lions and tigers and boars

Phuket, Thailand (December 2008)

Phuket

Hong Kong (December) - stopped over to visit a friend on the way home to Canada

Since returning from Canada, I've only worked for 16 days - and I've been here for 36...a pretty healthy ratio!

I had to come back to Malaysia a little early (tax reasons), which led to a memorable night in downtown KL for new year's eve (I got to see a side of some of my colleagues that I don't often see in the office). Early the next morning I headed off to the Cameron Highlands (photos attached this time). It's made up of fruit trees, berry bushes and tea plantations. As the old British colonial playground from way back when it feels different from anywhere else that I've been here - but that seems to be a reoccurring theme of my travels here.

Cameron Highlands (January 2009)


Cameron Highlands, Tea Plantation (don't mind the litter)

Boh Tea Plantation, Cameron Highlands

After a great few days up there I got back to teaching, but after only 2.5 weeks were were on holiday again - Chinese New Year (9 days off!). During those two weeks I was getting to know my new students...and getting to know Malaysia in a bit more depth too...

During this time the war in Gaza was going on, and my school ran a charity fundraiser under the banner "Save Gaza". After investigating the charity I found that our money was going to "Aman Palestin". Their website prominently declared: "Victory to Hamas". After speaking to the faculty organizer I found that the money was going through Aman Palestin directly to Hamas - the government of Gaza that is not recognized by the UN, despite being democratically elected in 2006 (their official policy is the destruction of Israel). I've never heard of a school doing a charity fundraiser in order to donate money to a political party. I let him know, and we discussed for over an hour. In the end, he would not budge: the money going to Hamas. Well over half of my students donated to the charity, but only one of them read the information package that the students were handing out and which they pasted all over the walls. (That was actually fortunate as the package was clearly one-sided, and quite hateful...but, more importantly, nowhere did it mention that the money was going to Hamas). I will be sending out a mass email this week letting people know where their money went to. If people want to donate to a political party I won't stop them; but this was not a charity, and people should know that.

The river trip into Teman Negara

For Chinese New Year I headed east into Malaysia's interior with a friend from school. There's a huge national park in there called Teman Negara. Having avoided glaciation, logging, etc., it's been around for 130 million years: one of the oldest virgin rainforests in the world. Dinosaurs roamed here for millions of years. Staying in a hostel across the river (130 million year old!!) from the park, I made day trips into the park, and one overnight. The park has 200 wild tigers and 200 wild elephants - an a whack of poisonous spiders and snakes (including the King Cobra, which gets up to 12 feet long). While I saw plenty of cheeky monkeys, bats galore, a few wild boar and a 2m long snake (I think it was a "common black cobra"), I was really excited about seeing shit...literally. Out on the overnight, about 5 hours from the village, I came across a big pile of fresh elephant poo and a number of fresh prints. It was certainly from within the past day, and it was a real head-check to think that I was out there hiking around the territory of wild elephants! I think my head would have exploded if I saw one in the flesh. I don't want to think about what would have happened if I saw a tiger!!

Tributary in Teman Negara

Teman Negara

Fresh poo!!!!

Weary feet from hiking, but an awesome view from the hostel that I stayed at during the week. The hostel was off in the forest. You could hike in or get a free shuttle (in a narrow wooden boat) back and forth from the village downstream.