Borneo

2005-09-12T14:35:00+02:00

Today I was chased by an Orang-Utan.

I am in Kuching in the state of Sarawak on Malaysian Borneo. This morning I went to the Semenggoh Animal Rehabilitation Center near here and got to watch semi-wild Orang-Utans without anykind of restraint,cages or barrier. In the mornings they bring out food and the apes that need it come in from the nearby jungle. When I first got there I was worried I would not see anything because the place was swarming with loud tourist families. At 9:00 everyone was ushered down a path to a small viewing platform where presuamably we could watch the apes eat but after 20 minutes or so nothing had shown up there and the staff told us us to head back to the vistors center. Luckily when we got there a young male was playing in the tree and taking food from a staff member. I watch that for a few minutes with the rest of the crowd. Then I noticed a few people off down another path watching something intently. I guessed corectly that it was another Orang-Utan. Two acctually a mother and baby daughter and they were close to the ground. It was nice for a few minutes but then the crowds noticed what was going on and everyone came to get their pictures. It was kind of like a crowded zoo for a little while there. The nice thing about your average tourist family though is that their attention span is shorter than mine. After watching mother and daughter eat for about 20 minutes they all got back in their big air-conditioned buses and left. Eventually it got down to just me, momma and her baby. It was very quiet and sweet. Nearby another mother and child showed up plus the original young male was still playing in the trees near-bye. Then the food ran out and momma decided she needed to go over where there was more. I was standing on the path that took her there. She was not upset or anything but she was coming straight at me at a good clip, I had to run a little to get out of her way. She is probably 4-6 times as strong as me and has a dear little one to protect so I was a little scared, but mostly excited. She probably got within 10 feet or so. Once I was out of the way she went straight for food and up into the trees near the second mother-young pair. Then another mother-child pair showed up and for a short time I got to watch three full-grown female Orang-Utans and their very cute little offspring climbing through the trees and ropes that had been set up for them. I was the last visitor to leave that morning and got to see more than anyone else. Life is good.Gibbon_Call_Semengoh_2.WAV

I keep thinking it would have been nice if I had come here sooner. There is so much to do and see on Borneo and I will miss many amazing things. When I decided to fly over here I thought would spend just a few days in around Kuching then fly over to Sabah the other end of Malaysian Borneo but when I got here I realized that there is just too much land to cover, too much to do and and it costs too much to jet around trying to see everyting. So I settled down a little bit. For the last two days I having been enjoying Kuching and the sites close to town. This is a great little spot. I like Kuching as much as I liked Luang Prabang though for very different reasons. Kuching is very developed as is all of Malaysia especially compared to quiet little Laos. It is amzing how many different cultures mix happpily here. The state religion is Islam and I think Islam is the Majoirty faith but only just. Christianity and the local indigeanous beliefs are also very strong. Plus Borneo has been a major Asian trade center for centuries so the Chinese and Indian influence is very strong. Yesterday I went to the Sarawak Cultural Village wich has replica Longhouses (the typical native dwelling) for all of the major tribes in the state. I think there 7 or so plus the Chinese farmhouse. I was all very interesting. Though the last song in the dance perfomance could have been written by the folks at Disney.

So Tomorrow I am off to Bako National Park where I hear it is hard not to see a lot of wild life. Monkies of various kinds including Gibbons. I must admit since Chui I have been obsessed with seeing more Gibbons. I actually heard some quite close by this morning and would have been dissapointed in not having seen them if weren't for the big orange apes. So I will spend three days and two nights there. Then I am back here for a night after that I am off north to the Batang Rejang river. I will head up that for a couple days, if all goes well I may get lucky and spend a night or two in a native longhouse. I understand that the tribes here are very gracious and often take travelers in for the night. There are a lot of package tours that take you to "Longhouses" wich are guesthouses built to look like traditional longhouses where locals put on a show. I am hoping to find something more authentic. We shall see.Time is getting short I may not be able to get up-river and back before my flight ot Kuala Lumpur on the 22nd. I was there the other morning but only for a few hours while I waited between my bus trip from Kota Bharu and my flight to Kuching. I spent some of the time sleeping in the bus station since my bus got in at 5:20 am and I did not have to get on the plane until 1:00 pm. I did walk around a little and it seemed quite nice.

Beautiful Islands

2005-09-09T08:30:00+02:00

Unfortunately I am no longer on the Perhentian Islands. As I said in my last post it was a truely amazing place but expensive, especialy the beach I stayed on. Though it was absolutly worth it. The bungalow I stayed in was easy walking distance to Turtle bay, where not surpisingly many turtles live. Yesterday I saw three turtles in one place, it was very incredible. I have just done some quick research and find that they are Green Sea Turtles. Most of them were adult females, though I did see one male and a few juveniles. Over the last few days I have spent many hours in the water, most of that swimming with Sea Turtles. If I had gone there earlier in my trip I would have stayed much longer. Now I am in Kota Bharu waiting for a bus the will take me down to Kuala Lumpur over night. Then tomorrow I catch a quick flight to Kuching on Borneo. I had meant to spend some more time in the jungles here on the peninsula especialy at Taman Negara National Park but every one I talked to said that I was unlikely to see much wildlife there. While I do love a good jungle I have seen plenty of trees on this trip and I am most interested in seeing more wildlife. So I am off to see Orangutan. Near Kuching is a an Orangutan recovery center and I was very excited to learn that there is no barrier between humans and Orangutans. Then at the other end of Malaysian Borneo near Sandakan is Turtle Island, a Sea Turtle sanctuary. There I should be able to swim with more turtles and even see baby turtles. So, over the next couple weeks I am off to see more wonderful wildlife.

Last posts on Borneo

Borneo

Beautiful Islands