MALAYSIA & SINGAPORE Continued
Sarawak, Pelagus Resort, Feb
11-14
After one restful night in Kuching, we were up early to catch
the fast ferry to Sibu, located in the thick interior rainforest
(you can find Sibu on the map of Malyasia on the Main Malaysia
page). The plan was to overnight in Sibu, then catch the ferry
to Kapit, further up the river, and stay at the Pelagus resort.
The friendly woman at the Sarawak Tourist Bureau had recomended
it, and it sounded like just what we wanted. Far enough into
the rainforest so that the only way to get there by ferry, the
Pelagus is run by local indigenous people who lead guided walks
around the resort. We hopped in a taxi and in the pouring rain,
headed off to the ferry jetty only to find out that due to King
Tide, we couldn't take a ferry to Sibu that day, or for the next
few more days. Right away we were off to the Kuching airport
to try to catch the early monring flight to Sibu. The taxi driver,
friendly and helpful, figured we could make it. Arriving only
15 minutes before the flight left, we bought tickets, checked
our bags and boarded the plane. Amazing, it was like catching
a bus.
Since we arrived in Sibu hours early (a ferry takes about 8 hours) we decided to skip staying a night in Sibu and go straight to the resort. We hopped a ferry to Kapit and the ride was an interesting experience in and of itself. Since this is the only means of transportation between isolated river villages, everyone is on board, including the jungle natives with their chickens and such. Fascinating. They all thought it was quite funny that Aaron couldn't even stand upright in the ferry or that there were even foreigners on the boat! We then arrived in Kapit, took a picture in front of Brooke's fort and took another 1 hour boat ride to get the Pelagus.
The resort was perfect and I was so happy to finally be in one place long enough to get my stinky river clothes washed. This resort was started by the Malaysian government as an alternative to logging. Every year the government is decreasing the amount of rainforest logging allowed, however, they must bring in new industry to fill the gap left. Ecotourism is one alternative, it provides the locals a means to make a living, which then helps them to keep their culture and not abandon their villages for the big cites. This is a big problem in developing countries which have large indigenous, uneducated populations. The resort is run entirely by locals and we got to learn a lot about their culture and history as well as relax in a very beautiful place with wonderful meals! The wildlife around the resort was magical & amazing. One of my favorite things to do was try and record the early morning calls of the birds who woke us up. I also tried to record the chorus of hundreds of cicada (a kind of winged bug) chirping in the jungle.
The next day we went on a hike with an Iban guide named Nyaring. He lead us up the steep mountain side, through the very thick jungle, up to a stunning vista. Along the way he would stop and talk about each plant, what his people used it for (fishing nets, substances to stun fish to make fishing easier, hunting equipment, food, medicine, etc.) and I was amazed. Suddenly, I was no longer in a jungle, I was in an Iban Safeway combined with an Iban Home Depot combined with an Iban Long's Drug. As we walked, we wondered how many unfortunate trial and errors had to happen before anyone determined what they could use and what they couldn't. Nyaring was so detailed and answered all our many questions about his culture and customs. It was wonderful. We learned so much more than any of our previous hikes alone. Even the Malaysian Food & Agriculture department has yet to catalogue all the foods the indigenous people eat, it's so vast. We also saw some great bugs (gigantic ants), many leeches, and even a flying lizard. We decided we had to return to the Pelagus, three days was just not enough, and the forests were so spectacular. Along the way we heard the call & later the wings flapping of the very rare & colorful Rhinocerous Hornbill, but we never saw one close up, only miles off in the distance. Later that afternoon I went on a hike by myself and took hundreds of pictures. I just coudn't get enough of the jungle and having a digital camera enabled me to not feel guilty about wasting film!
The next day a Russian documentary team arrived (the lead guy is a story unto himself), and we joined them for a longhouse visit. The Iban, one of the many different peoples who live in these jungles, live in communities called longhouses. Each family's house is right next to each other, with a long open air hallway in front of each of their front doors. This long hallway is a community area and they work together to accomplish village tasks. We were quite impressed. We learned about their animistic religion and about their now abandonded practice of headhunting. We got to see inside Nyaring's home and learn more about his family.
Later that night, our last night, the staff put on a traditional music and dance show for the documentary team and ourselves, we loved it. Each night we had been at the resort, it rained and rained, so we weren't able to do any night hikes. Aaron asked Nyaring if there was ever a day it didn't rain. He throught deeply for a moment and answered tentatively, "Yes, there are in fact two weeks a year where it doesn't rain at all. Everything becomes very dry and some plants in the jungle die." Wow, two whole weeks without rain. No wonder this place was so green.
On the 14th, we headed back by boat, ferry, and then a plane to Kuching. We took the luxery ferry back, instead of chickens the passengers carried cell phones. We even got to watch some unamed Hong Kong movie about a journalist become prisoner and how he brings hope to the prison. It was great and even had English subtitles. The river had become even more flooded and the ocean was still impassable by ferries. This time we bought our airplane tickets in Kapit before we reached Sibu but arrrived earlier than had planned so had to fly stand by. We made it! We're big fans of Malaysian Air, let me tell you.
Audio Clip - Night sounds at the Pelagus - Listen for the river in the background
Aaron coming up the trail, no way near as bad as in Nepal!
The flying lizard who so posed so nicely for me. I loved this guy!
A big bug, that's Aaron's finger next to it.
One of my artsy photos from the jungle
Aaron & Nyaring relaxing at the open air dining area at the resort
In Sibu, fresh chickens being sold in the open market. Talk about chicken to go!
Take me to the Final Days in Kunching & the Semenggok Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre