Etzy

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Arrival In Lahad Datu, Sabah, Borneo


I arrived in Tawau, Sabah after a 2-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur – a bit delayed, so it was almost dark already - it was close to 6PM, and night falls quickly in the tropics. As I stepped outside the airport I was met by 2 staffers from Humana, Brian, who works in the office as their computer technician and Faisal who works as a driver for Humana. It was a 2-hour drive to Lahad Datu, where the main office is, so we stopped along the way at a little restaurant in a village to get something to eat – the food was simple but good, and we were quickly on our way again. Around 9 PM we pulled up in front of the hotel and I was soon kicking off my shoes and getting organized in my room as the phone rang and it was Torben (director of the Humana Schools) and his wife Rosalyn who were downstairs and wanted to meet and greet before they headed home. They told me they had just returned from a graduation ceremony at the Humana School in Tomanggong, where I was going Monday as my first school!
It was nice to see them again and get a briefing on the program for the next days, starting the very next morning with an early departure for the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center in Sepilok, about 2 ½ hours drive from Lahad Datu.
I headed straight for bed, it had been a long day, and it sounded like the next day was going to be a really, really long day!
When the wakeup call came at 6 AM, I got out of bed and looked out my window to get a glimpse of where I was – and I was pleasantly surprised to see the ocean just a block from my hotel.

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