Bidayuh Jungle Survival.

Jungle trekking for a short break, vacation or holiday is a great way to discover and appreciate more of the wonderful world in which we live. It is through this adventurous travel that our mind certainly broadens without question. Travel on foot enhances the enjoyment of the scenery, the wildlife and the people you meet. Visiting Sarawak offers fantastic trekking travel opportunities that give you the chance to explore some of our planet’s most magical corners and stunning landscapes.Much of the forested areas in Sarawak are still unexplored.

 unexplored rainforests offer intrepid trekkers endless opportunities to observe exotic and rare tropical flora and fauna.
I read one article  from Visitor Info Centre in Kuching. Culture, Adventure & Nature Experience with "Pinyewa Bidayuh" of Padawan.The actually theme for the  trip is "Bidayuh Jungle Survival" for more information kindly refer to PINYEWA BIDAYUH .

Any enquiries on the trip please contact..Mr Valentine Ritong@ 019 8785013(mobile) or email him@ valritong@yahoo.com or visit website: www.perayahomestay.com
For your information, the service provider for this trip is Mr Valentine. He is a licensed Tourist Guide and a discendent of "Pinyewa Bidayuh" himself.
To view more photos of  recent trip by Dickson Bundak HERE

Semban Village-Culture & Forest.

It was going to be my first and like all first times, you just don't know what to expect. But after hiking through the secondary forest, rubber and cocoa orchards I can safely say that it was one memorable experience. The walk along the narrow jungle treks and under the canopy of trees and bamboos, the familiar vegetation and smell and the sound of the river and the waterfall . The place in its entirety is beautiful and so are its people. It felt just like home the village call 'Kampong Semban'.I learnt a lot of interesting things about the Semban Villagers , their culture and their traditions!  You may remember that the people of Semban are in the process of being relocated, which will inevitably result in the loss of many of their existing way of life.  Yet we did find out about many of their rather interesting and sometimes curious traditions and this post I would like to share some of the more memorable ones.

The hospitality of the Bidayuhs in Semban is overwhelming. They shared with us the beautiful produce of their land, made sure we saw and experience all the things we wanted to and even had the doors of their home open for us to visit and take picture .  We totally enjoyed our visit to their village. It was also my first encounter with the Bidayuh’s traditional bamboo smoke pipe.Hookah, a traditional water pipe for smoking tobacco. Made from bamboo, the pipe is half filled with water and the smoke passes through the water before being inhaled by the smoker.They plant they own tobacco leaf.

It was by chance that we stumbled upon a Bidayuh lady, seated comfortably slicing tobacco leaves. The tobacco leaves, harvested from the nearby farm was folded carefully and sliced finely for drying.

Jungle trekking to the biggest and highest Tapang Tree in the village.The tapang tree (aka Mengaris, Honey Bee Tree,Tualang) is a majestic emergent tree of the Southeast Asia rainforests best know for the disk shaped honeycombs which hang from its horizontal branches. Towering above the canopy the tapang can reach 250 feet, or the 30 stories in height.

Mr Sagen also explain on plants along the path to Tapang Tree.

and the history of old part of Semban Village....

Next to Ijok palm, there’s of course the Terap tree where the inner barks are also used for cordage. The Bidayuh seems to prefer the Ijok cordage for general rough use. Nevertheless, coils of harvested Terap and its application can be seen around the village.The ijok is a very useful plant to the villagers in Semban  besides providing an excellent alcoholic drink and gula (sugar) Ijok  its fibers for example has been used for generations as cordage to bind things together. It is so strong that  the villager’s use it to hold together bridges, houses and even floorings. It is useful in mat making too.

The Bidayuh Ring Ladies in Semban, Sarawak

Technorati Tags: Tribe,Culture

 

Get close to the people here who are from the Bidayuh Rasong ethnic and you can feel their warm hospitality towards you. Don’t forget to meet the Ladies of The Ring and the bamboo musician in the village. Take picture with them. There are only a few of them left because some were already get off the brass rings because of the rings sometimes hurting them and it needs a lot job to clean the brass everyday.I was here last week, hosted by Sarawak Tourism Board and the trip was fun indeed, I went together with Jawlinda and Deckson.We stay with Sagen family (Semban Village stay 014-8808123).Sarawak Bloggers Community are happy to play their role to promote Sarawak as Tourist Destination.

