Day 42: Semenggoh Orangutans

Is it just me or is before 9:00 a.m. too early to have already had an adventure?

We saw orangutans in the wild in Sakau, but we wanted to get a better feel for what they actually looked like. We decided to step it down a bit and go to an orangutan rehabilitation center, Semenggoh, in order to have a closer encounter.

To help protect the orangutans and rehabilitate them while enabling people to see them, visiting hours are only during two daily feeding times: 9:00 a.m. and 3 p.m.

There are two buses to get to Semenggoh, both of which depart from the bus station that is 2 kms from our place at 7:15 a.m.. The next bus isn't until 9:50, so it's the 7:15 bus or bust! We got up with plenty of time and had an extra 10 minutes buffer (just in case). However, 6:45 happened. 6:50 happened. 6:55 happened. Now it takes at least 20 minutes to walk to the bus station from where we are staying (as we tragically found out the day of the morning thunderstorm at the bus shelter when we arrived in Kuching). We barely have enough time to make this bus!

6:56 and we are huffing and puffing as fast as we can towards the station. 7:13 and we are crossing the final turn towards the bus station. Suddenly, Pallavi sees a bus. Is that our bus????? I'm blind as a bat even with corrected vision, so how do I know? All I know is that we're almost out of time and if that's one bus, the other might not be far behind. I then hear Pallavi exclaim, run Sarah run! (Alright, maybe not in a Forest Gump style, but lets just pretend it was). Just like many bus chasers before me, backpack on my back, purse held in one hand, and a map in the other, I take off. I don't care that I look like a slightly insane person. I don't care that cars are going to have to get around me. My eyes are set on only one goal - the bus!

Which we had missed! We looked everywhere. Around all corners, asking people (who weren't so thrilled to speak to me, probably given that I still looked a bit like a slightly insane person and it was only 7:15 a.m.). We asked at the ticket counter, who confirmed that yes, we had missed the bus. "Wasn't it early?" we asked. They looked at their clock, clearly 10 minutes faster than our satellite controlled phone clocks, and said nope, we left on time. Pallavi, thinking outside of the box asked, "is there another way we can get there?" "Sure," said the ticket taker, "just take this bus here and get off at [insert station name] and you can get a mini bus from there." "Are you sure? Are the mini buses regular enough?" "Sure!"

Onto the second bus we went. We traveled along, got off at said [insert stop], and waited. No mini bus. We tried to find a local who spoke English. All of them seemed to say that there wasn't a bus. The bus had passed. What to do? It was 8:30. The feeding is at 9! We looked at a map. It didn't look like we were too far away, but how far, who knows?? Desperate, I asked our 3rd Pay It Forward ride person, who spoke English and, when I asked if she could drive us, she said just get in.

We got to the gate at 8:45 - but nobody told us it was another 1.3 kms walk, uphill, to get to the feeding. We again set off really quickly. Huffing, puffing, desperate to make it there. We've come so far. We're not even on our second cup of coffee. Suddenly a car comes towards us, from the center, and a window is rolled down. It's a woman who had seen us huffing and puffing when driving to the center, dropped off her family, and had turned back to come and get us! That's Pay it Forward ride person #4.

It was worth it. The orangutans were so cool to see up close. It does feel a bit like a cheat, but at the same time, it isn't a zoo either. Plus, the center is doing great work to rehabilitate the orangutans. The objective is for them to not have to come to be fed at all. Out of the 27-30 orangutans they have in Semenggoh, we probably saw 8 or 9 of them, including the alpha male Richie. Two of them even came down from the tree directly above our head, to stand less than 2 meters away (remembering the chimp who tore that woman's face and hands off, I kept my distance).

By 12, we were on our way home to just chill and relax. I'd say we'd earned it! 

Day 32: Sakau & Orangutans!!!!!

After a night sleeping through the sounds of the jungle, our alarms and the roosters went off around 4:45 a.m. We got ready, had our coffees, knocked on the doors of the Germans who had insisted we go at 5:30 instead of 6 a.m. but who were still sleeping at 5:30, and at 6:00 a.m. got into the boat with Eagle Eyes for another river safari.

There are not nearly as many mammals to spot alongside the Kinabantangan River as I had though; however, there are tons of different birds. We spotted 4 different species of Hornbills (including some really rare white breasted one), 3 different types of King Fishers, Broad beaks, huge endangered Storks, some tiny bird that was smaller than two finger digits, etc. We saw 2 different species of monkeys. Then, Eagle Eyes spotted our first oranguntan!! I'm not sure what I expected, but this was beyond expectations. Unfortunately, one, this was a male and you only see males in isolation, not surrounded by a troop of orangutans and two, he was high up in the top of a fig tree eating breakfast. 

It was amazing to watch. He is basically a big orange hairy thing on the top of the tree. A bit like how I imagined Big Foot's hide to look. He just sat there, in a more refined way, reaching with his long arms to pluck various figs & eat them. Sometimes he'd walk out on a branch to get the ones that were on the farthest limbs and then retreat back to his tree chair. Once he was hidden from view all we saw was his long arm reaching out beyond the cover of the trees to pluck figs, and then disappear. 

Not only did we see this orangutan, but on our return journey, we saw our 2nd! I certainly have not had my fill of orangutans, but am still fascinated by them. We both want more! However, after our river safari, after much debate (and after the infamous Osman had a family emergency and wasn't taking people on his pygmy elephant safari), we decided lets just get out of dodge. We'll go to a (dare I say it) rehabilitation center, and hopefully we'll be able to see both orangutans and probiscis monkeys up close.

We trekked to town, found a car that would take us to 'The Junction' where lonely planet said we could stand by the side of the road and flag down a bus, packed up in 30 minutes, and went. The Junction is literally a tree-barren area by the side of a round about. My poor vampire skin can't take such intensity. Then I remembered something my friend Kim had given me. It was something that, upon leaving Melbourne, I had debated whether or not to bring with, and figured that although its slightly heavy, I'd carry it and see. It was a sun umbrella from China! Normally, I would have shied away from using it - white tourist who can't take it; however, I had seen some women using them in Sandakan a few days before. When in the jungle..... Out it came! Instant shade. It. was. amazing. Kim - THANK YOU! We took a picture, which we'll have to send you. This moment almost deserves an ode. 

Ode to the Shade Umbrella: 

Oh give me a home, where the sun mostly roams

Where the trees provide plenty of shade 

But when burning outside, sweating and unmade 

The sun umbrella provides plenty of shade

Okay - not my best. I'll work on it! But it deserves it! After standing there for an hour, we had no fewer than 5 people stop and ask us where we were going. Finally, a good Samaritan told us its hard to flag a bus here, he'd take us a bit down the road to a proper bus stand. We jumped in the car, and went about half the distance to Kota Kinabalu (our final destination). I swear, all we passed were palm trees for 200 kms. It was such a sad scene. I'm not a real protester or avoider of products, but seriously, no more palm oil. (Pallavi has since refused to eat Nestle ice-creams and says #SayNoToNestle). 

On the way, we had passed one bus going to Kota Kinabalu. Finally, we reached the last point the guy could take us, and we got off, had lunch, found the bus station, and waited for another hour and a half. When the luxury bus finally came, it was the same bus we had passed before!

We finally reached Kota Kinabalu, got a cab, got off near where backpackers are, only to realize that my ukulele had been left behind in the cab! That is how we learned about how easy it is to file an insurance report at the local police station and all about different cab companies. 

Such a up & down day. Loved the orangutans, but am absolutely exhausted and hot from the journey and a bit heartbroken about the ukulele. Hopefully we'll be able to find it tomorrow.