Little Death on Wings

Hey y'all

Chinese New Year is just around the corner and so, as it is every year, this signals the time when my parents work themselves up into a frenzy of house keeping. Mountains upon mountains worth of mess, caused as a result of decadent and slothful living for the past few months have to be cleared in under two weeks. Suffice to say; it's never pretty. Just day two, and we've already carted out three cars full of trash to the recycling station and the dump, and that's AFTER we stuffed the trunk, back seat AND the passenger's seat.

Still, digging through piles of recently forgotten garbage has its advantages. Why, just a couple of hours ago I managed to procure for myself three box frames, a very large. bell jar, and a wallet for my troubles. The bell jar I can use for my self-contained environments, the boxes, meanwhile are going to be perfect for insect displays.

I chose the Death's Head Hawkmoth I found in Sarawak as one of the insects I intended for my displays. Acherontia styx, or Lachesis (I can't be sure which) are two parts of three subspecies of moths (the third being called Atropos, after the Moirai of Greek mythology) with unique markings that resemble a skull, or "Death's Head" on their thoraxes. Because of this, the moths have long been regarded as omens of misfortune and bad luck in cultures across the world.

Superstitions aside, the moths are also known as bee-robbers for their propensity to sneak into hives for honey. The moths disguise themselves from the bees by emitting pheromones but its not a fool proof method and moths have sometimes been found stung to death in hives; An indication of how far these insects will go for honey.

Cheers,
Cyren

Babysitting Turtles

Hey y'all

I've been back in KL several weeks now and I'm still adjusting to not being on holiday. Meanwhile, we have a house guest on extended stay. Ray's turtle, Shelldon, will be living with us until he gets back from Sarawak sometime in December after The Chinese New Year. Which is good news for me because I really miss taking care of turtles! Oh how I love them! He's truly living the lap of luxury here with basking lamps, reptile supplements and even, occasionally, a slice of apple or other sweet fruit for a treat. Oh how I'm going to miss him when I give him back. Who knows, maybe it's time for me to let another reptilian friend back into my life.

Cheers,
Cyren.

Out of the Flying Plane, into the PhD Program.

Hey ya'll

I guess I just came here to say that I am back, in my home sweet home in KL, and that things are starting to go back to normal again. There is always the sense of holiday withdrawal syndrome, but since Ray has been putting up in my room for the past few days, I say that it really could be worse. He really does give me strength, and I am very thankful for every moment we spend together. Meanwhile, I've really started to get hooked onto this "blogging with the phone" thing. Sure I can't adjust the position of my pictures... But everything else seems so easy somehow!

But going back to the point, not everything will be going back to the way it was following my return to KL as this return also signifies the commencement of my enrollment into the Monash University PhD program. That's right... I have finally heard from both the Australian campus (regarding my admission) and the Malaysian one (regarding my full scholarship and stipend).

To be honest I must say I am simply quite terrified of the prospect at the moment! Nothing like a bunch of people reminding you that your future (for the next three years at least) is set in stone huh? Good job guys! Keep up the pressure. Only... It isn't really set in stone is it? And I always face the pressure of potentially screwing this up... But worse, disappointing or failing the community I intend to research. Oh Goddess give me the strength and foresight to see this through, and to never lose track of my goals! I will begin in March.

In the meantime, I guess I can still take a moment or two to put everything in order, and to enjoy myself (while I can!), starting of course with my dearest animal friends, and my insect collection. Cookie, at least, seems genuinely happy about having me home though, I am not sure if be is just happy about the resume of the constant flow of treats, or if he truly enjoys my company.

Until I have more then,
Cheers.
Cyren.

Butterflies and Moths of Similajau National Park

Hey y'all

We leave for Miri in less than 12 hours and the end of our journey is finally in sight. Like all good things, the trip has finally neared its end and while I am most looking forward to cuddling with Cookie and being in my own bed again, I am accompanied by the same sense of melancholy I experience at the closure of every trip. It is quite tempting, sometimes, to just pack up and spend the rest of my life sight seeing or relaxing (like the main character in the book about the island of the Lotus Eaters) but, as we all know, these little trips cost money (quite a LOT) of money... I've very well spent at least a thousand for these two weeks of sight seeing and easy going travel across Sarawak but if you ask me, it was money well spent!

But if anything were able to lift my spirits it would be the butterflies we saw here in Bintulu, during the last few days of our journey, and it is their pictures that I shall leave you with while I make my final preparations for our last trip here in Borneo, to Miri. A lot of our trip was not planned and decided upon spontaneously, but if I had made prior preparations, I am sure we would have been able to witness so much more.

Cheers,
Cyren.

Bittersweet Goodbye to Sibu

Hey y'all

Me again. It just occurred to me that it might seem a little strange to be receiving so many updates from this blog after such a long time of nothing. Well, anyway just signing in during my last few hours here in Sibu before we board the buss to Miri.

