Went to sleeping sites with Abbie this morning to track our lorises and tarsier. We finished in near-record time, clocking in under two hours. We even got to see Kipas (the tarsier) today. Boss and Coyo (choy-yo), which are the two lorises other than Dahi, were located very quickly.
Along our walk through the jungle, Abbie and I talked about how being here teaches you to take nothing at home for granted. What a gift it is to have electricity–not having to wander around in the dark to find the restroom; having hot, running water for showers; refrigeration. How wonderful it is at home to get out of the shower and feel clean, and not be sweating immediately. Temperate climates, snow, dry air–all things which this part of the world never experiences in-country.
Do not misunderstand me; this country is wonderful, without a doubt, it is just different from home for me. The wildlife is stunning, and I love traveling by boat every day. Temperature-wise, it is quite warm, but one acclimates rather quickly (though you’ll still sweat all of the time due to the high humidity). Life here is very simple, which may or may not be an unknown blessing to those who live here year-round. Doyo told me yesterday when we were looking at animals while on the boat that to see things in the jungle, you must focus only with your eyes, and clear your mind. What a true perspective, which transcends across all of life. By clearing one’s mind, it allows you to see.
The Malay language is another wonderful part to this country/culture. Unlike many languages, it is perfectly phoenetic, with each letter having only one sound. The only letter which sounds different from English is the letter “C”, which makes a “CH” sound. Due to this phoenetic nature of the language, it allows one to learn the spelling of words by hearing alone.
On our way to find the now-elusive Dahi, Abbie and I saw a large bearded pig and her piglets (which have stripes when they are young) running through the forest, likely startled by our presence.
In the evening, I joined Charlie, Joe, Katey, and Doyo croc tracking. About halfway through our boat ride to Batangan, it appeared as though our clutch went out, and we had to limp back to DG. On the way, we got a full download off of one of our civet radio collars, which as a welcome surprise. No sign of our two collared crocodiles though. Due to the slash and burn currently happening in Singapore, there is a smokey haze across the country (you can read about it in the news, as people have been admitted to hospitals and have been recommended to wear masks and/or stay indoors in other parts of the region), which made the stars barely visible tonight. We did have a sliver of a red moon though, which was quite cool.
