3/7 History, wildlife, jungle, frogs and disappointment

Today certainly had it all. 

What a contrast for our second indigenous homestay! Isabella may have grown up in a longhouse washing and toileting in the river, but she now lives in a substantial home, both her children have completed tertiary study, and she has travelled to KL, Australia, Vietnam and Turkiye.

 She also loves Facebook! I've never had my photo taken so many times doing ordinary things. Standing at the front door, having our welcome drinks,  eating our dinner, eating our breakfast, trying on traditional Biduyn costumes, and of course, standing at the front door again.

 Agreeing to have our photos taken for promotional purposes must have been in the fine print somewhere, but I missed it. She was also very happy to share her views on Muslim immigration, the recent demise of the British government, and the wonderful rise of Donald Trump. 

But despite all of this, having her show us around the longhouse in which she had grown up and explain their history, rituals and important items was wonderful.

 In years past the Royal Navy visited, and she said that Queen Elizabeth II herself had come at one time (though AI says that though she did visit Kuching, she actually visited a replica longhouse in the Sarawak museum)

More significantly, she and her seven siblings had grown up here, and as she stood outside her family home, we were very moved to hear of her mother dying giving birth to her younger brother when she was two. There was no way to get to the nearest clinic, there was no midwife and the bleeding would not stop. Her younger brother grew up with the family next door and she has never even seen a picture of her mother. 

Just before we left she also told us that in the 60s her brother invited 'Father Louis' from England to come to the Kampung and start the church. A church and a school was built just down the road from her house and most of the people in the area are now Christians. 

The longhouse itself has now been divided up and most of the families have moved into the city.

Two very different homestay experiences and so many insights into local culture and recent history. 

Lunch at Yummy Express, a Sarawakian fast food chain, was surprisingly good. 

Next, Matang Wildlife Centre. Not a zoo but a centre for rehabilitation of animals sold as pets and either handed in or confiscated. The goal is to restore them to the wild but I began to understand how difficult this is, and many of the animals do not leave here. Overall, though the signs for some of the animals talked about rehabilitation, we were disappointed by their poor enclosures, and we didn't see any sign of keepers investing in them. This may reflect a lack of funds, especially from visitors. We paid $8 each to get in and we were the only people in the centre. We had been delighted to see the orangutans who had been successfully rehabilitated to Semmongoh yesterday, but it was sad to see the enclosure and the demeanour of the orangutans here. 

Nonetheless it was a treat to see macaques interacting with one another 

and the rhinoceros hornbills and sunbears. 

The wildlife Centre is part of Kubah National Park, and in the afternoon we enjoyed a challenging and very hot trek through the jungle on the Belian trail - named after the very tall and straight trees which are love by builders and loggers alike (aka Borneo ironwood).

The trail was constructed by the Japanese during their occupation in WWII. Very sweaty and exhausted after less than an hour, we were glad to arrive at our cheap but new hotel and enjoy a shower. Then dinner at Food Republic - a  modern food hawkers' market where drinks waiters take your orders with tablets.

Then it was time for the frogs! I'd heard about the 60 different species of frogs in Kubah National Park and discovered an accredited guide online. Lucian, a man of Chinese background  from Kuching, worked in Australia as a software engineer and in the telecommunications industry, and obviously felt this was a good grounding for becoming a froggy walk guide in his retirement. His enthusiasm and skill at spotting wildlife, and then  identifying each one with its common and scientific name was extraordinary. He promised we'd see 10 species of frogs and he delivered 11. Early on he learnt of Hamish's interest and expertise when he understood what it meant that the particular Pitcher plant we were looking at was 'detitritivorous.' For those of us with no idea what that means,  they eat leaf litter rather than insects. 

Lucian also helped us to spot many spiders

Hamish spotted this strange creature which Lucian promised to investigate later and let us know

He also spotted a snake hanging in a tree. It was a fascinating evening! 

So what is 'disappointment' doing in the title of this post? 

We arrived back at our hotel, managed to get the TV working, and grabbed a couple of hours of sleep before watching Australia play Egypt in the World Cup. 

Halfway through the second half I asked AI who the commentators were. Here's what it told me ...

 even with my naive trust in AI I I knew this couldn't be true and thankfully AI was prepared to admit it. 

