6/6-6/10

Tuesday 6/10

Today I woke up at my normal time of about 7:30. I had arrived last night when it was dark so the first thing that I did when I woke up was little bit of looking around. When I walked outside I was shocked to see that the ranger hut that I stayed in was only about 30 feet away from the water. There was a dock here with a couple Sabah Parks boats and a little information and ticket counter. People were already moving around and hanging out by the water. I went outside and sat with them even though I was told we most likely wouldn’t be leaving until about 11:00. I was a little disappointed to hear that because I was feeling antsy to get going. Fortunately, around 9:30 they told me to grab my things and get ready. I think everyone arrived and was ready to go a little sooner than expected. We left the jetty in Kuala Penyu at around 10:00. There were four of us on the approximately 30 foot boat that had twin 200 hp Yamaha outboards. The ride to Pulau Tiga was a quick 20 minute ride and the sea was fairly calm with long, rolling waves just a couple of feet high. We arrived at a long dock at Pulau Tiga with large letters spelling out SURVIVOR ISLAND  near where the dock meets the land. Apparently the 1996 season of the Survivor reality tv show took place here on Pulau Tiga.

We unloaded our things onto a large cart and wheeled it down the dock, while the boat driver pulled away. We were greeted by a couple of workers when we got to the land. A woman named Jane introduced herself to me and then showed me to where I will be staying this week. I have a little place to myself with a nice big comfy bed, my own kitchen, bathroom, and small living room. I feel a little bit spoiled honestly. Jane told me to get settled in and then go meet her at the Park Office where I’ll meet the other group of interns who I will be working with this week. I told her that sounded good and quickly got some of my stuff unpacked and made my way over. When I arrived I met in a conference room with the three interns named Ika, Suzanne, and Fadilah. They gave me a short presentation about Pulau Tiga and then we went and walked around the Park Basecamp.

We started by walking on a short boardwalk through a lagoon just to the east of the main part of the basecamp. Right away we saw monkeys, Long Tailed Macaques, in the trees and walking around the boardwalk. The water was crystal clear, although there was a fair amount of plastic garbage. The interns told me that it is cleaned frequently, but you could spend all day picking up trash and the next day it would look the same way. And it wasn’t super distracting, like the place still feels so serene, but it just goes to show that even in a marine park plastic pollution from outside the boundary can still have effects. Once off the boardwalk we walked around all of the buildings that include the office, staff housing, camping area, bathrooms, chalet, and a variety of pavilions. While walking around I saw some more monkeys running around as well as a couple large Monitor Lizards. We also went and walked a small loop in the woods that gets near an old resort that had been abandoned after COVID. There is also another resort still in operation on the far side of the Island called Borneo Eagle Resort.

After walking around they told me to go rest and maybe eat some lunch before continuing activities in the afternoon. I was glad to hear this because I had not eaten breakfast today, so I went back to my room to cook some ramen noodles. Determined to eat fast and blinded by hunger, I had not noticed that the kettle I was using to boil water was actually electric and had a plastic bottom until the plastic caught on fire and started melting everywhere. Perfect. I’m barely here and hour and already almost burnt my house down. These people are going to think I’m an idiot. I did my best to clean up the melted plastic and composed myself before going to tell Jane what I had done. When I told her what happened I don’t think she understood at first. But when she came and saw what I had done she smiled and told me it’s ok, just a very small problem.

