TEACHER NOMAD: INTO THE BORNEO JUNGLE

Early in the morning on July 6, we checked out of the hotel in Kuching, and drove away with Solihim AKA Soli. He was a wonderful guide - funny, full of information, and patient. We began with a car ride heading from the west to the east through Sarawak. There are 19 regions in Malaysia - states of a sort - and Sarawak is the largest. After we drove for about an hour, we stopped at a little town called Luchuan and had some tea. We asked for black tea. Soli warned us that instead of milk we'd be given condensed milk and would have to add it to the tea to taste. Not as sweet as I feared. Below are some photos of our stop.

Notice the sign behind Charlie below. Our cafe was A rated.

After tea we headed out onto the road for another hour. At that point we drove to a small farm with fighting cocks and an interesting character who was to be our boat pilot. We walked down to the Lemanark river and found our long boat as seen in the photo below.

It's like an elongated canoe with an outboard motor that really zipped along the river. Since it has been raining quite a bit the last few days, Soli was worried that the current would be too much for us and the boat. No problem. Here are a couple of other views from the boat.

We landed at a long house of the Iban people. Some of the original head hunters of Borneo. There are three main groups (tribes?) coastal (the Iban), middle and upper river people.

The long house seen below houses all the extended members of a family. For any members that decide they don't want to stay too close, there are separate smaller houses locally. If someone really decides they don't want to stay with the group, they can gather up other like minded folks and begin their own long house up or down river.

For the adventurous (we're not quite so adventurous) you can spend the night with the Ibans. The place Charlie is eating is in a hall that could accommodate up to 60 visitors. Behind where he is sitting was a long room with train-like compartments where mattresses, mosquito netting, and bedding could be set up. Naw - we were just visiting and eating lunch.

The zig-zag piece of wood was what became the steps-ladder into the long house. Obviously, this set up was great for a people that spent their time warring with their neighbors. Trouble outside? Pull up the stairs.

The photo below is inside the long house. The mats to the left is where people hung around if it was raining (it was raining) or they didn't feel like doing much. To the right, were doors into separate sleeping quarters. There were several very small children. When I asked if I could take photos in the long house, I was told "yes", but that I couldn't take photos of children less than 2 years of age. The superstition was that their souls weren't strong enough to ward off the evil that my lens may instill.

The main hall was decorated with lots of items. In the old days, part of a dowery was the head of an enemy. They don't do that anymore - but there were a few antique heads about - see below.

We were treated to a dance, some rice wine (quite nice - if a bit sweet), and some music. My picture is a bit cut off because a wee child was banging away on a gong to the right.

If you can't beat 'em.......

Above the sleeping quarters was an attic like area for storage.

A man brought out a blow pipe, and he and Soli showed us how to use them. A spear head is attached at one end, the thing is made out of iron wood, and the dart looked for all intents and purposes like a huge 4 inch toothpick with a barrel shaped bottom. Charlie, as it turned out was aces with a blow dart. The old man and Soli were amazed. So, just in case things go badly in the economy, we can get our game the old fashioned way...

The bridge below was part of the road away from the long house. When we had been on the river we heard a car creaking over it. Soli asked us to walk across and he'd drive the car. I did so happily. Although there was this moment when I wondered if he and the car fell into the drink, how we'd get out of there. Of course, Charlie is quite good with the blow pipe.

From the Iban people, we drove to Batang Ai National park. A river has been dammed off for hydro-electric purposes, and the lake that was created was given a national park designation. In the middle of this park is the Batang Ai Hilton Resort where we spent the night. Apparently there are orangutans in the area, but they don't come out for visitors.