KUCHING, MALAYSIA - OCT 15, 2012

KUCHING & SEMENGGOH ORANGUTAN REHABILITATION CENTRE,

MALAYSIA - Monday OCT 15. 2012

Kuching means cats and cats are considered very lucky in Kuching with statues everywhere - one city centre statue marked by 4 cats - 1 facing each of North, South, East and West.  (Malay word for cat is kucing or kuching).  The entrance to the city marked by 1 huge cat statue with the words Salamat Datang - welcome to Kuching City above it.  Kuching is the capital and largest city in the East Malaysian State of Sarawak.  Sarawak used to be a part of the Sultanate of Brunei before it was ceded to British adventurer James Brooke, who ruled Sarawak as his personal kingdom (and his sons who became 2nd and 3rd Rajahs) until 1941 when the Japanese occupied Sarawak.

Up early I went on deck in the humid damp darkness around 4am and spent a couple of hours as we cruised into the dock at Kuching.  The Pilot boat was waiting and he boarded around 5am and was responsible for getting the ORION safely docked, which we were around 630am.  It was to be a full day and we enjoyed every moment.  After breakfast in The Restaurant we were all off the ship at 715am and were soon settled with lots of seats to spare on 3 large luxury tour buses.  ORION also ran a shuttle bus every half hour into the city from 9am until 5pm for anyone just wanting to tour independently within Kuching city.  Kuching is a mix of Christians (majority), Muslims and other religions and several nationalities including Malay, Chinese, and Indonesian.

Our first stop (and why we left so early) was the Semenggoh Rehabilitation Centre for Orangutans - about 45 minutes away.  The orangutans live in the forest here but the Park Rangers do put out fruits for them at feeding centres twice each day - the first feeding time being 9am and we wanted to be there for that.  When the fruits are plentiful in the forest (like December) the orangutans seldom appear for the feeding so we were keeping our fingers crossed.  It was a glorious early morning walk along the paved single lane driveway through the rain forest to the feeding platforms.  On arrival we were instructed what to do, and not do - be very quiet, no crying children, don't look at the orangutans in the eyes, stay away 7 metres at all times - and if an orangutan starts coming directly towards you back or run away!   

It was sunny and hot - the previous day it had rained all day which accounted for the 100% humidity level! The Expedition staff were telling us that in the last 12 times they have visited it has rained 10 times, so we were very lucky!  At 9am the fruit is put out onto the platform and the Park Ranger starts to call the orangutans - there are 25 living at this centre, which is its' maximum capacity.  For over half an hour we saw and heard nothing - then an occasional tree would bend in the forest and you could see an occasional flash of orange.  Eventually one orangutan appeared and hung down from the tree branches to pick up a coconut, crack it open and drink the juice.

Orangutans are very quiet and make no noises, much like the  gorillas we were so lucky to see earlier this year in Uganda.  He spent more time ignoring us and sitting with his back to us than he did facing us or looking at us (maybe over 100 folks behind a rope to signify our boundary).  Then we started to see more trees waving and bending a hundred feet or so back into the forest, and eventually another three orangutans started to close in - they are amazing the way they stretch from tree to tree - their arms and legs are very long - with arms twice as long as their legs - and at times they just hang there outstretched by all 4 limbs!  As soon as the first orangutan (male) heard the others arriving - he quickly reached down to the feeding platform and took all of the coconuts - holding on to them with his hands and feet - this obviously was his preferred fruit and he was not planning to share it with any others in his family.  The others came and ate a little, hung out and generally gave us some wonderful moments of pretty close viewing - it was very quiet and very enjoyable!  The humidity and temperature were really high and everyone of us pretty much looked like a limp wet rag by the time we started heading back to our buses shortly after 10am.

