Tracking Wild Orangutans in the Jungles of Borneo

I was so very lucky to have the chance to visit Singapore and while there I thought, why not go over to Borneo and check out the Orangutans, which was on my bucket list.

First off, let me say that Singapore is a dream city to visit; very clean, very welcoming, very organized, and just an amazing City!

Singapore offers a beautiful shoreline, beautiful hotels, and a jungle surrounding it with monkeys and gardens all over. I had my daughter with me, so we just jumped on a small boat with the locals and took off to an island. We rented a bike and toured the whole island, enjoying the day and mingling with the locals. We saw a lot of wildlife: birds, crocs, and monkeys running all over. There were also loads of butterflies that turned this journey into a page out of a storybook. Of course, being in Singapore, we saw the Supertree Grove (the manmade, magical lit trees) and the light show at night. Then we traveled to our hotel, Marina Bay Sands, which features the largest rooftop infinity pool in the world. It was just as thrilling and exciting as anyone can imagine. Singapore is an amazing place to explore and enjoy, while feeling safe and very welcomed. We stayed there 5 nights and then started our adventure to Borneo…

Getting to Borneo was quite a journey. We flew into Pangkalan Bun, picked up by the owner of a beautiful houseboat. He introduced us to the crew: a cook, a guide, and a driver. Then off we went. Bear in mind my daughter is a bit fussy, not snotty, but she is certainly particular about food, showers, and of course a toilet. Well, because we were excited we sat at the front of the boat as we cruised up the large river. Along the way, we passed lots of pink dolphins guiding us to the river inlet. The river was dense and narrow, with a lot of monkeys hanging from trees and howling as us. It was about this point where my daughter went to check out the bathroom and–aha! She was pleased to find a western toilet, however she was not prepared to find a bucket shower. This is common in Borneo, as well as most safaris or places with limited or no access to running water. Basically, the “shower” consists of a pail and rope to dump in the river to fill the tanks of both the shower and toilet. It’s just a bit rustic and not a problem for me but I mention this caveat for others in case they are like my daughter. As I mentioned, the house boat was beautiful. It had a sitting area under a tarp and at night the beds were set up sitting on the bow. They were extremely comfortable, and with the tranquility surrounding us, sleep found us easily.

Originally, we wondered why we didn’t see any Orangutan, but we learned they are afraid of water. So, they stay on one side of the river and on the other side there were lots of other animals, such as long-nosed monkeys, spiders, snakes, and lemurs. We docked and hiked in for our first sighting and boy was it a surprise. They were all over and knew were coming so rather than hide, they started gathering to eat. There were lots of mamas and babies dropping from trees and walking right next to us; they are huge, beautiful animals. What was also fascinating, was watching them interact as a community. They gathered on a tall platform and the mothers let their young ones eat first. Suddenly they all stopped and moved to the side of the platform, and by gosh we look to our right and… here comes this HUGE Orangutan! Yes, a Big Daddy, he climbed up the platform and ate to his fill, then the babies and moms resumed their eating. It was one big, happy family. I need to mention I love all animals, BUT… at the base of the platform came the ugliest, huge, bright-pink, pig-like creature with no hair eating all the droppings of the family.

We left there, and made our way up the river to begin our night tour. To the guide’s delight (not mine), we were able to see a Bird-Eating Tarantula eating the dinner it just caught. On top of that, the jungle was alive with noise and a lot of eyes checking us out from the trees. We docked early due to a huge rain storm that rolled in, so the next day we were off. Due to the vegetation from the island, the guide and driver had to dive into the water and clear up the river so we could continue, and of course we saw many snakes in the water, so we were scared for the guys. All was well though, and as we continued we went around a bend when suddenly we felt the boat kind of sink on one side. Introducing Waldo! Waldo was a huge male orangutan that decided to join our cruise and ask for food. Kudos to the crew; they quickly got him off at the nearest tree overhang, but he still followed us until we docked across the river from him. The crew fed him and to show he wanted more, he hung from the tree banged his fist on the river; it was so cool. After this, it was just hiking through the jungle and seeing more orangutans, as well as all the creatures I mentioned earlier. In short, it was incredible.

Back to my daughter, needless to say the crew noticed my daughter was not eating much and not showering, haha. There was a night where the younger cook came to talk with us and asked if we wanted chicken that night, and of course my daughter said yes that sounds great. However, as the cook went down below to prepare the meal, we could hear the squawking of the live chicken… needless to say she did not eat that night.

Overall, it was pure adventure and I would recommend. You just have to know that in some aspects you are kind of roughing it, but then you just end with a return to Singapore for 2 nights and enjoy the beautiful city. Join me for my next adventure Away From the Crowds!