "This boat full"... "and when was the next one?".. No answer.. My worry was more for poor Becki who was dying in the blistering heat.
When we finally arrived in Gili T we decided that the mid day heat was a bad idea for a very unwell becki so we picked the first hostel we could find - a lovely bungalow on the main strip of the island called Aquaddiction - and proceeded to pass out once more. By early evening we thought it was a good idea to try and eat something.  We strolled down the main strip until we finally found a beautiful little restaurant overlooking the turquoise ocean, dotted with boats. We sat under vibrant coloured umbrellas chatting and eating tasty mie goreng  (noodles with spicy chicken and veg) - a local dish.
Unfortunately the following day didn't quite go to plan and started and ended very early with me by Becki's bedside and her on an IV drip. She was ok, just very exhausted from travelling and unable to keep any food down, meaning she was dehydrated. I passed the day keeping her entertained with my random questions and making sure she was looked after. That night we walked to the famous Night Market and ate some lovely grilled meat. We chatted to our hostel buddies, petted their cats & python (yes, like the snake!) and decided we'd go snorkeling the following day in celebration of Becki feeling better.
Snorkeling was da bomb. We walled up to the north of the island and floated down with the current. We saw so many pretty fish, loads of coral and two hornbill turtles!! We had a great lunch at Warung Dewi, packed up our stuff and said a sad goodbye to Gili T. I think we both really loved the vibe of island life. There is something amazing about how transport is only by horse&cart, bicycle or foot. All the crammed bars and restaurants and the people. Everyone is keen to have your business but still genuine when you need help or advice.
We headed on a local boat that evening to Senggigi in Lombok. Lombok is the main island off the East coast of Bali. It's very mountainous with the centre consisting of the volcano Mount Rinjani, the second highest in Indonesia. According to the two German girls in our taxi to the hostel it last erupted in 2009. From the summit you can see all the way to Java! We opted for the 'easy route around Lombok' and hit up a spa for the day. The ocean views were incredible and we had a great day!
Our final day came round in the blink of an eye and we found ourselves once again on the boat to Bali. We used Semaya Cruise who were really good actually - I'd recommend them. Back in Kuta we stayed in the Coco Beach Hostel which again I would also recommend.

Just a few things I've noticed... The colours here are amazing. Europe has got a lot of things going for it but pales in comparison to Bali in colour. The ocean IS turquoise - I've never seen anything like it! I've noticed Bali has a very different smell too. Some kind of mixture between rich insense and humid air. I'm surprised at how few stray animals there are which pleases me. I loved sitting in my bungalow in Gili T and listening to the sounds of all the twittering birds, my favourite sounding like a rubber duck toy being squeezed - I must find out what it is! Neither Becki nor I have noticed mosquitoes here which is awesome. The food has been right down my street with lots of fresh fruit and just the right amount of spicy with lots of fresh crunchy veg. I'm not so keen on how obviously the locals try and rip you off for any kind of service. It's tough being a new traveller and learning to barter - personally I suck at it. In general however people are still very friendly and always happy to see you.

Next time I'll definitely leave more time (and money) to visit places like Ubud, go diving in the Gili's and trek up M. Rinjani. Till then you'll be missed Bali!

Next stop: Borneo

                                                         S x

Backpacking Novice

As a first time traveller I'm still learning all the tricks of efficient packing, spending and getting around. I think packing was the thing that surprised me most. I started by taking everything I wanted to take out of my wardrobe, realising there was no way in hell it would fit in my backpack, cutting it down by a third and then realising I was still being too optimistic. This left me with about a weeks worth of everything for six months travelling*.. Here's to a lot of hand washing!
I looked to my oldest brother Rhys for advice as he has spent a good portion of his 20s travelling from South Africa and Thailand to the Ivory Coast and Costa Rica. He had some great tips but my favoruite comment came when I expressed my doubt over my clothing situation  and in his words "you have to learn embrace the hobo-chic".
So grossly underweight bag in tow and hobo-chic clothing acquired, I left home. Leaving my dad is always tough. My family is incredibly close so knowing I wont be around for the next 6 months - missing holidays like Christmas & New Year and important birthday's - was hard to digest. However I decided to ease my way into travelling by making my first stop beautiful Brighton.
I spent a few days being incredibly lazy on Kyle's sofa and being fed copious amounts of cheese, before I caught the train up to London.  I have a huge base in London because most of my close girlfriends from back home study there, as well as my brother Gareth. I love visiting because there is nothing better than a huge meal (cooked by my lovely chef brother Gareth) and a catch up with my girlies. And that's exactly what I got! After an emotional goodbye I parted ways with them all and caught the bus to Oxford where I spent the night with my brother Sean and his gorgeous fiancé Georgia. They showed me around their wedding venue the following morning (I think I'm more excited about this wedding then they are) and we waved goodbye before I met up with all my old uni friends for a night on the town. Needless to say I had an amazing night and my hangover was evidence enough (Emily if those videos go viral, you'll pay :P).
In Oxford I met up with my travel buddy Becki and we made our final stop our old housemate and good friend Karolien's, near Heathrow. Her family were very welcoming! I slept terribly that night tossing and  turning with anxiety because the reality of what I was about to do finally hit me..
Roll on Monday 19th and our adventure officially began. Karolien waved us off and I anxiously made my way through security. I've had mixed emotions about leaving but I was glad that as I walked into the departures lounge, the anxiety became excitement and I knew we'd have an amazing time.
  See you all in Bali!

