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Published: February 27th 2013
Just back from a two day trip staying at Kurakura Homestay, a guesthouse in the upper Sarawak river - a tranquil jungle paradise surrounded by Borneo rainforest. This is a longhouse built by themselves four years ago. Lars (Norwegian), Liza (from Bidayuh tribe), their 3 year old daughter Froya (who we named "Macaque" during my visit), two wonderful cats and three chickens surrounded by wildlife and wilderness. An absolutely wonderful trip. The family, together with Liza's cousin, Phyllis, made me feel so welcome and allowed me to experience a perfect place to stay with culture, local life and food.
If you ever have chance to stay in this area this trip is a must. Although, selfishly I would like to keep it a secret. A 5 star trip advisor report truly deserved.
The jungle guesthouse takes approx. 45 minutes by car from Kuching city centre to a nearby village, stopping off at a local market for produce and a KOPI for the road. Following this the journey continues along the river in a small boat for twenty minutes with breathtaking scenery and kingfishers along the way.
After meeting the family, several iced lemon teas and a light lunch,
I was then treated to "jungle shopping", which essentially was a jaunt around the forest understanding how tribes have survived on goodies from the jungle for years. Together with Liza and Phyllis we found a whole array of produce for eating and for medicinal purposes, collecting a whole host of ingredients in preparation for a delicious supper later. I must say the machete skills were stunning.
Just some of the delights included edible pineapples, paku (jungle fern), jungle spinach, galangal, lemongrass, wild ginger, bamboo, tapioca root, turmeric and bananas. On a nearby tree we watched a whole army of ants as they ran up and down. Then I surprised myself - following Liza's lead and a heap of trust I ate one of the live ants!!!!! Yes believe it or not! I'm either getting brave or completely losing it! Actually following the initial sting on the tongue as they try to escape, the back end tasted of sorbet! Honestly! I hadn't even had a drop of alcohol.
Following this it was back to the house for a rest, and a taste of the coffee Lars had been roasting some minutes before. With a combination of the pickings and
fish from the market stop we had a truly delicious supper that evening. In fact, each of the meals from there on in were exceptional, with extremely generous portions of everything. One of the highlights for me was the roast duck.
After a restful sleep, with cicadas and birds sending you off to sleep it was another day of adventure. Not satisfied with painful legs after my mountain trip, I thought I'd try my hand at an 11 km kayaking trip along the river. It's only fair my arms should suffer too!!!! Well, shoulder to be precise!. Not surprising after a complete lack of use for 12 months!
A true Borneo experience down the Semadang river with my kayaking partner and tour organiser, McQueen. Not having kayaked or rowed for many years now I actually took to it quite well. We glided along the river, with wonderful backdrops for 4 km, stopping off at a waterfall, visiting a small cave and experiencing body rafting in the rapids before facing them further down in the kayak. Then a short stop off for lunch at a local village. Full of food we headed for a trip around the herb gardens
and orchard seeing a vast number of plants never before seen. Most of which appeared to have medicinal properties - or so it's believed. No time to waste with a further 7km and some rapids to face, we head off in the blistering sun. Unfortunately, downstream I failed to tackle the rapids well and promptly fell in. Thanks to my body raft teaching I managed to keep smiling and rose to the challenge of re-entering the kayak. All be it like a beached whale and not in any elegant manner!
With steams of kingfishers, butterflies and the odd monitor lizard on the way, my kayaking trip was over. However, I do have an assortment of pictures taken along the way of myself, flora and fauna kindly downloaded onto a CD to take home.
Lars kindly picked me up in the boat and after seeing one of the most magical plants of the journey - Shy plant (sometimes known as touch me not or Mimosa Pudica) - a perennial herb with leaves folding inward when touched or shaken, we set back to the longhouse.
Another delicious dinner and then it was time for Phyllis and Froya to show
me their "Zorba the Greek" dance. It was really funny and a memory I will always keep with me.
After another peaceful sleep and breakfast it was time to head back to Kuching and the hustle and bustle of the city. I will definitely miss the paradise. A brilliant ending to a brilliant 4 week trip.
A truly memorable experience. What a wonderful way to live. Simple and self sufficient. It was a dream. Something I will remember for a very long time.
Whilst I want to keep it a secret the website, should you be interested to visit is www.kurakura.asia/
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Mary
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Brave woman.... 11km?? It looks so back to the simple things ..... blissful! I bet there were crocodiles in that water too?? Those pics tell it all.....