Ben Fogle's Sarawak Adventure - A longhouse experience at Annah Rais

In this three minute video we see adventurer and explorer Ben Fogle spend some time at an authentic longhouse about 40-min drive from Kuching.

Escorted by his amazingly knowledgeable guide, Rose, he savours the local brew -- a rice wine called 'Tuak' which is particularly potent, enjoys a delicious chicken meal cooked for him in 20 minutes in bamboo, tries his hand at being a blacksmith's apprentice, discovers the secrets to the blowpipes and how to make the arrows and also listens to some local musicians.They play him some music using bamboo instruments that have been used for hundreds of years, having been passed down through the generations and played by striking, plucking and drumming. Its called 'pratuokng' (pra-tua-k-ng)

Overall it is clear,  as Ben points out at the end, that Longhouse living is a wonderfully communal existence where all the families live together in peaceful harmony.

Ben sampling the 'tuak', rice wine usually served to welcome visitors

Sarawak... where adventure lives

A Bidayuh Jungle Survival experience

The theme for the trip was "Bidayuh Jungle Survival" but after the trip I was convinced that it was more than just a jungle survival experience. The outing took us to the foothills of the Padawan Highlands; at a place called Kampung (village) Peraya - a 50-minute drive from Kuching city.

What we did during the trip:

• Visited the first settlement of "Pinyewa Bidayuh" - a sub-group in the Bidayuh community)
• Visited the ancient head house or known as "Panggah" in Bidayuh dialect, where they keep old human skulls.
• Went jungle trekking, visited the waterfall & learned about the jungle from our local guide.
• Learned the cooking process with bamboo - Bidayuh style .
• Had picnic lunch on the riverbank.
• Experienced the wooden canoeing activity in Peraya Village, Padawan.
• Dined with our host family at Peraya Village.
• Did bamboo rafting to our jungle camp at night.
• Observed wildlife such as few species of insects, frogs and birds during the night rafting.  However, we were not able to do fishing because the river water were not clear due to the heavy rain that evening.
• Visited a modern village & traditional longhouse of the Bidayuh community.

Here are some of our photos of the trip. Enjoy! :-)

You still need a guide regardless :-) 'Bung (mountain) Gayu' was the original settlement of the "Pinyewa Bidayuh" before the 'Old Settlement' came about.

Entrance to the past - this leads to the 'Old Settlement of the 'Pinyewa Bidayuh' before it split off to thirteen villages that are scattered in the vicinity of the area.

What footwear to use? Rubber shoes or affectionally known locally as "Adidas Paya" - 'Swamp Adidas'. Many swear by it because it is studded, doesn't absorb water, cheap... real cheap and performs as good as pair of branded hiking shoes.

We were actually walking underneath the ancient longhouse of "Pinyewa Bidayuh" which, according to our guide, there were more than a  hundred-door families living in that longhouse at that time.

'Panggah' (head house) at the old settlement area.

Another view of the head-house

Lifting the zinc sheet without being told earlier gave us mild shock!

These are enemy skulls.

In the olden days..this pool was used to soak the enemy skulls so that all the skin, flesh and hair would peel off by itself.

Fresh and clean water supply from the mountain.  Bidayuh called their aqueduct; 'Ayak' and made from bamboo no less.

 Village and farm tour - Pepper garden with our guide - Val Ritong

"Terung Pipit" (Wild Brinjal)

Wild berries - rule of the jungle, if they are pretty and untouched, they are NOT edible.

"Daun Lirik" is use to wrap rice with.

 Stingless bee known as "Kelulut" locally. 

The team from Sarawak Tourism Board - Hisyamuddin (left), Sarah Berdugo (French intern)  and Deckson (author)

Wild ingredients - 'Terung Pipit' (Wild brinjal) was one of them.

Cooking utensils and equipment from the jungle

Chicken cooked in the bamboo (Manok/siok Pansuh)

Fresh water fish cooked in the bamboo (Ikan Pansuh)

Rice cooked in the bamboo, wrapped in 'Lirik' leave

Flame-roasted chicken wings

Lunch served in 'plates' fashioned out sago tree bark... and it can't get any healthier and fulfilling (the beer?:-)... Yummylicious!

Ready for the wooden canoeing...

This is the reason why it's called 'wooden canoeing'... wooden canoe was used instead of the modern fibreglass version

From canoeing to white-water thrills... even the rafts came freshly-made

Let the adventure begins... the locals having their fun...

... and a milder one for city dwellers

No TV nor lights for reading. The jungle beckons

It's not what one can see but what one can hear also... and ironically, there's a lot of noise in the jungle at night.

