A Quick Stop At Small Town Siburan

Siburan is a small town south of Kuching by about 45 minutes, a one highway stop on the way to a few area attractions. What's up, Siburan?

Restaurant worker.

Most stores seemed to be run by Chinese. Here's a couple of details from their small roadside temple.

Lunch customer.

Crocodile farm sign. Tempting food choices, live and pictorial.

Condiments.

Beauty parlor signs. The old one used to be outside, now, thankfully, preserved. Counting the days at the tailor.

Another restaurant worker.

Oh Orang Utan At Semenggoh Wildlife Nature Preserve

The primate star of Borneo is the orang utan, pronounced "oh-rahng ootahn." It's from the Malay "orang hutan," which means people of the forest. You may know them by the bland American pronunciation of the smashed-up one word, orangutan. No matter what they're called, orang utans are only found in two places in the world, Borneo and the island of Sumatra.

Near Kuching in Malaysian Borneo, you can go check out orang utans in the semi-wild, at the Semenggoh nature preserve. Orphans arrive from various places and the center feeds and trains them to get them back to the jungle one day.

The main way to see orang utans is to be there for one of the daily feedings. No cages, just a viewing area, a nearby feed platform, ropes and goodies to eat.

Morning customers. Three orang utans, a big boy, smaller mama and a baby.

Audience in captivity.

It's not all orang, all the time. The center has lovely jungle and garden areas.

And bamboo, bonus!

As close as we could get to an orang utan, the entrance greeter. Imposing.

Nocturnal Kuching

Some fun stuff to see in Kuching at night.

Kuching means "cat" and the town loves them.  The real things are wandering all around the place and the giant, fake ones can be found at a few prominent intersections.

Above an upholstery shop. Girl power. The tank is self-powered with a coin-op box attached. She gets to drive it around wherever she wants until the money runs out. Seems like a good facsimile.

Talent night at a Chinese temple.

Nocturnal looks, closed shops, menacing elevators.

Riverside bandstand show.

Details Of Kuching

Some small scenes around the city.

Traditional Chinatown.

Temple icon in a shop. Bright sheet set.

Mechanical animals.

Caution, major headache. A paper shirt and tie.

Waiting for a meal.

Meals!

Hawker stall still life.

The Vendors At Medan Niaga Satok

Portrait shopping at the Kuching market.

Getting ready.

Butcher. 

Lemongrass family. Vegetable merchant.

Soda salesman.

Getting regal.

Seeing The Sarawak State Museum

The Malaysian state of Sarawak in Borneo has a nice natural history museum, a throwback to endless cases filled with taxidermy treats. Kind of like Kolkata's Indian Museum.

The grand building. Alas, all good things come to an end or, at least, a pause. The museum closed in October for a multi-year renovation.

Inside, rooms with classic dark wood cases. The local fellow, Orangutan.

Love the hand-painted background.

One improvement of the renovation will be an updated A/C system. No more giant air handlers.

More looks at the included critters.

Hong San Si Temple In Kuching

It's hard to walk by a Chinese temple and not stop in or at least notice the place. Bright red brickwork, elaborate carving, gold accents. Hong San Si temple has all the good features.

The temple, not blending in.

Wise men on the roof. Outrageous altar.

Hanging lanterns.

Small details, some hard to see among all the decoration.

Another prayer alcove. Bling!