Borneo: Man of the Forest

I spent four weeks over Christmas on the island of Borneo. Like Madagascar, it is an island famous for its unusual and endemic wildlife (meaning plants and animals only found in Borneo).

 


Borneo is the fourth largest island in the world, and it's shared by three countries: Malaysia and Indonesia, which each have other land areas that make up their countries, and the small country called Brunei. I spent my time in the Malaysian section of Borneo.

The most famous animal, and the one I'm the most excited about seeing, is the orangutan. They are found only in Borneo, and Sumatra, which is just beside Borneo. Orangutans are our fourth closest relative in the animal kingdom, after chimps, bonobos, and gorillas. They, like us, are apes, a subset of primates, which are a subset of mammals. I've been fortunate enough to see three other ape species on my journey so far: Gorillas in Uganda, Chimpanzees in Rwanda, and of course, humans!

The Animal Kingdom

Apes

(Notice that monkeys are not on here because they're not Apes...remember, apes don't have tails!)


The orangutan is the only ape species (other than humans) found in Asia. Its name means "man of the forest" in the language Bahasa ('orang' means 'person' and 'hutan' means 'forest'). Sadly, the habitat of the orangutan is disappearing at an alarming speed. Ten years ago, there were 60 000 orangutans in Borneo, but now there are only
40 000. In place of the natural rainforest that used to be here, there are now endless palm oil plantations.




Orangutans are a slow species to recover from loss because a female orangutan can only get pregnant a few times in her life, with usually eight years in between her pregnancies to care for her young. I will now be sure to do my part by avoiding foods with palm oil in them, and supporting charities that help indigenous groups (people native to Borneo) protect their land and the orangutan habitat.

Notice the baby hanging from its mother's legs!

I was excited to see orangutans in two different places in Borneo. The first place was Sepilok, where there is a rehabilitation centre for babies that are found orphaned from their mothers, or taken illegally from the forest as pets. The centre teaches the baby orangutans how to swing on vines, provides food for them, and cares for them with lots of cuddles. Once they've started to learn the skills they'll need to survive on their own, they're paired up and shown more of the forest. They're encouraged to start to find their own food. When they're ready, they're released into the forest surrounding the centre with their partner.

As a way of supporting them, in case they can't find enough food on their own, the rehabilitation centre puts out a small amount of food on a platform twice a day. The orangutans know they can come and get food there if they can't find enough in the forest. The centre makes sure the food is kind of boring, so they are encouraged to still hunt for food themselves.

The public are allowed to go into the forest for those two feeding times so that they can see the orangutans up close. They are very gentle and shy animals, so it's hard to see them in the wild. You never know how many orangutans will show up each day, because it's their choice if they come get food or not. I was lucky enough to see six different orangutans including a little baby! The mother who came with a baby used to be an orphan herself.

The second place I went looking for orangutans was in the wild. They like to hunt for food high up in trees along rivers, so I visited the Kinabatangan River, close to Sepilok. I was fortunate enough to see one big male up in a tree, but it was fairly far away.

I saw many other interesting animals in Borneo; check my next post to see more!

Singapore

  

I had a sixteen hour layover in Singapore so I was able to leave the airport and get a quick look at the country.

Singapore is a country made up of one small main island, plus smaller offshore islands. The entire country is almost one large city! It was another country that was ruled by England, and it gained its independence in 1963. For a short time after, (less than two years), it joined Malaysia, then became its own independent nation. It has a very high standard of living/good quality of life.

I arrived in the late afternoon so I didn't have a lot of daylight hours. So the first place I ran off to was the botanical gardens, which I'd heard were amazing. Inside is a special orchid garden, which are delicate flowers that like a lot of humidity. That's why they grow so well in Singapore, a very tropical climate.

The orchids were absolutely stunning, and I loved seeing the hybrids that they had created by breeding different kinds of orchids together.


After dinner, I walked down Orchard Road, which is a street with lots of expensive shops and hotels, and I looked at all of their Christmas displays. After five months away from Canada, it felt weird to see familiar stores and restaurants. It was the first Starbucks I'd seen on the trip!

Unfortunately, that was all the time I had in this small country. I would love to go back again to see the harborfront, zoo, and other attractions. The people were exceedingly friendly and the country values being considerate (they don't allow you to drink water or eat on the subway because you might make a mess for the next person, or spill which could cause someone to slip!)

By the next morning, I was back at the airport and on my way to Malaysia!

India: Slum Stereotypes

As I mentioned in my first post about India, there are a lot of people squeezed into this country. There is also a huge difference in the amount of money people have. Lots of Indians live like we do in Canada, in houses or big apartment buildings with electricity and running water. There's even a twenty-eight story single-family home! India is the home of their own Hollywood, like LA in the United States. It's the major city Mumbai that is also called Bollywood, and there are big movie stars who live there.

