Years ago, when I saw the first season of the TV Show Survivor set on Pulau Tiga, off the coast of Malaysia/Borneo; I would have never dreamed that one day I would live in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Which is located across the water from Pulau Tiga in the state of Sabah, in the country of Malaysia on the Island of Borneo. It is amazing the things that happen on our journey of life. I am so incredibly fortunate to have had the experiences I have had and I have met some great people along the way.
I remember the poem that states: "People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime." And I try to remind myself that nothing is permanent. That sometimes people fall into your life for an instant, no matter how intense and then in the same rush, they are gone. Never to return.
Living in Malaysia with 9 other team members was definitely an example of this. Living 24-7 with people from all around the world for a month definitely made some of us very close. It is weird to think that I will most likely not see most of them again in my lifetime. But again... "People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime."
One weekend, my Italian teammate and I decided to fly from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan on the opposite coast of Borneo. We wanted to go to Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary and sail to Turtle Island to watch baby turtles being born and help them return to the sea. These are once in a lifetime moments and we were not going to miss out!
Our hotel connected us with a tour guide - a woman we were supposed to call "Madame Rose." I was a little dubious of who this woman could possibly be. Were my Italian teammate and I going to be sold into the slave trade with Madame Rose as our lord and master? (Lady and Mistress?) But no, all fears were set aside, when a plain-dressed woman with a twinkle in her eye, efficiency on the mind and an upsell mentality on her lips arrived to pick us up.
We spent a day at Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary and Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary. The Proboscis Monkeys have a very oddly shaped nose that frankly makes them look like they have human male genitalia on their faces! And if that is not reason enough to go check them out, the large number of smaller silver monkeys with their friendly nature and playful antics are definitely a key selling point.
Sepilok carried out its promise - you get up close and personal with Orang Utans (Bahasa Malaysia for "Man of the Forest") without any screens, walls or netting. I was about two feet away from this Orang Utan when I took this picture ...
We saw several orang utan with babies. We tried to keep our distance so as not to frighten the mothers, but it was such a delight to see the little orang utan.
I enjoyed Sepilok, but by far my favorite was Labuk Bay. We arrived inbetween feeding times, so the sanctuary was pretty empty of tourists - which is just the way I like it! The staff gave us some long beans and Madame Rose showed us how to feed the adorable little silver monkeys who came up to us on the beautiful wood viewing platforms.
After spending time feeding the beautiful little silver monkeys, we went off to the 2nd viewing platform to see the real stars of the show - the Proboscis Monkeys. I had never seen monkeys like these before. They were large with the most beautiful honey colored fur. It started to rain, but water was not going to deter us from seeing these beautiful monkeys up close.
Their noses still freak me out, but they are so pretty otherwise! And their babies were adorable.
It was feeding time, so we were able to watch the Sanctuary workers put out the fresh fruit and bread for the Proboscis Monkeys. The monkeys were a collective unit and the Sanctuary Workers told us about how a single alpha male dominates the group. Dominance is won through fighting and we saw the displaced former alpha male looking pretty sad, sitting by himself in a tree. He later came over and sat next to us. Apparently after you lose your alpha status, you have nothing to fear from a bunch of tourists.
Being able to spend time with orang utan, silver-haired monkeys and proboscis monkeys in their native habitat was an adventure I will never forget. If you are near Malaysia, do make it a priority to stop in Sandakan on the island of Borneo to see these exquisite animals. It will be a trip you will always remember!
I remember the poem that states: "People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime." And I try to remind myself that nothing is permanent. That sometimes people fall into your life for an instant, no matter how intense and then in the same rush, they are gone. Never to return.
Living in Malaysia with 9 other team members was definitely an example of this. Living 24-7 with people from all around the world for a month definitely made some of us very close. It is weird to think that I will most likely not see most of them again in my lifetime. But again... "People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime."
One weekend, my Italian teammate and I decided to fly from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan on the opposite coast of Borneo. We wanted to go to Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary and sail to Turtle Island to watch baby turtles being born and help them return to the sea. These are once in a lifetime moments and we were not going to miss out!
Our hotel connected us with a tour guide - a woman we were supposed to call "Madame Rose." I was a little dubious of who this woman could possibly be. Were my Italian teammate and I going to be sold into the slave trade with Madame Rose as our lord and master? (Lady and Mistress?) But no, all fears were set aside, when a plain-dressed woman with a twinkle in her eye, efficiency on the mind and an upsell mentality on her lips arrived to pick us up.
We spent a day at Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary and Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary. The Proboscis Monkeys have a very oddly shaped nose that frankly makes them look like they have human male genitalia on their faces! And if that is not reason enough to go check them out, the large number of smaller silver monkeys with their friendly nature and playful antics are definitely a key selling point.
Sepilok carried out its promise - you get up close and personal with Orang Utans (Bahasa Malaysia for "Man of the Forest") without any screens, walls or netting. I was about two feet away from this Orang Utan when I took this picture ...
We saw several orang utan with babies. We tried to keep our distance so as not to frighten the mothers, but it was such a delight to see the little orang utan.
If I could do this in Yoga, I'd be a Master!
I enjoyed Sepilok, but by far my favorite was Labuk Bay. We arrived inbetween feeding times, so the sanctuary was pretty empty of tourists - which is just the way I like it! The staff gave us some long beans and Madame Rose showed us how to feed the adorable little silver monkeys who came up to us on the beautiful wood viewing platforms.
These monkeys love their long beans. Watch your fingers!
After spending time feeding the beautiful little silver monkeys, we went off to the 2nd viewing platform to see the real stars of the show - the Proboscis Monkeys. I had never seen monkeys like these before. They were large with the most beautiful honey colored fur. It started to rain, but water was not going to deter us from seeing these beautiful monkeys up close.
Their noses still freak me out, but they are so pretty otherwise! And their babies were adorable.
Being able to spend time with orang utan, silver-haired monkeys and proboscis monkeys in their native habitat was an adventure I will never forget. If you are near Malaysia, do make it a priority to stop in Sandakan on the island of Borneo to see these exquisite animals. It will be a trip you will always remember!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Lily On The Lam wants to hear from you ... Seriously, she does ...