This summer, VolsTeach alumna and 2025 Educators Hall of Honor inductee Kirsten Salonga (’17) traded her classroom for the rainforests of Borneo after receiving a grant from her state teacher association to participate in a hands-on professional learning expedition.
An ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) Environmental Science & Biology teacher at Justice High School in Falls Church, Virginia, Salonga traveled through the Malaysian state of Sabah, exploring its remarkable biodiversity, conservation efforts, and local communities while gathering experiences to bring back to her students.
Kirsten has agreed to document her journey for Accolades readers. Follow along as she shares reflections, wildlife encounters, and lessons learned from her adventure through Borneo.
June 19, 2026: Kota Kinabalu
After a 13-hour flight to Doha (Qatar), a two-hour layover, an eight-hour flight to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and a final two-hour flight, we (my husband and I) are finally in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia! Time is a funny thing: after leaving from Northern Virginia at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday night, we are now in Borneo at 11:00 a.m. on Friday morning, 12 hours ahead of where we left.
Nevertheless, we did not let our exhaustion stop us from exploring an area that boasts many similarities to the Philippines—where my family is from. Two lost backpacking backpacks, one heavy rainstorm, and many cautionary traffic circle crossings (Malaysia drives on the opposite side of the road to the U.S.), and we had visited the calm, open air market, watching the boats depart in search of more fish.
After a durian smoothie and an introductory meeting with our G Adventures guide, Alister, we explored the same area for the night market—a bustling transformation from the quiet of the day. This is the chaos I longed for: stalls filled with fresh foods, colorful juices, and 5 RM (~$1.21 USD) fried rice. We ended what felt like the longest two-day journey reuniting with our bags and listening to live music on the rooftop of the Howard Johnson Hotel, excited to start our journey through Borneo!
June 20, 2026: Tambatuon
Two hours of an inclined drive later, and we are in the quiet village of Tambatuon! With around 400 residents, this beautiful village is home to rice patties, fresh fruit growing on every corner, and ~80 families. Mount Kinabalu hides behind clouds in the distance.
Our lodging for the night, Danau Homestay, sits atop of the village supply of fish (literally fish swimming underneath the house) and is surrounded by rice patties. Jimmy Mak, our local guide and the homestay owner, is as humorous as he is kind, taking us on a nature walk around the village.
There are about 1600 orchid species in Sabah, the region of Malaysia that we are exploring. Even the swiftlet calls Tambatuon home—literally, as the locals built an actual house for the birds in order to harvest their nests. The nests hold swiftlet saliva, and a processed nest can sell for 8000 rm per kilo, making this the most expensive and interesting drink I have ever heard of.
And as always, when it rains here, it pours. While the downpour prevented us from swimming in the nearby river, it did not prevent our cooking class, where the wife of our homestay host taught us how to properly wear traditional sarongs. The aroma of the fresh coconut milk and passionfruit flower combined with the calming sounds of the rice patty water are reminders of the importance of slowing down and enjoying the views.
June 21, 2026: Bilit
Note to self: bring your raincoat. Everywhere.
Although the rainy season is in December, it still rains just about every day in Sabah, and today was no different. Unfortunately, I did not bring a rain jacket this time, only an umbrella, which proved useless during our speed boat adventure. I always say I would rather be cold than hot, and this was put to the test today: sweating during a seven-hour bumpy river ride and shivering while soaked during wildlife spotting. We saw a probiscis monkey and her baby today (whose noses were more shocking to see in real life, but not as strange as those of males), which made shivering an even better choice. Probiscis monkeys only exist in Borneo, and I feel very lucky to have seen them now!
The wildlife made the sopping clothes and long, arduous drive worth it. Our guide, Alister, described how the previous Prime Minister of Malaysia is currently in jail for embezzlement, and the new Prime Minister is continuing the improvement of the road systems -including those that lead to Indonesia and Brunei. This was evident in the ongoing construction that we had passed on our way to the Natural Sukau Bilit Lodge today. The lodge itself is the nicest accommodation I have ever had in a rainforest -a testament to the growing tourism of Borneo. Last night, Jimmy, the host of our homestay, told us that GEEO is one of the few travel companies that invests in its communities, giving back as much as possible.
As we watched a family of long-tailed macaques (monkeys) scurrying along the riverbank for food, I reflected on how I am even more honored to have received a grant to experience this unique island!
June 22, 2026: Bilit
Rain. Hard. No sign of elephants, but warmer than yesterday (I had a rain jacket this time). That did not stop the water from pooling in everyone’s metal seats on the boat. Drizzle.
One bright massive, orange and red beak of the rhinoceros hornbill. Horn sounds escape its upward protrusion on the top of its beak. Around 40 probiscis monkeys, three with large, Squidward-esque noses (males), jumping and huffing. Just when I thought that this was the end of our speedboat adventure of the day, a montage of boats stops ahead of us: a Bornean elephant crossing the river!
