The North Borneo Beauty

Do you believe in supernatural or black magic? This story is about a creature that we called Balan-Balan. This creature is actually half human and half ghost. During daytime, they can live like a normal people, but then at night they will go out hunting for food. When I said ‘out’, their head will ‘detach’ from their body and only the head will fly out for food. We are not really sure where they coming from (origin), but they are still famous until now in certain areas in Sabah.

So how can you know whether they are a normal human or not? Well, I’m not really sure how, but from what I heard from the elders, this half-human race, they usually wear something around their neck (like small towel or scarf) to hide the scar around their neck. Well, I was thinking that what if we print a special ID card for them, using the ID card printer, and give them a special badge holder, so that just by looking at their badge holder or ID card, we know they are categorized as half-human race..

Then the diet.. it’s quite disgusting because they like to eat blood.. well, not like vampire, but they are more into period blood, placenta or sometimes they will look for a dead newborn baby. I also heard that when they transformed into Balan-balan, they will make this sound (like a female chicken) and they also said that if the sound is not so loud (like it’s far from you) actually it’s just near you and watching you. But if the sound is loud (like it’s near you) it means that the head is far away from you. So, be careful.. But don’t worry, they still have their weakness.. they don’t like lime (any kind of lime) and they also don’t like thorn. So if someday you visit a place and hear the eerie female chicken sound, just prepare with your lime..

This great East Malaysian state on Borneo Island is naturally endowed with endless beaches and bays, ancient rainforests and amazing plants and animals, and the sacred Mt Kinabalu.

March, 18 2009

A collection of some of the wonderful smaller mammals found at Mt Kinabalu and Danum Valley in Borneo. The animals (in order) are Giant Squirrel, Plain Pygmy Squirrel, Prevost’s Squirrel, Mountain Treeshrew, and Red Leaf Monkeys (Maroon Langur). For other Borneo and Western Australian animal video, pictures and stories, visit www.wazoologist.blogspot.com

If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful roses,
what might not the heart of man
become in its long journey toward the stars?~
~G.K. Chesterton~

Checking my friend’s Edith, facebook just now, i cant help but admire the photos she just upload. Its just amazing to see all the beauty inside the forest she went in.

Rafflesia
Rafflesia arnoldii is the largest, solitary, fleshy flower in the world. It is a parasitic plant that grows on the lower slopes of mountain ranges, in certain areas of South-east Asia. (Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo)

The first Europeans to discover the Rafflesia were Sir Stamford Raffles,(founder of Singapore) and Dr Joseph Arnold in 1816, near the town of Bencoolen (Bengkulu) in Sumatra and this particular species was named Rafflesia arnoldii in their honour.

Besides being the world’s largest bloom, it is a very strange and baffling plant. The Rafflesia has no specific flowering season. It has no roots, stem or leaves. In addition, each flower produces just one seed and this seed can only germinate if it succeeds in lodging itself in the tissue of the Tetrastigma vine, which crawls along the rainforest floors.

This is why the Rafflesia is usually floor bound. The flower extracts food from the vine by extending threadlike filaments into its tissue. Its penchant for attaching exclusively to the Tetrastigma partly explains why the flower is very rare.

After taking about 9 months to mature into a cabbage-sized bud, the plant opens. The petals, usually 5, sometimes 6, are red in colour and covered with lighter coloured spots. It only flowers for 5 to 6 days, before the petals blacken and the flower withers.

Although the Rafflesia can grow up to one metre in diameter, the flowers are usually half that size with the occasional monster-sized bloom appearing from time to time. The record bloom of Rafflesia arnoldii, stretched 91cms (3 ft) in diameter, 1.9 cms (3/4 ins) thick and weighed 7 kgs (15 lbs).

Interesting ain’t they?

Thinking to go Sabah? Check out the Reflesia Blooming time before you go, because its really worth to see this world biggest flower!