VISITING THE ORANGUTAN AT SEMENGGOH WILDLIFE CENTRE - PART ONE

 MONDAY, 5th SEPTEMBER 2022  ~ Once the rented car was handed over to us at the airport, we drove straight away to the very first spot in our itinerary: Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, as it was near. We were worried initially we might miss the orangutan feeding session that should take place at 9:00 a.m. but luckily there was enough time to get to the centre.

The entry ticket for an adult Malaysian was RM5.00 and another RM10.00 for the electric buggy ticket rides. You better get on the buggy unless you are willing to walk uphill to get the spots to see the orangutan which I think will take about 30 - 45 minutes one way. The buggy service was only introduced in the park on 30th August.

We were already warned by the officers at the counter that we might not be able to see the orangutans during the feeding sessions as the fruit season was in session. The beasts might not be tempted by the fruits offered by humans as natural fruits were already in abundance in the wild. We just kept our fingers crossed.

There was already a big crowd waiting to get into the buggy. It seemed everybody wanted to meet the orangutans during this school holiday when they came to Kuching.

Most of the visitors came in bigger groups. We managed to squeeze through to get onto the buggy earlier as there were only the two of us who could simply fill in the vacant seats. The buggy could accommodate 13 passengers at one time.

 

Once arrived at the buggy station, we had to walk a short distance to get to the first feeding area.

The crowd was already forming to see the park rangers giving food to the orangutan and there was only one in sight. I was told by the ranger that the one that we were observing was known as Jubli. He/She was quite faraway but we should be thankful at least one orangutan came to get the food offered.

Kevin, the friendly ranger

Then, we were asked to move to another feeding spot as there were other orangutans already waiting for us there.

The video of Jubli the orangutan can be found in Part 2 later.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART TWO

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WHEN KUCHING WAS THE PLACE WHERE I WANTED TO BE

Kuching, Sarawak, was chosen as my holiday destination for the school holiday this time round. This was my third time in the city but I really wanted to revisit this place as my first time there, it was of a school trip [most probably in 2001] and I did not even remember what actually happened during the trip and the second time was because of a conference I had to attend. I was a real tourist in Kuching finally.

WHY KUCHING?

FIRST: I managed to get cheap return tickets JHB-KCH-JHB for RM230++. And that was like 2 months before the date of excursion. SECOND: I managed to get a partner in crime for the adventure. Mr. Solihin Ramli, an ex-student of Asrama Semai Bakti Felda, instantaneously agreed when I proposed to him. Having a young person as a companion helped a lot as he was the one who planned the itinerary, booked the car for  us to rent and was the driver of the whole trip. I, on the other hand, bought the flight tickets, booked the hotel and listed down the local food and the eating places. THIRD: I know Kuching had a lot to offer and the trip this time would be an extensive tour of the city.

We were lucky as we were on board on the earliest plane at 6:00 a.m. on Monday, 5th September 2022, and the last flight at 9:50 p.m. on Thursday, 8th September. In other words, we had 4 full days to roam around and get to know the city. And it is my pleasure to share with you the experiences and adventure throughout our stay there. And this will be one very long and continuous posts, just like the endless telenovelas you watch on television or Netflix. You have been warned!

warm and friendly locals

unique and diverse culture of different ethnics

picturesque nature, untouched

glorious, glorious food

buildings of traditional and modern architecture

LINKS TO MY OTHER POSTS

KUCHING DAY ONE

Visiting Orangutan at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre [Part 1] [Part 2]

Mom's Laksa for Laksa Sarawak and Mee Kolok
The Borneo House

La Promenade Mall - the first mall visited in Kuching

Hoan Gallery [Part 1] [Part 2]

Black Bean Coffee Cafe

Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Utara

Cat Museum

North Kuching Gallery

Sarawak State Library
Sarawak State Mosque

Exploring the Touristy Kuching on Foot

Dinner at Plaza Merdeka

Kuching Waterfront

Indian Mosque

KUCHING DAY TWO

Mee Kampua for Breakfast

Damai Central and Damai Beach

Sarawak Cultural Village [PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3] [PART 4]

Cultural Show at Sarawak Cultural Village

Lunch at Sarawak Cultural Village

Kampung Buntal: Fishermen's Village

Pasir Pandak Beach

Sarawak Sports Complex

Two Government Buildings in Petrajaya

Margherita Fort

Hertz Chicken Buffet at Sarawak Plaza

Kuching after 9:00 p.m.