Spot Mr. Froggy

Bedfellows with jungle critters for the night

Checking out...

Making a side-trip to the nearby Annah Rais longhouse on the way home. Popular destination for a longhouse experience. Entrance fee is RM8 for adult and RM5 for children.

The walkway of the longhouse

Winnowing rice - hand-picked and wind-assisted

Spreading out Sarawak black peppercorns for drying

Basket weaving a la Bidayuh style

To get the most out of this experience, we recommend that you go for a 3-day/2-night or 4-day/3-day tour programme.

For further enquiry, please contact Mr Valentine Ritong at:
Mobile: 019 8785013
Email: valritong@yahoo.com
Website: www.perayahomestay.com

Valentine Ritong is a licensed tourist guide and a member of "Pinyewa Bidayuh" sub-group.


Sarawak Malaysia Borneo... where adventure lives

By: Deckson Bundak - Tourist Coordinator Visitor Information Center Kuching.
Photos: Deckson Bundak and Mohd. Hisyamuddin 

Edited by: Michael Lu and Erivina Jihel

Tripping in Borneo: It’s a rumble through the jungle

Nanga Sumpa has long been a popular destination for that authentic Iban culture (longhouse) experience. Located 1 1/2 hours longboat ride from the Batang Ai Longhouse Resort managed by Hilton, Sri Aman, this isolated village offers wild orang utans spotting and adventure treks. 

 

Here LOUISE MURRAY talks about surviving a rainforest trek, backpack et all.

A longhouse made entirely out of ‘belian’ wood.

This the first thing that strikes a visitor upon entering the longhouse is how well standing the place is. Rumah (house) Nyuka was built in 1955 and the durability of the wood species certainly reflects its reputation. 

Another is the tinsel-like atmosphere inside it. Tinseltown? Tinselhouse? :-) Anyway, there is a certain 'green' message to this effort though. You see, all plastic stuff brought into the area are recycled and turned into permanent decorative stringers. Gives one the impression that it is Christmas throughout the year, doesn't it?

Rumah Nyuka is 45-door long

So where is it? It is located at Lubuk Lemba, Ulu Sarikei and 17 KM from Bayong junction (Betong/Sarikei highway). The nearest major town is Sibu, about 85-km away. This longhouse can be reached by land and  on a good road condition at that. For a change, travelling for a longhouse experience does not involve river travel. The scenic roller-coaster ride along the crest of the hills can be a fun experience.

There are 300 people from 45 families in this longhouse. Most of them reside in another row of longhouse behind the   house proper thus giving visitors a space for themselves. It is the first homestay program operator approved by Ministry of Tourism Malaysia in the Sarikei Division. 

The place can get quite chilly in the early morning, since it is located in a hilly region of the Sarikei Division. Another layer of long-sleeve shirt should give enough protection. But if you wish to challenge yourself, an early morning bath in the river should do wonders for your skin.

Sungai (river) Ulu Sarikei that flows right past the front of Rumah Nyuka. The caveat here is that the river may not be that clear after a continuous down pour. Nature's way of ridding excesses?

Enough space for visitors to have their own ... space!

Seamless door hinge and maintenance free

A solid looking bench made of 'belian' ironwood which probably needs 2-3 persons to lift it.

But there's more to Rumah Nyuka than the physical structure itself. How about being a rubber tapper for a morning? Wake up at 5am, tap, collect and then process them into sheets for drying. For fruit lovers, the best time to visit is November to December. Go 'dabai' collecting; a fruit popularly known as local olives. Or combine trekking with swimming at the two waterfalls in the vicinity.

The fun part is stomping the latex block into manageable thickness with your bare feet so that the solidified latex can be rolled through the mangle .

Wild durian they are called but 'Buah Isu' they are known locally as. Taste ... different :-)

Sg Pau waterfall, 30 minutes walk from the longhouse. The fitter ones will get rewarded with the majesty of the 5-storey Sg Munsoh waterfall; an hour's walk away. 

Simple food tastes delicious in a raw setting

How to get there
You can take private transport (car/van) from Sarikei town to this longhouse and the charge is not more than RM10 per person / one way. They journey will take approximately 40 minutes. Sarikei is the transit point for the sea-going passenger boat plying Kuching - Sibu on a daily basis.

There are two basic packages; daily and overnight; or customised package if you prefer. Here's the contact:

Mdm. Ikau Ak Aji
C/O Rh Nyuka Ak Itam, Lubuk Lemba
Ulu Sarikei, 96100 Sarikei
Tel: 019-4687518
E-mail: eggathh8107@yahoo.com

By: Michael Lu

 Sarawak Tourism Board