Mary D's Blog

A resin table with amethyst lamp base.

Chandelier, paintings and reflections.

An Orrefors chandelier.

Woven metallic thread and beads titled "caterpillar".

A beautiful beaded Chinese jacket.

"Poetry After Breakfast" by Milton Avery 1951.

I think that the best time to see a city is early in the morning when it is just waking up. Besides, this was the hottest month of August and full of tourists, so we got up early in the relatively cooler hours of the day and headed away from the tourist areas into Castello, an area where the locals live. There is so much to see. I love the architecture, detail on buildings, reflections, and particularly the light.

The Summer Palace in Beijing is the largest and best preserved Imperial Garden in China. It originated in the 12th Century and the palace was built in 1903. There are acres of gardens with lakes, ponds, paths, museums, and mostly all public spaces.I joined in a tai chi group for some exercise. Unfortunately the day we went was a very overcast hazy day so much of the scenery was muted. Actually I quite like the effect for photography. We wandered around for hours. Here are some highlights.

The Island of Borneo is an ecological paradise, full of wildlife and interesting things to do. We went to the Sukau River in the far north east state of Sabbah, to see the famous proboscis, or long - nosed monkeys.We stayed over night in a lodge on the river, surrounded by swampy forest. Late in the afternoon we went for an excursion in a large flat bottom boat looking  for the pygmy elephants which inhabit this area but unfortunately only found their foot prints. When we came close to the shore we saw dozens of macaque monkeys, and then eventually saw the proboscis monkeys with their distinctive flat noses. Apparently they are hard to find so we were thrilled to see some. Writing this blog makes me want to go back again and stay longer. One night wasn't long enough.

The Lodge where we stayed.

Dense jungle.

There are homes dotted along the edge of the river.

I don't know the name of this bird.

A macaque monkey.

The sunsets were like this every night.

To celebrate my last big 0 birthday we went to Sabbah in Borneo with the main purpose of seeing the orang utangs.There's a fabulous sanctuary at Sepilok where they are rehabilitated back into the wild. Apparently the food provided for them at feeding time is the same every day so that the monotony encourages them to forage for their own food in the forrest. We went there at feed time and were told to be very quiet while the rangers hit a food bucket on a platform to alert the apes of their presence. Eventually three came swinging along the ropes through the trees and jumped on to the platform where they ate bananas and drank milk. The rangers had no communication at all with them, except to hold the bucket. They are obviously used to the sound of cameras clicking! We were told that the orang utangs are among the most intelligent of the ape family, with over 80% intelligence of a human being. We were fascinated, and so pleased that we saw these beautiful animals before they become extinct.

A giant leaf is as good as an umbrella!

When we travel we love to go to markets to get a true feel for the people, their food, customs, and rituals. Kota Kinabalu is the capital of the Malaysian state of Sabah, on the Island of Borneo. The fish markets are in a large spacious roofed area and are very clean, with no offensive odours! Seafood is the predominant food in the diet of the population.