Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Going Tribal
Selamat Datang ! It is Tuesday, July 7th -- Haley and I are now at the Matang Wildlife Centre in Malaysia, in our first day of actual volunteer work. Internet is now either limited or non-existent, so we'll see how and when this update and pictures get pushed out to the blog site. I'll back up a couple days, to our first full day in the "Cat City" of Kuching (Malaysian word for cat).
We did quite well with the 15 hour time change and jet lag issues, which seems to always be easier on the West bound direction. Going back home will be a different story with the adjustment. By 9 AM we had already had a good breakfast, seen the Tua Pek Kong Chinese Temple, and were on motorbike to tour the city. Haley didn't have her driver license with her, so they wouldn't allow her to have her own motorbike, which worked out fine as we zipped around the city quite a bit with a reckless feel and little direction. Yes, we had a map in our possession, but good luck with that as there's just very little signage. Motorbikes in Malaysia are nowhere near as prevalent as Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. Maybe 20 -30 % of the vehicles on the road were motorbikes. But they are always fun, and allows you great freedom to bounce where you want and weave in and out of the traffic wherever there's an opening.
We went through Chinatown, and saw the famous Cat statues of Kuching and the Golden Domed City Mosque. Sarawak is one of the 2 states in Borneo, Malaysia (Sarawak and Sabah), and Kuching is the capital of Sarawak. Quite a big city, with 700,000 population -- however, it's very spread out, with close to a 2 hour drive from one end to the other -- so it's not populated like most big cities of Hong Kong or Tokyo. The Sarawak River runs right through Kuching, and our hotel was across the street. The Sarawak Museum was pretty nice to see. In addition to the animal exhibits, they had another section that was all about the history and culture of the Kuching people -- including the 32 or so tribes of Sarawak. It turns out there are 26 different languages in Malaysia, and they are not all very similar or just dialects.
Different tribes, different regions, and different languages. But one language unites everyone in a way that seems to work -- English. Most people speak decent English, and that ties the many languages together. And we have found everyone to be very friendly and welcoming.
Our time on the motorbike became more fun as time went on. We were more comfortable with the roads, traffic flow, and just plain old getting around town. And, we seemed to notice more and more people looking at us, with a certain level of amusement. Now, Haley was already getting the attention of the young men around the city, and some made it known with a whistle and smile. While not every girl here is dressed in traditional Muslim attire, many are. And the culture has it so women do not show bare legs, chest and arms, as it would gain the inappropriate attention and thoughts of men not married to the woman. So, here's this cute young American girl zipping around on motorbike, and coupled with that, there just aren't a lot of Americans here in SE Asia -- so we stand out a little bit.
We wanted to "get lost" and explore the city -- and had no problem doing that. I think we got lost about 8 times, and just had to laugh about it as we'd end up going in circles unintentionally and passing by the same spot 5-6 times. Well, the local vendors were noticing this and had a chuckle each time --- there they go again ! (stupid Americans !) Haley was trying to refrain from pulling out the map while on back of the scooter, as you can imagine what that would look like -- and as if they didn't already notice that we were not local! But ultimately, she did pull out the map at a red light while on scooter, and that got more locals laughing at us, and what can I say, so I laughed along with them. We knew we looked silly. But overall, a great time exploring via motorbike. The city of Kuching is not overly impressive or beautiful, but definitely nice people and another place we've seen and experienced.
A stop in the famous Monkee Bar was a must, as it is a non-profit bar that is operated by volunteers, and it sends all profits back to the Orangutan Project that we are volunteering for. After dinner (where Haley attracted all the mosquitos, but not one of them got me), the plan was to take a 1 hour nap and then go out for some karaoke bar action. (of course, a must-do activity for me !) But that didn't work out so well, as after an hour of deep sleep, the reality caught up and said "you ain't going out fool, you need to sleep". Ok, no karaoke for me this time -- but there's still plenty of time for Robert and SE Asian Karaoke !
