Welcome To The Jungle

It's reasonably well known amongst family and friends that I am not the outdoorsy type. I think of the Holiday Inn as a form of camping. After all, if God didn't want us to have comfortable accomodations when we travel, he wouldn't have given us the brains to create the Heavenly Bed or the 3 nozzle rain shower. But year after year, we've noticed that about half of the finalists in the BBC Wildlife Photography competition take their photo in the jungles of Borneo. So here I am, deep in the rainforest, typing this from under a mosquito net while Andrea hoses me in nuclear-grade bug spray at 20 minute intervals.

Except it's actually not that bad. We arrived in Borneo's Gunung Mulu Park on a prop (it's either that or a 10 hour ride on a longboat – no roads in or out). The flight was excellent in the sense that we had incredible views as we skimmed the treetops, and also that we didn't crash. Our room even has air conditioning (one of the few), a private bathroom (you still need to wear your flip flops), electricity much of the time, and the food here is surprisingly good.

We started with a guided walk through the primary rainforest, ending at Deer Cave, which is the largest cave passage on Earth. It is almost too big to comprehend -- Wembley Stadium in London would fit inside, 15 times over. We explored the cave, enjoyed the scent of Mulu Perfume (bat guano) and then waited outside for the big show – at 6pm, 3 million bats exit the cave to feed. They leave in giant waves – it looks like snakes in the sky – a pattern to protect them from the local bat hawks. These bats then proceed to hoover up 50 tons of bugs a night from the local rainforest, including some right over our heads. We sat outside to watch a tropical downpour last night, and the bats kept buzzing inches over us. We were brave for 5 minutes, but then made a tactical retreat to our room.

We've also taken a traditional longboat up the river to a local tribal village, and then on to 2 more caves. The most amazing thing about these caves is the light. Essentially the ceilings have collapsed in spots and the sun filters in through the giant holes – you stare up hundreds of feet and there is water dripping, mist swirling, birds flying, and bright green moss growing. It is an amazing sight.

The rainforest itself is just as impressive. Everything is impossibly green, colorful butterflies swirl around your feet, leaves on some of the trees are as big as Andrea. And it is loud! Interesting and unknown sounds come from everywhere. We took a night walk through the rainforest with a guide, finding tarantulas, giant snails, and all kinds of exotic insects – a brilliant lesson in evolution and adaptation. We also took a rainforest canopy walk, across 16 ropebridges built in the treetops. Now typically when my life is dependent on a suspension system high above the ground (ski lifts, bridges), I prefer it to be built by the Swiss or the Germans. This particular rope bridge, as I learned, had been constructed by the local Iban tribe. But despite some creakiness and some interesting looking rope knots, we made it across it one piece – and to see the rainforest from above is just incredible.

We've absolutely loved the Borneo jungle. That being said, I think I'll hold on to my reservation at the Marriott tonight.