This morning we had a really lovely little outing that cost next to nothing. We like those.

You may remember the bus to Serian. Well, if you catch the same bus, but get off 45 minutes out of Kuching, you'll be in Padawan.

And there, as a result of an initiative by the Padawan Municipal Council, you can visit the Pitcher Plant Garden, which hosts 55 species/subspecies of these amazing bits of carnivorous vegetation.

They come in many shapes and sizes, but work on the same principle: they lure insects to their colourful lips; these then fall into the "pitcher", and dissolve in the enzyme-containing liquid, sending their nutrients back into the plant. They all have little lids, which stop too much rain getting in and diluting the enzymes. Fiendish, no?

They might be ruthless (I'm anthropomorphizing here), but they're really beautiful. We've seen them before in the wild, but the garden setting makes you appreciate better that the pitcher actually grows out of the leaf, often with convoluted twists and turns.










Also present in the garden are ferns, orchids, and a delightful abundance of butterflies.





There's not much else to Padawan, but -- as with any self-respecting Malaysian township -- you'll be spoilt for choice for a lunch stop, as there are gazillions of eateries.


So, a really pleasant morning, which cost a grand total of MYR 34 (just over GBP 6) for the two of us (MYR 10 for the bus fare, MYR 12 for entrance to the garden, and MYR 12 for lunch).

Awesome.

I have heard a few times that the upsurge in demand for sticky rice cooked in a pitcher plant (an indigenous delicacy) is threatening the survival of these little prodigies. So I feel kind of guilty about the one I had earlier this year... We live and learn...