Malaysia Journal: Tuesday, April 17th 2001 1PM Bus ride to the Longhouse

Already visited the wildlife rehab center. But writing is making me ill on the bus, so I’m going to stop.

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Well, it looks (and feels) like I’ve gotten dehydrated. I hate not feeling well, especially when there’s so much to do and see.

Alice and I made a trek out to find H20 and snacks for the day, and made a “friend.” He stopped his car in the street to say hello to us, and then later kept repeating “Hello, hello” and such things as “You are beautiful” to us. Needless to say, we just kept walking. We managed to find an open café, and as we walked towards it everyone turned to look at us. Yes, we are strangers in a strange land. I’m getting used to it, and I understand that we must be somewhat conspicuous and interesting to look at.

The rehabilitation center was pretty darn interesting. At the feeding, first one large 22-year old male and a small female appeared. You hear that orangutans are incredibly strong—and in person they are very impressive. There were sun bears trotting like dogs about their cages waiting to be fed, langurs and other such primates including some especially loud gibbons, porcupines, hornbills, hawks, owls, and even a bearcat. There were some beautiful butterflies, some black with lower bands of iridescent blue, others black with yellow speckles. But the long highway of termites marching their way from one side of the area to the other was certainly amazing; so far for one little termite to travel! This center is valuable for so many reasons, including rehabilitation. Like zoos, this place helps people appreciate the wildlife a person might not normally see on a walk in the woods, and by generating interest in the animal, they may help to preserve it.

I have mixed feelings about our visit to the Bidayuh longhouse. I think, more than anything, I felt awkward walking through. I wasn’t sure if I should say hello or not bother them. Having romanticized what the village of an indigenous culture would look like, I was disappointed with the multitude of junk food litter and the Limp Bizkit blaring in the background . . . but then again it is not fair of me to expect them not to change. I had merely hoped they wouldn’t change that much.