KUCHING DAY THREE

Breakfast at Kopi-O Corner

Bako Terminal to the National Park and Arriving

Trekking into Bako National Park [PART 1][PART 2][PART 3]
The Sea Stack at Bako National Park
Walking Around in Bako Village
Lunch at Bako Village
Dessert at Cendol Mami
Kuching Town Mosque
India Street and China Town

KUCHING DAY FOUR

The Morning Walk in the City
Mee Jawa Pak Awang for Breakfast
The Old Courthouse
Cruising on Sarawak River

Ranee Museum
Songket and Keringkam Gallery

ACTIVITIES DURING THE SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIVEN TO JOHORIANS

Believe it or not, today was announced as a holiday for Johorians as the JDT Football Team won the finals last night. I received a Whatsapp message from Mr. Shamsul Akmal Shamsuddin, who is staying in Negeri Sembilan, asking for my company for breakfast in Kampung Melayu at 8:30 a.m. Guess he knew well I was not working today and I happily obliged and waited for him and his wife at Anamir Restaurant.

Even though we had frequently met in Johor Bahru when Mr. Shamsul came over, it was my first time meeting his wife. I will make it a point to get her into the picture next time round.

Mr. Shamsul Akmal is my ex-classmate of Budiman class in SMS Muar and he is one of the regulars who constantly contacts me when he is in town.

The next meeting was the regular coffee and cake session with Mr. Solihin Ramli, an ex-student of Asrama Semai Bakti Felda, who was my travel companion to Kuching a few days ago. The reason for the meeting: he needed to get back the camera battery he lent to me when we were there. When asked for suggestion of the venue, he chose Cakes by Fash in Nong Chik area.

My first time at the cafe, I found the place interesting. It was just a small cafe with very limited chairs and tables. However, people kept streaming in to buy the pastries on the shelves and most of them purchased the food for take away. I believed if the place was bigger and there were more seats, people would stay and drink coffee and chat.

There were variety of cupcakes, cakes and tartlets - all of them looked so sinfully colourful.

People who try to cut down their sugar intake would have to stay away from this cafe as the temptation would be too strong to resist. Thanks to Mr. Solihin for introducing this place to me so I now have more option to go with other people to get fat together.

In conclusion, the special holiday was spent doing nothing but eating. I will have to start fasting again tomorrow.

ATTENDING THE WEDDING RECEPTION OF MS. DIANA ROHMAT

The wedding reception of Ms. Diana Rohmat, another ex-student of SMK Taman Unversiti, was held today at Eco Botanic in Nusajaya. The bride is also the daughter of an ex-colleague, Puan Maznah Ismail.

I actually arrived a bit late because I went to the wrong wedding hall at another place at the other end of the world. Fortunately, I saw a few familiar faces when I reached the hall so everything was alright.

the bride's younger brother
also an ex-student

the one-week newlyweds

Hoping Puan Maznah would invite me again for more of her children's weddings in the future, there should be three more receptions. 😀

NASI LEMAK FOR LUNCH WITH FRIENDS FROM FAR AWAY

When I checked my Whatsapp right after Friday prayer, there was this one message from Dr. Hayati Ismail, a friend of UPM TESL class of 1993. She was inviting me to join her and her husband and daughter for lunch at Nasi Lemak Lobster Restaurant at Setia Tropika, ane they were already seated there. I was not ready for this but last minute plan worked most of the time.

It was just a short sit in session over Nasi Lemak and it was really kind of them to wait for me to finish everything in my plate as they had already finished their meal while I was on my way there.

Thanks Dr. Hayati, Mr. Faizam and Ms. Farah for reporting when you were entering my territory. 😀

Hope to see you all again some other time soon.

BLOGGING FROM KUCHING, SARAWAK

Only on the very last day, I found the time to blog - all the way from Kuching, Sarawak. And I am doing this over breakfast which is the authentic local cuisine of Mee Jawa. We arrived on Monday and had had a whale of a time and there are still a few more hours to explore Kuching, before bidding farewell to this wonderful city.

Do come back for more stories, photos and videos too - real soon.

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