Day Five - Nosey Monkeys

Today we headed out with John at 10am to visit Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary. The sanctuary is situated in the middle of a palm oil plantation – so for the last ten minutes or so of the journey, all you could see were the trees in all directions, which was rather sad. The centre was apparently a suggestion from the son of the plantation owner – so at least the monkeys here are protected for now.

Upon arrival at the feeding platform the first thing I noticed were several monkeys hiding under the benches on either side – apparently these were silvered leaf monkeys. One was a mother

nursing such a young baby he was still orange in colour (they stay that colour until they're three months old). They both ran off across the platform, but they would make an appearance again later on.

Then one of the workers came out with a handful of long runner beans, and the silvered leaf monkeys eagerly swamped him and were snatching them from his hands. Then the man proceeded to bang a food drum and shout to try and encourage the proboscis monkeys to come out from the jungle. Slowly the trees started to shake and sway and in the distance you could see them as they began appearing high up in the trees and sliding down the trunks to the forest. Once the food was put out they swamped the platform – there was probably nearly 20 in all. Sadly my camera had lost charge by this point, so I didn't get as many shots as I would have liked. There was a big alpha male with a massive nose (and another part of the body I won't get into) and at least five mothers with babies

amongst the group.

We then headed back to the rest house and in the late afternoon I went to the nearby Sepilok Nature Reserve – which has a lakehouse bistro. As you might imagine, there is a big lake surrounded by an upper and lower deck with tables, stools and deck chairs on one side, and the lodge rooms where people stay on the other. The view was lovely and relaxing, so I enjoyed a few pina coladas before Steph and Melissa joined me. I had been talking to two ladies from Melbourne who were sitting nearby and one of them later came over to say she had spotted an orangutan in the trees. Sure enough, there were two orangutans in the palm trees at the edge of the resort - I was actually able to get some pretty good pictures with my camera zoom.

A few more of the group then joined us and we had dinner – vegetarian lasagne for me. That and three cocktails came to around £18. After dinner, one of the staff came over to let us know there was a snake up on the deck above, so we dashed over to take a look. It was very big, and black with yellow bands – turns out it was a yellow ringed cat snake. It is venomous – but of course some idiot decided to get up from his dinner and actually touch it! I swear people that don't have respect deserve to be bitten! When we were at the sanctuary earlier one guy had his giant telephoto lens in the baby monkey's face – there is simply no need, that's the point of a zoom lens!!

As great as it was to admire the snake, the highlight had to be when it decided to take a dump. I have to say, I have never seen a snake poo before, especially from on high. But wow, there was a lot, and it hit the deck with a splat and went everywhere! I just can't believe how much came out of it, but hey, when you've got to go, you've got to go!

As we were leaving, the staff regaled us with more stories of the infamous Ceria. They confirmed he definitely has a thing for the ladies, and likes to grope and hug them. He also enjoys coming into the resort for the odd coffee and cigarette! We are starting to get a bit nervous that we will encounter him while we work. But hey, he's a passionate man who knows what he wants – maybe I should ask him out on a date ha