Borneo

Just outside our hotel



My monkeys








Last year for Chinese New Year we stayed in China to get a feel for the holiday. We had a great time and loved it. This year we decided to go and see more of this amazing world we live in. As you all know we have animal lovers in our house so we headed off to Borneo. Never in a million years would I have said that I would be going to Borneo. God is good.

We had to leave work a bit early because it started to snow in Dalian. Off we went to the airport. We knew we would be staying in Seoul overnight because we had a long layover. When we got to Seoul we found the airport to be empty. No big deal. We asked at the information counter where we could stay and within 5 minutes we were off to a near by hotel. It was not the fanciest place but it did the trick. (It did help that there was a Dunkin Donut just around the corner and a mini mart). After a bit of sleep we were off and running again. We headed to Kota Kinabalu, it was a 5 1/2 hour plane flight. Then we had a several hour layover again before taking a little plane to Sanakan. The adventure started when it took the pilot three times to land the plane. We should have know then that it was going to be a Smith Family Adventure.

We were greeted at the airport by a taxi driver (we had arranged this with our hotel) telling us that we could not go to the hotel because it was flooding. It had been raining nonstop for 5 days and did not look like it was going to let up. So as we have learned being here in China that you take one step at a time and God will work out the rest. We went to another hotel that was owned by the same guy. They took very good care of us. The next morning we got up and waited to hear from the owner. He called and said it was still not safe to come out to his place in the rain forest. Instead we headed out for a 4 hour river trip.


the river trip was a blast. It was pouring but we did not care. We put on our poncho and off we went. We saw pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys, other monkeys, snakes, lizards and much more. We were going to spend the night on the river but the lodge was flooded so we headed back in to town.

When we passed the roads that went to see the orangutans and the hotel we were suppose to stay at we knew why we could not get there. SO SO much water on the roads.


The next morning we woke up and were told we could go to the hotel in the rain forest. HOW?? there was so much water the night before. It was crazy. We got there and the roads were clear of the water. God was looking out for us. We spent the day at the Orangutan rehabilitation center and hung out with them. It was amazing to say the least. We actually got locked into the orangutan area. OOPS ;) heheh we had to jump the fence to get back.

We finally made it to the hotel and it was beautiful. It was out in the rain forest and we loved it. We got to sleep with the animals. We spent the day resting and playing games. Then that afternoon we headed to the rain forest discovery center. We saw so much.

We ended our trip in Kota Kinabalu, where we swam and hung out in the city. We loved it. Every night we ate at the street venders. The food was amazing and so so cheap. It was a faboulus vacation and truly a Smith Family Adventure that we will NEVER forget.