Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Back home

I just got back from the field this evening – I had a really great time, thanks to Daniel. Still rather dazed from the long drive home, and the flat tire-flat spare-no jack fiasco, to write about my trip. So in the mean time, here are some pictures from the field – hurrah!

On the first day, we stopped at the rapids to have a quick lunch before my trusty Iban field assistants tugged and pulled the longboat across large, slippery rocks. A pervy blog entry with photos of my muscular Iban men is soon to follow.

Steward preparing midin – local jungle ferns – for lunch

Daniel taught me how to play chess and soon after, we were playing a lot of chess in the rainforest. I love the game despite being incredibly impulsive with my moves. In case you’re wondering, the Pokemon t-shirt belongs to my kid brother. Daniel borrowed a couple of t-shirts for the field. He didn’t really have much choice in selecting what t-shirts to wear.

Chess master pondering his next diabolical move

In his role as Sensitive New Age Man, Daniel cooked once more – but this time, the curry was really spicy. The Ibans were nonplussed by the spiciness however. Probably were thinking to themselves, “hah! Amateur!”, as I gasped and had tears in my eyes while I was eating the curry. Daniel fared much better.

Lunch at the Ranger Station

Daniel’s brinjal curry is on the left of the all-important rice pot. Besides Daniel’s curry, we also had rolled-up tapioca leaves and the ubiquitous fish dish.

And lastly, gratuitous photo of yours truly!



12 Comments:

At 11:54 PM, Blogger Cayce said...

errr.... more like a One Time Only Chef.. but the curry went pretty fast!

 
At 12:04 AM, Blogger Bertha said...

Love that photo of you! :) And did Daniel impressed the Ibans then with his cooking prowess? hehehe.

 
At 12:12 AM, Blogger Cayce said...

Bertha, bertha, bertha.... we're online as I write this.. where art thou on msn??

I think the Ibans were a bit worried but after the first bite, they were converted. :-)

 
At 12:37 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Nice picture. Where did you guys go ?

And what camera do you use ? I'm thinking about getting one but I'm not sure which one to get.

 
At 12:50 AM, Blogger Cayce said...

hey, mac - we were at Batang Ai, me workplace.

I have a Olympus Camedia C-4000 camera - the same model that this guy is using (http://www.odds-and-ends.net/photolog/). He takes great photographs unlike me who just recently figured out how to turn off the flash so I think it's a really good camera. Pretty happy with it. I'd say you should buy it because I lost my manual and it'd be nice to borrow a fellow blogger's manual to figure out the other mechanisms of my camera.. :-D

 
At 12:53 AM, Blogger Cayce said...

whooops.. just realized that it's a different model from odds-&-ends guy. still a good camera though. :-)

 
At 1:25 AM, Blogger Shook said...

Manual or not, looks like your doing fine with the camera. Are you going to post a photo journal of the trip? BTW, what's your fieldwork about? Pardon my ignorance.

 
At 1:44 AM, Blogger Cayce said...

Shook, you'd be amazed of how many crappy photos I'm able of taking. I have the special ability to capture the Ring (movie) effect on people. I haven't really figured out how to properly use my camera yet. But in the meantime, I'm happily taking snapshots...

I will post more photos of my trip for sure. Or probably just do up a fotki account and direct people there. I really appreciate the nice response to the photos by the way!

Ignorance is to be expected because I've been very vague about what I do but ah well, here it goes - I conduct orangutan research.

 
At 1:52 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Is there an orangutan sanctuary in Batang Ai ? Or do you study them in wild.

What a fascinating job !! Say hi to Daniel for me. I'm going to quote him in my next post. Something he wrote in his blog got me thinking....

And how come you're not asleep yet...

 
At 2:03 AM, Blogger Cayce said...

Good lord! No orangutan sanctuary - horrors!! Only wild orangutans in Batang Ai - and yeah, it's complete jungle warfare for me ;-) We work, sleep, eat in the jungle. My camp is just a campsheet above. It's actually a pretty wonderful experience really but it can get mighty lonesome.

I thought I was tired but I've become really hyper, especially chatting with my friends online. Possibly will crash very soon. Right. About. Now.

 
At 5:49 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting. I haven't had time to read through your postings and determine where the beginning of your trip was, or how you're fairing.

I did want to make a small uninvited contribution though (sorry). I've travelled all over Sarawak (this is the result of growing up with a Dad who is a keen traveller himself)and as a result of my Iban DNA, I did enjoy the opportunity of a short trip to Belaga once, right up to Long Oupah (a short trip for me is 2 weeks). So judging from what I've seen so far, am pretty pleased to know there are other travellers out there keen to discover Sarawak's wild beauty, and it's lush jungle scenery.

Have fun with your adventures (envy) and keep up the marvellous work you do with this blog...

 
At 12:39 AM, Blogger Cayce said...

Daniel, having met you has been one of the best parts of MY year.

Anonymous - thank you for your kind comments!

 

Post a Comment

<< Home