Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Singapore & Malaysia 2014
In search of the Forest People
I got up at the ungodly hour of 6am, had a solitary breakfast in the Executive Lounge when it opened at seven and was ready in good time for the planned 8am departure of my tour to Semenggoh Nature Reserve. My driver/guide was already in the lobby, and he struck me immediately as young, friendly and intelligent. Somewhat unexpectedly, he introduced himself as 'Alfie'. The drive took around forty minutes, the main visual feature being the appallingly congested traffic on the other side of the road, heading into town at the beginning of another working day. Alfie certainly proved that first impressions can sometimes be accurate, as he gave me a potted history of Sarawak and in the process fearlessly tackled a number of difficult topics in excellent English, including such potential minefields as the role of religion in a modern society!
The Semenggoh reserve has for many years been involved in the rehabilitation of young orangutans that have either been orphaned, injured or released from captivity, teaching them how to survive in the wild. Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian great apes and are among the most intelligent members of the animal kingdom. They are found in the natural state only on Borneo and Sumatra, and both of these separate species are endangered. The word 'orangutan' means literally 'forest person'.
Upon arrival at the site, Alfie gave me a quick tour of some of the exhibits, including carnivorous plants and caged crocodiles. The rangers then escorted visitors into the feeding area at 9am, after warning that the chances of a sighting were slim due to this being the fruit season, during which the orangutans are usually able to find enough food on their own. (Interestingly, Alfie had already told me that while this was the traditional fruit season, for the first time ever there had been two harvests in 2014, the other one occurring in June.)
Despite exhortations to the contrary, our assembled group contained several silly people who were talking too much, further reducing the already slim chances of a sighting. The feeders finally gave up at 9:45, after receiving radio messages that the animals had been sighted far away from the feeding area.
Back at the buildings, Alfie disappeared for a few seconds and brought out a photo album that was not on public display. It showed pictures of horrific injuries received by park rangers while attempting to save some visitors from the consequences of their own stupid behaviour. Some people, it seems, have difficulty with the concept of 'potentially dangerous wild animals' and sadly it's the rangers who suffer the consequences of their foolish actions.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| St Thomas's Cathedral (left side of photo) |
I was back at the Hilton by 11:15. While my excursion had resulted in disappointment at not seeing the orangutans, it had still been an interesting and informative way to spend a few hours, so I wasn't overly disheartened. With plenty of time still at my disposal, I set out to see some places that I had missed on the previous day's walk, and in particular the Sarawak State Museum. On the way, I passed St Thomas's Anglican Cathedral, which together with its associated buildings and grounds managed to fill an entire city block. A map at the entrance to the site showed that in addition to the church itself and a large diocesan centre, the complex contained buildings such as the bishop's house and 'clergy flats'. Clearly this was a major presence, and I recalled Alfie's statement earlier in the morning that the city of Kuching had a majority-Christian population. He had also suggested that the need to maintain protection for its multicultural community was a key reason why Sarawak remained semi-autonomous from peninsular Malaysia. Kuching also has a Roman Catholic cathedral, but this is located a little further out of the central area.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Sarawak State Museum and its grounds | ||
The state museum was just a short distance away and consisted of several buildings set in reasonably attractive grounds. The museum, another legacy of Charles Brooke (the second White Rajah), specialises in both natural history and indigenous arts and crafts. I had intended to return to the Hilton for lunch, but changed my mind when I got back to the main central area and discovered a substantial branch of Starbucks attached to a modern shopping mall.
I
was then in two minds about whether to take one of the little ferry
boats across the river to have a look at Fort Margherita, or to
return to base and spend some time lying by the pool. In the end, I
achieved neither objective: I chose the more relaxing alternative
but by the time I got back, angry clouds were once again gathering
and I opted for some chill-time in my room instead. Sure enough, the
heavens soon opened in accordance with the established daily
pattern.
Drinks and canapés in the Executive Lounge provided some variety and I then had another room-service dinner while watching the well-worn Keanu Reeves movie Speed on Fox Movies Premium, the hotel's only TV channel dedicated to films.