Living in a Rain Forest - Borneo, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur International Airport: I stared wide-eyed as ants darted across the tray that held my food in the otherwise spotlessly clean facility. Those ants, I realized as I watched them approach my warm food, would only foreshadow what was to come.

The Group

Borneo, Malaysia was my destination. Deep into the rain forest I would travel, possibly as far away from the civilized Hong Kong world that I called home as possible. Yet, what startled me most on this trip was not the mass amounts of insects, leeches, and other such occurrences one does not commonly find in every day life, but the sheer lack of it. As we drew deeper into the forest, the number of buildings decreased and the number of animals and insects increased, but not nearly to the number I expected.

Our first accommodation had roads, open skies, and sparsely any trees; yet it was considered within the rain forest.

Despite the lack of air conditioning, it could have easily been a camp rather than a Bed and Breakfast located in the Sabah, Borneo rain forest. It seemed everywhere I went, civilization followed in its own way. Even at a school on a Palm Oil Tree Plantation, the children danced to Psy's "Gangnam Style" and "Mother, Father, Gentlemen". While the trees towered over us, they did not reach endlessly upwards as one might imagine in a rain forest. Rain fell once or twice during my week stay in the forest rather than constantly and trash could be found even out on the remote Turtle Island. 

What does all of this mean? Is there a false perception concerning rain forests? Possibly, but the root of the problem lies elsewhere. When the British conquered Malaysia, they chopped down much of the forests, taking away the homes of the animals who lived there and leading to the spread of civilization as we know it and the degradation of wildlife in the area.

While in Malaysia, I worked with the organization called "Ape" to help remove invasive plant species, make enrichment items for Sun Bears in rehabilitation, collect information through observing Orangutans, and plant trees to aid in the Corridor of Life project. The Corridor of Life project exists to connect sections of the forest that have been geographically separated through deforestation so that animals can move freely from one area to the other. My group of 18 students (myself included) managed to plant 80 trees in the hour and a half we spent in the hot, humid, marshy area designated for us.

Both accommodations we stayed at had a single similarity: Cats. Hundreds, possibly thousands roamed the campgrounds. Well, perhaps not that many, but it seemed close.

Nina and Queenie with Kittens

Teaching at the Plantation School

Upon arriving at our destination deep within the rain forest, insects and animals abounded in greater numbers. Giant cockroaches roamed the bathrooms and bedrooms, flying beetles fell upon our beds at the dawn's light. We were introduced to the animals residing within the forest: Leeches, Orangutans, Sun Bears, Horn Bills, Eagrets... We began with a river cruise to get accustomed to the area, the animals living there, the people, the issues present and how they were being resolved.

The sunlight gleamed across the brown waters of the wide, crocodile-filled river. The invasive Water-Hyacynth species of plant blocked various paths with its long roots and mass numbers. We worked to pull out as many of the Water-Hyacynths as possible, but our efforts under the hot sun proved only to make the slightest dent in the mass, overwhelming number of river plants.

One of the efforts made by the people of Borneo is to rehabilitate captured Orangutans and Sun Bears and release them back into the wild for a second chance. The numbers of Orangutans and Sun Bears dwindled greatly when deforestation began when the British decided to start plantations in Malaysia nearly 100 years ago. The conservation efforts have resulted in a greater number of Orangutans and Sun Bears returning to their natural habitat and fewer people taking them from it.

Orangutans enjoying their fruit.

Overall, it was great to be a part of an effort working towards restoration of a depleted environment. I learned a lot about the area and its history. We ate delicious local food with some villagers deep within the rain forest where we were doing the majority of our community service work.

On the last day and night, we took a boat to a place called Turtle Island. It was just on the border of Malaysia and the Philippines. A large amount of sea turtles use the island as a nesting ground. The island workers collect the eggs after the mother leaves and buries them inland where they can observe them and then releases them when the baby turtles hatch. They do this to raise the survival rate of the sea turtles because many of them are eaten by lizards or birds if they are left in their hole on the beach. Plus, if sea water touches an egg, it can no longer hatch.

Feeling like a Pirate on the Boat to Turtle Island

Giant Monitor Lizard

Turtle Hatchery

We were able to witness a mother Green Sea Turtle laying her eggs as well as a bunch of babies being released to the ocean the night of our stay. The baby turtles must run across the sand of the beach to the water, otherwise they do not know to come ashore to lay their eggs in the future. The baby turtles follow the light of the moon or sun out to sea, and thus human lights can confuse them and lead to them running inland rather than out to the ocean. This particular baby turtle (named Marvin by my friend, Mitch), was found underneath one of the cabins the next morning. He likely followed its light inland rather than following the moon out to sea.

Marvin Swimming Away

The next morning, we took a boat to a bus to a train to a plane, to another plane, to Hong Kong. I waved goodbye to the rain forest, to the restoration projects, and to the little plantation school I had taught with, but I wasn't truly leaving them behind me. I have carried them with me in my daily life, as motivators to make a difference as the Ape team does. As humans, we cause such a huge impact of the environment around us without even realizing it. Little Marvin lost his way to sea because of the lights of our cabins. So, as I look back on my time in Malaysia, I look forward to my future and doing what I can to help protect Biodiversity and the environment, and to make our interaction with it a positive one.