Back from Bako

Lucy and  Anna

The cobra rock

“When you are travelling on your own, you never are alone.” This is what my new friends and I agreed over a few beers in Kuching this evening. I left Kota Kinabalu as a single traveller , shared a taxi from the airport with Anna, a talented, beautiful, young Slovenian and we instantly “hit it off”. Her friend Sam from Switzerland arrived from Singapore so the three of us decided to go off to Bako National Park together. We then met jenk (?) from London on the bus who joined our "party" and then when we got to Bako village, where you hire the boat, we were then joined by Dave, a kiwi on his travels back to NZ for Christmas. This disparate group of all ages went off to Bako National Park and we spent the day together doing a 5 hour trail in the jungle which was hot, sweaty and lovely. We saw very few animals , which is hardly surprising since the local people call us the Elephant people, (big, noisy and grey!) but we did get to know each other. I felt I was on a mini Pilgrim’s Progress with every one telling their traveller's stories at each rest and when I went to wave them off at the end of the day I felt quite sad!


The view from the dorm.

Wild boar everywhere!

 

 
  So I was left in Bako and I stayed in the 4 bed dorm. for 3 nights (3 euro per night) which  was very basic but it was clean and there was a cold shower .However, to wake up in the morning with jungle sounds surrounding you and the most magnificent views of Mount Santubong on the otherside of the estuary was priceless. Each day I went on a trail with a reward destination such as a waterfall, or a beach which were out of adverts for a tropical paradise. I also was very fortunate to share my dorm with another young beautiful, talented girl called Lucy from Dorset and by the time I returned to Kuching I felt fitter, refreshed and I had gained some delightful, new friends who I’m sure I will keep in touch with. So I’ve been spending my last ringitts on Christmas presents and I’m off to Singapore this afternoon – nearly on my last stage of the journey back to France.

 

 

Holidays and Kuching

The Cultural Village

A talented Bidayuh woodcarver

Yes at last I am on holiday and this morning arrived in Kuching. I could bore you with the details of our End of Year Review staying at the 5 star hotel last week but to be honest apart from being nice to catch up with some people and managing to get food poisoning there isn't much to report. We were all tired and keen to depart to a hundred different destinations. The reason I have returned to Kuching is that it is on the way to Singapore where I will be flying home next weekend and it was a place I wanted to return to after getting a little glimpse before.
  So I am installed in Chinatown in a cheap backpackers and this afternoon spent a very interesting time at the Cultural Village about 30 km outside the city. It is one of those "living museums" with real people doing real work and they have reconstructed seven authentic ethnic houses from the diverse ethnic groups in Sarawak. It is set in the foothills of Mount Santubong with the beach and sea in front. I know I will start to sound like a guidebook soon but I need to try and record the information before I forget! Most of the houses were based on communal living so were either long houses or the most amazing tall house from the Melanau people. These houses were built 15 metres above the ground for protection and made out of ironwood which lasts forever. There were at least four stories and it reminded me very much of the timbered houses in Normandie.

Melanau tall house

The Orang Ulu longhouse

My favourite house, I think was the Orang Ulu's, which again was made out of ironwood but it was highly painted and the longhouse was beautiful. The Sarawak design that is seen everywhere is either based on an octopus or a hornbill - tell me what you think! The house of the Iban's of whom there are a third of Sarawak's population, was also lovely and traditionally the longhouse is only reached by the river and they are built to last about twenty years when the farming in the area is exhausted. There are still many Iban people who prefer to live in longhouses today.

Iban wall hanging

Rice wine containers

A Bidayuh bamboo bridge

 The Penan people live in the virgin forests in the interior and are nomadic.Their houses are built to last a short time but their speciality is making blow pipes. Which brings me on to the last interesting house of the Bidayuh's. Again longhouses and communal living and they were famous for their headhunting (Iban too) and there was a circular hut where the fire was lit and the heads were cured up in the ceiling. Last official head cured was 1960's so not that long ago! Before you fall asleep there was also a Chinese farmhouse and a Malay house and I would recommend a visit if you ever visit Kuching. In fact it is the setting for the Rainforest Festival every year and I am going to try and go next year.

An Iban warrior with his blowpipe

The Rafting experience

Our boatman

Our rafts being used afterwards

The bamboo framework

The six of us were all ready to go at 6.45 a.m. and our four local Dusun guides arrived on their mopeds. We were given some tobacco which we rubbed into our arms and then stuck a lump down our socks to ward off the leeches. Off we went along the river and into the jungle with our guides brandishing their long parangs (machete type knives) and as I was following blindly I did have a flash of the film "Deliverance" but I did have complete confidence in these Dusun men. The scenery along the river was beautiful and we went over some dodgy suspension bridges and then after about 4 kilometres through the forest we stopped and had our breakfast. We, then proceeded to sit and wait while the men got to work by cutting down huge branches of bamboo. I was under the impression that we were supposed to help but you can understand why they preferred that the orang putihs sat and watched as they cut the bamboo expertly with their knives. There were 2 rafts made and each raft had 10 bamboo poles and then it was cleverly held together by a thinner pole threaded through the top and then rope used to secure it. We were given life jackets before we set off which was a surprising concession to Health and Safety rules! One man was standing at the front with a bamboo pole and the other man was at the back and then 3 of us sat along the raft.

