today was my birthday.

---

For once I found it fairly straight-forward to find the right bus today. I was off to a nature reserve near Kuala Selangor (west of Kuala Lumpur) called Taman Alam Kuala Selangor, which I think means "nature park of Kuala Selangor". Its a mangrove/wetland area, and it was my favourite place yet. It cost 2 Ringgits to get in. I dropped my pen down the squat toilet before I went in, so had to go back to reception and borrow one of their's. Be careful what you have in your pockets when using a squat toilet! Stupid devices.

The thing that struck me most about Taman Alam was how clean it was. There was almost no rubbish anywhere. It was amazing. I think the difference is that probably only true nature enthusiasts go here, and they are more considerate towards the environment. Another astounding thing here were the rubbish bins -- divided into plastic, paper and glass. Good show Taman Alam I say.

Because of the way the buses worked out, I didn't get to the park till late morning, so missed the morning activities of the local animal residents. I saw the crab-eating macaques and plantain squirrels, both of which I'd seen elsewhere, as well as the silvered leaf monkeys which were new for me, but I sadly missed out on the smooth-coated otters which are more of a morning/evening creature. A lady leaving when I got there had seen twelve that morning!

It was hot out there (my temperature measuring device said 34 degrees) but I saw lots of birds, as well as giant and blue-spotted mudskippers, fiddler crabs, a massive adult water monitor, and a widdle bubby water monitor in the roof of one of the hides. Birds that were new included purple heron, greater coucal (much bigger than I expected), blue-throated bee-eater, mangrove whistler and ashy tailorbird. A very good day for me all round, until...

Trying to get back to KL was a bit of a mission. I had been told I could just catch a bus from the side of the road where I'd been dropped off, but the first bus didn't stop and neither did the second. So I followed that one round the corner and round into another street and found a bus stop. Waited there for a while (quite a while) until finally finding out that the bus to KL doesn't leave from there. But I got back in the end, and it all worked out. Coming back into KL the bus passed a digital clock display on a building with the date, and I realised it was my birthday.

ANIMAL OF THE DAY: a pair of Sunda pigmy woodpeckers, not much bigger than sparrows and my eighth species of woodpecker for the trip so far.

---

Comments

[Ariel]

Your big, fancy and very expensive birthday present is in the post- I hope it gets there!! :)