Group photo with Bidayuh Ring Ladies

 

Seems that there are only 5 Bidayuh elder women left in Semban village who are still wearing the copper rings. Many years ago, according to Sagen, many women would still be wearing them but slowly things changed and many of the younger generations prefer bracelets and anklets. Things didn’t look promising for the tradition of wearing the rings when even school teachers begin to ban students from wearing them.

 

I didn’t know that Bidayuh women wore copper rings on their arms and legs as a sign or beauty and status until I saw it for myself in Semban. Our guide Sagen did mention it but I never thought much of the rings back then. Now that I have seen them myself, I have to agree that they are most beautiful and in its own way very majestic. The sad thing is that there are only 5 of the women left who are still wearing the rings.

The bamboo musician

I am not all that sure if the rings are made of copper or brass. But an old newspaper cutting in Sagen’s house stated that the rings were actually made of yellow copper. Called Rasung and Ruyang where believed to be obtained from foreign traders 100 years ago and wearers back then are considered to be ‘somebody’. Wearing the rings is more of a personal choice. While they signify beauty and status, the wearer is subjected to physical pain, often having to grow up with atrophied limbs The Bidayuh women came to meet us in their finest. They seem very proud of the rings they are wearing and their clothes have been beautifully decorated with beads of all kind. One thing I also notice is that they go everywhere with their chewing kit, known as ’Lonok’.

  

For someone to wear those rings since the age of 12, and still did everything anyone else did (they still work on their farms even with the rings on!), I would say that these women are really a respectable lot. As the lure of big cities and the prospect of an easier life vacuums away the younger generation from the village, the practice of wearing copper Rasung and Ruyang will soon be a thing of the past. A sad end to such beauty and charm of the Bidayuh’s in Semban.

Trip to Semban Village-The Sun Rising..

Technorati Tags: Adventure,Jungle Trekking

For those who have been to a remote part Sarawak, experienced culture much different and diverse to their own, and felt the joys of the simple life, I think you will all agree that no matter how intriguing the destination, the journey there was the highlight. Nothing less than amazing was the journey to Semban Village,the village above the cloud. That night we were informed that those who wished to see the sun rise would need to wake up at 5’oclock in the morning and take 1750 steps to the top of a nearby hill.

Sunset view from the village of Semban

At 5am,we woke up and ascending to the summit of a hill to see the sunrise.I personally had to do battle with the forces  to haul myself up that morning. I dragged myself up and reached for my head torch, It was still dark  outside.

 Deckson & Linda enjoy the view

The sun rising over Semban’s beautiful landscape . It is one of those moments where you would just be still and wonder how beautiful the world we live in. Clouds can be seen covering the lower reaches of the valley and as the sun rise; its colour of powdery white, almost like cotton wool stretched over the tree tops. For a moment when the sun finally made its appearance, there were just silence among us, only the sound of birds and cameras clicking away.

 

 

The view is spectacular!!!

The “Sun Rising” over Semban’s beautiful landscape it is the one of those moment where you would just be still and wonder how beautiful the world we live in. Clouds can be seen covering the lower reaches of the valley and as the sun rise its colour of powdery white, almost like cotton wool stretched over the tree tops.

 

The air was very fresh and the view was amazing although the sun was blocked out by clouds.

We spend almost 45 minutes at the summit watching sunrise while enjoying fresh hot black coffee.It was early,and having walked for nearly six hours the previous day this was not a walk in the park.  Yes, my dear friends there was more uphill hiking involved. At the summit , soon enough it started to get light and we were looking at the valley below, shrouded in a thick blanket of cloud.  In amongst those clouds was, the village in the clouds.  The early morning hike was most definitely worth the effort. How beautiful the world we live in........

After the sunrise, as we make our way back to the village, we pass by a pepper farm. The villagers of Semban do plant, harvest and process pepper as a livelihood. Both white and black pepper seeds actually comes from the same tree, the only difference is that making white pepper is more tedious and time consuming.

As we walk closer to the village, we started seeing people busy going about their businesses. Some were on their way to the farm while others were busy processing their harvest. The adults were very friendly, greeting us as we meet them.

