Chasing a dream in the jungles of Borneo

I dream of nature and wilderness travel: rainforests, ocean, savannah, falling asleep to jungle sounds at night and birdsong early in the morning.

- Jan Bonville

I have progressive multiple sclerosis with significant decline in physical ability. But while my abilities have changed my travel dreams have not.

I stubbornly hold on to my dreams of visiting the world's wild unspoiled destinations. Borneo was always a particularly inspiring dream.

I experience intense joy in discovering new places and creating memories with my family, further heightened by having a chronic health condition and disability. I have safari'ed in East Africa, explored lagoons in French Polynesia, adaptive biked in Hawai'i and visited rainforests in Costa Rica and rice terraces in Bali. Borneo with its hidden valleys and elusive wildlife in deep, dense jungle was the most epic yet.

I began researching almost a year before our trip as I always do. Those of us with disabilities know much of the information out there is less than helpful. Some information. was highly off-putting implying that infrastructure was so poor as to be impossible for people with disabilities. They weren't entirely wrong: Borneo is an off the beaten path destination for nature and wilderness travellers and does not have the infrastructure that many North American tourists are used to.

Maybe so. That wasn't going to stop me from chasing my dream.

Borneo was every bit as epic and magical as I imagined. I won't deny it was hard. Our journey involved six flights, five cities, multiple long jeep drives, remote boat rides and seven different accommodations. Every step involved risk. Each plane ride posed potential uncertainty about my wheelchair. Long drives implied need for suitable toilet facilities.