                                                        S x

*I will later discover our scales at home didn't work and only packed 10kg of my allowed 20. Put your order in for presents now!

We Have the Power!

Panut Hadisiswoyo

   

I went to a talk in Oxford in Spring by Panut Hadisiswoyo 

who leads the ground team for the non-profit organisation

SOS (Sumatran Orang-utan Society). He was incredibly inspiring, showing slides and videos of the work that is 

being done each and every single day by a dedicated team 

in Sumatra. However one thing he said really stayed with me. Given all this bad press about palm oil and how it is destroying the habitat for thousands of species, I thought he would stand there and try to rally us all together to campaign against the use of palm oil in our food and cosmetic products. But what he actually said was:

“Palm oil is in ~80% of what you buy from the supermarket. Plantations provide jobs for hundreds of thousands of people across Southeast Asia. The biggest demand for palm oil comes from Europe and China. If Europe stops demanding palm oil, all that will happen is producers will continue to sell to the enormous Chinese market. The problem with that is China doesn’t necessarily care how the palm oil is made, which will only encourage countries like Malaysia and Indonesia to produce unsustainable, ‘dirty’ oil. Therefore what Europe needs to do is demand sustainable palm oil. It is possible and it does happen in certain plantations already. So Europe’s responsibility now is to make sustainable palm oil trendy. And with this, hopefully China and other nations will follow suit.”

      Those weren’t his exact words but that is what I took from his speech.  It really made me think... Maybe the solutions aren’t that far away.We in Europe, America and around the world have the power to demand that our local supermarkets and cosmetic companies use sustainable palm oil, just like we demanded organic produce, animal free testing products or free-range eggs! 

Gives you hope doesn’t it? It certainly does to me. 

S x

      

Orang-Utan "Person of the Forest"

So who are these big furry creatures? 

Orang-utans are some of our closest living relatives after gorillas and chimps and we share over 96% of our genetics with them. They are primates which belong to the Hominidae family (same as us), where they diverged into the Ponginae Subfamily and Pongo Genus, which is made up of two species P. pygmaeus (Bornean Orangutan) and P. abelii (Sumatran Orangutan). The latest estimates (2000-2003) put Bornean Orang-utan population between 45,000-69,000 and the IUCN Red List classifies them as endangered. The Sumatran Orang-utan are estimated at 7,300 remaining in the wild and classified as critically endangered by the IUCN.

Sexual Dimorphism is Obvious Between Orang-utans by the
Mature Males Face Pads

A male’s average standing height is 1.40m and weighs between 90-110kg, whereas females are smaller at 1m and weigh 45-68kg. In the wild orang-utans are expected to live between 35-40yrs and in captivity can surpass their 50s. Males are solitary and when sexually mature they develop their distinct face pads. Females give birth only every 8 years and young are extremely dependent, staying with their mothers for up to 7 years. They are incredibly shy creatures, living in the canopy of the jungle about 90% of the time. They are omnivorous primates eating mainly plants and fruit, but also insects and small mammals. Orang-utans travel on average between 90-3050m/day and build a new nest every night out of leaves and branches to sleep in, sometimes using giant leaves to shelter under during torrential downpours. Orang-utans are semi-social creatures coming together to feed during times of plenty or during copulation. Females travel alone with their young and do not form groups with other females however dominance hierarchies exist between males.   

Male Face Pads are Thought to be for Visual Communication,
Making Them Appear More Threatening to Other Males and to
Channel Their Vocalisations like a Megaphone

 So why are we trying to save them? 

United Nations Environment Programme Predictions for
Malaysian Borneos Virgin Rainforest 1950-2020

Malaysia has developed rapidly over the last 50+ years since its independence from the British in 1963. Malaysia is made up of the mainland and the northern part of Borneo (Sarawak and Sabah). It is a country rich in natural resources of which the two most important are petroleum and palm oil.

In order for these industries to grow hundreds km² of virgin rainforest have been and continue to be cut down, destroying and fragmenting the habitat of our beautiful orange cousins and many other species. Fragmentation prevents the primates from moving freely to find food, shelter and mates. 

