At last--the jungle!

Years ago, a fellow traveler told me about visiting an orangutan rehabilitation center and I've wanted to see one ever since. Before the practice was outlawed, people here used to keep orangutans as pets--at least until they got too big. To deal with all the newly emancipated primates, the government set up the rehabilitation centers to teach the orangutans to live in the wild.

Being a notorious cheapskate, I took the public bus and walked about a mile alone a lane in the tropical forest to reach the center. In no time the noise from the busy road was submerged by the whoops and squeals and hums of birds and insects. Huge colorful butterflies hung around some of the flowering plants.

To get the orangutans out of the canopy, the wildlife workers feed them at specified times. I saw several different orangutans, but this humongous male was the most impressive.

Back in civilization, I browsed the local markets. Here is a relatively small fabric shop for Patty's viewing pleasure. The fabric in the foreground is batik.

And this part of Malaysia is known for its seafood. These young men were only two happy to show off the day's catch, Notice the hairstyle of the two guys on the left: it's apparently regulation for fashionable young men around here.

The big fish on the left are $4.00 a kilo (2.2 pounds). I'm guessing that's cheap by our standards.