5/7 in search of the Probiscus monkey

98% humidity and hiking shoes make for a short and slow morning run, but it was good to stretch my legs and see a little more of Santubong. 

And the swim in the resort pool afterwards certainly felt good. 

A takeaway sandwich for breakfast from the resort, as we drove to the Bako National Park boat terminal. Bako means mangrove but to us it meant Probiscus monkeys. 

Rachel and her son (from Amsterdam) were looking for some people to share the cost of the boat, and we and Caleb from Singapore were only to happy to oblige. In fact we shared the cost of a guide for the day too. 

Rafiz (part-time guide, full-time park ranger,) was excellent and we saw so many more animals than we would have on our own, thanks to his eagle eyes and the intel the guides share with one another. 

We loved seeing Malayan flying lemur with its baby

a Bornean Keeled pit viper

a silvered leaf monkey with its baby

and the decidedly unattractive bearded pig (the vacuum cleaner of the rainforest)

Plus Hamish spotted the shell of a horseshoe crab.

 Locals catch and sell this as a delicacy but Hamish explained that pharmaceutical companies also extract its blood to coagulate bacteria in human blood. Interesting!

But we hadn't yet spotted what we had all come to see - a Probiscus monkey. 

Rafiz searched high and we began to learn to live with disappointment, until a loud cry went up in the distance. Another guide was alerting everyone that he had spotted one! So we all raced to see. 

There he was, high up in a tree near the canteen. I managed to get some shots with my phone

and then switched to the long-distance zoom of my camera - you just have to be patient for those shots.

But wait, there's more!

The Probiscus monkey ventured down to the ground and we managed to get just a few feet from him! Excitement and satisfaction and wonderment at God's creativity - or is it his sense of humour? 

Speaking of a sense of humour, Rafiz shared a fun fact with us. 'Orangutan' means man (orang) of the forest (utan), but the people of Borneo and Indonesia call the Probiscous monkey orang (man) belanda (Dutch) because they thought colonisers from Holland had big noses. Tracey was not impressed, but those among us of European descent assured her that her nose was not big at all. 

Having been thrilled by the animals we had seen and having thoroughly enjoyed the international interaction, we waded out to the boat, 

returned to the jetty and drove the others back to Kuching. 

I was so thankful for such a great day, and that I didn't feel sick at all on the boat rides. 

After some down time, we enjoyed some Hainan chicken and rice, and the very pretty waterfront and water and light show. 

Another great day, but sadly our last in and around Kuching. Looking forward to the caves and rainforests of Mulu National Park for the next 3 days. 

3/7 History, wildlife, jungle, frogs and disappointment

Today certainly had it all. 

What a contrast for our second indigenous homestay! Isabella may have grown up in a longhouse washing and toileting in the river, but she now lives in a substantial home, both her children have completed tertiary study, and she has travelled to KL, Australia, Vietnam and Turkiye.

 She also loves Facebook! I've never had my photo taken so many times doing ordinary things. Standing at the front door, having our welcome drinks,  eating our dinner, eating our breakfast, trying on traditional Biduyn costumes, and of course, standing at the front door again.

 Agreeing to have our photos taken for promotional purposes must have been in the fine print somewhere, but I missed it. She was also very happy to share her views on Muslim immigration, the recent demise of the British government, and the wonderful rise of Donald Trump. 

But despite all of this, having her show us around the longhouse in which she had grown up and explain their history, rituals and important items was wonderful.

 In years past the Royal Navy visited, and she said that Queen Elizabeth II herself had come at one time (though AI says that though she did visit Kuching, she actually visited a replica longhouse in the Sarawak museum)

More significantly, she and her seven siblings had grown up here, and as she stood outside her family home, we were very moved to hear of her mother dying giving birth to her younger brother when she was two. There was no way to get to the nearest clinic, there was no midwife and the bleeding would not stop. Her younger brother grew up with the family next door and she has never even seen a picture of her mother. 

Just before we left she also told us that in the 60s her brother invited 'Father Louis' from England to come to the Kampung and start the church. A church and a school was built just down the road from her house and most of the people in the area are now Christians. 

The longhouse itself has now been divided up and most of the families have moved into the city.

Two very different homestay experiences and so many insights into local culture and recent history. 

Lunch at Yummy Express, a Sarawakian fast food chain, was surprisingly good. 

