Catch-up at last!

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I'm back on the computer again, hopefully with long enough to get down everything I want to and check for the numerous typos that I make. The state of my last blog was frankly appalling. I shall try harder this time.

Zoo Events

As I mentioned before, I've been placed on the African savannah section of the zoo. Just for two days, this placement, which is OK with me as there isn't really a great deal to do here. Not that it isn't a packed section of the zoo - a large enclosure with giraffes, zebra, ostriches, flamingo and an ankole cow requires a great deal of upkeep and husbandry. It's just that unqualified volunteers can't be allowed to do a great deal with such dangerous creatures. The giraffes and zebras are pretty safe, and I was looking forward to getting up close to them, but the ostriches are vicious. They'll disembowel you as soon as look at you, so there's really no way to go wandering around the enclosure on foot. Instead, we got to assist a little with the feeding, which mainly means we rode the tractor around the area while the keeper threw out the food for the various animals, as the ostriches chased us and tried to nick it all.

There are deer, oryx and camels around the same area, in their own enclosures. We get to feed both, and can get up close to the camels if we're careful. The deer just run away from us. However, the amount of shit that needs clearing up out of the camel enclosure is quite phenomenal. I wouldn't have been surprised to see that much in the elephant area. Other than that, the main job has been raking and sweeping away the leaves and branches left by the recent winds, something that I've done far too much of these last two months. As such, I'm ready to get onto the next part of the zoo - lions and tigers!

I'm not trying to say that I'm not still having a good time at the zoo. I am. I still get to play with Wasabi, who has taken a liking to me and likes to give me gifts - usually tufts of hair or the bits of food she doesn't want to finish, but it's the thought that counts. I play with Julie if I can, but I haven't been able to get in with her again recently. I've also had the chance to get into the elephant enclosure, feed the tapirs (the noisiest eaters on earth), take the night safari and thus see the nocturnal species, and go to watch the hippos eat (one is still pregnant after two years and has yet to drop after two weeks of patient observation). Two weeks left, or just under, so plenty more to explore and experience yet.


Taiping, City of Peace

Well, that's what they call it. Taiping is Mandarin for eternal peace, you know. It certainly is a pleasant little town, although I haven't really expolred it in depth (not that there is much depth to it). However, it's odd that the city of peace is home to a huge army barracks and the state prison. It's also full of killer monkeys, who scream at you from the trees as you walk past, throw stuff and go through the bins daily. Plus the house is rat-infested, and the plumbing's on the blink. Considering how cheap property is here, the amount we paid should have bought us a palace. But then, where would RealGap had taken their huge profits from?


General Malaysian observations

I like Malaysia. It's a very beautiful country. There's still jungle everywhere, as if the modern world has just barged in and planted cities in the middle of the Cretaceous period. There are also stunning mountains and rock formations in many areas, that we often see when being driven from town to town, although some have been torn apart and turned into quarries.

Also, I love the Malay language. So much of it is just English, spelt phonetically. In the mood for a little culture? Check out the muzium. Feeling ill? A farmasi or klinik is the place to go. Further you education? Enrole in kolej. How to get there? Why, teksi or bas. It's also quite simple to pick up basic phrases, unlike Thai. And is dan, so I see my name on signs everywhere. Intriguingly, the word for water is air.


Today

Today, we had a day off from the zoo, and went to Laketown, a resort in Bukit Merah, not far from Taiping. Just four of us - my two zoo assistant fellows, Kirsty and Elina, and out coordinator, Aida. Aida's absolutely hilarious, far different from the small, unassuming little Islamic woman she appears to be, and we were lucky to be here now, as she's leaving next month. We had a nice little day, wandering aorund the small amusment area with it's animal displays. It's an interestin counterpoint to the zoo's way of doing things. Mainly, though, we were there to visit Orang Utan Island, an open rehabilitation centre for injured and abandoned orangs. The humans are kept in an enclosure while the apes roam the island free. They take in babies abandoned by there mothers (how cute is a baby orang?!) and reproduce their environment while keeping a watchful eye on them so that they are sure to be able to return to the wild when they're older. They also take in older orangs if they're injured, and sometimes take them from zoos for breeding. It's amazing just how intelligent the apes are. We saw one create a rod from a tree branch earlier, breaking it down to the right length and width to fit through the enclosure fence to reach a piece of fruit. However, just looking into their eyes shows how aware they are.

Today was fun, but a little sad, as the other half of the group left this morning. It's been a fun fortnight, and I'm going to miss Holly. Still, home in two weeks. See you all then.

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