Monkeying Around in Malysia

March 6 was a sea day, and also our 32nd Wedding Anniversary! To celebrate, we went to the upscale restaurant on board that features very fancy food in a many course “tasting” style.  Little two or three bite portions of about a dozen different things, all accompanied by very good wine.  We were also celebrating Stephen and Andrew’s recent 65th birthdays, Anne and Andrew’s upcoming 20th anniversary, and Anne’s upcoming 60th birthday! It was a wonderful night.  Our room was all decorated up by our housekeeper, with hearts hanging from the ceiling on ribbons, and a cake and a bottle of wine came from the ship!  They sure know how to spoil you.

How about this gift?

Friday the 7th was Ambon Island - our last stop in Indonesia.  I have never seen a place so excited to see a cruise ship!  

Seabourn has never been here and it has been many, many years since any cruise line has.  The whole city turned out to greet us, the governor came and did a welcome ceremony, there were bands, dancers, kids waving - it was really cool.  We boarded our coaches for our tour - two small busses that carried about 15 people each - and we had a police escort complete with flashing lights and the occasional blast of the siren!  The problem is - there really isn’t much to see here, but they were so excited to show it to us, we enjoyed it a lot.  We drove through the city - it was what we now recognize as typically Indonesian - very crowded and dirty, full of people and traffic, and trash.  The difference was their reaction to us - everyone stopped what they were doing to wave and smile and watch us go by!  

Our first stop was the World War Two military cemetery.  Most of the soldiers buried there were Australian or British - there is one American - and several other countries represented.  There was both a POW camp and a battle here.  It is maintained by the British, so it’s the nicest place anywhere near here.  Meticulously manicured grounds - with “real life” across the street.  

And it is filled with these marvelous huge trees!

Next we visited the Sagu processing operation - it’s a diet staple made out of wood.  The wood is chipped out of the middle of the tree trunk, run through water to make a pulp which is then dried.  It becomes like flour and they bake with it.  We tasted the cookies and they were very good!  They also distill it into a liquor that tasted sort of like gin.  

Chipping the wood out of the middle

Squeezing water through it

And making the cookies!

We then stopped at a clove and nutmeg “plantation”. 

The planting is very haphazard - this is what the entire thing looks like.

It ain't Tara.

On to the beach and a demonstration of the Crazy Bamboo Dance.  Smoke is puffed into the bamboo log and as a result it takes on magical powers.  The movement of the log is controlled by the fire the leader is waving in front of it, and the dancers are being dragged around by the log.  





We got a chance to put our feet in the water and walk down the beach a little.

The highlight of the day was our visit to a village.  We were as much a curiosity to the residents as they were to us. 

Everyone came out to greet us, the church band was playing, children were running all over the place and loved having their photos taken.  If you made eye contact with them and waved, they just dissolved into giggles.  The centerpiece of the village is their triple pool.  It is a spring fed pool divided into three sections - the first for children to play and bathe in, the second for men to bathe in, and the third for women to do laundry and bathe.  

There are also eels living in this pool, and they hide under the rocks at the edges.  An eel handler got into the water with a bag of chicken eggs and with an open egg would lure the eels out.  He’d lead them around with the egg for awhile and then let them eat it.  They’d stick their tongue into the shell and scoop out the yolk, leaving the empty shell in the man’s hand.  

He lures it out with the egg

And it follows!

Anne got right in with the eel!

As we were leaving...

Our last stop was to a statue commemorating Martha Christina, the heroine of this area.  Rather than be sent into slavery at 18 years old, she starved herself to death in protest.

And the view of the city was pretty spectacular!

As we were sailing away - the dock area was packed with people and bands playing and kids dancing.  

They waved and waved until we were out of sight.  Just before we left, some people tossed a bunch of candy off their balconies into the crowds of kids and they went nuts.

The 8th and 9th were sea days, which included us crossing the equator!  When this happens, King Neptune comes on board and you must please him enough that he allows you safe passage over the line.

The captain before King Neptune and his queen - who is always a crew member in drag.

To do this, those who have never crossed before - called polliwogs - must be initiated.  This involves getting smeared with goo, kissing a fish, and jumping in the pool.  In the past, we’ve seen it with passengers being the polliwogs (right Darren?), but on this trip it was all crew members.  

We also had a fun Asian deck party - sea days are great.

Monday the 10th was Borneo!  It is an island that belongs to 3 different countries - the part we were in was the Malaysian state of Sabah, and the city of Sandakan.  We were off to find the “Wild Man of Borneo” - aka Orangutans.  Orang means people and utan means forest - people of the forest.  We went to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, which is a sort of orphanage for Orangutans to be raised to go back into the wild.  We were very fortunate and saw quite a few!  And I took LOTS of photos.

Then we went to a Palm Oil plantation, where some years ago the owner realized that people would pay to come see the Proboscis Monkeys that hang out there, so he expanded his land holdings and deemed it a refuge for the monkeys.  They are very strange looking creatures!  There are also some Silver Leaf Monkeys there, and they were literally running around the reception area when we got there!

This leaf monkey greeted us at reception!

And a hornbill showed up. 

This little baby and his mama were right on the steps where we were taking photos

This is the boss of the group

Mama and baby Leaf Monkey

It has been fascinating exploring and learning about this part of the world, but also very of depressing to see the abject poverty in the shadows of great wealth and opulent mosques.  There doesn’t seem to be much middle - people are either incredibly rich, or are without plumbing and electricity.

Three sea days ahead as we make our way to our next stop - Hong Kong!  Bittersweet, though, because this is where Anne and Andrew's journey ends.  We have had a wonderful time with them and will miss them so much as we have become such good friend in such a short time.