Getting in touch with the people from Samboja so that we could visit was a bit of an ordeal. FYI, the phone number on their website and in the travel guides are incorrect or no longer work, and you need an appointment in order to go to Samboja. Mommy and Daddy both emailed the lodge separately before saturday but got no response. Well, as it turns out, Mommy didn't check her email saturday morning. Apparently someone did respond to say that we could come for a visit that morning. We ended up having the hotel contact Samboja and they also arranged for a car and driver. After the visit, Mommy got a very nice email from Samboja thanking us for coming and inviting us to come again sometime.
Anyways, it took about an hour to get to Samboja from Balikpapan. It rained that morning so the roads were very muddy by the time we arrived. We waited at the security check point for someone from the lodge to come get us. Since it was saturday, the place was pretty much deserted. Apparently sunday is the day that most people go out on excursions here in Indonesia. The receptionist only charged us half price so we lucked out since visiting Samboja wasn't exactly cheap. The usual fee is a "voluntary" contribution of US $50.00 per person.
At the lodge, we were able to climb to the top where there was large balcony overlooking the orangutan islands. The islands are areas that are surrounded by a little moat. Orangutans can't swim so they don't even try to get off the island. We were told that once a few orangutans escaped by getting into a boat that was used to take food over to them...clever little guys. We got in a van and drove out to one of the islands where we walked around and tried to get a look at some orangutans. There are several islands, but visitors are only allowed to see the orangutans that are sick and that will never be released back into the wild. The orangutans we saw either had HIV or Hep B. We were able to find 5 of the 6 orangutans that were on the island.
Next we went to the sun bear exclosure. That was an interesting place. There was a rickety 10 ft. ladder that lead to a narrow bridge that spanned the exclosure. One side was completely open and the other side had a thin railing. We all climbed the ladder, but the kids were not allowed to go onto the bridge for fear of them falling of course. Mommy stayed with the kids and Daddy and the guide went out on the bridge to look around. The sun bears are very cute but have super long claws. We heard that during feeding time, the bear exclosure is a feeding frenzy. The guide said that they do have problems with the bears fighting and hurting each other because in the wild, they are solitary animals. Although bears are omnivores, these sun bears are only fed fruits and vegetables. Apparently meat makes them even more aggressive than they already are.
It was a very hot and humid day...probably the normal weather for the jungle. The kids were exhausted after just a few hours. We went back to the lodge and waited for lunch. For lunch we had onion rings, squid, some kind of vegetable and hot dog/sausage stir fry, and fruit. The kids weren't very impressed with lunch. Mommy tried the squid but didn't think it was very good. Daddy liked the squid. Mommy thought the rest of the food was not too bad.
After lunch, we headed to the airport so that Mommy and the kids could catch our flight back to Jakarta. The kids fell asleep in the car almost immediately. They were wiped out. Mommy and Daddy were very glad that we decided to take the kids to Samboja. It was a neat experience. Mommy hopes that one of these days before we leave Indonesia, we might be able to take a trip to Sumatra or Malaysia to see orangutans in the wild.
Waiting at the security checkpoint for our ride into Samboja.
The van we rode around in...almost got stuck in the mud a few times.
At the orangutan islands
Bridge across the sun bear exclosure...higher off the ground than it looks. 
Lunch
Too much fun...
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