Borneo? What? Where? Why? This is the Second Article in a Series Documenting our Borneo Equator Expedition 09 Trip
It’s been a few weeks since I made the decision to make the trip to Borneo and participate it the Expedition.
If you read the first article you know that this is an international group of drivers converging in the city of Jakarta to kick off a 1500Km expedition through the jungles of Borneo. I’ve mentioned the trip to, well everyone I know, and they all promptly started pointing out details about Indonesia and Borneo and asking me a ton of questions.
Some of the questions I received were funny.
Q: Why do you want to go ride in Central America?
A: Uh I don’t, Borneo is literally on the other side of the planet from Central America.
If you were to travel south of the US to Ecuador (get it Equator = Ecuador) and then travel to the exact opposite of the planet past the Philippines and almost to Singapore you are there.
Q: Do you know how long that flight is?
A: Yup, done it before. Well to Singapore. Same distance basically. Yes my ass hurt and I was bored to tears. I know which drugs to take now.
Q: Can you bring me back a Monkey?
A: No, but if I get a close up of an Orangutan I’ll share it with you.
Q: Aren’t Orangutans just big Monkeys?
A: Can we get back to the Expedition?
Q: Why do you want to go ride in South America?
A: Damn is there an echo in here?
And so it goes. I guess it’s part of the territory, along with the hundreds of “You Suck, I wish I could go” well wishers.
WHAT??
I guess the answer to “What?” is pretty clear, we are going to load a bunch of gear on our rigs and somehow manage to hack our way through the jungles of Borneo from the west coast to the East Coast. As I understand it the roads are pretty much non-existent and given that its monsoon season from November to February and we are going in December I think you guys from the south might be more adept at this than a desert rat like me but I’m sure I’ll survive. Right? I mean there is a doctor going with us. I hope he has a degree and not a bone in his nose. We just spent that past month outfitting the RZR -S to be a little more Expedition like. I’ll be detailing the long list of mods and after market parts we added in a series of articles and videos, so stay tuned.
The Indonesian Off-road Federation is the organizing body of this little adventure. I shipped my RZR-S to them a few weeks ago and apparently it’s bobbing its way to Asia in the dark belly of a giant container ship as I write this. Shit did I leave the radio on? No worries, I had to drain the fuel tank and disconnect both batteries before the shippers would accept it. The whole shipping affair proved to be quite educational for me. It really takes a lot of effort to ship a RZR to a foreign country. I think I’ll save some of this for another article. It’s a LONG story. So now I sit here worrying about details. Like will I have time to complete a few minor mods that didn’t get done before it shipped? Will I be able to borrow a drill? Will an Orangutan decide he likes my rad new Rigid Industries light bar and remove it with aplomb? I’ve been told they are bit like bears in Yellowstone. Generally at the top of the food chain with little or no fear and something of a penchant for snatching shiny objects to add to their toy box.
WHERE??
Borneo, actually. You read the stuff up above right? It’s the third largest island in the world and the only place on earth where Orangutans live. It is in the center of the Indonesian archipelago, south west of the Philippines and due east of Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and straight south of Vietnam. Borneo is actually owned and operated by three different countries. Malaysia has the northern third, while Indonesia controls the southern two thirds and The Sultanate of Brunei has a small section on the north east coast. These are geographically dissected by a large active volcanic mountain range responsible for the islands existence. The weather is fairly balmy and pretty much stays between 77-81F year-round with somewhere around 105 inches of rainfall the majority of it during the monsoon season of November to March. Did I mention we are going in December? Or that the island is dissected by raging rivers that we have to cross? And that a RZR is not a very good submarine? When your typical tourist mentions going to Borneo they are generally referring to the Malaysian or north end. It is much better setup for tourism and western conveniences. The Indonesian or Southern end also known as Kalamantan to Indonesians is much more primitive. Only a few cities exist along the cost lines and in general the interior.
We will kick of the Expedition in Jakarta Indonesia which is not on Borneo. We will then fly puddle jumpers across the Java sea to meet our rigs which will be forwarded from Jakarta to Pontianak Borneo. Now Pontianak is not exactly a village, at over 4 million people is fairly large and I am banking on being able to find food there to take on the expedition since we are not allowed to import food. Agricultural laws make it a pain. I’m thinking that my standard habit of studying the labels is right out. I just hope I recognize the picture on the packaging.
Thank god that the native Dayak people gave up headhunting a few years back despite resurrecting it on special occasions like terrorizing the Japanese during WWII. I’m a bit concerned about the July 09 terrorist bombings in Jakarta. The US State department recommends that Americans blend in with the locals. Sure no problem for a 6′ 3″ pasty white red head from Utah. I guess I’ll just avoid tourist spots and night clubs. Apparently terrorist have night clubs.
WHY??
Yeah, uh well good question. I guess because its there and Charlene suggested it and I can’t resist her charms.
But seriously why not? I’ve had some great adventures in the US and I have a real desire to see the rest of the world. Why not take a look at it from a slight non-standard tourist view. Borneo is one of the world’s magical places. Its biodiversity is unparalleled. It is home to over 15,000 species of flowering plans alone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen 15,000 flowers so every where I look will be something different. Its where orchids grow crazy wild and swamps, rainforest and mountains collide. Just checking out the over 100 of species of bats should be cool and the primates are out of this world.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Kera_hantu_Sarawak.jpg/397px-Kera_hantu_Sarawak.jpg
Yes it is a long trek, and its costing more than your average beach vacation but it will be worth it, all great adventures are.
Besides I’ll be the only UTV driver to ever cross Borneo. Bragging rights baby!
Bookmark this adventure: https://utvweekly.com/index.php/category/utv-weekly-exclusive/
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Category: Borneo Excursion, Polaris
this is awesome!!!! Cant wait to follow along!