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 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 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 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.
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 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 Semmonah 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 to see 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 loved for local building and for logging. According to the sign, the trail was constructed during the Japanese occupation, though whether this was by the occupiers or the occupied wasn't clear. 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 - modern food hawkers 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 Chinese background man from Kuching - had 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 hr 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 and a snake. It was a fascinating evening!
What could 'disappointment' in the title possibly refer to? We arrived back at our hotel, managed to get the TV working, and grabbed a couple of hours of sleep before watching Australia fight to a 1-1 after extra time against Egypt in the World Cup. We then collapsed in the penalty shootout. 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!
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