Borneo

[mustardandmi]

We are going to Borneo in Oct to see the orang utans etc..- has anyone been and if so what sort of clothing is best to take- do you need walking boots or what. Any advice or feed back would be welcome as we have never been on a holiday like this before. Thank you in anticipation of some feedback.

[LoftyLottie]

Light cotton clothing, including a hat. Just plenty of cotton clothing - T shirts, shorts, and long trousers and long sleeved shirts (lots of biting insects) Don't forget to take a light weight waterproof - it really does rain a lot and it's not rain as we know it - more like someone has emptied a bucket over your head. Yes you will need good waterproof walking boots with cotton socks.

I have been to Borneo but haven't seen the orang utans - so lucky you.

The people are really friendly and the accommodation is extremely cheap and of very good standard. Be prepared to eat lots of chicken and rice.

[wardie100]

I went to borneo a couple of years ago and its amazing!! are you going to the Sepilok orang sanctuary?? clothing wise it is a toss up between long sleeves/trousers to keep the midges off of short sleeves/shorts to keep cool. personally id go for the latter and take mozzie spray that has deet(you do have to be careful with too revealing clothes though as it is a muslim country, although its a lot more relaxed in the rain forest than in the towns) . The jungle formula mozzie spray is great and we took mobile mozzie nets for at night. Also of course you need your malaria tablets that you start a few days before you go away.
Walking boots are a must as it gets very muddy/wet and the terrain can be quite hard walking.

Im happy to answer anymore questions you have.

[LoftyLottie]

Reading Wardy's excellent answer made me think. Take a large cotton scarf (if you are a female) is case of any visits to mosques. Very useful indeed for covering head and shoulders.

[Rosetta]

My son went to an orang utan sanctuary a couple of months ago. He loved it but they weren't aloud to handle the orangs as the sanctuary rehomes them back into the wild.
I can find out which one it was in a couple of days time if you want the inf

[happyjo]

Definately cover up as much as possible whilst in the jungle... cotton, light colours and make sure you were a t shirt or vest underneath, so once out of the jungle you can strip back a bit. Tuck your trousers in your socks too... stop the crawlies going where you'd rather they didn't!!!

[terambulan]

Dont forget a hat to ward off tree tics.

Learn some of the language:

http://pgoh13.free.fr/malay_course2.php

salamat!