Taking a break in Bali posts - moving forward to my Borneo expedition

Borneo and Orion II Expedition Cruise

After our stay with Aman resorts in Bali and Java and a few nights at Four Seasons Jimbaran where we met up with our kids, 
we went on a 10 night expedition cruise to Borneo – a trip which for me was all about seeing Camp Leakey and the orangutans.

Orion II docks at Benoa harbor near Denpasar, a busy and bustling city in southern Bali between the tourist areas of 

Nusa Dua in the east and and Jimbaran in the west. There’s usually lots of traffic and so one should allow extra time for 

finding the ship; we almost missed the boat!

the ship - later in the journey

After checking in and a quick lesson in safety and lifeboat protocol, we unpacked and then gathered on the rear deck 5 

for champagne and a beautiful sunset sail away. The waters were incredibly calm for most of our journey - always a nice 

development when you are on the open seas.

sail away sunset

Our first two nights were at sea as we sailed toward Kumai for our Camp Leakey experience. On our first full day we 

crossed the Celebes Sea; apparently this is the second most pirated body of water. It is a good thing I didn’t have time 

to read about that before our journey; it may have given us pause! Like the shoemaker whose children have no shoes - 
this travel advisor's family doesn't always get the well researched travel which her clients do.

Pulau Maselembo

In the afternoon we had a brief break in the rain and wind of the day and while the expedition crew scouts were unable to 
find good beaches on Pulau Maselembo we had the option of going ashore for a village visit or into the sea for some snorkeling.

The nature of expedition cruising means that stops like this are often finalized with short notice, but because of this and

the iffy weather and general laziness, I elected to stay on the ship. Our son went snorkeling and said that while it wasn’t his 

best snorkel experience, he did see a number of fish and a ray. Those who went ashore reported it was a worthwhile 

experience particularly because the villagers were thrilled by the visitors; they seldom have people like us stop by.