plenty of tourist boats on this narrow river - very noisy and nothing to see - see the "forest" at the back - just a young secondary forest without the normal Borneo wildlife


bananas platform where orangutangs are coming "on time" when tourists are installed on chairs. Better to go to a zoo, at least you don't spend hours on a plane for such poor show


gold seekers extracts sand from river bed, then use mercury to get gold and release sand and mercury to the water when many villages are using this water to cook and drink
I had a trip to Kalimantan with this company i don't recomment : www.adventuretourtravelindonesia.com as i didn't get any value for my money (2600 USD!! for 1 person on miserable dirty boats for 4 nights - so a pure scam) and i visited 2 destinations Palangka Raya and Pangkalan Bun in Central Kalimantan. And if I write this review, it is to be surprised by the number of positive reviews on Kalimantan while Indonesia has already deforested 80% of its territory and that 80% of orangutans in Kalimantan have disappeared in conflict with the palm oil plantation workers and where the mothers are killed, because obviously dangerous if they defend their young, and these are then recovered by conservation organizations in the best case, or as a domestic animal in a cage like a parrot. Don't forget that an adult male orangutan has 8 times the strength of a man, and the female 4 times so they can be dangerous for humans. In both cities, I went by boat along the rivers to see of course orangutans (not seen 1 in the wild) and other wild animals as I had seen in Borneo Malaysia. And the 2 cruises lasted 7 days and I really never saw that. The Tanjung National Park is empty of almost all wildlife by the river, and we saw orangutans, but in "feeding stations" where once a day, staff is offering bananas in front of tourists . All Orangutans have a name, so for the wild side it's a lie. Orangutans can get very close to us, we can obviously make beautiful pictures because they are served on a tray. I would have much preferred orangutans further, less beautiful pictures, but free orangutans and not semi-domestic animals that reapplied at the agreed time. For the rivers around Palanka Raya towards Tangkiling, I would say that it is worse with gold diggers because it adds to the almost total absence of wild life, to the islands where are parked the orangutans so that the BOS decides if some can be released in Borneo's last primary forest (so positive but will that be enough to save this specie?), As long as they are self-sufficient for the food and way of life of an organgutan they had to learn with BOS because the mother did not have time.

In short, the 2 explored river areas are depressing when you know the jungle:
1 - little wild life on the river - it's dead and we're bored to death so 2 days are enough to judge the extent of the disaster. When humans destroyed the forest, they killed all from insects to worms necessary for other animals, and they unbalanced everything and all wildlife was gone and the river was silencious around (no birds, no macaques, no wild orangutans..)
2 - semi-domestic orangutans, very photogenic, but far from what they deserve: a life far from men
3 - I did not see any primary forest, only a secondary that is to say after cutting the primary forest with majestic trees that had an incredible life beyond orangutans: other monkeys, insects, birds, other small mammals, reptiles. In ratiboising 80% of its forests, Indonesia has allowed de facto killings and we can almost talk about the genocide of millions of animals, not to mention the plants. And Tanjung National Park was opened after cutting all the big trees by the river (what tourists see), is this the height of cynicism?
4 - Finally, I have "beautiful" photos of gold diggers on the rivers to Tangkiling and there it is almost worse. hundreds of small boats move on the river, fix themselves and recover the bed of the river, it is sorted, sifted in a black smoke of hell and very probably the promising pebbles are crushed and the mercury is used to recover the 'gold. As in Guyana: it is the "economic" method but it pollutes the rivers with mercury which is dangerous for the health and the reproduction and many villages have neither electricity, nor running water and so drink the water of the river. In addition, they sweep the sorted sand with water, and we can see dunes on the edges in the best case, but also rivers blocked by the sandbanks brought by the gold diggers.

I shortened the 2 cruises because I was disgusted by what I saw and terrible consequences.
We can take the cruise as a cool moment between friends or as a couple, we relax, we take sunbathing but OPEN YOUR EYES and look what you have in front of you: a devastated nature, exploited and far from its original state. For you to see, as far as I'm concerned, I will not set foot in Kalimantan anymore.

Judging by this and your other posts, you are either the unluckiest traveller in the world or you completely fail to do any research. Alternatively, maybe you just joined this forum have a good moan and stir things up?

