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Sitting with a brown pelican on the beach at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Coffee of the day: Varanasi – India
Varanasi has always been high on my list of places to visit in India. Before coming here I knew that Varanasi was famous for the ghats (steps) that lead to the Ganges river. Varanasi is well known for the funeral pyres where devout Hindu’s consider it good fortune if, God willing, they die here in old age.
What I didn’t know was that Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world. Behind the ghats there is a fascinating old town with a tangle of alleys and laneways. Most of the cities I have been to in India have been gridded out cities with wide streets. Here in the old town there are many little laneways which not even an autorickshaw can fit down (yay!). It is still India though, crowded and chaotic as ever. The traffic is limited to pedestrians, bikes and…cows. Being the holy creatures that they are, cows are free to roam in India where ever they please. And with Varanasi being the one of the most sacred of Hindu locations, there are more urban cows here than I have seen anywhere else.
It was down one of these lanes that I found my coffee of the day. This particular cafe use stove top espresso machines as their coffee makers. I usually make my coffee at home like this (when I have a home) so it was like having a home made coffee. I caught this curious cow wandering by while waiting for my brew.
Beach Monkeys, Bako National Park – Malaysia
Silver Leaf Monkeys (silvered langurs) on the beach at Bako National Park, near Kuching, in Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo).
Red Panda, Chengdu – China
A Red Panda at the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in Chengdu. I feel sorry for these little fellas, and not just because they are endangered. They share their home with the Giant Panda, who are the limelight hogs of the animal kingdom in China.
My plan for saving the endangered Giant Panda
As I made my way across China what I kept hearing the most was how good the pandas of Chengdu were. I was getting so many good reviews I had to investigate further.
Chengdu has become famous for the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, which is the most popular place to view pandas in China.
The base grounds are big and upon entry you are walking for a while, looking out for a panda sighting. Then you see one, and you realise why everyone in the land goes all gooey for pandas – they are just soooo cute.
[Look at those cute panda faces]
After a few minutes of watching a panda I can tell you that they are not only cute, but they are also probably the most ridiculous mammal on the planet.
The panda base has “Quiet Please” signs everywhere, but many times the crowd would burst into merryment at some act of folly put on by a panda.
[Is this the most ridiculous mammal on the planet?]
They are almost too ridiculous to be real. As they are only found in China I wondered if they were some kind of furry robot built by the China Tourism Department. Genius! I’m surprised Japan didn’t think of something similar first. Their oversized head, the sad clown eye patches and portly bodies make them seem too impractical to be a real animal. I checked their back to make sure there were no air conditioning units in the behind.
[Giant Panda standing up]
The panda has some similarities to the koala in that they eat something that is poor in nutrition (bamboo for pandas, gum leaves for koalas). The poor levels of nutrition means they have to eat alot, and they don’t move around much in order to save energy.
Save The Panda
While looking at the exhibits at the Panda Museum I thought of a way to help bolster the panda population and move the giant panda from the endangered list. Domestication. Yes, we should domesticate the giant panda. How cool would that be to have your very own giant panda at home.
I figure that all domestic animals were once “wild” before they were domesticated. If you have ever seen a pack of wild dogs you might have wondered how dogs ever became mans best friend. And if you are worried about size, what about the horse? Someone had to be the first person to jump on a horse and tame it. If a horse can be domesticated then surely so can a panda.
My idea isn’t without precedent. Over 4000 years ago, Emperor Huang domesticated wild animals such as the tiger, leopard and pi xiu (the giant panda) for fighting. With those animals, Emperor Huang defeated Emperor Yan.
[Emperor Huang's Attack Panda - who needs a Panza Division when you have a Panda Division]
My pandas will be humble house pandas, so there is no need for fight training. Pandas being the animals of leisure that they are wouldn’t need to be walked much. They’d probably thank you for not walking them. A panda would be the perfect house pet really. I imagine they would enjoy sitting around watching TV with you. Maybe have a little panda wrestle every now and again.
To feed your pet panda, I propose making a bamboo replacement meal that is high in nutrition, so there would be less eating for more energy. Some kind of bamboo flavoured moon cake would do the trick. Easy to dispense and no mess.
