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                                             From Basic Iban Design by Augustine Anggat Ganjing It had been a spur of the moment idea. Dinner had ended and I had volunteered to throw the mussels shells into the sungai (river) which blesses our family by crossing our three acres property right in its middle, a mere fifty meters away from our terrace. The afternoon had brought some drizzle and left the grass quite wet. I had put on a pair of rubber thongs to walk the stone-slab-path which, lately, had become seriously overgrown with weeds. I had also remembered to bring a torch light, mere common sense after nine o’clock at night!                Here I was, holding the torch while trying not to spill the large glass bowl filled to the brink with half emptied shells and still hot with some of the stock. I was walking confidently, one step behind Caramel's cropped tail ( my devoted Toy Poodle) and I could already hear the river hitting and jumping over the man-made dam and rushi

“No. Once and for all Hollywood people in particular,there are no gorillas in Borneo; at least not of the great apes family anyway. We do have orang-utans though.”                                    Who they are : Orang-utan in Malay and local dialects mean person (orang) of the forest (utan) or more simply “man of the forest”. Scientists however refer to these great apes as Pongo Pygmaeus of which they are two groups:  Pongo Pygmaeus Pygmaeus who lives on the island of Borneo ( round faced and covered in dark red hair) and  Pongo Pygmaeus Abelii who lives in Sumatra (narrow face and a clearer coat). Where they live in Borneo: In the wild ,they roam the tropical rain forest and low-lying swamps. In captivity , understand rehabilitation centers set up in sanctuaries: Sepilok, near the town of Sandakan in Sabah; and Semmongoh and Kubah near Kuching in Sarawak. Indonesian Kalimantan has its own program too. What they look like: Like men of the forest dressed in

Of all the wonderful treats which I can enjoy (and afford!) while living in Kuching, my favourite is without a doubt a visit to Paradise; Paradise Wellness Centre that is, where I like to check-in for a one and half hour of Chinese reflexology with masseuse no.12 aka Siaw Hu Hu.                                                                                                                                 No.12 aka Siaw Hu Hu Upon arrival I am immediately directed to a huge super comfy armchair, one of a row of eight separated by see-through curtains. Somehow, the alcove feels private; the decor, a small hanging lantern and a picture on the wall I am facing, is very pleasant and the room is squeaky clean. Siaw Hu Hu brings a basin filled with hot water and salts. As I slowly sink my feet into the water, she instructs me to turn around and to seat on the velvety foot-rest. I am in for reflexology with a plus: pressure massage and stretching of the neck, the shoulders, the arms all