Next, Matang Wildlife Centre. Not a zoo but a centre for rehabilitation of animals sold as pets and either handed in or confiscated. The goal is to restore them to the wild but I began to understand how difficult this is, and many of the animals do not leave here. Overall, though the signs for some of the animals talked about rehabilitation, we were disappointed by their poor enclosures, and we didn't see any sign of keepers investing in them. This may reflect a lack of funds, especially from visitors. We paid $8 each to get in and we were the only people in the centre. We had been delighted to see the orangutans who had been successfully rehabilitated to Semmongoh yesterday, but it was sad to see the enclosure and the demeanour of the orangutans here. 

Nonetheless it was a treat to see macaques interacting with one another 

and the rhinoceros hornbills and sunbears. 

The wildlife Centre is part of Kubah National Park, and in the afternoon we enjoyed a challenging and very hot trek through the jungle on the Belian trail - named after the very tall and straight trees which are love by builders and loggers alike (aka Borneo ironwood).

The trail was constructed by the Japanese during their occupation in WWII. Very sweaty and exhausted after less than an hour, we were glad to arrive at our cheap but new hotel and enjoy a shower. Then dinner at Food Republic - a  modern food hawkers' market where drinks waiters take your orders with tablets.

Then it was time for the frogs! I'd heard about the 60 different species of frogs in Kubah National Park and discovered an accredited guide online. Lucian, a man of Chinese background  from Kuching, worked in Australia as a software engineer and in the telecommunications industry, and obviously felt this was a good grounding for becoming a froggy walk guide in his retirement. His enthusiasm and skill at spotting wildlife, and then  identifying each one with its common and scientific name was extraordinary. He promised we'd see 10 species of frogs and he delivered 11. Early on he learnt of Hamish's interest and expertise when he understood what it meant that the particular Pitcher plant we were looking at was 'detitritivorous.' For those of us with no idea what that means,  they eat leaf litter rather than insects. 

Lucian also helped us to spot many spiders

Hamish spotted this strange creature which Lucian promised to investigate later and let us know

He also spotted a snake hanging in a tree. It was a fascinating evening! 

So what is 'disappointment' doing in the title of this post? 

We arrived back at our hotel, managed to get the TV working, and grabbed a couple of hours of sleep before watching Australia play Egypt in the World Cup. 

Halfway through the second half I asked AI who the commentators were. Here's what it told me ...

 even with my naive trust in AI I I knew this couldn't be true and thankfully AI was prepared to admit it. 

Saddly that hallucination proved too close to the truth as Australia collapse in the penalty shoot out. Disappointing indeed! 

On the other hand, we were in Kuching, Bethany was in Uzbekistan, Elijah was at Darling Harbour, Isaac was at Springwood Sports Club and Danielle and Annie, Ben, Eloise and Levi were at home, but we were all watching and messaging together. 

Football really does bring people together!

4/7 Indigenous food and culture, and resort relaxation

A couple more hours sleep before a simple breakfast from a rare sight in Sarawak - a supermarket

I sat in the hawkers market and enjoyed watching Capo Verde, an archipelago of 10 islands with 500 000 people and a GDP per capita of $10 000 take Argentina to extra time, before losing 3-2. 

Today's experience of indigenous culture - the Sarawak Cultural Village in Santubong. My expectations weren't high as I hadn't seen much about it on the internet, but it certainly scored an 'E' on the Hogwart's marking scale -  'Exceeds Expectations.' It's essentially a collection of regular longhouses for each of the indigenous people groups with some of them having people to explain their traditional practises. 

They were large, seemingly authentic and and the genuine artefacts were engaging. 

Having conducted my fair share of weddings, I was particularly intrigued by the wedding bed in the grand Malay family home on which the wedding ceremony itself would have been conducted. After the wedding night it would be removed and presumably used for a similar occasion in someone else's home. 

The grounds of the centre were beautifully laid out, 

complete with a family of otters. 

Just before our trip they (the centre not the otters) had hosted the annual World Rainforest Music Festival, and the displays and instruments from this were really interesting.

On top of this there were two highlights. 

1. The cultural performance

Live music and dancing from each of the people groups, including a very funny display of the deadly glowpipe weapon. A brave 'volunteer' had the dart shot between her hands. 

2. Lunch

My first ever sit down meal in a theme park. An Indigenous banquet of chicken, beef, fish, vegetables, rice and chia drinks for $23 between us! Danielle you would have loved it. 

Eager for some rest and relaxation from a poor night's sleep and a hot day, we were delighted to arrive at our one night at a resort. The intimate and delightful Village House at Santubong. 

Google's information on restaurant/street hawker opening hours isn't so accurate in Santubong, but the 4th place we tried for dinner was open and served delicious food. 

Tomorrow our last adventure around the edge of Kuching, Bako National Park - home of macaques, Bornean bearded pigs and most importantly, proboscis monkeys.