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Pulau Redang is
a small island located off of the eastern coats of western The researchers split up into three groups—a freshwater
group, a marine group, and a forestry group. I was a leader of the freshwater
group, which consisted of another We met up with the head of the village and our appropriated
Malaysian friend. It turned out
that the head of the village was also the Imam—the religious head
(analogous to a priest or rabbi).
We chatted with him for a bit until he had to go prepare for the
Friday prayer—that Friday happened also to be a special holiday and the
Mosque was to be exceptionally filled.
Seizing on this rare opportunity, we decided to split the group again
to have some of us focus on the Mosque and the religious aspects of water
conservation. Fortunately, the
other The next day
was dedicated to investigating water issues related to the resorts. Initially, I was going to dress as a
businessman and inquire about leading a group to each hotel as a means of
extracting information about hotel occupancy and water usage rates. But, in the end we simply went as
curious tourists who studied hydrology in school back in |
Our
private island. Some
of the huts. The
highest-elevation hut, also mine. Our
hut doubled as a zoo. Who
needs bath toy froggies when you’ve got the
real thing! The
path down. Although
the guys had to trek up the hill to get to our huts, we did have a nice view. Sturdy
pier. Not
so sturdy pier. Our
daily commute. All
is well on the Traffic. The
Mini of boats. Sturdy
as ever. Tropical
fishies! When
schools get over-crowded. Ah
the blue waters. This
was a fun little spot where the waves would come through the narrow opening
and throw you back up onto the beach.
We called it laundry machine. We
started our work out in a café where we interviewed the staff and
managers after some sugary lemon iced teas. This
random guy stopped by on his motorcycle to talk. He ended up being the head of the
village and also the religious head. The
village mosque. We went
door-to-door with our interviews. This
boy was pleased with the ninja star I made for him. Yum
fruit. We
ventured into thick jungles. Ooh,
carbon storage. Biodiversity. A
path across the island. Josh
Josh Josh of the jungle, watch out for that treeeee!! Rainforest
flora. Not
a good place to keep your mobile phone. Rainforest
fauna. On
the move! We
visited the lush resorts. (Lush
in the drunken tourist way, not in the rich biodiversity sense). Waiting
to meet with a resort manager. We
examined the water quality purification systems. Wastewater
treatment plant. Also source of
Tiger beer. We
asked how the resorts treat their workers. A
groundwater well contaminated by salt-water encroachment. You can see how close the seawater is
in the picture. Working
on our presentation. “And
this is where I asked the manager, ‘What do you do with your water use
guidelines?’ and he replied, ‘Oh, we just throw them under the
rug.’” We work
hard and we play hard. This
is the part where I play hard. Sprayed
by water cannon. That
was some good swimming pool data collection. While
waiting for another group to return, we lied out on these beach loungers and
sipped fruity cocktails. The Our organizers spent a lot of time and energy
logistically planning a diverse and productive trip. I could have easily been stuck at Universiti Malaya in KL the entire week. I was able to experience Malaysia in a
way no ordinary tourist could—not only did I visit the touristy sites,
but I was led all around the off-beaten track, covered different cities and
ecosystems, connected with Malaysian counterparts, investigated remote
villages, and actually collected meaningful data. Oh, and it was all free. |