I must say that this section of the trip was one that is fraught with mixed feelings for me. I mean, on the one hand there is the food issue (but there always is a food issue for me wherever I go. I mean try explaining to a Chinese person why I, another Chinese person will not eat pork. I don't know what it is about it, but many find the notion incredibly unbelievable) . And then, again as always, there is the huge language barrier. Living with a group of people you can't really communicate with can be quite alienating at times (despite the best attempts of said people to make you feel included, it can get very lonely when everyone bursts off into jubilant conversation and you can't participate).

On the other hand, I guess I could also take this as a quick taste of what is to come if I should start my PhD in March . Not to mention I proved to myself that (in just 2 days) I've managed to pick up sufficient mandarin to understand when someone is asking for a glass of water, or for example, when someone needs help taking the clothes in because of all this rain we are having.

But the highlight of the trip must have been yesterday, when I finally made a connection with Ray's brothers. I don't know what is so special about it, but it really means a lot to me that Collymore (the youngest) said that he wished I could be around longer, and that Pacific (the middle) finally acknowledged my presence long enough to share a few jokes and play a few rounds on the play station! Ray pointed out that our newfound relationship may have been a result of me gaining some respect by defeating him several times at Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. I guess it's a little like urban human male equivalent of territorial posturing. Even Ray's mother seemed to have warmed up to me significantly, despite my clumsy attempts at making conversation in Chinese followed by our awkward moments of silence after where about 90% of what was said being lost in mental translation.

And so, it is on that bittersweet note, that I sign off now. It is funny how the world works isn't it? Just when I'd finally start to fit in, when they'd finally start to embrace me... well, it was time to go. At least I can say I have one more good reason to come back to Sarawak in the future. Much love to ya'll. Until my next pit stop then...

Cheers,
Cyren

Pit Stop at Sibu

Hey y'all

It's me again, this time signing in from Sibu (which is incidentally, Ray's hometown). To be absolutely honest, there is nothing much to see or do in this quaint little town but the bright side is that I can finally head out to one of the public parks (Bukit Aup Jubilee Park) and get on with my collecting! Unfortunately for me, weather here has not been kind, and we found ourselves stuck in the middle of what appeared robe a light drizzle that progressed rapidly and without warning into a torrential downpour. We barely made it back to the sheltered hut in time where we spent the next hour or so feeding the fish and watching water birds defecate into the already murky lakes (something about the rain must make then want to fly over the body of water and relieve themselves).

Still, the trip was not a total loss as I did manage to bag a couple of butterflies before the storm hit us and, now that I know what to look out for, can easily return to these few specific spots tomorrow to test my luck again. But aside from the butterflies and parks, it is also nice to get to know the people Ray grew up with in their own home. I dare say I am making quite an impression on the relatives here. Now, if only I could also get past the language barrier, everything would be alright!!! But I say it all in jest! I couldn't be any more grateful to his wonderful family for putting me up here for the next few days, especially since our next pit stop, Bintulu has been cancelled.

Not much photos this time, I'm afraid, but here's a bit of what I got.

Till next I write then,
Cheers.
Cyren.

To Kuching and Beyond

Hey y'all

It's me, your friendly neighborhood conservationist and amateur lepidopterist signing in on my last day in the great city of "cats" and "roundabouts", Kuching, Sarawak. It is incidentally also my first time here and I must say I have already begun to like this town (enough to miss it anyway) during my relatively short five day stay. Belatedly I also realize that this is the first time I will be blogging from my phone so I hope you will excuse any fault in layout that might crop up as a result.

My trip across Sarawak thus far has been most eventful and I must say that I have never quite seen so many wild animals in one place as I have seen here. But because it is getting late and I must get some sleep before I catch my buss in 8 hours or so, I will let my photographs do most of the talking. The photos are uploaded in chronological order (I can't seem to upload and caption them individually from here and am currently too tired to try and figure out how) and detail my journey to the Wind Cave, Jong's Crocodile Farm and Zoo, Semmengung Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and Sanctuary, Matang Wildlife Center, and last but certainly not least, the waterfall trail at Kubah National Park.

No specimens were collected this trip (these are protected forests that I ventured into and I have nothing but respect for conservation laws). We were also quite lucky in being able to spot the orang Utan and her baby despite the fact that it was raining on that day and that we arrived in the height of the fruiting season (the Orang Utans venture further and deeper into the forest during these rainy months) but were not so lucky during our search for the Rafflesia. Apparently we missed the blooming by just a few days. Oh well, I guess we can't always be lucky. But there is always Miri.

Anyway, until I get to our next pit stop in Sibu (and hopefully, a proper computer with which I can write with), goodnight and peace out.

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Cheers,
Cyren.