Live, Learn, and Love Malaysia :) : Weekend Adventures

This past weekend was a whirlwind of fun, excitement and all around learning! On friday night, we headed to one of Malaysia's most fascinating Hindu Temples just outside of Georgetown, Penang. Nattukottai Chettiar Temple in Jalan Kebun Bunga, Penang is considered to be one of the most sacred Hindu temples within the bounds of Malaysia. The Temple was built by the Penang Hindu Endowments Board (PHEB) at the cost of RM10 million, the temple is said to be largest temple dedicated to Lord Muruga outside of India.The temple was built by craftsmen of India with a seven-story 21.6m-tall main tower. There are over 500 steps (513 steps to be exact), which is more than the Batu Caves, leading from the foothill. We distinctively had the pleasure of witnesses many Hindu prayers and ceremonials because it was a Friday, an important day of prayer for Muslims. We were able to make it to the top and hear the boisterous sounds of drums harmonizing to begin a sacred ceremony! SO BASICALLY IT WAS FREAKING AWESOME!!!

The next day, we were up bright and early to travel to our first field excursion for our tropical ecology class at Orang Utan Island. In order to make the journey, we were up by 7:30 and out the door by 8:15am to catch our bus. The bus would take us over the Penang Bridge ( 44,291' (13,500 m)) to the mainland. We arrived at Laketown Resort and waited to take the ferry to the island shortly after. When we arrived, I was so overjoyed! We could see monkeys in trees and orangutans chillin' just about everywhere! When we boarded the platform and turned the corner, orangutans were behind a glass frame swinging and jumping all around us. Our group immediately swarmed the glass and began taking pictures with the primates who so willingly went along with our crazy shenanigans - we all looked like school girls meeting Justin Bieber! As we headed into the meeting room, we watched a very informational video about the conservation of these orangutans and the island. The Island was opened a mere 14 years ago in February 2000. The Island seeks to preserve and nurture these animals in a 6 phase program which seeks to re-assimilate the primates back to their native homes. The program is thus centered around the conservation and preservation of orangutans which are native to only Malaysia and Indonesia. In addition, orangutans are incredibly similar to that of Humans, with 97% of similarities in DNA.

After the informative session, we were given a tour through the facilities and witnessed some rare sightings! First, orangutans are arboreal animals, they spend much of their time high up in the trees, but most of them came down to visit with us - the staff were so shocked! Secondly, when they came down, they began to play fight with each other (literally right in front of us). This is rare because these animals mostly show affection high up in the trees - THEY PUT ON QUITE THE SHOW! Much after, I continued to soak up all that I could from the faculty by learning more about the orangutans in their care. They have about 24 orangutans that they care for and each of them have different names. I was able to meet a few such as Phat Phat, Tua, Harry Potter, April and Steven! To end the day, I made a new friend, a 2 year old orangutan - we played with sticks (more like arm wrestled!)

All in all, it was a great weekend filled with cultural explorations, biological conservation, and fun! Malaysia never seeks to amaze me!

Thanks for reading friends!

Hales

**Photos from the weekend**