After that I finally ate some food and thought about what I did, just wanting to go and get on with the day. Finally, around 3:00, it was time to walk with Ika, Suzanne, and one of the Rangers named Imaldy. We were heading to the center of the island to the one remaining active mud volcano. Originally there were three mud volcanos responsible for the formation of pulau tiga, but now there is only the one. We walked on a boardwalk for 1 km before reaching it. This mud volcano is one of the main attractions here at Pulau Tiga because people believe that bathing in the mud is really healthy for your skin. I was excited to test it out and after resting a few minutes I got right in. I was the only one but everyone was really excited for me to try it, and I had a blast. The consistency was the strangest thing. It appeared thick, but I was able to swim in it like a pool. It was also super buoyant so if you laid on your back you would float right up to the top. I went and sat in the section that would occasionally bubble up with fresh mud and was actually pretty cool in temperature. I rubbed some on my face and enjoyed it for about a half hour, then we started the walk back to the basecamp. When we got back I used an outdoor shower that took so long to rinse the mud off of me, then went back and showered at my place to get the rest of the mud off.

Shortly after the whole staff met at the volleyball court to play a couple games. Finally a sport that I have played before and does not require foot skills! I had a lot of fun playing with everyone until the sun went down. After playing I went and sat by the beach. Only about 50 meters away from where I sleep, and I just enjoyed the view. Later that night, the interns, Imaldy, myself, and a few others went to look around for snakes. We went to walk around in the lagoon and actually found three or four different snakes of the same species, hunting in the mud flats for little fish. I believe they were Dog Faced Water Snakes. Along with the snakes we saw lots of small fish, hermit crabs, and a normal crab. The lagoon was full of life and it was really cool to see. After searching the lagoon we went and looked in some other places around basecamp but came up empty handed. I got back, showered, and went to bed around 11:00.

Monday 6/9

Today I woke up early and packed my things. I was ready to leave at 8:00 and left shortly after. The man who was driving me was named Nickson. He has worked in Poring for a long time as well, doing some random tasks such as driving around people like me, but he mainly helps Mr. Fred do research on the Sambar Deer in the Tropical Garden. We stopped to get gas in Ranau, then proceeded towards Kota Kinabalu. Along the way we stopped for coffee and food at a restaurant at Gunung Alab, nearby where Andy and I were with Lee the week before. After our wuick meal we continued to Kota Kinabalu, where Andy and I would switch drivers. When we met up there was a quick swap of luggage and a few words shared between each other, but then we quickly got in our new vehicles and wished each other good luck for the week. I was now riding with a man named Imbui (I think). We stopped for some food in Kota Kinabalu and then ran a few errands nearby, stopping at a hardware store and  a boat motor store. Nothing was purchased but there was a lot of talking and some paperwork at the two places. I did my best to follow along but Imbui doesn’t really speak English so I was pretty much along for the ride. After those errands we went to a couple other different places all over Kota Kinabalu. I made conversation and really enjoyed speaking Malay throughout driving around. Eventually we left Kota Kinabalu and headed south towards Kuala Penyu, the mainland town where the Sabah Parks boats leave for Pulau Tiga. We made a couple more stops for groceries and another small meal along the way, hitting a surprising amount of traffic as well. I made some more small talk and practiced my Malay and eventually we arrived to Kuala Penyu at about 7:00. When I arrived I took my things inside the ranger cabin where I would stay for the night. I would be staying with a man named Rex. He was in his mid 20s and very fun to talk to. I got settled and then Rex and I both had some beverages and talked with each other and a man named JJ who does some contract work at Pulau Tiga. We enjoyed each other’s company and around 11 it was time for me to head to bed, I wasn’t sure what time I would leaving the next morning and wanted to get a good night’s sleep.

