28 January 2008
Well, we had a great time in Malaysia - it's a beautiful country. After KL, we found a cheap flight to the island of Borneo, to the city of Kuching. We spent about a week and a half there at a great little hostel that felt like home. It was basically an apartment and for all but one night we were the only people staying there. Very nice. We spent a few days out of Kuching, in Bako National Park, which was a real jungle! We hiked a lot and when you hike in the jungle, you sweat constantly. It was so hot and humid, but we had a good time. We saw long tailed macaque monkeys and the funny-nosed proboscis monkeys. I don't know how the US got the short end of the stick when it came to worldwide monkey distrobutions, but being somewhere that has them makes you know what we're missing! Except for the naughty little bugger that stole a piece of chicken off my plate at lunch one day, and even that was quite entertaining. Another hilight of Borneo was the orangutans. We unfortunately didn't get to see truly wild ones, as those are few and far between and in hard to reach places, but we went to a wildlife reserve where they have trained formerly captive or injured ones to live in the wild again. They still have a feeding time each morning, but not all of them come back for it - some are self sufficient and find all they need to eat in the wild. We actually went twice, and both times were pretty cool. You stand in the jungle in front of a feeding platform where all kinds of delicious fruits have been laid out and then you hear the trees around you starting to shake, and orangutans come swinging into view. They are unfenced and can come down and walk among the people. We saw some mothers with babies, which were incredibly cute, and two large males as well. They know exactly how to shift their weight to make the tree branch sway just enough to reach the next one - it was incredible to watch.
The last thing worth writing about in kuching was a kayak trip we took on one of the many rivers in the area. It was beautiful floating downstream through the jungle. We didn't see much but had an interesting cultural experience. The kayak guide was a local woman, and also on our trip was a friend of hers from childhood who she hadn't seen in like 30 years. He grew up in Kuching but now lives in Australia. We happened to be in Borneo for the height of the season for the durian fruit, a local delicacy, that this man absolutely loved. The fruit is about the size of a cantaloupe, but is green and spiky on the outside. They grow on huge hardwood trees, quite far off the ground. They are such a great source of local income for the people in the areas where they grow that trees are passed down from generation to generation. The people who 'own' a tree will literally camp out underneath the tree day and night for the month long durian season, waiting for the fruits to fall so they can be collected and taken to the local market. There are laws in Malaysia pertaining to this fruit. It is actually illegal to eat one in a hotel room or other public enclosed space because they are a little stinky, and the smell apparently lingers for days afterwards! We got to taste a few (apparently different varieties have different tastes) and well, they're not so good! You cut open the fruit and there are about four compartments inside with about three seeds each coated in a substance that has the consistency of brie cheese. For the first one we tasted, our guide described the flavor as 'garlic custard' and the second one as 'chocolate', though I didn't agree! It was not good. The one did taste like raw garlic which is really not what i'm looking for in a fruit! The second one was better, but not at all like chocolate, and with a flavor that lingered for hours. These fruits are highly prized in Malaysia and they are for sale everywhere. Eating them is an art, but one that was lost on us, that is for sure!
We hit one more destination in Malaysia, but only for three days. We stayed in Penang, an island just off the mainland part of Malaysia but on the west side. It was nice there - a city known for its food and temples, both of which were quite nice. We went to an awesome and huge bhuddist temple one afternoon, known as the temple of 10,000 buddas, and I didn't count but I'm sure they're about right. It was ornate and massive and pretty cool to see, especially because they are getting ready to celebrate the Chineese New Year and there were hundreds of yellow and red paper lanterns hanging everywhere. Quite a sight to see.
Now we're in Thailand at the first of our destinations here, Koh Lanta. It's beautiful, and relaxing. Today we went scuba diving and had a great time. We did two dives and have finally gotten to the point where we can quit worrying so much about breathing, and relax and look around a little. There were thousands of colorful fish and corals, though the absolute hilight was seeing a hawksbill sea turtle. We have been eating some fantastic food here, but wow can it be spicy! We have a few more weeks here in Thailand, but a month from today we will be back in the states!! Can't believe it... More to come,
Andrea
The last thing worth writing about in kuching was a kayak trip we took on one of the many rivers in the area. It was beautiful floating downstream through the jungle. We didn't see much but had an interesting cultural experience. The kayak guide was a local woman, and also on our trip was a friend of hers from childhood who she hadn't seen in like 30 years. He grew up in Kuching but now lives in Australia. We happened to be in Borneo for the height of the season for the durian fruit, a local delicacy, that this man absolutely loved. The fruit is about the size of a cantaloupe, but is green and spiky on the outside. They grow on huge hardwood trees, quite far off the ground. They are such a great source of local income for the people in the areas where they grow that trees are passed down from generation to generation. The people who 'own' a tree will literally camp out underneath the tree day and night for the month long durian season, waiting for the fruits to fall so they can be collected and taken to the local market. There are laws in Malaysia pertaining to this fruit. It is actually illegal to eat one in a hotel room or other public enclosed space because they are a little stinky, and the smell apparently lingers for days afterwards! We got to taste a few (apparently different varieties have different tastes) and well, they're not so good! You cut open the fruit and there are about four compartments inside with about three seeds each coated in a substance that has the consistency of brie cheese. For the first one we tasted, our guide described the flavor as 'garlic custard' and the second one as 'chocolate', though I didn't agree! It was not good. The one did taste like raw garlic which is really not what i'm looking for in a fruit! The second one was better, but not at all like chocolate, and with a flavor that lingered for hours. These fruits are highly prized in Malaysia and they are for sale everywhere. Eating them is an art, but one that was lost on us, that is for sure!
We hit one more destination in Malaysia, but only for three days. We stayed in Penang, an island just off the mainland part of Malaysia but on the west side. It was nice there - a city known for its food and temples, both of which were quite nice. We went to an awesome and huge bhuddist temple one afternoon, known as the temple of 10,000 buddas, and I didn't count but I'm sure they're about right. It was ornate and massive and pretty cool to see, especially because they are getting ready to celebrate the Chineese New Year and there were hundreds of yellow and red paper lanterns hanging everywhere. Quite a sight to see.
Now we're in Thailand at the first of our destinations here, Koh Lanta. It's beautiful, and relaxing. Today we went scuba diving and had a great time. We did two dives and have finally gotten to the point where we can quit worrying so much about breathing, and relax and look around a little. There were thousands of colorful fish and corals, though the absolute hilight was seeing a hawksbill sea turtle. We have been eating some fantastic food here, but wow can it be spicy! We have a few more weeks here in Thailand, but a month from today we will be back in the states!! Can't believe it... More to come,
Andrea
posted by aliberatinsa at 5:19 AM
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