In our brief visit to Ting Ting Supermarket, we noticed that the selection and quality of certain foods (especially meats) are radically different here in the predominantly Muslim country of Malaysia. First of all, forget about beef -- just doesn't exist (unless the place is owned or imported by an Australian). And, also accordingly, there is no real milk or cheese here. Not allowed in Muslim faith, so not stocked. That's fine, as we were looking for chicken and shrimp. But just couldn't find the Foster Farms boneless skinless Grade A breasts -- hmmmm, and there's only the chickens with full bodies and legs -- at least the head was cut off. This wasn't part of my cooking plans, as we'll be cooking for ourselves for 2 weeks while volunteering at Matang Wildlife Centre. The local markets have fresh chicken, but once again, not packaged, full bodies, not cleaned/skinned, and plenty of flies all over the fresh meat. Well, there's always vegetables ! So, I asked around and found a good supermarket that was closer to our style at home, (no WalMart here), and was able to buy several pounds of frozen shrimp & chicken breasts that looked good.
After our transfer to Basaga Holiday Guesthouse, we met the fellow volunteers who we will spend the next 2 weeks with. Nice group of people, from UK, Australia, Switzerland, and South Africa -- 19 volunteers in total going to Matang Wildlife Centre, which is a new record -- they normally have 10-12 at a time. 15 girls and 4 guys, and we're all getting along quite well. Had dinner at restaurants together the first 2 nights to get to know each other, and get oriented with the whole volunteer project -- and from this point forward, we are all cooking individually on our own. They took us all to the big supermarket, and sent us off to gather our groceries for the next week. It was challenging and entertaining at the same time, trying to figure out not only where things were, but also how to interpret the various versions of food they had there in a foreign language. Haley & I had fun with the whole process.
Matang Wildlife Centre
So, what exactly is this volunteer project and Matang Wildlife Centre all about ?? Very simply, it is a rescue and rehabilitation center for a number of wild animals, including Orangutans, Sun Bears, Crocodiles, Gibbons, Macaques, and many others.
The orangutans that arrive at Matang have mostly all had difficult lives. Some locals here have the habit of going into the jungle with the aim of coming out with a baby orangutan as a pet. Could mean shooting the mother and stealing the baby. They care for it like a cute human baby, but then they grow up into huge animals that are 10x as strong as an adult human, and then they don't know what to do with this animal.
So, the people chain it up in the back yard and occasionally throw some food its way. And that's where Matang comes into play, where they rescue these animals that are being kept illegally. They are put into bigger enclosures with large outdoor spaces, places and towers to climb, and are properly cared for with food & medical care. The ideal goal is to return them to the wild, where they belong in their habitat. But this comes with many problems and complications. Due to their upbringing in a humanized environment, they don't know how to survive in the jungle. Most orangutan deaths following rehabilitation involve falling from trees, as they didn't receive the care and upbringing from their mother and instead were kept in a human environment chained for 20 some years.
The other problem, also due to human interaction, is they come back from the wild, apparently bored, to see what the humans are up to now. So, what seems like cute and curious behavior and interaction from the orangutans, turns out to be behavior that is debilitating for them to ever have a chance at surviving independently in the wild in their natural environment. We volunteers were all oriented more this morning on some of the things we will encounter while working in proximity to the orangutans. Sure enough, we saw it just as she described.
While scrubbing a cage this morning, the cage next to me had an orang who was offering his banana to me. The intent is to lure me close to him/her, so I would get close enough for him to grab either me or something in my possession (their arms can sometimes reach through the cage bars, and their arms are really long)-- not with a violent intent, but because when they have something of ours (such as a tool), they'll get offered a food/toy bribe in exchange for the return of the item. Very smart animals. But grabbing somebody could turn into a bad situation real quickly, due to their massive size and strength. Amazing animals that look right into your eyes with such incredible personality.
Morning work was centered around maintenance of the orangutan enclosures -- dirty work, in hot, musty, stinky conditions, including scrubbing the cages with brushes & soapy water. We also prepped and placed the food in various locations including climbing to the top of the towers, hiding bananas -- so they are challenged and stimulated by not having the same food in the same spot. In the afternoon, Robert's group had a great time building enrichment activities on one of the platforms, with the orangs watching us. We used tires, thick rope, and clamps, and devised a new set of "jungle gym" activities for the orangs to play on, starting in the morning. Dripping in sweat as it felt like an oven, but great fun as the 4 of us worked well together and we finished with a great product that will be enjoyed by the apes. And we even got to test out the ropes and swings ourselves first, pretending to be orangutans for a moment as they were observing us.