Sunday 6/8

Today was my last day in Poring and I had  nothing planned. Initially I had thought I would be leaving today, but at the last minute heard I would actually be leaving tomorrow, on Monday. So I slept in and when I got up I took a shower, ate some breakfast, and did some reading. Eventually I got bored and went for a small walk down to the stores outside the park and just kind of meandered around a while. When I got back I did some more reading and then ate lunch and took a small nap. After that I woke up, I finished the book I was reading, The Monkey Wrench Gang. I was pretty happy with myself, but still felt lazy, so Steven and I went for another walk down around the park and to look at the nearby river. We took our time walking around and when we got back to our place Deo and Hijal had just arrived too. At this point it was already the evening and we all just kinda sat around playing some card games and talking. It had been one of my first really lazy days here and I felt kind of bad about it, but what can you do. That night Deo and I talked for a while about some different things. He asked me a lot of really good questions throughout this whole week, but especially tonight. He asked me about different political topics, social topics, and some things just about American Culture. I really enjoyed giving him my best answers on things and I also asked him a lot of questions about the same kind of things here in Sabah. When discussing the two different places We had talked about how in the US people have come to the country from all over, and retain their identities but also lose a lot of identity along the way. In Sabah there are a majority of indigenous peoples, but also people from China, the Philippines, and even India. Here a lot of these different identities are preserved, and sometimes mix with each other as well. I mentioned to him that I have seen nothing but kindness between people here. He agreed that for the most part people are kind to each other, but there is still also a lot of division between groups of people as well. He talked about how there are always some political or religious extremists that spread hate and just make it difficult for everyone to get along. I enjoyed talking with Deo, and will miss all of the interns a lot. I went to bed fairly late, but I was feeling very grateful for my time in Poring this past week. Justinah was one of my favorites in the butterfly farm, and the interns were a lot of fun to live with.

I should have gotten another picture with the interns here, but this is us at the hot springs the other night.

Saturday 6/7

Today would be my last day of work here in Poring, and it was barely actually work. Today, instead of going to the butterfly office, I would go and meet a woman named Sulidza at the main Visitors Center. When I arrived she told me to look around for a little bit while she finished up a task. There was info largely about Poring, but also about all of Sabah Parks. After I looked around she said we could head to the Orchid Garden to look around. We walked a couple hundred meters up to the garden and she took me around the trails, telling me a little bit about some of the different orchids. Not a lot was currently blooming but it was cool to still see all of the plants and the set up. There were easily hundreds of species and there were even more in the nursery building as well, although I did not look in there. After the Orchid Garden, Sulidza normally said that we would go to the Tropical Garden, but unfortunately it was closed and there was not much to see. So, we walked back down the hill and into the park and then made our way to the Canopy Walk. Sulidza told me that she would let me do this on my own, but she would wait for me at the gate. I checked in at the counter and made my way 500m uphill to get the start of actual canopy walk. I didn’t really know what to expect for this canopy walk, but I was expecting a fixed platform between trees that would not be very long in length. I was completely wrong. When I arrived, I ascended a staircase of a small building and saw what the canopy walk actually was. Two cables that ran between trees and suspended a kind of metal ladder laid horizontally with just regular rope. On top of the ladder, wood was laid down for easy walking and there was netting that went up to almost my chest. The bridge swayed with each step and it was hard to walk without hanging on to the sides. At some points you were 40 meters above the forest floor and there was some fantastic views out over the hills and forest. I loved this walk, it was one of my favorite things I had done in Poring. I will say though, I don’t think that it would have met safety standards in US. There were 4 or 5 sections of canopy walk between trees, with a small platform at each dividing tree. When I finished I headed back down to canopy walk gate, and it started to lightly rain.

 When I met back up with Sulidza we went to go look at the Rafflesia Garden. Rafflesia are the largest flowers on the planet, and there are a couple different species spread throughout Borneo, and some other places in Southeast Asia. These flowers will take most of the year to bloom, and then will only be in bloom for about a week. There is no specific season for when they bloom, but unfortunately there were none blooming while I was there, although there were a couple buds on the ground that were about 6 inches across. After walking around the boardwalks of the Rafflesia Garden, we went to the Ethnobotanical Garden. This garden was small, but had a kind of Hobbit theme. Around little Hobbit houses and a big sculpture of a troll, there were plants everywhere that can all be used in some way by humans for food, medicine, or really anything. Now it really started to rain again so we sat under a pavilion and waited for the rain to slow down. While we waited we had started to talk a little bit about some different topics, one of which being climate change. Sulidza said that she has been starting to notice some changes, mainly the differences between seasons here in Sabah. There was always just a dry and rainy season, with there still being rain in the Dry Season. Now though, she said she mainly just notices that there are less differences between seasons. She pointed out that the main danger here was been the warming ocean and coral bleaching. She said that in the ocean around Kota Kinabalu especially there has been declines in coral and in turn some other marine life.

