the globe says
Malaysia
Fly into Kuala Lumpur, then a cheap two-hour hop across the South China Sea to Sarawak, Borneo.
A riverside guesthouse in the old town along the Sarawak River.
Borneo's most livable city and the doorway to its interior: semi-wild orangutans, Iban longhouses up the Batang Ai, laksa for breakfast, and a river that still carries the trade.
Cross the river on a penambang boat at dusk, then eat at Top Spot — a seafood court on a parking garage roof.
June to August
Terima kasih — thank you, in Malay.
Into the Heart of Borneo by Redmond O'Hanlon — the funniest serious jungle book ever written.
Bako National Park, an hour by bus and boat — proboscis monkeys and pitcher plants on sea cliffs.
The real interior — upriver longhouse country — takes days each way; budget a week beyond the city or you have only seen the lobby.