Selamat Hari Raya! Happy New Year!
Trip Start
Jan 01, 2007
1
104
141
Trip End
Ongoing
Kota Kinabalu,
Malaysia
Friday, October 12, 2007
A long hot shower and warm bed was exactly what we needed and got after finishing the climb up Mount Kinabalu. Then the next day, we were ready to head down to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah. We shared a private taxi with another couple, because the buses were full due to Hari Raya.
About Ramadan and Hari Raya
Ramadan is the fasting month for Muslims. To summarize an article I read -- the reason Muslims fast for a month is to honor their ancestors and others around the world who have had to sacrifice and suffer in the past and present. During Ramadan, Muslims are required to "abstain from all that is pleasurable". Specifically, they do not eat during daylight hours (the article also implied they abstain from sex)
Baby food
. Many newspapers print the specific sunrise and sunset times in each city every day. And during this month, we walked by many cafes that were full of customers and tables full of food - but noone was eating! They waited patiently for the exact minute of sundown before picking up a fork to eat the food at their tables.Hari Raya is the holiday immediately following Ramadan. It is the celebration of the new Muslim Calendar Year. Similar to our New Year's Eve/Day. This is the busiest travel period of the year for Muslims and in Malaysia. Many people travel back to their hometown (kampungs) to visit family for the 3-5 day holiday. Bus companys double/triple/quadruple their schedules and the airlines add dozens more flights per day.
We have been fortunate to experience travelling in a Muslim country during these important holidays!
Kota Kinabalu and the Zoo
We checked into a room at the Akinabalu Youth Hostel. We got a huge clean private room, with a shared bath, for 50 RM per night (about $14 USD per night). The free Internet was a drag, but free coffee and tea a nice plus
chinese food
! Little did we know when checking in that our room was up on the 4th floor. Normally, we wouldn't mind. But after climbing Mount Kinabalu, my leg muscles were in knots! Walking down the 60+ stairs each day, I felt about 3 times my age. I have never been in that much pain - even after running a marathon! It took over a week before my legs were finally back to normal.During our stay in Kota Kinabalu, we vistited the new government sponsored zoo - the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. (Entrance fee is 20 RM, about $6 USD). It just opened up a few months ago. Sabah (and Borneo) is home to many unique animals that are found nowhere else in the world, so I was curious to see what they had!
We were told that the only way to get to/from the zoo was by taxi (expensive $$$). With time on our hands, we instead decided to figure it out on our own. We took a public bus as far as we could to a town near the park. Then we caught a taxi for the last few kilometers. On the way home from the park, we thought we could catch a bus right outside the park. We were wrong, but lucky for us a very friendly Malaysian family in an SUV pulled over and offered us a ride to the next town where we could catch a bus. Very typical Malaysian hospitalilty!
elephant play
The park did have an amazing selection of wildlife. A bird aviary with many unique Borneo birds like the colorful Rhinoceros Hornbill. Many endangered species are housed here including: Asian Pigmy Elephants, Clouded Leopard, Malaysian Tiger, and Sumatran Rhinoceros. Many of these are found only on Borneo and Sumatra. Several Gibbons were on display - they are in the ape family and have no tail. And my favorite, the Probiscis Monkey. They had a dozen of these, ranging in age from baby to full grown male adult. The adult male Probiscis Male has a HUGE pendulum nose that falls under his mouth. When stressed, they make a honking sound like someone snoring. They are fascinating to watch and I stood in front of their cage forever, in awe.
The animals were beautiful and fascinating. We were disappointed, though, in the conditions of the zoo. All of the enclosures were very very small. And many of the animals appeared stressed out -- the elephants swayed back and forth rapidly, the rhinoceros paced in small circles, and the sun bears walked in circles round and round. We also learned that the Sabah Forestry department moved their entire staff around the province to work at this new zoo. Which means that there is noone protecting the wildlife habitats such as the Sungai Kinabatangan river. Illegal loggers have left a mere 10 meters on each side of the river - which is the only home for many wild Probiscis monkeys, elephants, and other endangered species. Illegal poachers are also capturing these animals in the wild for sale and trade to China. We hope that the Sabah government changes soon and shows a serious interest in protect these beautiful animals!
After a few days of visiting Kota Kinabalu, we caught a flight on Air Asia to Kuching - the capital of Sarawak. Sarawak is the other Malaysian province in Borneo.
Cheers,
Kay
