A kind of Jungle Book story

Well after 3 planes, and nearly 30 hours of travel (one plane was cancelled resulting in a tiresome 6 hour wait in a Business Lounge that didn’t serve alcohol) J and I arrived in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo. The temperature is 30c which is lovely, although the 80% humidity does make it feel warmer still. And October is the start of the wet season… …and day 2 we have enjoyed (endured) monsoon rain. The rain continues to pour. The desire to come out here arose from our visit to our local zoo. Until we moved here, I didn’t know Blackpool had a zoo. Nobody in our party is very happy with us talking about zoos but we are unapologetic. Blackpool Zoo is not the biggest zoo ever, but we like it, so much so we became members. As members we can visit as many times as we like, get free car parking and get 30% of our hot chocolate drinks. It also means we can avoid going there when the place is crowded and full of very excited and noisy children!

Whilst we visit every animal and bird each time, our favourites are the big cats and the orangutans. The latter are simply the wisest looking animals in the place. Last year and again this year, two of the mums gave birth to the tiniest little baby orangutans we had ever seen. Indeed, it was several months before we actually caught a glimpse of them.

So, we decided to come out here and see them and many other animals and birds living in the wild.  Whilst on this trip, we won’t be climbing up Mount Kinabalu, for the next 8 days we will be travelling through the jungle, speeding up rivers and perhaps even drinking a glass or two on the beach. We are staying in hotels, homestays, jungle lodges, glamping tents and rain forest resorts. Last night’s accommodation was a little rudimentary but clean and absolutely fine for an overnight stop. I even helped prepare dinner, pineapple curry.

Trips like this take a bit of organising, but the break from the routine of everyday life makes it a worthwhile effort to make happen. Of course, you don’t need to make a 16,000 mile round trip to be able to step off the merry-go-round. We regularly take ourselves off for a day’s walking in the hills. Whereas I’m content to enjoy the same walks more often than not J will choose the walk in order to find a new one to do. She likes to plan, and on the walk, although she can protest loudly, she likes to navigate. Whilst we nearly always get lost on our walks, this is usually down to me rather than her navigating skills. I rely on intuition, J relies on maps and tried and tested directions.

Being able to plan something different, and then having a go at trying to achieve it, can, in itself, be helpful for maintaining our mental wellbeing. If this is something new, even better.  A few weeks back, J organised an eight mile circular walk, which at the halfway point delivered us to the ‘Singing Ringing Tree’. This was situated on top of Crown Point overlooking Burnley in Lancashire. It is a stunning bit of art. A sculpture made up of different lengths of round metal pipes, shaped like a tree that has been bent by the wind. As the wind blew, and passed through the pipes it created a sound similar to the singing of whales as they call to each other under the oceans.  

It is a truly magical place. We lingered, J noting that it would be a great place to practice her mindfulness. Again, something we can all try and do to enhance our mental wellbeing. Back here in Borneo, sitting and listening to the rain falling and the many night sounds of the jungle is equally a great opportunity to simply relax and let your mind rest. I also like it because it feels like being off the grid. My NHS organisation blocks emails when colleagues are out of the UK. They simply don’t land in your inbox (although they are all there waiting for you when you return). It is a brilliant strategy for leaving all my work stress back in Manchester. I need to improve the amount of time I don’t turn my phone on when I return when I get back. I once had a mentor who reminded me on more than one occasion that however much we might think it’s the case, none of us are indispensable.

So for the next few days, I intend, literally on some occasions, to just go with the flow (got 3 river trips planned). As a consequence, it might mean that my blog gets posted at an unusual time, or heaven forbid, even not at all. This week’s blog has been posted while most folk in the UK are taking a Saturday afternoon stroll, so I apologise if you missed my posting . I will see what I can do later.