| Nov. 4th, 2009 @ 08:20 pm 1 for 3 |
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When I planed my time for the town of Kuching I had 3 major goals in mind, which is why I ended up spending 4 days in this city.
I wanted to see a proboscis monkey which are normally viewable at Bako NP, Malaysia's oldest national park. It's about an hour from Kuching, an hour divided between walking, bussing and boating. The last few miles to the NP can only be accessed by boat. I ended up spending about 6 hours at the park, hiking around and seeing what there is to be seen. Obviously 6 hours isn't a long time so I wasn't surprised when I didn't see much wildlife. I saw some macaque monkeys and a fish, obviously lost, in a small puddle. But I didn't see any of the monkeys with the big noses. What I did see, in abundance, was my pale white skin turning into a bright crimson burn. I also sweat. A lot. I really think I should just start free balling it, cotton boxer shorts are a waste, becoming nothing more than a sweat filled rag within minutes of hiking.
I also wanted to see the rare rafflesia flower in bloom. This was, admitedly, a tough thing to plan. The flowers bloom all year, on no set schedule, so it's just a matter of getting lucky. In case you don't want to make the trek out to the NP that houses these beauties you can just check at the visiter center in town where they have a daily update from the park rangers. Sadly, each day I checked I found out that they were not in bloom. I still might get a chance to see them next week when I continue my exploration of borneo but this was to be my best shot.
I wanted to see some orangutans while here and on this score I was rewarded. I saw at least 8 of these gentle beasts this morning while visiting the Semenggoh Orangutan Refuge. The orangutans here are semi-wild and will all eventually be released into the heart of Borneo. But for now they wander the massive preserve foraging and going about their daily lives. Luckily for me they tend to show up at a central location in the morning for "feeding time". This is where I got to see them, really up close. They are beautiful animals and \to watch them swing through the trees is quite a treat. Their long arms are remarkably graceful and they are quite the aerialists. 2 of the ones I saw today were babies, still attached to their mothers as they were too little to swing on their own. The babies, of course, were very cute as were the adults although they look so sad all the time. They need to smile more, like I was when I watched them!
So 1 out of 3. It's OK. I have really liked the town of Kuching. It's very laid back, I have found some excellent restaurants and the hostel I am in is one of the best I have ever stayed in. I have gotten quite lucky with the rain. Even though it is the monsoon season we have only been getting about 30 minutes of rain each day. So long as I have my umbrella with me I am good to go!
In the morning I fly to Mulu caves, a very remote cave complex that is home to a massive pile of guano from 5 million bats that swarm out of their cave, en masse, every night. I can't wait to see that!!
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mananath's journal
