Friday, March 04, 2016

What in the world with Hope and Bill - Borneo


So here we are in Borneo, in the port city of Sandakan, Malaysia, the starting point of the final Japanese death march at the end of WWII. (The Japanese are not held in high esteem here.)

Right next to the glittering Sheraton Hotel where you can read the local paper is the city’s Central Market where almost everything can be purchased.

And it should be purchased pretty quickly because the aroma of dried fish is pretty potent.

We were there in the morning, and the fresh fish looked like it had just been caught, but those chicken feet … and the lack of refrigeration… well, we didn’t want to come back in the afternoon.

So instead we went to the Sepilok Forest Reserve where we walked in silence on walkways through the jungle and watched Orang Utans.

These very human creatures are highly intelligent and “played” with us, showing off, swinging on vines, leading us on a little chase, peeling bananas.

Orang Utans share 97% of their DNA with humans.

They have 4 hands (no feet) so they travel swiftly through the trees but they lumber when they walk.

Sepilok has a rehabilitation center for orphaned and injured Orang Utans, where they teach them how to cope in the wild.

The animals in the center have very distinct personalities and are known by name and behavioral quirks.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: What in the world with Hope and Bill - Borneo
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