I finished around noon with Sulidza, then went to meet up with the interns at our place. I went with Adelly and Steven down to a restaurant right outside the park gate. Since Hijal, who is Muslim was not with us, we went to a place that serves pork and we all shared some sinalau. Smoked pork with rice and some chili sauce is hard to beat. Once we finished we walked back home and we all took a nap for a few hours. When I woke up I just hung out and then Deo returned with his car. We decided to drive into town and we all got sinalau again at the Ranau Food Court. After this we returned home and enjoyed each others company for the rest of night.

Friday 6/6

This morning I got up with the same routine, and walked down to work by myself around 8:30. The other interns had the day off today, and I would only work my morning session before resting until about 5:00 when I would get ready to go on a night walk with some of the staff. The tasks for this morning consisted of collecting food plants for the other insects that are kept in the butterfly farm, and then feeding the insects. To collect the plants, we walked on the same trail that we had walked to collect food plants for the butterflies a few days, but mainly just stopped at one location to gather them all. We had small pruner on the end of stick that we used to reach back off the trail and grab about 3 foot sections of different plants. Once we had collected what we needed we went back to the butterfly garden. Our first insects to feed were the long stick insects. They are at least a foot long and completely harmless. It was even fun to let the one crawl on me while we were replacing the old food with what we had just collected. The next stop was another kind of stick insect, but they are shorter and thicker. They look less like a stick and more like a creepy looking bug honestly. We changed the food in this exhibit as well but I did not hold any of them, apparently they sometimes bite. The last insect that we had to feed were the Three Horned Beetles. These beetles are big, round, and dark. The males have 3 horns, one on the lower part of the head, and two on the upper part of the head. They can use these to bite and it is supposed to be incredibly painful. For this exhibit, we put more dirt made from coconut husk in the enclosure, then added sugar cane on top of the dirt for food. After we finished feeding the insects I was pretty much done with work for the morning. I went back to the staff quarters, hung out with the interns, then took a nap.

I went back to the Butterfly Office around 5:00 so that I could go use the Wifi and get caught up with writing the blog. I went and worked for about an hour, then I ate some noodles with the others while we got ready to head out onto the trail and look around for wildlife. There were five of us who would go. We would follow the same path that we had followed looking for butterfly food plants a few days ago, walking out to the waterfall and then looping back around to the trail we started on. We walked very slowly, looking for whatever we could find. The first major find were two caterpillars that nobody recognized, so two people went back to get a container to collect them in. After that we saw a lizard in a tree. There was a small spine on the back and a long tail, I am not sure of the species. After that we did not see much until we arrived at the waterfall and we saw a couple frogs that the locals call Sai. Apparently Sai is delicious, they will just fry it and eat it whole. We took a small break at the waterfall then started to head downstream when one of the men spotted a snake! They were not sure of it was venomous or not so we did not touch it, but did try to coax it out of its little hiding place in tree roots. I believe that it was a black headed cat snake, but I cannot say for sure. We admired it for a couple minutes then continued our walk. We saw another lizard but not much else until we were almost finished for night. When we started to get close to the end, we were talking about how we didn’t see any birds. Then, right after we had finished talking about it there was a kingfisher sitting on a branch about 20 feet above the trail. It had a red beak beak and blue feathers and it was beautiful. After that we even saw one more bird which was an Asian Fairy Bluebird. This was further away and a little harder to identify but with our flashlights and binoculars we were able to get a decent look at it. After that we arrived back at the butterfly office, had a cup of coffee, and then went home. I got back, took a shower, and went to bed pretty quickly.