Virgin Rainforest Fragmented by Oil Palm Plantations
Photo by: Ulet Ifansasti/Greenpeace

A second problem is the illegal poaching of orang-utans to sell as pets in China and around the world. Orang-utans are protected in Borneo and poachers are known to machete the young away from their mothers, which often leaves them disabled or worse dead.

So what work does Sepilok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre do?

 Once I arrive and have my briefing I am sure I will be able to give you a better overview of their work but for now here are a few key facts: 

• The centre is run by the Sabah Wildlife Department
• The centre is located within a wildlife reserve where more than 4,500 hectares of virgin rainforest has been dedicated to the orang-utans
• They rescue abandoned, injured or orphaned orang-utans
• They  have a veterinary team on site to nurse back to health any sick orang-utans
• There are two main areas within the centre: The Indoor Nursery (0-4yr olds) and The Outdoor Nursery (5-8yr olds). Each is specialised to help the orang-utans at the various stages in their life
• They teach orphaned orang-utans how to fend for themselves in the wild e.g. choosing correct plants for nest building
• When the teams deem the time is right they capture, sedate and relocate the orang-utans deep in the wild
• Two other main aims stated by them are to: 1) Educate the public on conservation 2) Research and assist into other endangered species such as Bornean Sun Bears

Volunteers at Sepilok Cleaning a Baby Orang-utan.
Something a Mother Orang-utan would normally do
in the Wild

Volunteers at Sepilok Teaching Orang-utans Vital Climbing
Skills That They Will Need to Survive in the Jungle

This is a very general overview on orang-utans, the threats facing them and the work Sepilok carries out. Personally I'm very excited to see what other work is being done on the ground by both the rehabilitation centre and other organisations, to combat these problems. If you have any questions please ask! I'll do my best to answer them.

S x

My National Geographic Dream

Whenever I imaged the time that I would start travelling I always considered having a blog as a huge part of the experience. In my head I would fantasise that my blogging would be top class and someone like National Geographic would employ me to travel the world and write for them. The thing that amuses me most about this fantasy is I was never very good at English in school and always struggled to write anything that would get me over a 7*. However I feel this 'assignment' might be a little easier than my 6th year essay on Hamlet titled 'An actor who cannot act'. If any of you understands what that means, please go back in time to help out poor 16 year old Shannon, she'll appreciate it greatly.

I guess for those who don't know me I should give you a little introduction. I'm a Swiss-born, Italian bred, 21 year old, born to a Welsh father and Scottish/Irish mother. I grew up mainly with my dad and my brothers Kyle (24) and Gareth (24). Luckily I got to see my oldest brothers Rhys (32) and Sean (30) frequently during school holidays when they came back from the UK. I had a lovely upbringing in the gorgeous Italian countryside next to Lake Maggiore, Northern Italy. I went to a privately run European School where I learnt a hell of a lot of languages (despite being very unaverage at them all) but also found my love of science and sport. Unfortunately though my school was amazing in many ways, if you weren't a linguist, into politics or science, your future prospects were limited. Luckily I found my passion in Biology** and applied to do Animal Biology and Conservation at Oxford Brookes University.

My time at uni was incredible. I found interests particularly in animal behaviour, evolution and development of animals and threatened species (to name a few). I worked with some of the top scientists in their field such as Alistair McGregor, Casper Breuker, Bruce Riddoch, Daniela Santos-Nunes and Stewart Thompson. All inspiring people who showed me what passion for your work really looks like. Obviously there were moments when it was tough and I had doubts whether I should be there, but I always remember thinking "each moment that I sit in a lecture or seminar and learn something new, it always outweighed the stress of coursework and exams". I feel very lucky to have enjoyed my course as much as I did.

So finally getting to the real reason I started this blog - I know you weren't here just to hear about my life! I've always wanted to work with orangutans at some point in my life and throughout university I saved up money to make that dream come true. My housemate Becki and I found a project based in Sepilok - Malaysian Borneo. We are heading out on 19th October to travel Bali and Borneo before starting our volunteering at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre for two months. When we finish Becki will be flying back to her natural habitat of tropical North Wales and I'll carry on my travels to NZ and Australia.

If I may speak for the both of us I think we are very passionate about saving the environment and doing what we can to make our planet just that little bit better. I feel our volunteering project is so important in helping orphaned or injured orangutans successfully make it back to the wild. I will dedicate an entire post to 'everything orangutan' soon. I'll outline the work that Sepilok does and hopefully help you understand the reasons why we need to help these gorgeous primates.

In the mean time, if anyone would like to pass on this post to National Geographic that would be great ;)

S x

*For all you non-European School folk that's very average.
** Thank you Simon and Mrs Parnell for your patience

Lake Maggiore seen from Isola Bella

   

Lake Maggiore seen from Isola Madre

My ridiculous family (L-R): Gareth, Me, Kyle, Sean, Rhys, Dad

Doing field work in Oxford for uni. Evidently an expert at all things mud and water