I think this beautiful sunset just about sums up our trip to Borneo! A one-of-a kind, awesome few days in paradise! We had a wonderful time! Borneo is a large island in the South China Sea that several countries lay claim to. We stayed in Sabah, which is a state in Malaysia. The Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort was a wonderful place to relax as well as have a few family adventures! Here is Craig relaxing and enjoying the local musicians in the lobby of the hotel. I have never heard drums sound so mellow and inviting before!
We loved our room as well, ever since school started Craig and I haven't been getting nearly enough snuggles!
Brent and Craig had lots of fun in the pool! Craig actually met lots of friends in the kids pool, and the hotel had a kids club where he made a kite and even painted batiks!
Lunch by the pool! For some reason it seemed like too much effort to go into a restaurant!
We weren't all laziness, though! We did go on a few adventures! If you would have told me a year ago that we'd be getting on a jungle river cruise this weekend, I would have completely agreed. However, I would have assumed you meant the one at Disneyland! Life can throw you some suprises, and this move to Malaysia was one of them! But, as much as we love Disneyland, we'll take the real jungle cruise! Here were are getting on a boat called a Lepa-Lepa.
One of the coolest parts of this jungle river expedition was seeing the oyster farms. Here's a lady harvesting oysters. The oysters are grown under water, attached to pieces of old tires.
This is a bamboo hut on stilts over the river and was a typical dwelling up until the 1980's. It will have to be completely remade every 3 years! Craig really got along well with the lady inside!
We also got to see a cultural variety show. Borneo has different tribes, with different types of dress and dance. We were able to see the different dances, as well as participate in them!
Craig got to blow a dart gun, but didn't want to dance! That's why Daddy's up there! Mommy unfortunately had to man the camera, and could not participate. Thanks, Brent!
The real draw to Borneo are the Orangutans! They are originally from Borneo, but are becoming endangered. The Rasa Ria has an Orangutan preserve right on it's property, just a couple minutes hike into the rainforest. The preserve rehabilitates orphaned orangutans and helps them get ready to go back to the wild. This orangutan is about 2 years old and was incredible to watch! We spent about an hour observing 2 orangutans, but this one tugged at our hearts!
He didn't want the humans to leave! He kept hiding underneath the steps and jumping out, like he was playing hide and seek! It was so amazing to get so close to him!
Another highlight was being able to sail in the ocean, just the three of us! Brent got a quick sailing lesson, and then off we went, into the Sunset! Literally!! It was a lot of fun just sailing around as a family. Don't worry, the lifeguard had his eye on us, and would have jumped onto his waverunner if we'd gone too far out to sea!
We had an incredible time! We feel so lucky to be able to live in this part of the world for a little while! We know we said this about Redang, but this place is definitely on our list of places we'd like to visit again. Maybe if we could get some visitors, we'd have to go back!! Hint, hint!!
I think this beautiful sunset just about sums up our trip to Borneo! A one-of-a kind, awesome few days in paradise! We had a wonderful time! Borneo is a large island in the South China Sea that several countries lay claim to. We stayed in Sabah, which is a state in Malaysia. The Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort was a wonderful place to relax as well as have a few family adventures! Here is Craig relaxing and enjoying the local musicians in the lobby of the hotel. I have never heard drums sound so mellow and inviting before!
We loved our room as well, ever since school started Craig and I haven't been getting nearly enough snuggles! 
Brent and Craig had lots of fun in the pool! Craig actually met lots of friends in the kids pool, and the hotel had a kids club where he made a kite and even painted batiks!
Lunch by the pool! For some reason it seemed like too much effort to go into a restaurant!
We weren't all laziness, though! We did go on a few adventures! If you would have told me a year ago that we'd be getting on a jungle river cruise this weekend, I would have completely agreed. However, I would have assumed you meant the one at Disneyland! Life can throw you some suprises, and this move to Malaysia was one of them! But, as much as we love Disneyland, we'll take the real jungle cruise! Here were are getting on a boat called a Lepa-Lepa.
One of the coolest parts of this jungle river expedition was seeing the oyster farms. Here's a lady harvesting oysters. The oysters are grown under water, attached to pieces of old tires. 
This is a bamboo hut on stilts over the river and was a typical dwelling up until the 1980's. It will have to be completely remade every 3 years! Craig really got along well with the lady inside!
We also got to see a cultural variety show. Borneo has different tribes, with different types of dress and dance. We were able to see the different dances, as well as participate in them!
Craig got to blow a dart gun, but didn't want to dance! That's why Daddy's up there! Mommy unfortunately had to man the camera, and could not participate. Thanks, Brent!
The real draw to Borneo are the Orangutans! They are originally from Borneo, but are becoming endangered. The Rasa Ria has an Orangutan preserve right on it's property, just a couple minutes hike into the rainforest. The preserve rehabilitates orphaned orangutans and helps them get ready to go back to the wild. This orangutan is about 2 years old and was incredible to watch! We spent about an hour observing 2 orangutans, but this one tugged at our hearts!
He didn't want the humans to leave! He kept hiding underneath the steps and jumping out, like he was playing hide and seek! It was so amazing to get so close to him!
Another highlight was being able to sail in the ocean, just the three of us! Brent got a quick sailing lesson, and then off we went, into the Sunset! Literally!! It was a lot of fun just sailing around as a family. Don't worry, the lifeguard had his eye on us, and would have jumped onto his waverunner if we'd gone too far out to sea!
What a life! My favorite part of this vacation is Brent dancing away on the stage :) He is a natural! Also, those river boats and sail boats look like a lot of fun. Love and miss you!
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