Sarawak Part 2 - Iban Longhouse by Dirk and Jenny Limman

This is the Sarawak Part 2 write up from Dirk and Jenny for the authentic Iban Longhouse trip. Again, we thank you for joining us, and we are glad that you and Jenny are enjoying yourselves at the longhouse. It is a memorable trip for us as well, because we can see that you felt 'home' not long after arriving at the longhouse and we are glad that you had the experience that you wanted.

Note that this is an actual write up from our guest. Caption on pictures for both Bidayuh Village and Iban Longhouse are done by us for better elaboration. Please respect their rights when you are about to use any of the words or photos. The photos or text shall not be used for promotional, marketing and/or any commercial purposes, or reproduced without prior permission from the author. An acknowledgment to the author with reference to this blog is appreciated when shared with your friends and family. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 

Part 2

The second trip was to an authentic Iban longhouse at the Batang Ai reservoir. From Kuching it took us several hours by van followed by a long-boat ride for one hour and finally a 10 minutes walk to reach the village.

The Long Boat Ride

Iban Longhouse - View From Outside

Inside the Longhouse

Tattoo on the Iban

The longhouse was quite run down, very primitive and dirty. But soon we felt "at home" because of the friendliness of the Ibans and their fantastic cooking. Even at an outing in the jungle they served us delicious food, mainly harvested from the bush and the river, and cooked in bamboo tubes and barbequed on open fire. 

River Trekking

Lunch Site at the Jungle

Barbeque Lunch with Tradisional Iban Dish - 'Pansuh' Chicken, chicken cooked in bamboo

The long house accommodated 30 families. Each of them, including us, stayed in one single room with a small open kitchen and a "bath" room at the back. The rough floor planks were covered with bamboo mats. Everything took place here, chit chatting, eating and sleeping. 

Inside the Room

Cooking Area, Iban ladies preparing food

Dinner with the Ibans

Main communication centre and working place was the long covered veranda stretching in front of all the individual rooms. Here the Ibans communicate, sharpen their tools, mending nets, weaving mats and celebrate in the evening. Rice wine flowed plentifully. The monotonous brass gong and drum music started. Men performed their head-hunters Warrior Dance and the colourfully dressed ladies showed us a Hornbill Dance. The last drunken voice faded way after midnight. 

'The Warrior Dance' Performed by Mr Balai

The Tradisional Iban Dance

 

Thought to have a quiet night now, the first cock started to crow. It was the prized fighter cock of our host, tied beside the entrance. With every hour more cocks joined in, until at dawn about two dozens cocks competed for the loudest and longest crow.

One night we had a tropical downpour for several hours, hammering the blank zinc roofing above us. Plenty of rust holes allowed the rainwater to drip through. We had to shift our mattress to a drier spot and buckets were put in place. In spite of the loud “plop plop” of the rain drops hitting the bucket directly beside our heads, we finally fell soundly asleep.

The Prized Fighter Cock

Sleeping Area

The Roofing

We wanted to stay in an authentic Iban longhouse and experience their lifestyle.

We got it all.

   

Dirk & Jenny

We would like to thank you Dirk and Jenny again for the great pictures and write up. They made an effort to contribute and help the villagers by buying handmade products such as bamboo mats, woven baskets and begs. Dirk is a passionate photographer, you can see him with the camera at all times. While Jenny is a sweet lady, she spent time with the Ibans, talked to them as friends and take part in preparing food for the group.

To Dirk and Jenny, the villagers are happy to see the photos that you sent to them, and they thanked you for capturing such beautiful moments for them. From our side, we thank you for the support given and we hope to see you again. 

Sarawak Part 1 - Bidayuh Village (Semban) by Dirk & Jenny Limann

Thanks to Dirk & Jenny for the nice write up that they made to their friends, we are glad to have you with us in the trip. Besides the tiring trek, we truly wish that you have an enjoyable moment in the Semban Village. 

Note that this is an actual write up from our guest, please respect their rights when you are about to use any of the words or photos. The photos or text shall not be used for promotional, marketing and/or any commercial purposes, or reproduced without prior permission from the author. An acknowledgment to the author with reference to this blog is appreciated when shared with your friends and family. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Hi,

In January 2011 we went on our "head hunter trip". It was exciting and sometimes to our physical limits.

The start was in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak in Borneo island. Kuching in Malay language means cat. Therefore there were several cat monuments in town. We did a lot of sight seeing in Kuching as well in the outskirts.  In the Bako National Park we walked through jungle and bush all by our self. Reward was the sighting of the rare Proboscis Monkey which can be found in Borneo only.

Free roaming Orang Utans looked at us in the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre.

Through the Dark Fairy Cave we navigated with our torch lights.

At the Cultural Village seven authentic ethnic houses of Sarawak were displayed, they were the Bidayu, Iban, Penan, Orang Ulu, Melanau, Malay and Chinese.

Kuching - cats town (The cat statue at Padungan Street)

Sarawak Cultural Village

Fairy Cave

Orang Utans - Semmenggoh Wildlife Centre

Bako National Park

The Rare Proboscis Monkey @ Bako National Park

The next two destinations were in the heart of Borneo on the border to Kalimantan (Indonesia).

