We journeyed near the route of the death march from Sandakan that killed so many Australians in WW2, I think something like 2000 started out and fewer than 10 got as far as where we'd stayed overnight. Our guide told us the Japanese did not know the war had ended and kept the prisoners moving and dying. Very sobering to be here.
An hour in the minivan took us to Poring hot springs, where we expected to have the option of a dip in the springs, see some orchids and do the big tree-canopy high-bridge walk.
That was the plan. But we seized the moment and every one of us had an amazing experience, in our different ways.
Firstly 500m up a hillside road to the orchid garden at Poring. My photos tell a story. Firstly I'm just taking pix of the people in front wandering down to the orchids, getting an image of the general set up. Then I spy Lyn has seen something interesting and I snap her reaction.
An orang-utan ambled by! Right past her! Forget orchids, I scrambled up the hillside and took a pic in disbelief. It then just wandered off and I have a parting shot of the female parts of the orang-utan. No gender ambiguity there, that's for sure.
Edwina had shown me the orang-utans at zoo negara, but nothing like this close, and people pay big bucks to see them further south, in Sarawak.
When the beautiful big creature sat and looked appealingly at the others, I wondered if this was a trained set up. OK, we then learned it was, but it was still an unexpected experience never to be repeated. She sat and posed while we did what she expected us to.
She lives in several acres, including free range of the orchids, with natural food sources, but cannot leave and doesn't appear to have co-species contact, which is sad. I took a lovely pic of Roger sitting near to her and then as she shuffled away, I actually touched her bristly hair.
To think we'd come to see orchids and experienced this!
Ok and then there were orchids, not many in flower, but interesting, and seedpods everywhere and huge plants. Again mainly coelogynes, with phaius, calanthe, slippers and others I couldn't name.
xxM
