Kim, One bit of advice: Sabah's lowland forests are the leech capital of the world, and April is the end of the wet season.
Leeches abound, not just on the ground but doing a Tarzan imitation, swinging down onto you from branches above your head .... if you don't believe me, just wait till you can see for yourself. Wear long, loose trousers without any zippers, string-holes, or other modern adornments that create holes for the little buggers to crawl through. Wear thick long socks with elasticated tops. Wear good boots with a tongue that is stitched to the side of the shoe all the way to the top, so the holes that the laces go through don't also provide access down to your yummy juicy feet. When you've got shoes, socks and trousers on yourself, put the socks OUTSIDE the trouser legs, smooth down so there are no wrinkles that the leeches can crawl through, and drench the whole lot with spray from a can of Mortein or Baygon (you can buy these in just about any store in Kota Kinabalu), going right up to the waist-band. Then you'll only have to worry about the leeches that will attack you from above waist height. Although they are a real pest, Sabah's leeches are not particularly dangerous to your heath ... they'll drop off once they fill up. The trouble is that the wounds take ages to stop bleeding and cause unseemly blood-stains on your clothing in the oddest of places. I once went into the jungle with a British guy, fresh out from UK, who boastest "the latest SAS-quality guaranteed leech-proof jungle gear". At the end of the day we stripped off for a wash in a stream .... I had 3 leeches, which is no problem. He had more than 70, mostly in his boots, which were filled with blood and squashed leeches (his boots had laceholes !!!), and all the way up his trousers to his waist. He even had one firmly latched on to that spot that most guys don't wave around in public. Have fun Peter O'Byrne Singapore _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids
