26/04/2002
Spent the day holed up in my hotel room, surfing the net, collecting my thoughts and getting bitten by the other, smaller hotel guests.
have affiliated themselves with my website, a very wise choice.
Sambas is a scary place, the people seem tense, and from speaking to some of the locals, they had a lot of trouble here a few years ago.
My flight back to the jungle is not scheduled until next Wednesday, so I'm chilling out in the squalid luxury of this hotel room and will be available to answer all E-Mails for a change. Any questions?
Jane24 from Idaho asks- Why don't you get a decent camera, your images are poor quality and blurred?
Fair point, but the humidity and temperatures in Borneo are heavy on equipment, I use a camera designed for underwater, it's waterproof and impact proof. Most of the decent Digital camera's wouldn't last five minutes out here. If I can find a shop in Sambas that sells Digital cameras (Unlikely!) I might try a better one for a while.
Ted from Scotland asks- I wish I could do what you do. I hate my life and want to join you, can I?
No.
Grant asks- When you were living with the Orangutangs, howcome they never tried to eat you?
I'd like to say it was my natural ability to get along with all creatures, but it was probably because Orangutans are vegetarian.
Fffrank@talk21.com asks- I read your site every day, and totally believe that you are living the dream. But a lot of my friends say you are just making it up - How can you prove you are for real man?
I always say to people- read my diary, my equipment page, my info page and make up your own mind. I know I am out here risking my life for the pursuit of a dream, and that's all that matters. Thanks for beleiving Frrank.
25/04/2002
I've spent the last few days in prison. It was a wholly unpleasant experiance, but I did make some new friends.
A big thanks to Mikey the Knife, Jimmy the Hammer and Bob the Toilet for looking after me.
I was never formally charged, but the rules here seem to disregard niceties like that. The legal system here is simple, they just put a bag over your head, hit you and keep asking you questions in a language you don't understand. I've been accused of deserting, drug smuggling, gun-running, pickpocketing, shoplifting, exposing myself to tourists, breaking and entering, and driving a jeep without a licence, they couldn't make any of them stick. Eventually you either admit to something, bleed to death or become too much of an inconveniance to persist with, I went for option 3.
My passport, my military rations and clothing and my sunglasses have been "kept for evidence" and I am free for the time being. Fortunately I keep my credit cards in my boot, so I can still access funds. I want to get out of town as quickly as possible before the authorities decide to detain me again. I am staying in a three room hotel in Sambas and have arranged to be flown back out to the jungle shortly, I've managed to get a local pilot to agree to parachute me into a really remote area where there are rumours of untouched ruins, never before contacted tribes and some really, really big spiders.
First I'm going to sleep in a bed, eat some hot food and have a bath and shave.
If anyone reading this is in Sambas tonight, I'll be in Jimmy's Bar from Eleven, come join me for a drink and meet the legend.
BORNEO DIARY 
