ORCHIDS AND CATS

Thursday, August 30, 2018
Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
August 30 continues....
Our next stop was the Sarawak Orchid Garden, just on the other side of the river. Sitting on 3.54 acres, this beautiful garden was a little different than other orchid gardens we’ve seen.  As we wandered through the grounds, we passed through rows and rows of stunning orchids that were growing upright in the soil, as individual, large vertical plants. After doing a little research, I discovered that the orchids we were used to seeing in other botanical gardens, were usually in greenhouses and, for the most part, were epiphytic…a plant that grows above the ground supported nonparasitically by another plant or object, and deriving its nutrients and water from rain, the air, dust, etc.  There was, however, one particular area in the Kuching garden that they called the ‘coolhouse.’  Some of the more delicate species and hybrids which needed to be kept in a controlled environment, mostly involving temperature and humidity control, are grown here.   I’m always amazed at how many varieties of exquisite orchids exist in the world and, in this sweet garden there are 75,000 orchids, representing 65 species and hybrids.
It was still early when we left the Orchid Garden so we decided that we would visit the much talked about Kuching Cat Museum, founded in 1993.  After seeing some of the bizarre cat sculptures around Kuching, we couldn’t imagine that this museum would be anything other than kitschy, particularly when we walked through the open mouth of a huge cat head
that was the entrance to the four galleries containing over 4,000 artefacts.    So…it was a pleasant surprise to find that this unusual little museum was actually pretty interesting and entertaining.  The beautifully displayed exhibits included, among many others, a mummified cat from ancient Egypt, a gallery of feline-related advertising, a wall of hysterical photos of cats dressed up in human clothing, a display of 'hello kitty' artefacts,
and five species of wild cats found in Borneo.    There was also some really interesting information about the role cats have played throughout history,                                                                           
a lot of cat trivia as well as how some of the characteristics of cats function.  Right before the exit of the museum, in keeping with the kitsch notion, we couldn’t resist taking a few photo of me in one of those, put your head in the hole, cat scenes   and one of Bill cozying up to one of the bizarre cat statues. 
It had been a long and enjoyable day when we headed back to Damai to pack our bags in preparation for the morning flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  We would be staying in the Cameron Highlands with Will Pomp, the son a our dear friends from Chapala, Laney and Jack, and Will had arranged for a driver to pick us up at the airport and drive us to his home.
So, we had one last fabulous buffet in the Resort dining room as the sun was setting and, in the morning, bade farewell to Borneo, having not seen one single cannibal!!

Comments

Don
2018-09-19

And to think Peg is allergic to cats—Bill should have worn his Cat costume—again great pics—

Patricia Nowakowski
2018-09-20

Loved the picture of the cat sweeping...what a face.

Susan H
2018-09-20

Now I understand why "Hello Kitty" and all the merchandising involved is so popular in Japan and China -- i.e. the Orient.

2025-02-09

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