Did you do any research ahead of time on how/where to see orangutans in the wild? While the rainforests throughout the world are fast disappearing, there are still places to stay in the primary rainforest and view wildlife. There are less degraded places in Kalimantan, sorry you didn't find them. Clearly, you were disappointed in your trip, but I don't know that I would call this a scam. I agree with crellston, all of your posts here are all complaining about the places you visited.

The price i paid was a scam as the travel agency itinerary was speaking of "confortable boats" and they weren't. It's also a scam when you are requesting a "nature and wildlife" travel , and you get young secondary forest and no wildlife at all, but only semi-domestic orangutangs coming to eat bananas when staff is calling them. I will be delighted if you give me the name of the Kalimantan places where i can find pristine nature and wildlife. And if possible the name of a trustable travel agency. thanks

I saw that in 2015 you posted that you paid $1500.00 per night for a room in St. Lucia and three yrs. later you paid an average of $650.00 per night for this boat tour. Lets put it this way. I was born in the morning but not this morning. .

you obviously have a lot of free time, not me, and you probably spend it criticizing travelers and thinking they're lying. USD 2600 is unfortunately the price I paid and that's why I want to prevent other travelers from falling into the trap. And I went to St Lucia in this hotel and you can check the prices in high season (jan - april) on their website. I was not born this morning either, but I do not like the way you do it. I can send to the moderator the proposal of this agency, the payment record of Paypal and even if it is far, I can trace the payment to St Lucia on my amex. Please stop writing to me.

Rather than a scam, I'd say this was simply an opportunity to part those unwilling to do their homework from their money. You do seem to have time, though, to complain on forums when you inevitably go wrong. What's that saying, God's way of telling you you have too much money? We all, I'm sure, have great hope you'll take the time to choose more wisely in future.

If you paid so much for so little as you claim at Anse Chastenet then you clearly did not learn your lesson to do your research first and fell into the same trap again. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

Let's God or any religion outside of this - Just understand there is dishonnest travel agencies and also dishonnest people - but also fortunately the honnest ones. And my duty was to avoid somebody else will be scammed by this travel agency. So i will stop answering to any comments.

"So i will stop answering to any comments." Excellent news!

OK -- you've told us where not to stay in St Lucia, Tonga and Costa Rica and what not to do in Kalimantan . . . all because they were over priced and scams. You truly do know how to pick 'em

I haven't seen one post where you enjoyed anything on any of your trips. Maybe you should do a little more research BEFORE you travel and have less to complain about afterwards . . . just sayin'

It's becoming clear that planning travel is not the only skill in which the OP comes up short. And why do those who allow themselves to get taken, with no one to blame but themselves, always say something along the lines of, "...my duty was to avoid somebody else will be scammed...". Do they really think that anyone believes that's the reason they post all over the place?

Actually I did a cruise from Pangkalan Bun up the Sekonyer River through Tanjung Puting to Rimba Lodge in May when the trees were fruiting.

Along the river we saw Orangs (as far as I know every boat did), Proboscis Monkey troops (my favorite), gibbons, and some great birds like Rhino hornbill. There were only a few orangs that came to the feeding stations..one was a mum and baby, because the fruit was abundant they prefer that.

I remembered that we had a Fodorite who did a wildlife viewing cruise on a river in Kalimantan, but I didn't remember who it was. I read another report from someone who did a similar cruise and had a good experience. There is no question - you have to do your research. Indeed, our trip to Malaysian Borneo to see orangutans in the wild was one of my most research-intensive trips. I spent a lot of time reading accounts by other travelers and figuring out the best places to go to see orangutans in the wild.

I can't take any credit for doing any research at all.. I just tagged along with a small birding group who was connected with Ecolodges Indonesia. While there were definitely some issues with that company, the itinerary, and Rimba, I can't complain at all about the lack of primate viewing when we went. I actually sort of wish we had slept on one of their klotoks rather than in the rather run-down lodge. The food was really good on their boat, actually, less so in the dining room.

4 days with Orangutans Balikpapan + Camp Leakey

I guess Kathie this is the thread by Kazoo that you are referring to. Seemed to have a great time at Camp Leakey..

