More Canopies and More Orangutans

May 28. We rise early for bird watching. Another lovely breakfast served to us by the river.  Here we are, with Jariah.
Azmil had in mind a walk along the road to spot birds, but we had another idea. We’d all enjoyed the canopy walk so much the other day that we wanted to do it again. Azmil readily agreed and the feeling of being among the trees was again magical, and we saw different birds than we’d seen the first time.  Here’s a bird, us in the canopy and Azmil carrying his scope.

The surprise highlight of the morning, though, was spotting orangutans in the wild three more times. We spent a good, long time watching a male, a female and a juvenile. Great fun. 

We were not alone in looking at the orangutans.

So, Carol and I have now been privileged to see gorillas in Uganda, chimpanzees in Tanzania and orangutans in Borneo. Each was a quite distinct and memorable experience, for which we are extremely grateful.
Back to the room to pack, download photos, etc. Up to the lodge for a buffet lunch, at which I discovered mini burgers and fries, having evidently missed them the other days. Damn.
After lunch, we say goodbye to Jariah and Azmil, both of whom enhanced our stay tremendously. We are driven the 2 1/2 hours back to Lahad Datu in air conditioned comfort (thank God; it’s in the mid-90s today) for our early evening flight back to Kota Kinabalu. 

We are staying at the Shangri-la Tanjung Aru Resort, near the airport, a modern seaside resort on a beautiful beach surrounded by 25 acres of lush tropical gardens. Unfortunately, though, we won’t be able to enjoy the resort, because we leave for Indonesia around noon tomorrow.  
We have dinner in a Chinese restaurant in the hotel. Okay, but rather sketchy service.  The hotel is nice enough, very large and non-descript.  A first class hotel, but not the type we’d ever pick.  The rooms ARE air conditioned, though, and that makes up for other short comings.