Shane Berry recently spent a month in May 2007 discovering the wonders of Malaysia Borneo-Sarawak and Sabah which was listed in National Geographic TRAVELER Oct. 2007 issue as one of the world's best 50 trips. This is an area of the world where very few Americans visit, which is a shame, as it offers adventurers sights and sounds found nowhere else.
Shane traveled 10 hours on local boats and canoes going up river to Gurung Mulu National Park where he explored the largest caves in the world and lush rain forests on the Headhunter Trail while trekking to Camp 5. A square mile in the Borneo jungles holds more types of fauna and flora than all of North and South America combined. Shane spent time living in the long houses of the Iban (headhunters) who still retain much of their traditional ways.
The visit to Sabah (The Land Below The Wind) included staying at the homes of the Dusun people and climbing Mt. Kinabalu which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest mountain between the Himalayas and Australia. No trip to Malaysia Borneo would be complete without touching base with the steamy jungles of the mighty Kinabatangan River with its proboscis monkeys, horn bill birds and enormous insects. It is not everyday that one gets to live with a Muslim family and look for wild Orang Utans from their porch. The former capital of Sandakan offered multi-ethnic cultures with people from China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Europeans and the local tribal people. The Sandakan Death March during World War II was equivalent to Philippine Bataan Death March.
Malaysia Borneo offers some of the greatest turtle viewing and diving in the world. Watching the giant green turtles come ashore to lay their eggs and the little ones dashing for the sea is a very special experience at Turtle Island. The island of Sipadan in Sabah has been considered one of the top five diving spots in the world.
