Wild Men of Borneo

Well, we supposed we had better actually get on with the trip after the highlight of business class (though they do say it's about the journey not the destination) and so we resigned ourselves to seeing something of Kuala Lumpur before heading for the island of Borneo and all its wildness...
Suffice to say KL was a damp squib. At one point, this was literally true. After bee-lining to the Petronas towers, tallest in the world you know, we arrived too late for the ticket handout and had to content ourselves with window shopping, a boozy lunch and gibbering in an air-con cinema through the new Bond film (for those who haven't, do see it; great action, cheesy lines and a bit of Craig for the ladies).
Still retaining a vague desire to get up some building, any building, we got drenched in a monsoon downpour on the way to the telecom tower and so gave up on the city, making our way instead to the island of Borneo and the Orangs.
Thus began the great Dollar Bill Burning of Borneo, an island full of wildlife and determined to make a living out of it...and us. The place has a vague East African feel to it, and amid the boiling humidity we dashed immediately to the east of the island and Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, slathered on some mossie repellent and set off to meet man's 3rd closest relative and the source of the human ginger hair gene...
Sepilok sits in one of the last areas of virgin rainforest, and most orangs are brought to the centre as orphans, quarantined, taught how to climb and nest and then gradually released into the wild. Initially, they return to feeding stations for diet supplements, though most eventually become fully independent. Rach and I stayed next to the centre overnight and visited during 3 feeding times, accompanied sadly by the rest of humanity which displayed less decorum and intelligence than their endangered cousins. Each time between 2 and 6 orangs came to get stuck into some milk and bananas, having a good old swing on the ropes that lead to the feeding station. As solitary creatures, they don't normally stay too long and there was always a troop of macaques on hand to clear up the food, scare the tourists and try and steal your sunglasses as you concentrated on filming the apes. It was a truly rewarding experience, the orangs were totally lovable and it was freaky to see the resemblance to some of our red-headed friends, solving one of evolution's mysteries...
Back in Sandakan, we have spent a day in post-colonial bliss relaxing in an English Tea house complete with Earl Grey and croquet, before we head off to see some turtles, a trip into the rain forest for my cousins the proboscis monkeys, and some diving...Let the cash-hemorrhaging continue!