Embroidery Workshop

But many people are extremely poor and live in very unhealthy conditions on the street or in makeshift housing. That's where big sheets of plastic or aluminum or whatever old construction material that can be found is pushed and strung together to make shelter. Some people live in tents under big highway overpasses, or beside garbage dumps and sift through trash to find recyclable materials which they sell to recycling factories to make enough money for food.

One image we have when we hear about thisaw,,ind of housing is a slum, and there are some pretty bad impressions of what slums are like. But when I was in Mumbai, I took a tour of one of their slums, called Dharavi, and got to see what it is really like!

Paper Recycling

The first thing I learned is what the word 'slum' really means. It stands for any housing that's on government owned land. Most of the slums in India have been created in places close to areas where there is a lot of construction work, like the airport. So technically, the government could come in and tell all those people they have to leave, but that would be over a million people who would be homeless! So for now, they're allowed to stay.

Plastic Recycling

Dharavi is called the 'Five Star Slum' of Mumbai because there is a different section in it where people work and live. We visited the industrial section first (where people work). One of the main industries in the slum is plastic recycling, where they actually collect recycled plastic containers, sort them, chop them up, wash them, dry them, turn them into little plastic pellets, and sell them to a factory outside of the slum where they can turn them into new plastic products. Another is aluminum recycling, where a similar process is completed. The making of soap and pastries are also profitable. Then there were the neighbourhoods of potters and leather-makers. All in all, the streets were no dirtier than most areas in India, the people were very friendly, and the businesses make money. People are very hard-working.

Aluminium Recycling

I do want to be honest, though, of the conditions people are living and working in. Most houses have water pipes running to them, but the government only turns on the water for three hours a day. Almost no one has a bathroom in their home, so they need to share three public toilet stalls with roughly 500 other people. And workers are exposed to many dangerous chemicals and machinery. The population of the slum is also outstanding. In 1.75 square kilometres, over one million people live there.

It was difficult to see so openly the differences between the rich and the poor, and it's not a problem that India alone has. Canada needs to do more, too, to improve the quality of life for our less fortunate. India was the third country on my trip that was having an election while I was there, so once again, I'll hope that the change in government brings a positive change for its most needy.


When flying out of India, I thought about what a great time I had here: all the great food I ate and learned how to cook, the beautiful buildings I saw, and the people who welcomed me. Three weeks was hardly enough time; there are still so many places to go, things to see, and people to meet. I can't wait to come back one day!

India: A Royal Past

 

India's history is rich with stories of maharajahs (kings) and maharanas (queens). As I've travelled through Rajasthan, I've stopped in many cities and visited their impressive forts and palaces. They are each built in their own unique way, showcasing the time they were built and the influences the builder had from other styles of architecture.

The Royal Gardens at Amber Fort

First was Amber, outside the city Jaipur. The fort was started in 1592 by Maharajah Man Singh. The royal family there reigned for over 800 years! The fort is set on a high hill looking over the beautiful Lake Maota. It has four main sections, which each have their own courtyard. The first, Jaleb Chowk, is the main courtyard where soldiers would show off their loot when they returned from battle. Carved marble screens above the courtyard let women see the action because they weren't allowed in that area (only men were).

The Jai Mandir (Hall of Victory) was the most impressive because of its mirrored walls and ceiling.

After Jaipur, I visited Pushkar and saw its market and ghats (see my previous post), then it was on to Jodhpur. Jodhpur is called the Blue City because many of the buildings in the old, and new, part of town are painted blue because of religious significance. The blue paint is also supposed to repel insects. But when entering the city, I assure you that your eyes won't be noticing the colour of the walls... Your gaze will instead be drawn upwards.... and upwards... to the towering fort above you, Mehrangarh.

Despite the fact that the royal family no longer governs India, this fort is still run by the Jodhpur royals. It houses many royal artifacts, like a collection of elephant howdahs (chairs that sit on top of an elephant for royal family members to travel in style). You can see the rooms decked out as they were hundreds of years ago with stained glass windows and mirrors. The fort was first built in the year 1808.

An Elephant Howdah

The Maharajah's chair in the Royal Entertainment Room

Udaipur was next, a beautiful city built around a lake with buildings that seem to rise up out of the water. The fort, Kumbhalgarh, is found two hours outside of Udaipur in the hills. It's known for having the second longest wall in the world, after the Great Wall of China. Unlike Mehrangarh, it is empty of artifacts, so we visited it to see its impressive views over the hills and a sand-duned desert. It was also great exercise to walk up the windy pathway and through the four gates that helped keep this royal family safe.

The wall is wide enough that eight horses can ride side-by-side!

We unfortunately didn't have enough time to visit the city Jaisalmer, which has its own interesting design. Look it up online; it looks like a giant sandcastle!

