PHOTO: Lucky Closeup of a Bornean Thick-Billed Spiderhunter

Bornean Thick-Billed Spiderhunter bird at Sepilok Nature Resort

I traveled to the Malaysian State of Sabah on the island of Borneo mainly to see orangutans in the wild and to learn about the endangered Sun Bears. An unexpected bonus was the astonishing birdlife. I spotted Rhinoceros hornbills, with their weird red and gold banana-shaped headdresses, as well as black and white Oriental Pied … Read more

PHOTO: Orangutan Best Buddies – So Like Humans

Human like behavior of orangutans at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre on the island of Borneo

Humans have long been fascinated by all members of the ape family. Orangutans, second largest of the apes after gorillas, rank extremely high on our fascination meter. There’s no mystery about this. We look at orangutans and see ourselves. I felt the same way when I visited the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and watched the … Read more

Visiting Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia…But Not for a Marriage Blessing

A corner pagoda at Thean Hou Temple with terracotta ridge beasts perched on the roof beams

I first met David Hogan, Jr., the publisher of the award winning Malaysia Asia Travel Blog, during a visit to Malaysia’s Penang Island. On that occasion, he took me to one of the island’s most popular “hawker centers,” where we ate our way through outdoor food stalls that stretched for blocks. Some years later David … Read more