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Sabah-taged is a further day-by-day account of an expedition made by Brian (of Brahmaputra fame), together with his wife Sandra – this time to the Sabah province of Borneo. It inevitably has similarities to the preceding books in the series (A Syria Situation and Brian on the Brahmaputra) in that it details not only the factual aspects of their excursion, but also Brian’s irreverent thoughts on all he observes.
However, because Sabah has a unique mix of tropical flora and fauna, a unique situation in terms of its ‘development’ and a unique mix of peoples, it is actually a very different book indeed.
The book describes Sabah’s wonderful natural environments and how these are under threat – or how they have already disappeared thanks to the ‘palm-oil rush’.It paints a picture of its new holiday destinations, both on the mainland and on its offshore islands. It also provides a provocative insight into its local culture and its local cast of characters –whether of the endemic variety or otherwise.Sabah-taged therefore encapsulates such diverse topics as the joys of montane forests, the behaviour of orang-utans, the etiquette of sunbathing, the limited fashion potential of leech socks and the Darwinistic view of the development of Muslims and non-Muslims in a faith-focused world.
It is the third book in David’s seven-part series that details Brian and Sandra’s travels to Assam, Syria, Borneo, Cape Verde, Namibia/Botswana and Morocco – and in due course, Zambia.
Extract
Yes, rather late in their visit to this lodge, Brian and his wife discovered that the correct course of action to take when meeting a snake on a lodge walkway was basically to be careful and, if that didn’t work, find another walkway. And there was Brian thinking that the first thing to do would be to calm it down by stroking it…