[Bamboo flavoured moon cakes will eliminate bamboo mess on your loungeroom floor]
also, like a domestic horse, you would need a bit of space to keep your pet, and it wouldn’t be cheap (or at least your pet will keep you poor like horse ownership). The purchase of your pet panda would come from an official breeding centre, which would fund future breeding and research. In addition, when it comes to that time of year when a pandas got to do what a pandas got to do, you can take your panda to the research centre to meet other eligible pandas. These, though, are just details, which can be sorted out later.
The domestication of the giant panda would make them as common as horses, and thus remove them from the endangered species list.
So, who wants a pet panda?
[Group of young pandas]
In Pictures: Pulau Pangkor – Malaysia
Pulau Pangkor (Pangkor Island) is on the West Coast of Peninsula Malaysia. It’s close enough to Kuala Lumpur to make it an accessable stopover destination. This was how I ended up here. I had a week in KL enroute to China. The beaches of the East Coast would have left me rushing to get there and back, so Pangkor was the best option.
- Pasir Bogak Beach: Pulau Pangkor -
Beaches
When people talk about the beaches of Malaysia, it’s the islands of the Peninsula East Coast that rate the highest. If that is the case then I have got to get over there one day. I mean have a look at this “average” West Coast beach.
- Teluk Nipah Beach -
Pangkor is half a day from KL, so it can get busy on weekends and public holidays. This was a public holiday crowd.
- Pasir Bogak Beach Crowd -
Wildlife
Pangkor’s most famous wildlife residents are the Hornbill Birds. It’s quite common to see them swooshing around, they they make a great squawk, which is what I want to hear in a tropical paradise. Some of the guesthouse owners feed them so it is not uncommon to see them sitting around populated areas.
- Hornbills -
Monitor Lizards are common as well.
- Monitor Lizard -
The island interior is a jungle, and no jungle in Asia is complete without monkeys. Fortunately you don’t have to go into the jungle to find them.
- Monkeys -
The island also has beach goats. Of course.
- Beach Goats -
Accommodation
Most of the budget/backpacker style places are around Teluk Nipah, which happens to have the best beach. It’s not a big scene at Teluk Nipah, as most backpackers head to the Perhentian Islands or Thailand before coming here.
There is a good range of accommodation options in Pangkor – from budget guesthouses to resort style hotels. As I was just passing through the region I wanted to stay in an honest-to-goodness Southeast Asian guesthouse. One with an outside bathroom and cold water shower, and Geckos on the ceiling. I found what I was looking for at Nazri Nipah.
- A-Frame Accommodation -
Stopover
If you have already been to the islands and beaches of Thailand then you aren’t going to see anything new here. Most visitors here are day tripping locals. I met some British travellers here who were holed up on Pangkor for a week while their Visa to India was being processed in KL. If you only have a few days in Malaysia or you waiting around KL and you want to rest your heels in some sand, then Pangkor is a ideal option.
Pink Flamingos, Miami – USA
Pink Flamingos at Jungle Island, Miami – USA.
The Carless Island, Gili Trawangan – Indonesia
The Gili Islands (Gili Air, Meno and Trawangan) are car and motorbike free. No motor transport at all. It is quite surreal after travelling around motorbike happy Indonesia. The only form of public transport is the cidomo (horse and cart). Bicyles are available and the islands are small enough to walk around. Everything is brought in by boat then carried to shore by hand.
Cows on the beach and streets of Palolem, Goa
I have been in India for one week now and I’m still taking photos of every cow that walks by. It’s not like I’ve never seen a cow before, but I’m finding seeing cows walking around in urban areas novel. So until the novelty wears off, here are some cows around the Palolem Beach area.
[Cows at shop - Palolem]
[Palolem beach cow]
[Palolem Shop Cow]
[Palolem Street Cow]
More Australian birdlife
It’s not just in the bush that you can see Australian birdlife. I see the occasional exotic parrot species in the inner city, such as these corella’s in Albert Park, Melbourne.
Corella's in Melbourne
