After a long and tedious boat voyage to the Malayan Archipelago you have now docked at one of the rivers on the tropical island of Borneo. It is a beautiful morning, although it is already beginning to get very hot and humid so that you have to draw the blinds against the sun. You can almost hear the various tones of the heat. The cicadas are singing their grating song with frenzied energy – it sounds as monotonous as a small river rustling over stones. And you can hear the loud singing of a bird, mellifluous and rich like a blackbird. When you step outside you are immediately struck by the beauty and the gaiety of the land, the joyful singing of birds in trees you have never seen before, huge mangroves and nipah palm trees, and behind them the dense green of the silent and impenetrable jungle. Further down the white river you can see a kingfisher like a flash of colour, a living jewel, dashing across the surface of the water. Two monkeys with dangling tails are sitting side by side on a branch. Suddenly you hear a croaking sound, piercing, hoarse and strangely human: it is a chik-chak, which makes you feel a little lonely and sad. However, the scene is friendly rather than gloomy or awe-inspiring. It is a gracious land which seems to offer you a smiling welcome. You have arrived!