We went to Borneo with one key goal:  see orangutans.  (See…we do like some orange things….not everything orange is bad….)

So off we went today to the Semenggoh Nature Reserve.  The reserve takes orphaned and and rescued orangutans and trains them to live in the wild.  There are now about 30 semi-wild orangutans that live in the area.  The Reserve feeds them twice a day, but you never know how many (or if any) of them will come in for food — when there is plenty of food in the forest, they tend not to come. Which we were told is a good thing, because it means they have learned to fend for themselves.

We stood in the sweltering heat for 45 minutes, hoping that an orangutan would show up.  It was so hot, sweat was literally dropping off my head.  It wasn’t a pretty sight.  And, we were starting to lose hope.  But then we saw trees moving in the distance.  And, soon enough, we were lucky enough to see one young orangutan.  It was amazing.

(If you are reading this via email and can’t see the photos, please visit our website — the photos are set up as a slide show.)

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If you want to visit, don’t waste your money on a private guide.  Just take bus number 6, which leaves from a bus station not too far from the riverfront.  It costs a mere 4 ringgit ($1) each way.  The bus stops at the reserve, you pay your 10 ringgit to get in, and then it is a 15 minute walk or so to the feeding area.  As of July 2018, there is a bus that leaves Kuching at 7:20 and then leaves the Reserve at 11.  The feeding lasts from 9-10.