The first trip we went up to a Bidayu village (Semban). It was a tough 7 hours walk, 10.000 steps and hundred of shaky bamboo bridges to the "Village above the clouds". 

Jenny on the 70 meters hanging bamboo bridge

one of the bamboo bridge

The main purpose was to see the last "Ladies of the Rings". The rings were worn at the arms and calves. The remaining seven ladies wear the rings (actually brass spirals) their whole life except when they are hospitalised or when they pass away. If the last lady dies, this culture will be lost forever. One evening they performed an "Eagle Dance". Arms up with the heavy rings for about 10 minutes, the elderly moved in slow steps to the beat of brass gongs and drums.

Lady of the Rings

The Brass Coils on The Hands

The Eagle Dance

 At an exciting walk we climbed 900 bamboo steps up a steep ridge to see at dawn the village from the top and the clouds deep below in the valley. The amazing view and coolness was finally flanked by a beautiful sunrise. 

The Beautiful Sunrise and Village Above the Clouds

The villagers showed us what they cultivated, Padi (rice), barley, pepper, vegetables, tobacco and what they can obtain from the jungle. Bamboo (for eating and construction material), fruits, vegetables, honey and palm sap to make alcoholic drinks. Wild animals they catch with bamboo traps. There is plenty of fresh mountain water. All these could help them being totally independent from any outside supply. We slept on the floor in the living room of our home stay family. 

Sitting on Bamboo Veranda

Pepper

It was a very relaxing atmosphere. Sitting on the open bamboo veranda for a chat and having our meals there. Far far away from any modern civilisation, no hassle or catastrophic news of the "outside" world could reach to border us.

   

Dirk & Jenny

Good Old Memories

While seeking some pictures for new brochure making, we come across some good pictures that reminds us of the good old memories that we had with travelers. It just reminds us how much we enjoyed our work by sharing the beauty of Borneo to all of you.

Fun Kayaking Moments

Embracing the Time with Mother Nature

Most of the people doesn't really know what our mother nature can offer us. Many prefer theme parks. Undeniable, theme parks offers everything under one roof, but have you ever try to explore what our mother nature offers us before the theme park exist. 

Loving Couple in the Nature Jacuzzi Tub

I've Made It!!!

Having Fun by the Sea 

We are in Borneo!!!

Leeeeeechhh!!!

One of the frequent asked questions by travelers before they trek with us in Borneo (especially ladies) is, 'Is there any leech around?', 'I heard there is a lot of leeches...'

Tiger Leech

I'm here to tell you that, Yes, there are leeches in Borneo!!! But, will leech stop you from exploring the exotic Borneo? I don't know about what you think, but most of the travelers we met, they are all ready to put the small tiny annelids away and explore the oldest rain forest, third largest island in the world - Borneo, with us. For those who is still doubt of it, the good news is, there are trails which is leech-free!!! **phew 

I'm going to share ways with you how to get rid of leeches. Note this, it is going to be useful if you are planning to do a lot of trekking in Borneo.

The easiest way you can get a leech off of your skin is to use a knife or hold the leech with your fingers and slide it (knife or fingernail) underneath the leech and flick it away. 

If you don't feel like scraping the leech off then you can wait a while and the leech will fall off on its own for digestion. I personally think that this is a highly disgusting walking around with leeches, but it is quite a decent method. 

I usually just burn the leeches off because it is the fastest method. But there are articles on the web saying that it is not safe. Anyway, I never heard of people get sicked or infected by leeches, so, I choose to ignore it. :p I won't let the leech hang on to me until it is full UNLESS I didn't notice them. But some people think that leeches sucks blood like mosquito, so they will just leave it there until the next rest stop and get rid of it.

"Common leech" - Hirudinaria

Here are some facts about leeches.

1. There are 650 known species of leech, luckily we only have few of them here in Malaysia.
2. Leeches have 32 brains.
3. They can sustain up to 6 months after 1 feed.
4. The leech can gorge up to 5 times its body weight.
5. Leech can be found on fresh water, terrains and sea. In fact one fifth of the species live in the sea!!!
6. The bite of leeches is painless due to its own anesthetic, and injects an anti-coagulant serum into the victim to prevent the blood clotting.  
7. Leech hunt by using their sensory organ to detect vibration and temperature. 
8. Leeches are now classified as FDA-approved medical devices!!! source : "USATODAY"

We are finally up!!!

After struggling for so long, more than 6 hours in front of the laptop (well, I admit that I'm slow in tech stuff) Escapade Borneo finally have it's own blog and Facebook Fan Page.Whoohoo!!!

What's the difference between the 'old' Escapade Borneo and the 'new' one? It is the same... :p The 'new' Escapade Borneo has a blog, a fan page, and a new website on it's way. More organized, so that you can have the updates of what we are doing and where we visited. 

Even thought we always says that we are specialized in custom made trips according to your special interest and personal schedule, the 'new' Escapade Borneo' does have a 'menu' of packages for you to choose. For those who can't make up their mind on where to visit in Borneo, I think these will help you in making up your minds.

We have uploaded an album named 'Glimpse of Borneo' to feed the hunger travelers who wanted to visit Borneo, and yet, doesn't or couldn't have the chance to see it from the eye of a local - Borneons.

 **yawn** time for me to get my beauty sleep. Good night everyone.