Merang River Safari

This weekend we took a ride by boat up the Merang River, about a half hour from KT. We were guided by an employee of a local tourism company called Ping Anchorage. One the way, we saw two Monitor Lizards exploring the river banks. The larger of the two was around 4.5 ft long. We docked at a jetty and headed into a village, whose chief revenue came from making palm thatched roofing (cost= 15 cents a yard) and extracting sugar from coconut juice. Which, sells for around 30 cents a package.
We also came to a man who had 5 monkeys, chained to trees by their necks. He "trains" them to climb palm trees and collect coconuts. Then, after three months, he sells them to local coconut farmers for 150 RM each (about 50 dollars). This section of the trip was rather disturbing. Why the farmers do not just use ladders is beyond me. I'm looking into agencies who might help free and rehabilitate creatures like these.
The man showed off his monkey's skill and sent one up a nearby tree. Once up there, it twisted the coconuts until they broke free and came crashing to the ground. Each was about the size of a volley ball and weighed around ten pounds. If one fell on your head, you might die. Our guide opened them with a machete and we all drank the juice. I also shared a cigarette made from coconut bark. It was a very surreal journey.
I shot some video of the monkeys. I will post that as soon as I can.




Journey up the Merang River.
These were the variety of gigantic F#ing! spiders literally hanging from every tree. I'm not kidding. I've never seen so many arachnid ever. As soon as we got off at the jetty there was a tree with around 20 of these puppies hanging from massive webs. They were commonly the size of an open adult hand including finger length. I'm not sure if they were poisonous or not. Our guide was not too fluent in English.

This was a field with grazing Malaysian Buffalo.

That is our guide walking through the village where the monkey's were kept.

Coconut slaves.
Village road.

Back to Pulau Redang

Two weeks ago we traveled from sleepy Terengganu to even sleepier Pulau Redang again. We stayed at a much less expensive resort than the first trip. It was on a long coast of beach surrounded by coral. The resort offered snorkeling at a marine park conservation, filled with natural reefs and fish tucked back in one of the island's inlets. Schools of fish swam right against me, one even bite my toe. There was also a huge Moray Eel living in the reef, revealing 4 ft of its massive body at one point.
As the sun set, the moon rose up from the water. It was one of the most beautiful things I've seen. At night, the jungle around us came to life. We could see giant bats flying around and hear monkeys playing in the trees.
It's truly a gorgeous and exotic place.


Random, tiny island on the way to Redang.

Ahhhh... beach.



Sunset.


Passing clouds made a keyhole for the low moon. The light became a spot on the water.


Moon rising over the water.

EPICT Animation Studio

This is the studio. We work on the top floor right now. Soon we will be getting all the new computers and moving to our offices on the second floor.

Mighty Mosque

This is the white Mosque right next to the studio. It's a huge group of buildings with gardens and fountains. We can hear prayers being blasted from speakers at various times of the day. (Adam took this shot- he has a "stich assist" on his camera that allows for rather seemless panoramas.)

Malu-malu plant

Mimosa Pudica, called "Malu-malu" in Malay (meaning shy), is a local plant that literally wilts when touched. The plant's mechanism insures against insects being able to land, and damage it. It's also really fun to play with.

Lion Dance- Chinese New Year

This is part of the "Lion Dance" that was performed outside my hotel in Kuala Lumpur, during the Chinese New Year. It was taken with my small digi cam- the quality sucks, but you get the idea.