Tuai ewu' aku' means 'Come follow me' in the language of the indigenous Penan peoples of Sarawak, Borneo. This blog is an invitation to you to follow me on my big adventure to learn about this tribe and experience the natural beauty of Borneo. Tuai ewu' aku' ! x

Monday, September 6, 2010

Day 2 - Into the Wild (well, it's wild to me!) :)

Thursday 26 August:


After another meal of the Penan's staple foods (rice and tapioca) we left the village and set off through the jungle!
The jungle looked a bit like this


And this

And I looked like this...not at my most glamorous I know:)

On our trail, we crossed the path of a Penan couple who still lived in the traditional way, in the jungle. By way of explanation, the Penan have traditionally been a nomadic group, building temporary shelters at one location in the jungle, exhausting the surrounding area and moving on.  By the time they returned to the previous location, the area had been replenished.  However, due to pressures and incentives by the government, many Penan have settled in villages.  My guide and porters are settled Penan.  The couple we came cross in the jungle were nomadic Penan (as I understand it).
This is a rather cool photo of two generations of Penan - our porter Allan on the right and an elderly Penan jungle-dweller on the left.

That night we stopped at a very scenic location to set up camp - me cooling off with a swim.
 When we arrived at a lovely scenic spot near a waterfall, we set up camp.  Well actually, our guide and porters got straight to work finding wood for a fire, cutting branches to make a cooking frame, making a rain cover and benches to sit on. We tourists just went for a leisurely bath by the waterfall.

Isaac, Allan and Hagai cooking rice
My hammock in the trees (not very comfortable!)
My very muddy Adidas Kampung shoes


That night I had a miserable sleep, with aching legs.  It was ok though, because I got up out of my hammock and saw lovely fireflies buzzing around me.

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