Anne drinking the tapai from a straw

   Off we went and it was as exhilarating as we were hoping. There were some very fast rapids and then some slower more floaty parts of the river. Our boatman fell off at one stage and lost his bamboo pole and we managed to grab him as we rushed past. Our raft also disintegrated after hitting a rock but was easily fixed and it was all over too quickly. I wanted it to go on for at least another hour but it was still great fun and a good adrenalin rush for a Saturday morning and of course a memorable 50th birthday for Anne. We then went back, got dried and changed and got ready for the celebration for Anne's birthday by drinking tapai, birthday cake and lots of delicious local food. I hope it was a memorable birthday for Anne.

A rhino beetle

A roadside scene

Last Week at School

Preschool graduates!

Top students

I can't believe that it has arrived so quickly. After the Hari Raya holidays, the time seems to have gone very quickly. This week I have been mostly watching rehearsals and prize giving's and listening to long speeches in Malay. I also went to the opening of a "new" library, not to mention eating many makans and saying farewell to the teachers in five different schools.The new trend is making the pupils dress up in gowns and mortar boards which is quite cute but on the other hand rather nauseating and I'm quite sure has come from watching too many TV series! I do regret that our children in the French system never had any celebration or marking the event of passing from one stage of schooling to another so perhaps it is a good thing.

A young dancer

This morning I was giving out report cards and asking the parents to "sign here" in my best Malay and last night I won the most glamorous person at the end of year dinner! I'm not known for my glamour but I wore a silk kabia (traditional Malay costume) and they obviously appreciated my efforts - although I got 0/10 for make-up! I feel sad in many ways as I am so fond of many of the teachers and the Year 6's who will be leaving. There is always that mixture of longing for the holidays and yet regret in saying farewell although I do remember some years at school being very glad to say goodbye to some classes! Anyway today is the last day and most of the children will go home early and the teachers will be having meetings. I will be trying to get organised for leaving my house on Monday morning and also spending the weekend in Tambunan celebrating Anne's 50th birthday by rafting down a river!

The rice is nearly all planted

Faridah's Story

Faridah

I was asked to help, one of the teachers I work with, on her university assignment. The Malaysian government are encouraging all the non degree teachers to do a part-time degree course and Faridah has recently embarked on her four year course. The assignment was about reading and was asking about her personal relationship with reading -  what she reads, her interests in reading, her earliest memories of reading, her parents attitudes to reading etc....She was unsure whether she should write the truth or whether she should  reinvent herself for the assignment. After she told me her story I was not only moved, humbled but I felt that her story was inspiring and one that should be shared, especially with her university.
  Faridah's father left her mother when she was 6 months old. Her mother married again but her step-father led an itinerant lifestyle coming and going leaving her mother with seven more children before she divorced him. Her mother had a stall selling fish in the market which meant she had to be up very early. Faridah would get her brothers and sisters up and walk an hour to bring them to the market on the way to school from the age of seven years old.. She would then collect her brothers and sisters on the way home from school and  look after them until her mother returned. She remembers that she sat through three years of school  not knowing how to read. The teachers would ignore her and dismiss her as stupid and often she would fall asleep as she was so tired. She would try to watch television with her friends but she couldn't understand anything because it was in English and the subtitles were in Malay. The frustration of that finally encouraged her to try and learn to read by herself. There were no books at home but she began to read signs and packet labels and by the time the exams came in Year 6 she was able to read sufficiently well enough to allow her to go on to secondary school. She began teaching in a rural school where qualifications were not expected and she found that she had a talent and empathy of teaching the pupils with learning difficulties. She has now been a teacher for over 20 years but to have a degree is something she never imagined she ever would have. I will be so proud of her when I attend her graduation.

Hurricane Sandy

So according to blogspot.com I have now had 10,000 views since I started my blog in July 2011. I feel like I should be offering a wonderful prize - an ipad or money perhaps, but fortunately for me, I have no idea who you are (apart from my faithful followers ) and that's what I find interesting. At the beginning you were nearly all from France and then slowly my UK following has increased. About 4 months ago I started to have a large following in the States, which was strange as I don't know many people there, and now my followers are spread equally between France, UK, U.S.A and Malaysia with other countries like Russia, Korea, New Zealand.... visiting from time to time. Thank you all for your support and readership and I hope that you will continue to stay with my blog.

 This has been a strange week for me as Andrew (husband) is in New York and was there before, during and now is living through the aftermath of hurricane Sandy. He was supposed to be working in Pakistan but that was cancelled because of the dangerous situation and so he was pleased at the idea of having a month in New York staying in a nice hotel and being able to see his sister, Lindsay and his niece and nephew. Anyway as everyone knows the whole east coast was hit very badly and since Tuesday there has been no electricity or running water in a large area of Manhattan due to the power station blowing up. Andrew stayed on in his smart hotel, climbing the 15 floors to his room where there was no heating, electricity,running water and internet, until Thursday when they closed the hotel and he managed with great difficulty to find another place to stay. The new hotel still has no lights but has running water and the generator is able to allow hot water - at least an improvement. Meanwhile our daughter Lisa had booked her half -Term holiday in New York and her flight was booked for, yes you can guess,Tuesday 30 th October to coincide with the Halloween parade, New York Marathon and to visit her Aunt and cousins etc..... To cut a long story short her flight was postponed until Wednesday and she flew into a very different New York to what she was expecting. She is now staying with Lindsay who still has no electricity or running water......As Lindsay said "What a flimsy basis this so called civilised life rests on." The story will continue......
Update - Electricity has now been restored in Manhattan but I imagine there are still many areas without, not to mention the havoc caused by homes being destroyed along the east coast and the Caribbean.