The local golf club is a second home for the cousins, and Pauline manages a canteen on the course. The locals love her laksa, and a refreshing drink in the shade is always a good idea. We tried lots of tasty food, pictured below (starting left, clockwise) is fern fronds, dried bitter gourd, Malaysian spinach, roti, and dahl. We could live on roti and dahl, it's the perfect combo at any time of the day or night!
The family has a huge fishpond in their yard, teeming with lively specimens. The kids explained how Pauline brought a bag full of jungle river fish home on the plane from a visit to Bario one time.....and now they sometimes end up on the dinner menu.
Pauline introduced us to Ming Cafe, which is also a second home for the family. The staff are really friendly, and led Bry astray as you can see in the photo below. Lots of people in Asia eat their meals out, as it's often cheaper than dining at home.
We had a blast playing at the Boat Club playground. 9 year old Abel definately knows how to have a good time.
Abel was eager to show us the Crocodile Farm, and what enormous specimens we saw. Lucky for us the fences were secure. Unlucky for the crocs though. We learnt in Chitwan, Nepal, that crocodiles open their mouth in warm sunny weather, to lift their body temperature. Their tongues absorb heat fastest, and they might stay in that position for a few hours at a time.
Not sure who is more scary in the photo below, Abel or the favourite coloured snake.
Definately the snake. Abel was a brave man to get so close to our slithering friend's head. When the snake's wiggling tongue poked out, it suddenly seemed like the zoo man was nowhere to be found. We kept calm though, and our serpentine mate curled his tail around my back. Their bodies are literally muscle, and it's like a ripple of strength gliding around you. Their cold scaley skin feels ethereal. Abel did so well to handle the albino snake, nice work buddy!
A sun bear was thirsty, and Bry needed to practice feeding a bottle for when she catches up with her nephew Dallas next week, so the furry teddy made herself right at home. Thank goodness the bear had a handful of bottle cos those claws could have done some serious face rearranging. The jungles of Borneo are filled with wild creatures, we hear. We later saw some framed examples of massive bugs, stick insects, colourful butterflies and scary critters at a souvenir shop. They'd frighten the bejeebies out of ya every time you turned around, so we left them for someone else.
Various birds were in aviaries at the zoo. We saw the hornbill which is the national bird of Malaysia. A small eagle looked like he wanted to destroy his enclosure and fly free (wish we could've pulled that off for him). There were emu, parrots, cockatiel, and chatty birds like the one pictured below. They're called Burung Tiung, and they live in the jungles. They said a few phrases, and copied a few different whistles we sang to them.
Thanks Abel for a fun day out. Annatasya introduced us to her favourite shopping mall, and to some of the finest ice blended coffee and banana caramel we've ever had. Thanks!
We had a super time with these guys - thanks for being cool and thanks for making us feel so welcome. We felt privileged to be introduced to so many aunts and uncles, and uncle-aunts, and friends. We were able to see inside the homes of locals, and that was amazing in itself. Thanks for the karaoke, the home made ice cream, all those plates of local veggies, the laughs, the massage chair, and the insights into life here in Borneo. We are so grateful for our new handmade treasures from Bario. We'll be back!
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