November / December 2002/Borneo

It’s been a hectic two months that we have wrapped up into one on the website. Shaun and Jay were busy with School Christmas events. Jay was a Moroccan snake charmer (Is there really such a thing?) for his school play, while Shaun enjoyed singing carols in the School Chorus. Sareet and Rajjina managed to sneak out for a few fun evenings including a night of Scottish dancing and a night of off-key singing at a local karaoke.

We celebrated Christmas in West Malaysia, visiting Sarawak and Sabah on Borneo. This is the world’s second largest island that is shared by Indonesia and Malaysia. It was reputed to have headhunters as late as the end of the 19th century. We went by boat in Sarawak to visit some Iban tribal people, who still live in “longhouses,” which are one extended stilt log house that can house up to 20 families in individual cabins. Shaun, Jay and Rowan honed their skills on the blowpipe. Their pipes did not contain the poison darts which the headhunters use to use to kill both their enemies and local game.

In Sabah, we spent one night on Selindan Island, which is a turtle reserve, where turtles come to lay their eggs. Turtles return to the same island they were born (often 30 years prior) to lay their eggs. Despite having very small brains, they are equipped with an amazing internal GPS system that can find the exact longitude and lattitude of their birthplace. The kids were also allowed to release the baby turtles into the ocean. It was quite interesting.

We also got the opportunity to spend a couple of days in the rainforest in search of orangutans (only found in Borneo and Sumatra), crocodiles, snakes, probiscus monkeys (the Pinnochios of monkeys). It was a fun adventure for all. We also went to an Orangutan Rehabilitation center, where they re-introduce orphaned and displaced orangutans into the wild. We ended the trip in Kota Kinabalu at a fun resort. It was truly an action-packed week.

Now, we are back into our normal routine and we wish all of you a Happy New Year!

Keep in Touch,

The Majumdars