The village of Semban, located in the upper Penrissen near Kuching is one of the few Bidayuh villages spared from the flooding of the Bengoh Dam. Dubbed ‘the village above the clouds’, Kg Semban is home to the 7 last known surviving women who still wear copper rings coiled around their arms and forearms, a practice that will cease to exist with their passing. This visit to Semban will uncover the beauty of the people, their culture and way of life while we immerse ourselves in their natural, rustic environment.

Among the highlights at Kampung Semban:-

• Crossing bamboo suspension bridges
• Cultural performances by the ladies of the rings
• Traditional parang forging demonstration
• Visit to villagers’ farms and vegetable garden plots
• Stay with local families and sample home- cooked food
• Village tour
• Sunrise watch
• Waterfall hike

Your Travel Destination- Kuching,Sarawak.

Beautiful scenery awaiting you at Anah Rais Long House......

FIREFLY AIRLINE Irresistible fare !!! fly from KLIA to KUCHING from RM28.00

All-in air fares from Rm28.Booking from now till 16 Feb 2011. Travel period from 17feb to 31 March.

Travelling to Kuching on your own is not difficult as you may think.To-day I am going to list down one of the few places or attractions that you should not miss when travelling in Kuching.

 

 

If you want to stay over night just drop by this little Home Stay in Annah Rais Longhouse.

If you really don’t have time and budget to travel inland to places like Rejang river’s Iban longhouse, then Annah Rais Bidayuh Longhouse is your best choice. This is a very real authentic Bidayuh longhouse located at some 90km away from Kuching City Centre .They are working very hard to preserve the way it should be. If you prefer to stay back and to experience yourself the local way of living there, you can opt to stay with one of the local villager there who run a homestay program called Annah Rais Longhouse Adventure.

 

Beautiful isn't it...experience walking thru bamboo floor .

It is patronised by the tourists daily and many say that it has become a tourist place. Nevertheless, the local people still carried on with their traditional life there, despite lots of tourist visiting the longhouse everyday.

They still use traditional way to crush sugar cane for juice and the oldest skull still on show case and don't forget to ask them what the history behind the skull. Although the longhouse itself has already equipped with satellite or antenna, the main longhouse structure still remain pretty much original.

 

Even though the modern way of cooking is available but the people here still prefer using fire wood.

From Kuching city go to Annah Rais Bidayuh longhouse will take you about 90mins drive.Although the journey take a very long on single dual road but your will not feel bored because you will be amazed by the scenic countryside view,like the beautiful mountain range,limestone hill and paddy field.I found that taxi is  the only public transport to go here.This is because, Annah Rais Longhouse is so remote and not many local people come here. So, no bus services as the Bidayuh in this longhouse are mostly working in the city and almost all of them own a car. The only public transport available for visitor is Taxi. Generally, the local taxi will charge RM90 to RM110 for 1 way transfer from Kuching city to Annah Rais Longhouse. Besides, the other way  to go here  is rent car. The normal price is RM70 by small private car Perodua kancil, maximum 3 adult; or by 10-seater van at RM120 or the best way is join the local tour agent.

Traditional Dress.

To-day I have decided to post a photo that I took on one of  the celebration in Kuching.   I took this while at a padang merdeka with some friends.  I shot with Olympus E-620 and happened to have the camera out at the right moment as I passed this people wearing Sarawak native traditional dress.

Beautiful traditional dress.........

Beautiful maiden with colourful traditional dress.

Melanau of Sarawak with their traditional dress.

Student wearing traditional dress during the performance in Kuching.

Long Weekend....

I’m sure many people are looking forward for a long weekend which will start to-day (Friday) especially for those in Sarawak . Many are taking the opportunity to travel around be it locally or go somewhere outside Malaysia.

Vesak Day Year 2010 falls on Friday, 28 May 2010.

Vesak day is celebrated by Buddhist around the world, and in different manners all over the world. Though some countries occasionally use different date for this festival, most would fall on this same day.

Gawai Day or Gawai Dayak is a festival celebrated in Sarawak on 1 June every year. It is both a religious and social occasion. The word Gawai means a ritual or festival whereas Dayak is a collective name for the native ethnic groups of Sarawak: the Iban, also known as Sea Dayak and the Bidayuh people, also known as Land Dayak. Thus, Gawai Dayak literally means "Dayak Festival". Dayak would visit their friends and relatives on this day.

Happy Gawai Day & Wesak Day to all Malaysian or popular known as 1Malaysia.........