Some days ago we said goodbye to 2019 in the cold night of Geneva, while looking at the New Year’s Eve fireworks in Quai du Mont-Blanc. It fact, spending the New Year’s Eve abroad was one of our travel wishes fulfilled in 2019. But it is not the only one.
In 2019 we lived intensely. We made lots of things and although it seemed we would not have much free time to travel, finally we managed to visit some destinations that had been in our wish list for a long time.
It was 4 pm in Semporna. We arrived from a one-day tour to Bohey Dulang and the islands between Borneo and Philippines. We were tired and had salt in every pore of the skin. We walked the few metres between the Dragon Inn Hotel and the jetty were we expected to take the last boat to the paradise: Mabul archipelago.
I remember the day we arrived at Sukau Rainforest Lodge as one of the best of our trip to Borneo. We got up early in the morning in the small island of Selingan (Turtle Island), in the middle of the Sulu sea. Then, a boat took us back to Sandakan and we changed into a bus to reach the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. After lunch, another boat picked us up again in Sandakan jetty. That boat went up the Kinabatangan river for more than 2 hours.
The Kinabatangan river offers one of the most wonderful landscapes in Borneo. This river is home to a great amount of wildlife. A sacred oasis that fortunatelly survives among palm oil plantations. And surrounded by all this nature, there is the Sukau Rainforest Lodge, which is considered by National Geographic as one of the Unique Lodges in the World. In fact, this lodge is well kwown because it has access to the richest wildlife in South East Asia.
5:30am – Mabul Island – Celebes Sea
The sun was rising behind the windows of our overwater chalet in Mabul. Under our feet, the glass floor allowed us to see some ray fishes. We got dressed, packed everything inside the suitcases and someone rang the bell of the main entrance. A golf car was waiting for us outside to take us through the wooden plaform first and under the palm trees later to the other side of the island for a quick breakfast. Our small boat to Semporna in the Borneo coast was going to depart in less than 30 minutes.
The boat ride took one hour. Then, a small tourist bus (Bas Persiaran) took us during one hour and a half to Tawau airport, where a private driver was waiting for us for a long 6h journey to the remotest and most inaccessible valley in the world, where every week new species are discovered: Maliau Basin, The Lost World.
Once in Borneo we took a short flight to Mulu. Only six people where in that flight that took us to one of the most pristine jungles in the world. Mulu, with more than 600 km of cave passages and all kind of forests is considered a World Heritage Site. Its remote place and protection makes it the best place for an adventure travel.
In our second day in Mulu we went to the Garden of Eden, a closed valley only reachable after hiking 2 km through the biggest underground passage in the world (The Deer Cave). You will find all the details of our adventure in the Garden of Eden in the following video. No music, just real sounds. Enjoy!