“They aren’t very ‘pygmy’,” our guide, Alister, had said before. At around 6’4″ feet tall, he would be correct: they are not very short. Nevertheless, these elephants are the smallest in the world. My university days discussing evolutionary biology and bottlenecking come to mind as I watch the female elephant swim in front of us, attempt to surpass the riverbank, readjust, and finally disappear in the forest. This is my first time seeing an elephant in the wild.
Our guides have been attentive to the freshness of elephant tracks and dung during our hikes. “The males are usually alone, and they will charge,” Alister describes to us. “If we think there are elephants close by, we must turn around.” Even during our night walk, we spot fresh elephant tracks mere meters from our lodging.
Our close encounter with a female Bornean elephant made sitting on a boat in the rain (again) all worth the wait.
June 23, 2026: Sepilok
“Most sun bears [here] are the rescued pets of someone,” Alister told us as we embarked on the two-hour drive to the Sun Bear Conservation Center and Orangutan Sanctuary in Sepilok. We passed thousands of palm oil plantations, while he told us that burning older trees that are no longer as productive used to be more common. Now, more eco-friendly methods are used: some farmers started to open their fences to elephants, who then eat the fallen palm trees and continue the cycle.
The smallest bear in the world is what many guides and signs have called “very endangered,” with populations declining. “People also used to hunt them for their gall bladder,” Alister tells us. Some locals believed that because some bears could fall from trees far distances to the ground, break their bones, and quickly recover, the bile in their gall bladder possesses healing powers. “Maybe twice a year you hear about a sun bear or an elephant dying. Most people are scared because of the find for 200,000 RM and minimum of 5 years in prison. Now, it is under control because the schools educate youth about what not to do.”
I watched two sun bears play-wrestling in the only location in the world to house them for rehabilitation and realized that while I am not necessarily afraid of orangutans, I am very biased towards the sun bear. As bears standing a bit taller than waist-length, they are very cute. I understood a bit more about why some may try to keep them as pets, but gained even more respect for efforts of the Malaysian government to keep them safe and hopefully release them back to the wild.
June 24, 2026: Libaran (Turtle) Island
We departed Sandakan port for our 45 minute boat ride to Libaran (“Turtle”) Island. Sandakan used to be the main city of Sabah before the Japanese came, and Alister told us that the “infrastructure is less because fewer businesses” exist compared to Kota Kinabalu. Libaran Island is as small as it is peaceful. With only ~380 people in its 15 km length, our stroll through the village was an indication of the calm that comes with island life, especially one where we seem to be the only tourists there. Our accommodation is just as humble: “glamping” in tents near the beach. It had been a while since I welcomed an ice cold shower as much as tonight.
While we unfortunately were not awoken by sightings of sea turtles nesting on the island, we were able to observe some of the successful government projects to keep Malaysian heritage in the afternoon: pandan leaf weaving, recycled bottle art, hand-woven fish nets, and rice cake penyaram deserts. We were even taught how to play Chongkan: a game similar to mancala, but with more marbles and both players moving simultaneously.
“The dogs will follow you for attention, but do not pet them,” our local guide, Sardi told us. He was not lying: the abundance of dogs, who all seemed similar/related was evident, as a group followed us the entire two hours of our village tour. In another life, I would have continued my pursuit of veterinary school!
June 25, 2026: Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu
5:15 a.m.: I am a light sleeper and woke up to the faint sunlight in my tent. I rubbed my eyes, put on my glasses, and stumbled out of my tent to the beach 15 feet away, the red haze of the sky in the distance. One of my favorite parts of travel is watching the sun rise.
After breakfast, we said goodbye to the quiet of Libaran Island for our boat back to Sandakan. We passed floating villages of those whom our guide, Alister, describes as “sea gypsies”, who have been featured on National Geographic for having “extra space for oxygen in their blood”: they can last up to eight minutes underwater, spear diving. Prior to the floating villages, these tribes lived on boats their entire lives, but now many work with local fisherman, living in stilted houses that are not permanent -they are owned by the government. There are two types of tribes: Bajau (having Malaysian ID cards) and Badjao (lacking ID cards and “technically not part of Malaysia, Indonesia, or the Philippines”). I had heard of these tribes before, and I am excited to learn more and bring this fascinating human adaptation back to my classroom!
As we boarded our return flight to Kota Kinabalu (or KK, as the locals say), I reflect on how I learn a bit more about myself each time I travel. This trip has reinforced my passion for animals and for teaching others about unique organisms and places. I am also amazed at the ability of other educators to endure two hours completely drenched in a small boat in rainforests of Borneo, just as much as I am of those I had met in the rainforests of Peru the year prior. I am reminded that adventure does not stop with age: a couple of the women on our trip were 70+ years old, and their commitment to adventure is just as impressive as their commitment to the teaching profession. I am also reminded that these blog posts are as much of me sharing my personal insights with others as they are pieces which I can re-open years from now to reconnect with the feelings each place has given me.
In Malay, the phrase for gratitude literally translates to “receive love”.
Terima kasih, Borneo!
