Hey Noelle,
Sounds like an amazing plan!
I don't mean to hi-jack your thread, just wanted to say I'm thrilled to see you're spending some quality time in Malaysia, a lot of backpackers on the SE Asia trail seem to skip over it entirely. My dad lived in KL for 3 years, so hit me up if you'd like any recs or advice!
Joined: 09-02-07
I'm looking for a person or two (or three) interested in hiking/camping/boating through the National Parks in Borneo this spring.
WHERE: Based on other traveler's reviews and what I've been hearing, I'm thinking BATANG AI (Sarawak, Malaysia), DANUM VALLEY (Sabah, Malaysia), KUTAI (East Kalimantan, Indonesia), and GUNUNG PALUNG (West Kal, Indonesia) - but I'm open to suggestions! (All of these are, relative to the other national parks through Borneo and Sumatra, the least touristed and developed - most pristine with the best odds of seeing wildlife.)
WHEN: mid-April through late-May (I've got to be in Jakarta by May 23rd to catch a flight to Bangkok).
HOW: It'll be different park-by-park but I'd like to do it as independently as possible - no tour groups and travel agencies unless unavoidable. Get necessary permits arranged in the nearest town, hire a guide, show up at the park guest-houses (if there are any) or camp. Probably necessary to bring some food and camping gear with us, in addition to the guide. We can see how it goes park-by-park; stay someplace for a week if we're having fun, move on quickly if we're not. I'm pretty flexible - I'm not attached to hitting every park I mentioned just because they're there, I'd rather optimize the time observing orangs.
I'm already in SE Asia (Thailand, at the moment, will be headed to Laos and Cambodia before going south to Indonesia and Malaysia). I can meet you at any point along the way - we can hit some cities, temples, ruins, and beaches together - or catch up just as we enter the parks. I'd like to see some of the cities and culture near the parks, too and am incredibly flexible - so if there's other interests you want to pursue at the same time (diving?) just let me know.
WHY/WHAT: I'm intending to devote the majority of my time to looking for orangutans - if you're into birds or something else, that's fine too! - as I've got an interest and a bit of an academic background in primates. I worked with the LA Zoo Research Dept for a couple of years observing the chimpanzees, went to Mahale Mountains in Tanzania to observe them in the wild, and wrote a paper on it. I'm not intending to do any formal observations in Borneo, just want to sit and watch and get a feel.