A postcard journey across the mysterious island of Borneo.
by: Grant Currall
Unlocking the wonders of mysterious Borneo
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But Borneo's sudden popularity as a tourist destination has little to do with funky television programming. Following a noticeable media push in the New Year, people have been flocking to the sheltered island for good reason, its only five hours flight from Perth and cheap as Bali when you get there.
From the airport, our taxi driver, Wong Kien Fai, was caught in the fever, desperately texting anyone he knew, while negotiating oncoming waves of traffic. It seemed the strategic lack of paint on taxis and mini-buses in Borneo was great cause for celebration. An extra coat here or there could have found all sorts of traffic problems. But for Mr Wong, local road etiquette was simple: “Whoever gets to where they are going first, wins.”
Unfortunately, once we left the city the topic was up for serious debate. Road workers here had seemingly decided to bypass time-honoured methods by starting and finishing roads, without giving much thought to the long flat bits in the middle. This made for an interesting experience where just getting to where you were going, be it first or last, became the ultimate goal.
Determined to take up the slack, the jungle was bravely attempting to fill the gaps itself. Having managed to cover every telephone pole, house, and roadside stall in the process, it was being caught short, thanks to a determined group of workers in dated fatigues. Armed with industrial wiper-snipers the road warriors were combating the green menace as we rolled past, prompting my partner to remark: ”It's like 'Day of the Triffids' here, everyday!”
For scenery though Borneo is fantastic, especially from the summit of Mt Kinabalu, four kilometres above sea level. It's the highest mountain in South East Asia, and a must for anyone looking to gasp like a Powerball winner. After the climb, the Poring Hot Springs provide comfort to aching muscles and the chance to sleep with some of the more interesting locals, like the Rhinoceros Beetle.
East of Poring, the 'wild men' of Borneo swing and hang out at the Sepilok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre. There's nothing quite like viewing the wonders of nature through a sea of golf hats. But for a wilderness experience, nothing could beat my partner trying to reason with a Macaque monkey, who had decided her purse would look better in his mouth. In the end, Darwin's Theory won out and the Macaque was left bemused and clutching a torn park entry ticket: “Sure, I'll take it, where is this Sepalok place anyway?”
Not surprisingly, 'Monkey' was just one of many titles offered at the Mayfair Hotel in Sandakan, half an hour east of Sepalok. Over the space of 25 years the helpful ex-pat owner from Hong Kong had managed to turn his deilapitated office block into a charming mini hotel complete with DVD players in every room and one of the greatest Kung-fu movie collections known to man. For ten Australian dollars a night I was in heaven.
We decided to cruise to the Puu Jih Shih Temple west of town, where a number of monks swathed in orange were franticly hanging red lanterns and trying to look calm. The temple looked like it was covered in red fish eggs, while inside, a giant gold Buddha sat like an island of serenity in a sea of fuss. “Gong Xi Fa Chai,” the monks chanted, still not convinced with the make over: “Yeah, Happy New Year to you too.”
From Sandakans corresponding hillside, Agnes Keith's house overlooks the town and provides an insight into the late American novelists life and adventures in 1930's Borneo. She wrote three books on the subject, the most famous being 'Land Below the Wind'. Most tourists continue from here to the English Tea House for 'Pimms' and a round of Croquet, but for some, a visit to the local funeral parlour, unintentionally located next door, might be a livelier option.
However, the food in Borneo is something worth getting excited about, and the question is not what's in it but how it all manages to taste so good jumbled together. Alas, upon departing this land of road-eating jungles and fashionable monkeys it was just one of many mysteries left unanswered. Then again, did I really need to know what was on the menu at 'Big Thumb' restaurant, or whether the service at 'Telephone Burger' was better than Telstra.
