Borneo Trip

[OldNed]

Some pix from my "Broke my Arm 1st Day" trip to Borneo:

Bearded Pig

Toilet(?) at airport in Lahad Datu, Sabah

Vegetables near Mt. Kinabalu

Tiger Leech

[OldNed]

Durian, Mangosteen and Salacca fruit

More fruit...

Rafflesia Flower Rafflesia keithii ..World's largest flower

this one was 2+ feet across!

[OldNed]

Orangutan

[OldNed]

Rafflesia "bud" before flower opens

(Big as a large cabbage)

[OldNed]

Crested Fireback

Trilobite Beetle

BIG Pill Bug

Long-tailed Macaque

[paulgila]

great pix ned,but going from small to medium to normal size shots is giving me a headache

[OldNed]

Yep, me too...several folks on the tour contributed shots.  One must have been trying to conserve pixels...took "little" pictures.

[paulgila]

the market shots look just like bali.i love the mangosteen!wish i had some now

[OldNed]

Mangosteen...."The Queen of fruits".  Never met anyone who tried it and didn't like it.

Not true, however, of the "King"...Durian.

The smell of Durian is certainly off-putting but the flavor is exquisite (to me) ...however...Almost never met anyone who tried and liked it.

[OldNed]

Here's a better shot of the 2 1/2 inch female Trilobite Beetle (Duliticola sp.) on 12,000+ ft. Mt. Kinabalu, Sabah....  

The male is 20 times smaller than she is...he dies immediatly after mating.

[epicure3]

(OldNed @ Aug. 25 2007,07:16)

QUOTE

Here's a better shot of the 2 1/2 inch female Trilobite Beetle (Duliticola sp.) on 12,000+ ft. Mt. Kinabalu, Sabah....  

The male is 20 times smaller than she is...he dies immediatly after mating.

Don't let my wife hear that....might give her ideas.

Awesome pics, btw.

[Gbarce]

I've never tried Durian myself becuase its so pungent.  They say that it tastes like heaven but it smells like hell.

[OldNed]

The flavor of Durian is exquisite...give it a try.

I've read that the otherwise gentle Orangutans fight over it and that even Tigers like it.

We can't grow it here in Florida...probably not even in Key West.

[OldNed]

trying a different pic download method:

[OldNed]

looks like it worked...be glad to ID any of those...

[paulgila]

its definitely easier to see some of the shots--& they are worth seeing!very enjoyable.are there more?

did you learn any bahasa indonesia while there?

did you really break a limb?

[MattyB]

By the way, the sign means:  "No dancing or we'll shoot"....just fyi.  Laranga is sort of like the Macarena...just another fyi.

[paulgila]

you are on fire today,"mr.snarky"!

[OldNed]

Thanks for clearing up the warning sign's translation MattyB

... actually, part of the words on the sign are missing in my posting... it really says "TEMPAT LARANGAN" which I had guessed (obviously incorrectly) meant "RESTRICTED AREA"  Your translation makes more sense-that Macarena was getting pretty annoying.

No poho, I was in the northern, Malaysian part of Borneo...so other than TEMPAT LARANGAN, I didn't learn any of the language except that I guess that OUCH!, DAMN!, SH*T!, AHHHhhh!!! must be the same in both languages because whenever I said (OK, screamed) any of those words on the 3-hour bumpy,twisting, rocky dirt track truck ride down to the hospital, the driver hit the brakes.  Finally had to tell him "You drive-I'll yell- or we'll never get there".

Broke the upper arm just below the shoulder...Doc says that with couple of sessions of physical therapy a week, it should OK by Easter...yay.

I understand that they are going to name a nature trail for me at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge....cool!

Old-School, 50-pound* plaster cast...really comfy on the flights from Lahad Datu to Kota Kinabalu to Hong Kong to LA to Orlando.  

* well...40 pounds at least

[Really full garden]

I read a description of Durians flavor as "like eating raspberry custard in a latrine".

Did you see any tropical rhododendrons? I think they are correctly called vireyas.

Borneo looks like an interesting place to visit.

                                                                               Scott

[paulgila]

everyone is wearing a jacket--cold or just rainy?

[OldNed]

After the slip-n-slide fall, I was reluctant to do any more trail walking so plant and critter observations were really curtailed.  Was hoping to get close-up views of Vireya, Dipterocarps, palms, reptiles, invertebrates etc, etc.  Guess we'll have to go back to Borneo after the arm heals up. 

We did manage to see, from the van and by roadside walking, lots of Caryota no Palms and, in the yards of many rural houses, Betel Nut-(Areca catechu) Palms.  Didn't see any in situ Sealing Wax (Cyrtostachys renda) Palms.  

We were with Tropical Birding... if you go to their website and check Tour Reports, there's a narrative of what was seen.  Note that my "favorite bird" was the Rafflesia and Sarah's was the Orangutan.  Maybe we were confused (?).

The group photo was taken at Kinabalu Pine Resort @ about 5-6000 foot elevation so the early mornings were cool and it was often rainy while we were there.  I'm dressed in my "stay in the room again while they go see stuff" clothes.

[iwan]

I was wondering what the dancing monkey had to do with the sign (looks like Curios George to me).

Without seeing the entire sign, I suspect it says TEMPAT LARANGAN, DILARANG MASUK TANPA KEBENARAN.  My Indonesian wife and I both are not 100% sure of the exact translation, as Malaysian is slightly different, but I suspect it means FORBIDDEN (RESTRICTED) AREA, DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT (PERMISSION ?)

Whatever it translates to, if there is a graphic of a guy with a gun on a bright red sign with text in multiple languages, I am not going in there!

Paul, I can't remember the number of times I needed a jacket in Indonesia at night (usually a thin windbreaker).  I have even seen frost on the Dieng Plateau in central Java (heavy jacket necessary).

[OldNed]

[Kris]

Dear OldNed  

thanks for the stills and how is your arm now.

And as for the fruit monguesteen we have it here in plenty and i love it.but its seasonal fruit.and as for Durian fruit we have the king here_i meant the jackass..Hoo i meant the jack fruit.

After eating indian mangoes,banana's and jackfruit its difficult to live without them...its a kind of addiction.usually we have these fruits immedietly after lunch in the noon.

thanks for the stills and wish to see more...

Love to you & do take care,

Kris  

[paulgila]

i am still cracking up over matts "no dancing or we shoot" comment

i had a feeling you'd jump in with the REAL translation,robert