Clouds Over Santubong

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In this image, dark gray storm clouds roll in as the sun sets behind Borneo's mountainous Santubong peninsula. These dark clouds transformed a nice but rather usual scene into one a unique sunset. The South China Sea reflects the vibrant reds and yellows, looking as if it is on fire. Taken from a small and remote beach, this final image of the day provided a cool and satisfying end to a difficult and extremely hot day of photography in the jungle.

Borneo, the world's third largest island, is a land of the unusual. Bearded pigs, proboscis monkeys, and orangutans are but a few of Borneo's unique inhabitants. It is also home to some of the oldest and most diverse rainforest in the world. A twenty-five acre plot of rainforest in Borneo may contain over seven hundred species of trees - a number equal to the total tree diversity of North America. At least forty-seven languages are spoken by residents of the island, which is home for many tribal peoples. In Sarawak, for instance, the Iban tribe comprises about forty percent of the population. At least three of the tribes, including the Iban, were once fierce headhunters. The countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, govern different parts of the island.