It is not so much punishment, Ian. Rather, it is milking the tourist cow for
all they can. Wait till you see the difference between various costs for locals
and tourists at attractions such as the Orang Utan "Sanctuary" at Sepilok,
Sabah.
Carl Clifford
> On 21 May 2014, at 12:12, Ian May <> wrote:
>
> You have put a lot of work into this Carl. Thanks very much.
>
> From my point of view, its not the cost of entry but the principle of
> charging a fee for carrying a camera into a nature reserve that makes me want
> to cringe away from such places. Its as though there is an element of
> punishment aimed at tourist visitors behind the spawning of such policies.
>
> Overall Australia too is awful for bushwhaking the unsuspecting traveler with
> frightful fees and charges for entering many Parks. As you would know, Uluru
> is not shy about hitting up the battler but somehow, an entry fee seems more
> acceptable than a camera charge that just seems so parasitic.
>
> But I take your points there are many great birding places in Malaysia where
> there are no camera fees and that India hits up $12 per camera.
>
> Thanks again
>
>
>
>
>
> Carl Clifford wrote: porr old
>> Ian et al,
>>
>> It seems that there are a couple of National Parks in M'sia that have
>> recently started to to charge a fee for cameras. What I have found from my
>> emailings is as follows.
>>
>> Mainland Malaysia
>> Taman Negara charge MYR 5.00 (approx AUD 2.00), which is valid for one month.
>>
>> All other main birding spots, such as Bukit Fraser, Bukit Larut, Panti,
>> Belum-Temengor and Genting Highlands, no fee.
>>
>>
>> Sabah
>> Mount Kinabalu and Poring are supposed to charge camera fees, but it seems
>> that if you keep your gear out of sight, no one asks. When I was a Mt.
>> Kinabalu in 2011, I did not even pay the entrance fee, let alone a camera
>> fee. I was staying across the road and just wandered in. There are no fees
>> at the Sayap sub-station on the north side of Kinablu.
>>
>> Rainforest Discovery Centre and Sepilok Kabili Forest Reserve, Sepilok
>> No camera fee.
>>
>> Danum Valley
>> There is supposed to be a MYR 10 camera fee, but when I was there in June
>> last year, no one asked. The staff did admire the images of the Orang I had
>> taken just outside the room though:-) You are also supposed to only go into
>> the forest with a ranger, but there was no mention of it at the Field Centre
>> and no one stopped either of us from wandering where we liked.
>>
>> Crocker Range NP
>> No entry or camera fees
>>
>> Sarawak
>> No camera fees
>>
>> Other countries in SE Asia such as Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam do
>> not appear to charge camera fees and I have never had to pay any in those
>> countries. Some NPs in the Phillipines do charge a camera fee, but I have no
>> personal experience there. One respondent did tell me that in one park, he
>> was asked to pay a fee for his 'scope, but I think that was just a "local"
>> fee.
>>
>> Even if you avoid those places that charge fees, there are plenty of other
>> places with good birding in M'sia, so don't just wipe the country just
>> because some of the main tourist traps want to charge you a small fee, which
>> is nothing compared to the AUD 12.00 per day per camera, including mobile
>> phones you will be hit up for in India.
>>
>> Hope this clarifies things a bit,
>>
>> Carl Clifford
>>
>>
>>
_______________________________________________
Birding-Aus mailing list
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
|
