Day 4 of kuching - Semenggoh Natural Reserve

45 minutes drive away from our hotel and we reached 

greeting us at the carpark was mama orang utan with her baby

a short walk into the reserve where the feeding platform is....feeding time was from 9am - 10am..... and bananas were placed on the feeding platform to attract the wild orang utans living in the nearby areas  .... not that successful as only 2 came forward.... =S

look up and there's another 2 orang utans

picking up the bananas for breakfast... =D

left orang utan: Can i have some?
right orang utan: No! Go take it yourself. 

the area also housed 3 crocodiles 

and one of which yawned at us.... 

what a white mouth u have... =D 

random butterfly found on the ground 

the rangers took note of newborn orang utans and issued birth certificate for them...=) 

orang utans go to school too.... 

another random butterfly with an injured wing.... Mab is so not going to this place  

pitcher plant 

wild bamboo orchid along the road 

brown ferns that looks like a millipede --> sap is good for curing boils with pus ....wonder if it's good for pimples too.... heee

green fern when boiled in water is good for mothers during confinement 

Day 3 of Kuching (Part 2) - Factory Visits

Factory No. 1 - Pepper & Bird nest 

pepper berries on a pepper plant 

watched a video on how bird nest are formed and collected and why are they good for health

and bought 2 boxes of bird nest, 

one for 蔡妈妈 and one for 洪妈妈....$640rm.... heart pain seh.... such a big hole in my pocket.... =S

Factory No. 2 - Pottery 

created 5 items (ash tray, bottle, bowl, coin bank, plate) within 3 minutes....yes...i timed him cos he was going so fast..... 

for $5rm each, the kids got to create a ceramic piece each to bring home... =) 

Factory No. 3 - Kueh Lapis 

kids get to help spread a layer for the kueh  

plenty of unique favours such as cheese, chocolate chips, peppermint, orea etc.... but i still prefer the original one.... bought 2 back as well  

back to Barok for dinner .... building does not look as creepy in the light.... 

bamboo chicken with tapioca leaves soup 

Our tour guide, Mr Ryan, is a very entertaining guy... he would entertain us with games and hands-on activities during all the long journeys 

He taught us how to fold a napkin into a candle 

and taught us how to make a bracelet with the stem of the tapioca leaf 

my 50% completed bracelet

Day 3 of Kuching (Part 1) - Sarawak National Park

1.5 hours drive away from Kuching city and we reached Sarawak National Park 

in one straight line, we set off for our hike into the 'park' 

2 mosquito patches, one on my t-shirt and one of my pants, were not enough to ward off the commando mosquitoes so I had to have a third one on the back of my t-shirt to protect my neck within 5 minutes of trekking into the 'park'.... =S

pitcher plant - seems to be everywhere in Kuching

a plant whose roots can be made into insect repellent 

the main draw of this National Park is the Rafflesia...
although they were several rafflesia buds along the way, we din manage to see any bloomed ones as the flowers usually only last for 5 - 7 days 

a video i found on youtube 

2 black spheres --> 4 to 5 month old rafflesia buds 

2 brown longan like sphere --> 1 month old rafflesia bud

1 black chestnut like sphere --> 2 month old rafflesia bud  

Rafflesia's host plant - Rafflesia is a parasite flower that does not have roots, leaves or stem. It starts its life as a bud on the stem or roots of this host plant and absorb the required nutrients from the host plant. 

our guide with the tallest flower in the world - Amophorphallus 

blossom only for 13 days and whose fragrance attracts ladybugs 

Hammerhead leech - was too slow in capturing the pix as i had to elbow through my kids hence unable to see the hammerhead as it wriggled down the edge... =S

i believe it should look like this

random pix of the surrounding  

Black termite nest - made with latex and soil  - super sturdy

树也喜欢手插腰哦!

stream from the waterfall

lantern bug 

at least 4 out of the 20 pupils slipped and fell during the hike....that's how slippery the paths are.... but we did learnt a plentiful and there were so much to see even when we only went for the 45 minutes trail.... I dun mind going on the 3 hours one but it's a must to get the guide else it would just be a boring walk in the jungle...