Orang Utan Island

Early morning wake-up today on account of the Hindu Thaipoosam celebrations, now on their third day, By 6 o'clock our street was buzzing, as the Golden Chariot (there is a smaller one, the Silver one, that is paraded afterwards), was being led in its procession from the nearby temple. Shortly after 10 am, we were finally able to move our car from its parking spot and begin our travels back to Kuala Lumpur.

Where celebrations began

Two gnus pull the chariot. Check out the painted toes.

The silver chariot

We were not in a hurry to get back, so we took a little detour to go visit Bukit Meran Orang Utan island. The island is set in a very picturesque location, and it is home to 15 Orangutans who have been rescued from the wild, and are either injured or orphaned. or born there.

The boat ramp

Cool dudes

Cool chicks ( and dude, and photographer)

Waiting for the boat

View from boat

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The apes are being very well-taken care of here, until they are able to be transported to another more wild location, and eventually back to nature. You may be cognizant that Indonesia and Malaysia lead the world in the production of palm oil. This is obvious as we travel the country, with many roads flanked by millions of oil palms, planted all in a row. The sad part is that these plantations are here as a result of excessive deforestation, which has led to the displacement and habitat loss of too many orangutans (now a very threatened species), as well as pigmy elephants and rhinos. A sad reality.

View from the island

They are behind a fence, but they have plenty of room and trees to climb

The dominant male

We enjoyed our visit there and were pleased to see the nursery where babies are born and cared for.

Leaving the island

Malaysian road hazards; fighting macaques

We reached Kuala Lumpur and checked into our overnight Inn at approximately 9 pm. This will be our final night in this most interesting country. As we ready ourselves to say goodbye to Malaysia, we are nonetheless excited to continue our experience in another exotic and exciting, if unusual destination. Stay tuned.

P.S. We were just notified by Turkish Airlines that our first-leg of the return trip (Singapore to Istanbul) has been cancelled. We'll have to see what that means in terms of planning and adjustments. We'll keep you posted, but that date is still a long way away.