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Interview: Meet Lemon, your Borneo guide

[ 1 ] June 18, 2010 | Derek

You want adventure, culture and wildlife? You’ve got it!

Borneo, the third largest island in the world, is also one of the most incredible and most adventurous places in the world. This is a culture and wildlife mecca! I’m pretty sure the real name of this location is “Incrediblealaborneotheculturewildlifemecca,” but it’s been trimmed down for obvious reasons.

To tour this area, we needed to find really, really good guides to tackle this adventure and once again we have outdone ourselves.

It is my great please to introduce you to Lemon, your Borneo guide.

What do you like most about living in Borneo?

Harmonious living, ethnic festivals and rituals and longhouses dwellings is what I like about my home country and Borneo. Being born in Borneo as a native Bidayuh I feel very fortunate as being part of the rich cultural heritage as we have in Borneo. Being able to enjoy the ethnic festivals like the harvest festival, witnessing the folklore bard singing by the women from the older generations is a highlight to me. This is unknown to and unpracticed by the younger generation. In the event of death in the community the delicate rituals that is practiced is equally unique in this 21st century. To experience this is the best thing that can happen to a person like me who is aware that this will become vanished in the years to come.

What do you like most about working as a guide?

Meeting new people from all over the world and having the cultural exchange is what I like about being a guide. It is always good to share opinions and to show the visitors some of the interesting places and definitely the rare and endemic species of wildlife living in Borneo. This includes the orang utan, proboscis monkey and langur to name a few.

Tell us about an amazing wildlife encounter or cultural experience you’ve personally experienced in Borneo?

Encountering wild orang utans in the wild, and not in a forest reserve or national park, is always a unique experience and you will really only understand after such a personal encounter. I have been fortunate to have this kind of encounter and it is difficult to describe it in words. Experiencing healing ceremonies in the longhouses by the local shaman is an unique experience and meeting nomadic Penan’s and being able to stay with them was a great experience too. Going hunting and foraging for food in the forest with the Penans is an unique survival experience I will never forget.

Tell us about some of the exciting things that our guests will see and experience during our trip?

I will say that the visitors exciting experiences will include the peoples friendliness and hospitality and being able to sample some of the local delicacies such as fresh food cooked in bamboo and eaten off a banana leave right in the middle of the jungle. That is special for any visitor I believe. Seeing wildlife such as the proboscis monkey and orang utan in the wild is always a highlight for most visitors. To experience the ambiance of the jungle with all it’s sounds, smells and ‘noises’ coming from the insects is what is amazing about the rainforest and that will be experienced too.

Together, we’ve created a really exciting trip to Borneo. Is this an itinerary that was created specifically for Falk Custom Adventures or is this just another crowded, mass marketed tour?

This itinerary is specifically created for Falk Custom Adventures and is unique in the way that it meets the very specific requirements expected by Falk Custom Adventures in terms of accommodation, tour experiences and level of adventure.

Why would you recommend people to travel in Borneo?

Borneo’s name is already a mysterious and attracting name and experiencing the diverse ethnic tribal groups with a remarkable cultural diversity are good reasons to visit Borneo. This coupled with the amazing nature, the jungle and the distinctive wildlife makes it all so special. People do speak English widely in Malaysia’s Borneo as it is formerly an English colony and that makes it relatively easy for visitors to interact and to obtain first hand knowledge, facts and information from the local population. Modern and appealing facilities in the cities are available to provide a bit of comfort after roughing it out. We don’t have to forget about that.

Any final thoughts, words of inspiration or just something you need to get off your chest? We’re listening.

Just come to Borneo with an open mind and there will be a lot of good surprises awaiting for you ……..

Comments (1)

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Andrea Rowe says:

June 24, 2010 at 5:47 pm

Loved the interview Lemon….will definitely spread the word about this opportunity to travel to such a special world.

Andrea
http://www.earthfirstlawncare.com