Saddly that hallucination proved too close to the truth as Australia collapse in the penalty shoot out. Disappointing indeed! 

On the other hand, we were in Kuching, Bethany was in Uzbekistan, Elijah was at Darling Harbour, Isaac was at Springwood Sports Club and Danielle and Annie, Ben, Eloise and Levi were at home, but we were all watching and messaging together. 

Football really does bring people together!

4/7 Indigenous food and culture, and resort relaxation

A couple more hours sleep before a simple breakfast from a rare sight in Sarawak - a supermarket

I sat in the hawkers market and enjoyed watching Capo Verde, an archipelago of 10 islands with 500 000 people and a GDP per capita of $10 000 take Argentina to extra time, before losing 3-2. 

Today's experience of indigenous culture - the Sarawak Cultural Village in Santubong. My expectations weren't high as I hadn't seen much about it on the internet, but it certainly scored an 'E' on the Hogwart's marking scale -  'Exceeds Expectations.' It's essentially a collection of regular longhouses for each of the indigenous people groups with some of them having people to explain their traditional practises. 

They were large, seemingly authentic and and the genuine artefacts were engaging. 

Having conducted my fair share of weddings, I was particularly intrigued by the wedding bed in the grand Malay family home on which the wedding ceremony itself would have been conducted. After the wedding night it would be removed and presumably used for a similar occasion in someone else's home. 

The grounds of the centre were beautifully laid out, 

complete with a family of otters. 

Just before our trip they (the centre not the otters) had hosted the annual World Rainforest Music Festival, and the displays and instruments from this were really interesting.

On top of this there were two highlights. 

1. The cultural performance

Live music and dancing from each of the people groups, including a very funny display of the deadly glowpipe weapon. A brave 'volunteer' had the dart shot between her hands. 

2. Lunch

My first ever sit down meal in a theme park. An Indigenous banquet of chicken, beef, fish, vegetables, rice and chia drinks for $23 between us! Danielle you would have loved it. 

Eager for some rest and relaxation from a poor night's sleep and a hot day, we were delighted to arrive at our one night at a resort. The intimate and delightful Village House at Santubong. 

Google's information on restaurant/street hawker opening hours isn't so accurate in Santubong, but the 4th place we tried for dinner was open and served delicious food. 

Tomorrow our last adventure around the edge of Kuching, Bako National Park - home of macaques, Bornean bearded pigs and most importantly, proboscis monkeys.

2/7 A sunrise, a geography lesson and orangutans

A sleep in for Hamish and an morning walk for me. 

Beautiful views of the dam, especially when the rays of the Sun came through. 

We met Edward yesterday, another homestay provider and always up for a chat. 

He too was relocated when the dam was built and the rest of his family live elsewhere while he stays here 6 days a week. 'How far is it to come from Australia? Is English, British and America nearby?'

Google maps proved very helpful as I tried to explain that England was a part of Britain, and that these places were all very far from each other. 

After I explored some peaceful tracks and even stumbled  across some phone reception, I wandered back to our homestay for some delicious rice noodles and toast. After breakfast we packed up and said farewell to our hosts

and walked down to the boat and across the dam. Less than 24 hours but we had felt so far away it seemed so much longer. 

With some before our next stop, we headed for a largish town for coffee. Without warning a migraine descended and I thought I would have to spend the rest of the day lying down. I was so thankful when it went away almost as quickly and  I was able to drive on and see today's main attraction - semi-wild orangutans! 

Rescued from being pets, they are rehabilitated and then released into a large protected area. Because the area is not large enough to support their massive feeding demands,  everyday they are fed twice with various fruits and bamboo. First one of the juveniles emerged 

and then Ritchie, the leader of the clan, came out. 

It's impossible to put into words how majestic they are and how magical it was to see them.  Two other orangutans (one juvenile know and one adult male contender) also came out but didn't stay as long. Extraordinary! 

Finally we arrived at our second homestay, and what a change from last night! Our host grew up living in the lonouse next door but now lives in a modern brick and tile house next door. 

After our welcome drinks of pineapple and rice wine, tea and pork buns, we were then presented with a very filling dinner.

Having such a fantastic adventure with Hamish and it seems like an age since I was back home. So it was nice to video call Danielle and Elijah, and Bruno and Ripley.