As I'm learning more about India's history as I go, I can see how it's steeped with pride and honour. The buildings help you realize what life would have been like hundreds of years ago, and little details teach about the culture.

For example, I noticed beautiful peacock designs used in many of the palaces and learned this noble creature is India's National Bird.

Elephants are a symbol of royally and were used by the royal families in celebrations, as well as during war. Many of the buildings have scenes with elephants fighting or dancing carved into pillars.

Over the last couple of hundred years, the Royal Families have lost all but their ceremonial powers as India has transitioned into becoming the world's largest democratic country. 

India: The Great Bazaar

A Snake Charmer!

I've enjoyed wandering through the markets in India with all their food stands of sizzling deep fried snacks and saris and bangle bracelets.

One of the things I love most about India is the clothing. Women usually wear saris or a salwar kameez. Saris are long pieces of fabric, usually silk, between 5 m and 9 m long, and 1 m wide. They are folded, wrapped and tucked around the woman without the need for pins or buttons. They come in every possible colour and make the streets of India alive with brightness.

A salwar kameez is another common choice for women, which is a dress-like tunic (or long shirt) worn over pants. Some men still wear the traditional dhoti, which is like a loincloth, pulled up loosely between the legs, but it's more common to see men in cities wearing dress pants or jeans with a button-up dress shirt.

I noticed that in Delhi, more women wore pants and long-sleeved shirts like women do in Canada, but in the smaller towns, saris seen to be the norm. You'll notice in my pictures that I've tried to dress conservatively to respect the Indian culture, either by wearing long skirts or pants with loose-fitting tops. I also generally carry a shawl with me, which is common.

               

Pushkar, where these photos were taken, is a city between the larger cities Jodhpur and Jaipur. It is most known for its ghats, or holy bathing areas. Hindus will visit Pushkar to bathe in the lake that they believe cleanses the body. You can see wet saris spread out to dry in the sun after people have washed in the sacred water. One of the ghats is famous for being a place where Gandhi's ashes were spread.

Pushkar's Ghats

India: The Land of Spice

Throughout India, much like the huge variety of languages people speak, different regions are known for different specialities. Curries, Dahl, Tandoori, and Naan, India is know for its food, and fulfils its reputation of being the 'Land of Spice.' Here are a few basics to help you figure out a menu at an Indian restaurant.

Rice: the base for most Indian dishes, particularly those from the South. It comes in a wide variety, from Assam's sticky rice to Kerala's red grains. The most popular, though, is basmati, a long-grained rice exported to many other countries.

Roti: thin flatbreads, also called chapati that accompany many Northern Indian dishes. You can use it to scoop up the food or put vegetables inside and roll it, kind of like a crepe.

Dahl: all throughout India (and Nepal), this is a staple. It's made from cooked lentils of all colours, split peas, or beans, like kidney or black-eyed peas. It can be eaten on its own or scooped onto rice with curried vegetables.

Vegetables: are found in almost every dish! Many Indians are vegetarian, so vegetables are prepared in many ways to provide variety. They can be cooked sukhi (dry) or tari (in a sauce) with spices, and can be fried, curried, baked, roasted, mashed... you name it! Common ones I've seen are potatoes, cauliflower, onions, carrots and peas.

Tandoori: despite the many vegetarians, there are several popular meat dishes called 'Non-Veg,' mainly made from chicken, lamb, and goat. Tandoori is my favourite, cooked in a tandoor, or clay oven, that's from areas in Northern India.

Spices: dishes can come from mild to hot, but you'll notice that they all have a lot of flavour! Common spices are chilli, curry, cumin, turmeric, pepper, and various masalas.

In India, it's common to eat with your hands, or more specifically, your right hand only. You can use the bread as a kind of shovel to help get the food into your mouth.

There's no better way to learn something than by doing it, so not only have I dove in to all kinds of new food, but I also tried my hand at a cooking course. It was a ton of fun, and I'll arrive back home with the new recipes to add to my cookbook! Here's a look at my new cooking skills in action!

Dahl: We cooked mixed lentils, made a garlic-onion-ginger-chilli paste and fried it together with a few spices like cumin, fennel, and turmeric.

The Dahl simmering away!

The Channa Masala simmering.

Channa Masala: We sauteed onions, pureed tomatoes, garlic, a cinnamon stick, bay leaf, and spices, then added chick peas. We let it cook for about a half hour on low. In the meantime, we cooked basmati rice for the base of the Briyani.

Next, we cut chunks of onion, cauliflower, potato, ginger, and tomato to heat for the Briyani sauce.

Then all there was left to do was enjoy it!

Briyani

The meal we made!

At the end, we gave a huge thank you to our teachers, Deepa and Hemat for giving us the gift of food. We can't wait to try the recipes out at home for our friends and family! I hope I've inspired you to go out to an Indian restaurant and try something new, or to eat again one of your favourite Indian dishes!