Haley was on a different project, and got quite dirty while in the organic farm and then clearing brush and sanding fences. She cut her leg with a machete, so we'll keep sharp objects from
her for now -- and considering it could have been serious, it fortunately was a small cut coming from a really big knife. She also got to observe the feeding of the crocodiles this afternoon, including a new one that we watched being brought in from the wild a few feet from us. And, as anticipated, she's a real trooper, and not one complaint coming out of her yet -- she's getting dirty, working hard, sweating in the heat, living in rustic accommodations, etc.-- doesn't matter, we're both making new friends and having a rewarding and fun time.
The work day ends at 5 PM, and we walk back to the houses where we cool off in the cold showers (no hot water here, and not needed !) prepare our own dinners, crack open a Tiger beer, and relax a bit. Sat on the patio and chatted with 2 of our volunteer friends for a couple hours -- that's a day in the books, and tomorrow we do it all over again. Except, each day we are rotating to one of 4 different projects/activities, and different people in our work group get rotated. Good format.
As with my other travel adventures, I've found the most rewarding and interesting parts have been involving meeting people along the way, from all over, and hearing their stories and what not. No exception here -- enjoying the many people we are meeting, including fellow volunteers and staff members. Talked a while with Richard & Eddie today, both staff members in the orangutan facility -- enjoyed them both.
Sorry for the long story, but a lot to share over the last 3 days. Talk to you soon, Robert and Haley.
We did quite well with the 15 hour time change and jet lag issues, which seems to always be easier on the West bound direction. Going back home will be a different story with the adjustment. By 9 AM we had already had a good breakfast, seen the Tua Pek Kong Chinese Temple, and were on motorbike to tour the city. Haley didn't have her driver license with her, so they wouldn't allow her to have her own motorbike, which worked out fine as we zipped around the city quite a bit with a reckless feel and little direction. Yes, we had a map in our possession, but good luck with that as there's just very little signage. Motorbikes in Malaysia are nowhere near as prevalent as Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. Maybe 20 -30 % of the vehicles on the road were motorbikes. But they are always fun, and allows you great freedom to bounce where you want and weave in and out of the traffic wherever there's an opening.
We went through Chinatown, and saw the famous Cat statues of Kuching and the Golden Domed City Mosque. Sarawak is one of the 2 states in Borneo, Malaysia (Sarawak and Sabah), and Kuching is the capital of Sarawak. Quite a big city, with 700,000 population -- however, it's very spread out, with close to a 2 hour drive from one end to the other -- so it's not populated like most big cities of Hong Kong or Tokyo. The Sarawak River runs right through Kuching, and our hotel was across the street. The Sarawak Museum was pretty nice to see. In addition to the animal exhibits, they had another section that was all about the history and culture of the Kuching people -- including the 32 or so tribes of Sarawak. It turns out there are 26 different languages in Malaysia, and they are not all very similar or just dialects.
Different tribes, different regions, and different languages. But one language unites everyone in a way that seems to work -- English. Most people speak decent English, and that ties the many languages together. And we have found everyone to be very friendly and welcoming.
Our time on the motorbike became more fun as time went on. We were more comfortable with the roads, traffic flow, and just plain old getting around town. And, we seemed to notice more and more people looking at us, with a certain level of amusement. Now, Haley was already getting the attention of the young men around the city, and some made it known with a whistle and smile. While not every girl here is dressed in traditional Muslim attire, many are. And the culture has it so women do not show bare legs, chest and arms, as it would gain the inappropriate attention and thoughts of men not married to the woman. So, here's this cute young American girl zipping around on motorbike, and coupled with that, there just aren't a lot of Americans here in SE Asia -- so we stand out a little bit.
