Into the Jungles of Borneo

I spent my birthday in 2020 on the bumpy road to the tiny jungle village of Long Pasia in Borneo. About a week after my life-threatening bout of cholera, I was journeying to the most remote location I had ever been to. Getting there itself was a trek.

Borneo is one of the most massive and bio-diverse islands in the world, and it is split by three countries: Malaysia in the north, Indonesia in the south, and the tiny nation of Brunei in the middle.

This fantastic island is home to some of the most unique and mysterious creatures on the planet. Orangutans, sun bears, pangolins, and 15,000 species of flowering plants exist in relative harmony. However, native people also inhabit parts of the island. With dense forests and impenetrable mountain ranges, the tribal people of the island have been historically well insulated from the rest of the world. Today it is possible to visit these lands, but the journey is still difficult and sometimes treacherous.

First, I flew to Kota Kinabalu, a larger city in a Malaysian region of the island known as Sabah. From there, I caught a three-hour long bus to Sipitang, a small frontier town on the edge of the wild. As Sipitang is the last town before the trek into the jungle, it is mainly oriented towards gearing up and stockpiling to and from the jungle towns. The tribes themselves make their way down every once in a while for specialty items that cannot be produced in their homes. One such key ingredient is salt.

I honestly did not know what conditions would await me, so I also picked up some basic items at the supermarket, including dried food, snacks, and water. As I had just recently been hospitalized due to foodborne/waterborne illness, I contemplated with quiet horror the idea of becoming sick again away from any possible medical attention. In case I didn’t trust a particular food option, I decided to pack some food essentials in case. I was also told to bring rubber hiking shoes and buy some household staples to give to my guest family, as they had been unable to leave their villages for a while.

The next leg of the journey would have been impossible without a guide. From Sipitang to Long Pasia, you must leave all paved roads and ascend into the jungle mountains. The frail dirt road, carved through the thick forests, is at least five hours long to the tribal village, under the best conditions. Only a heavy-duty truck or off-road vehicle can negotiate the eroded trails, countless potholes, and sudden flash floods that are common on the road to Long Pasia. I learned from my guide, Balang, that their trucks constantly break down and require new parts, making it expensive and even more difficult to travel to and from the village.

We set out from Sipitang around 2pm in the truck, which was loaded with supplies and people. Since trips to and from Long Pasia are so rare, Balang received multiple requests from locals to travel along with us. Inside the truck, I was thrown violently around the back with every bump of the road. I generally have no issues with motion sickness, but even I was feeling a little queasy in there.

On the back of the truck, in the cargo bed, was a makeshift bench for others to sit. Two stout men and one boy were hitching a ride in the open. They were in the back for the entire trip, holding on to the bench below them – no seatbelts to keep them from flying out of the truck. I would later learn that this local boy – only fifteen years old – was an avid fisherman, hunter, and farmer. He was in fact the son of the patriarch who welcomed me into his household.

When we reached the halfway point of our trip, my guide Balang turned around to me and pointed to the river up ahead. He explained that this river had been flooded only a week ago, wiping out the only path to and from Long Pasia. This made it impossible for the villagers to travel for the past month. I was lucky to even be able to make the trek, as the road was only recently unnavigable.

He also told me that the fragile dirt road we were on was only a modern advancement in the last few years, constructed by the logging companies in the area. This, a symbol of the complicated and appeasing relationship between the loggers and the tribes, would foreshadow a darker discussion in my stay in Long Pasia. I will return to this matter in a future post. Before the road was implemented, a forest trail existed where only the brave and able-bodied set out for days on foot between the village and that frontier town to gather only the most essential of items.

Finally, with the sun nearly vanished and my body tenderized by the drive, we arrived in Long Pasia after six hours. It was dark, but the clearing ahead was illuminated by large bamboo structures and a flurry of activity. The traditional houses sloped along a hillside that was walled off by thick forest to the left and a body of water to the right. Eager faces lit up in the darkness as we approached. Our arrival had been greatly anticipated.

Join me soon as I continue my adventures in the jungles of Borneo!