We could smell the smoke from the illegal forest clearing fires in Borneo as we started to descend and it became apparent that the dense white cloud we were flying through was in fact smoke haze. My levels of anxiety rose as the following thoughts went through me head: What on earth were we thinking bringing Hamish into this environment; how is the Pilot going to see to bring the plane down safely and where have I packed those face masks?
Pangkalan Bun struck us a much calmer, cleaner, less touristy but more developed city than Denpasar. The roads were surprisingly wide with large impressive roundabouts and even traffic lights that count down when they are going to change but with much less traffic than Bali. We were met by our driver and took two taxis plus our driver took David's bag in his car much to the alarm of the kids who thought we'd never see it again. This Borneo leg of our trip has been all organised by a Jakarta based travel agency that Sera has been liaising with so we were pleasantly surprised to roll up to quite a swish hotel (relative to the rest of our trip) complete with lovely pool, security card door access to rooms and mini bar! Unfortunately for Hamish the air quality from the fires is appalling so we allowed a quick dip in the pool for him and then he 'veged' in front of the TV in the airconditioned room whilst the others enjoyed a longer play in the pool.
The buffet breakfast the following morning was a significant improvement on the 'Pop' hotel (it couldn't have been anything else!) with a range of Asian savoury dishes and western cereal/toast/sweet options.
The bad Karaoke from upstairs serenaded the others til about 2.00am. Fortunately Hamish and I couldn't hear it from our room as we had an early start of 5.00am with Hamish needing the toilet and both of us unable to go back to sleep. We stopped on the way to Kumai, the town from which the Klotoks depart at a supermarket to stock up on snacks and drinks and were amazed the modern shopping mall it was within, complete with 'Timezone' upstairs - like a miniature Forest Hill Chase.
We were taken through a local warung/come home, the Dave's having to duck to get through the doorways and out the other end to the awaiting Klotoks, much bigger and more luxurious than Sera had led us to expect. Apparently things have changed a bit over the past 18 years. An Englishman being eaten by a Croc last year led to the change of regulation that now insists all Klotoks have enclosed showers rather than the old style Mandi (bucket of water thrown over yourself from the back deck). The Klotoks now have a shower room, fed by water in a garbage bin on the top deck and filled by buckets on a rope from the river and a western style loo with the traditional bucket of water and scoop for cleaning after toiletting. There is toilet paper but as we don't want the river littered with toilet paper its best not to use or use it to dry off and place in bin provided. The Klotoks are fitted out with outdoor dining setting ( probably made from rainforest timber!), foam mattresses and pillows, 2 of which stay out all day and the other 2 appear magically from downstairs and are prepared for us each evening with double mosquito nets covering each of the pair of mattresses. Will was so worried about the possibility of sleepwalking off the boat into the crocodile infested waters that I had the pleasure of sleeping with him on the thinner mattresses!
Leaving port at Kumai through smoke haze.
Our home away from home for 5 days!
Us and our klotok crew - from left to right: Captain; Eddie - a young deckhand/crewman and fisherman; Tina, our guide who previously worked as a chef on the Klotoks and prior to that as a waitress at the Rimba Eco lodge; Ibu, Our sensational cook who whips up the most amazing meals and we've decided is the hardest working crew member on board.
Day 1 we crossed the large main river passing speedboats, small local fishing boats and enormous commercial ships and passenger ferries taking people to Java. We then headed up the smaller Sekoyner river with National Park on one side and glimpses of cleared land beyond the thin margin of forest alongside the river.
We were gob smacked the first day at lunch when the dishes just kept coming: a beautifully grilled whole fish cooked with tomato, onion and garlic; rice; fried Tempe; large plate of sautéed mixed vegetables; tempura style okra or some unidentifiable vegetable and a plate of watermelon cut into Xmas tree shaped pieces for easy handling.
And this was lunch!
In the afternoon we were served tea and coffee with gold guilded fine china and fried banana and felt like we were straight out 'African Queen' as we sipped from our fine china, drifting down through the jungle!
The male proboscos after crossing the river then became distressed calling to his family to follow
Watching them jump was a sight to behold but very challenging to try and catch on camera at distance!
Things spotted on the first day included Proboscos monkeys, which the guide said locals called Dutch monkeys as their stomach and noses resembled Dutch people! We were lucky enough to spot some Swimming across the river in front of us. Dave spotted a saltwater croc briefly before it submerged; we saw a snake in the water surface twice before disappearing, a hornbill.
A monitor lizard swims across the river
Transport, Borneo style
At 3pm our first 'station' to see Orangutan feeding. The boys were equally amused by a little fellow tourist toddler who took a shine to them and offered them leaves, keeping a tally who was the most 'preferred'. Will appeared to be leading the race!
Our first sighting of an Orangutan at Tanjung Harapan village (our first station)
How I wish my shoulders were that flexible
Swinging through the trees towards the feeding platform
A face full of bananas
The splits!
The dominant male at Tanjung Harapan
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