We wanted to "get lost" and explore the city -- and had no problem doing that. I think we got lost about 8 times, and just had to laugh about it as we'd end up going in circles unintentionally and passing by the same spot 5-6 times. Well, the local vendors were noticing this and had a chuckle each time --- there they go again ! (stupid Americans !) Haley was trying to refrain from pulling out the map while on back of the scooter, as you can imagine what that would look like -- and as if they didn't already notice that we were not local! But ultimately, she did pull out the map at a red light while on scooter, and that got more locals laughing at us, and what can I say, so I laughed along with them. We knew we looked silly. But overall, a great time exploring via motorbike. The city of Kuching is not overly impressive or beautiful, but definitely nice people and another place we've seen and experienced.
A stop in the famous Monkee Bar was a must, as it is a non-profit bar that is operated by volunteers, and it sends all profits back to the Orangutan Project that we are volunteering for. After dinner (where Haley attracted all the mosquitos, but not one of them got me), the plan was to take a 1 hour nap and then go out for some karaoke bar action. (of course, a must-do activity for me !) But that didn't work out so well, as after an hour of deep sleep, the reality caught up and said "you ain't going out fool, you need to sleep". Ok, no karaoke for me this time -- but there's still plenty of time for Robert and SE Asian Karaoke !
In our brief visit to Ting Ting Supermarket, we noticed that the selection and quality of certain foods (especially meats) are radically different here in the predominantly Muslim country of Malaysia. First of all, forget about beef -- just doesn't exist (unless the place is owned or imported by an Australian). And, also accordingly, there is no real milk or cheese here. Not allowed in Muslim faith, so not stocked. That's fine, as we were looking for chicken and shrimp. But just couldn't find the Foster Farms boneless skinless Grade A breasts -- hmmmm, and there's only the chickens with full bodies and legs -- at least the head was cut off. This wasn't part of my cooking plans, as we'll be cooking for ourselves for 2 weeks while volunteering at Matang Wildlife Centre. The local markets have fresh chicken, but once again, not packaged, full bodies, not cleaned/skinned, and plenty of flies all over the fresh meat. Well, there's always vegetables ! So, I asked around and found a good supermarket that was closer to our style at home, (no WalMart here), and was able to buy several pounds of frozen shrimp & chicken breasts that looked good.
After our transfer to Basaga Holiday Guesthouse, we met the fellow volunteers who we will spend the next 2 weeks with. Nice group of people, from UK, Australia, Switzerland, and South Africa -- 19 volunteers in total going to Matang Wildlife Centre, which is a new record -- they normally have 10-12 at a time. 15 girls and 4 guys, and we're all getting along quite well. Had dinner at restaurants together the first 2 nights to get to know each other, and get oriented with the whole volunteer project -- and from this point forward, we are all cooking individually on our own. They took us all to the big supermarket, and sent us off to gather our groceries for the next week. It was challenging and entertaining at the same time, trying to figure out not only where things were, but also how to interpret the various versions of food they had there in a foreign language. Haley & I had fun with the whole process.
Matang Wildlife Centre
So, what exactly is this volunteer project and Matang Wildlife Centre all about ?? Very simply, it is a rescue and rehabilitation center for a number of wild animals, including Orangutans, Sun Bears, Crocodiles, Gibbons, Macaques, and many others.
The orangutans that arrive at Matang have mostly all had difficult lives. Some locals here have the habit of going into the jungle with the aim of coming out with a baby orangutan as a pet. Could mean shooting the mother and stealing the baby. They care for it like a cute human baby, but then they grow up into huge animals that are 10x as strong as an adult human, and then they don't know what to do with this animal.
So, the people chain it up in the back yard and occasionally throw some food its way. And that's where Matang comes into play, where they rescue these animals that are being kept illegally. They are put into bigger enclosures with large outdoor spaces, places and towers to climb, and are properly cared for with food & medical care. The ideal goal is to return them to the wild, where they belong in their habitat. But this comes with many problems and complications. Due to their upbringing in a humanized environment, they don't know how to survive in the jungle. Most orangutan deaths following rehabilitation involve falling from trees, as they didn't receive the care and upbringing from their mother and instead were kept in a human environment chained for 20 some years.