I was in Sabah ( both KK and Sandakan) and stayed at Uncle Tan's river camp on theKinabatangan, Its was a boot camp where i spent 3 nights and the wildlife viewing was fantastic. We had wild orangs coming in practically every day into and near the camp.The other great primate was the proboscis monkeys as we cruised the oxbow lakes. Very memorable.Forest elephants were down by the river too.
I heard Uncle Tan is moved down river a couple of years ago. Would highly recommend them for an original rainforest experience,The 'night' treks are unreal. A place you don't have to pay $$$$ like the OP was conned into.
Uncle Tan Wildlife Adventures

Next on the list in Sabah is the Maliau Basin, Sabah's Lost World....

The 'semi-wild' kalimantan camp is basically rehab centers for orangs, so I can imagine the OP's disappointment.So is Sepilok in Sandakan , Sabah. These rehabilitation centres are for folks who are not as adventurous nor do have the time and inclination. The other are Semenggoh Nature Reserve Rehab Centre and the Matang Wildlife Centre: Orangutan rehab center Kuching.BohorokOrangutan Centre at Bukit Lawang, Sumatra.These are more like zoos.Most orangs here are rescued and a re hand-reared.Camp Leaky too is one of them.

You'll need to go deeper,often inaccessible rainforests, especially in Kalimantan to see wild orangutans..
Tanjung Puting National Park ,Central Kalimantan.
Danau Sentarum National Park ,West Kalimantan
Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park ,West & Central Kalimantan
Betung Kerihun National Park ,West Kalimantan
Gunung Palung National Park ,West Kalimantan

These are rather remote areas and would often need a number of days to even reach( by boat and a lot of hiking) let alone the costs and the logistics.

The more accessible ones are..Gunung Leuser National Park ,Sumatra, Danum Valley Sabah, Tabin Wildlife Reserve and the Kinabantangan Wildlife Sanctuary in Sabah.

Helps to do research before jumping into it as wisely advised above.

Inquest, thanks so much for finding that thread.

Most people don't realize that the "rehab centers" don't return orangutans to the wild. Indeed, the feeding of them guarantees that the orangutans will stay close by to be fed. Before our trip to Sabah (we went to the Danum Valley) I did a lot of research on this and decided I wanted to see orangutans in the wild - that was important to me. But it isn't important to everyone, some people are perfectly content with the great photo-ops at the Rehab Centers. We saw lots of wildlife in the Danum Valley. But you do have to know what you are looking for and where to find it. We met some people while we were there who had just come from Kinabantangan and they had good experiences there in viewing wildlife.

Apart from the 'high' expectation ,followed by his/her frustrations,what the OP has said is largely true about Indonesian Borneo.One of the reasons I was not too keen on going to Kalimantan.

Illegal logging has become a way of life and is rampant. It is said that over 50% of protected tropical rainforests in Kalimantan were cut down between 1985 and 2000,catering to the demand of the global timber. So if you have sent back home,a container load of lovely Balinese furniture,you'll know where it came from .My flight from KK to Sandakan and Lahad Datu in Sabah was an eye-opener. Millions of hectares of pristine rainforests cleared and is now an 'oasis' of palm .

Oil Palm has been has a recipe for environmental, social and long-term economic disaster. Wetlands are drained to make way for palm plantations.The decaying vegetation and decomposition of peat is said to release carbondioxide into the environment.The Haze caused by the fires in Borneo has reached peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.

The rich rainforests of Borneo contain enormous amounts of coal, gold and other minerals,so large mining companies continue to expand their operations, opening up new rainforest areas for mining operations and are making rapid inroads. OP is right in her/his observations above.The devastation is for real.There is also a concerted effort too afoot on conservation.Let's hope against hope that efforts of conservation overtakes destruction.

I certainly agree that the rainforests have been devastated, no question. The Danum Valley is one of the few areas that the Malaysian government has protected. And even there, the palm oil plantations are right up to the edge of the protected area. But the OP could have determined that before he bought this tour. I don't think not being informed makes the trip a scam. The company would note that the OP did, in fact, see orangutans.