We were back at the ORION by 11am and had a couple of hours to get refreshed and eat lunch before our 2pm departure for the Kuching City Tour.  This was an easy sit back and watch and listen tour as the city highlights were pointed out, including the Astana Palace along the northern bank of the Sarawak river which is now the official residence of the Governor of Sarawak, although it was originally built as the residence of James Brooke, the Rajah of Sarawak.  We were quite amazed at the highways and the structures - this is a prosperous looking city with good roads and highways, and everywhere is landscaped to perfection with all the beautiful tropical flowering shrubs and trees to be found in this climate.

We had a long stop at the Natural History Museum which is situated in beautiful gardens.  The exhibits included Long Houses complete with ancient skulls (remember the head hunters of Borneo, or the Wild Men of Borneo).  But lots of beautiful woven baskets and mats, beautiful beaded accessories, stuffed wild animals, even a skeleton from a baleen whale which had washed up on the shores in 1910.  This is apparently the best Natural History Museum in South East Asia.  We were back on the bus at 330 and then drove along the river - a beautiful walkway has been built all along the river and makes for a very nice walk.  

We stopped off for 45 minutes to do some very fast shopping at a couple of the stores there - although Carrie, Linda, Terry and myself spent some time in the stores for the local population including fabric stores with hundreds of bolts of beautiful fabrics, spice stores, dried fish stores and even a store selling reading glasses for 8 ringit each (about 30 ringit = $1)- you can never have too many reading glasses so I bought 2 pairs!  This area is quite known for its' hand beaded accessories, so between us we also bought hand beaded necklaces and a hand beaded clutch.  We would have done a lot more damage had we had the time!

Back at the ORION by 5 it was another freshen up before leaving at 6pm in the buses for the 60 minute drive to the Sarawak Cultural Village for a theme party and dinner.  We were welcomed by singing and dancing Malayans, with everyone of us dressed in a sarong with traditional patterns and a woven palm headdress - then we followed the dancers down a long wooden walkway into the Long House - removing our shoes before we entered.  There were 8 round tables set up on the floor with cushions around each to sit on while we enjoyed the singing and dancing on the front stage.  The energy that the entertainers expended was full on pretty much from the time we arrived until we left a couple of hours later.  Dinner was excellent and served buffet style including items like baked sweet potato, chicken wings, ginger beef, vegetables, chicken parts, and all served with beer or wine by our own staff from the ORION.  It was a lot of fun, especially when the ORION passengers were invited on to the stage to dance with the performers.  I must say that Carrie, Suz and Pete can sure dance well!  They all won a little gift for their performance!

Soon it was time to find our shoes and head back to the bus - of course we were the last to leave and so were on the last bus and joined by the ORION staff.  The party continued, and led by Sue, we all sang from the time we left the Sarawak Cultural Centre until we reached the dock where the ORION as moored!  Captain Vincent was at the gangway waiting to welcome us all aboard with a big smile!

The party continued in the cafe where Michael met us with a tray full of Brandy Alexander martinis to welcome us back on board - delicious!  They had also set up a wonderful Sweet Sensation, Dessert Temptations table!  Amazing desserts produced by the 10 kitchen staff and Chef Frederic.  This was followed by a rock 'n roll evening with Glenn (a French Canadian) on the piano - he can sure move, and he can really play and keep the party going!

We did eventually roll into bed, very tired but immensely satisfied after another day of new experiences in Kuching, Sarawak Malaysia and another day of the ORION staff showing us just how well they could look after us!  Every day they give us more surprises and unexpected touches which makes every day a delight, and the next day so exciting to look forward to.

I will comment that 2 days later during the recap slideshow, that the Expedition Staff do such a great job of, there were photos from the optional afternoon excursion to the Sarawak Cultural Village - showing the various Longhouses from the different tribes, the  beaded hand made items in progress (up to 3 months to make a fancy beaded collar), blow pipe demonstrations with participation, and the beautiful grounds - I think that had a more comprehensive outline or slide show been given for this afternoon excursion we would have signed up for it.  It was at additional cost but since we were going in the evening we elected to take the city tour and evening dinner show instead but on reflection would have taken both the afternoon and evening excursions to the Sarawak Cultural Village.