The other problem, also due to human interaction, is they come back from the wild, apparently bored, to see what the humans are up to now. So, what seems like cute and curious behavior and interaction from the orangutans, turns out to be behavior that is debilitating for them to ever have a chance at surviving independently in the wild in their natural environment. We volunteers were all oriented more this morning on some of the things we will encounter while working in proximity to the orangutans. Sure enough, we saw it just as she described.
While scrubbing a cage this morning, the cage next to me had an orang who was offering his banana to me. The intent is to lure me close to him/her, so I would get close enough for him to grab either me or something in my possession (their arms can sometimes reach through the cage bars, and their arms are really long)-- not with a violent intent, but because when they have something of ours (such as a tool), they'll get offered a food/toy bribe in exchange for the return of the item. Very smart animals. But grabbing somebody could turn into a bad situation real quickly, due to their massive size and strength. Amazing animals that look right into your eyes with such incredible personality.
Morning work was centered around maintenance of the orangutan enclosures -- dirty work, in hot, musty, stinky conditions, including scrubbing the cages with brushes & soapy water. We also prepped and placed the food in various locations including climbing to the top of the towers, hiding bananas -- so they are challenged and stimulated by not having the same food in the same spot. In the afternoon, Robert's group had a great time building enrichment activities on one of the platforms, with the orangs watching us. We used tires, thick rope, and clamps, and devised a new set of "jungle gym" activities for the orangs to play on, starting in the morning. Dripping in sweat as it felt like an oven, but great fun as the 4 of us worked well together and we finished with a great product that will be enjoyed by the apes. And we even got to test out the ropes and swings ourselves first, pretending to be orangutans for a moment as they were observing us.
Haley was on a different project, and got quite dirty while in the organic farm and then clearing brush and sanding fences. She cut her leg with a machete, so we'll keep sharp objects from
her for now -- and considering it could have been serious, it fortunately was a small cut coming from a really big knife. She also got to observe the feeding of the crocodiles this afternoon, including a new one that we watched being brought in from the wild a few feet from us. And, as anticipated, she's a real trooper, and not one complaint coming out of her yet -- she's getting dirty, working hard, sweating in the heat, living in rustic accommodations, etc.-- doesn't matter, we're both making new friends and having a rewarding and fun time.
The work day ends at 5 PM, and we walk back to the houses where we cool off in the cold showers (no hot water here, and not needed !) prepare our own dinners, crack open a Tiger beer, and relax a bit. Sat on the patio and chatted with 2 of our volunteer friends for a couple hours -- that's a day in the books, and tomorrow we do it all over again. Except, each day we are rotating to one of 4 different projects/activities, and different people in our work group get rotated. Good format.
As with my other travel adventures, I've found the most rewarding and interesting parts have been involving meeting people along the way, from all over, and hearing their stories and what not. No exception here -- enjoying the many people we are meeting, including fellow volunteers and staff members. Talked a while with Richard & Eddie today, both staff members in the orangutan facility -- enjoyed them both.
Sorry for the long story, but a lot to share over the last 3 days. Talk to you soon, Robert and Haley.
- comments
Rosanna Sounds amazing. You've only been there a couple days and have already done so much! And most importantly, you're having a great time doing it all! Love the pics too! Stay safe, love and miss you both, xoxo.
Deena Knudsen Amazing! Such a great experience...it is fun to follow you guys, and live vicariously through the adventure!
Kevin and Marisa What an amazing experience! In only a few days, you have already experienced so much. We love reading your adventures and see all the amazing pictures. Have fun and be safe!
Abby Wambach Where's the wild p****
Terry I love his pose!!
Sue I'm in complete awe ... what an absolutely incredible experience that not many will come close to in their lifetime! Looks like hard work but so rewarding. Love that you are meeting people from all over this vast earth. Can't wait for the next update Robert and Haley! xo
Peter Gabriel Amazing seems to be the winner..but this whole deal does make one wonder...have you ever wanted to "shock the monkey"?
Confucius Confucius say, man with brown finger, have itchy ass.
Evil Knievel Funny, scooter shops all look the same everywhere in the world...