Walking into the hinterlands to meet locals Part 1 : Long Banga and Long Lamai

This was a follow-up trip to a Penan settlement of Long Lamai, perhaps the oldest Penan settlement in the Norther Region. A few months earlier two intrepid MNS Miri and Kuching Branch members had entered the interior via Long Banga, Long Lamai on their exploratory mission to Bajawi area. Bajawi then was the last remaining pocket of unlogged old growth forest close the Kalimantan area. The region has never been properly surveyed and now in the sights of a major logging concern.

Our own trip to Long Banga and Long Lamai would not venture all the way to Bajawi but more of an on the ground mission to better familairise ourselves with the folks in the area as well as to get acquainted with the layout of the land. We hope to be able to make contact with some of the locals and talk to them, as well as see how life goes on far away from the hussle and bussle of urban centers. Most of the participants in this outing have never ventured this far into Penan and Kenyah country before this.

The Itenarary:
26th Dec Miri to Long Banga MASWINGS
26th Dec Long Banga to Long Lamai by long boat, overnite at Penghulu Wilson's house
27th Dec Long Lamai full day
28th Dec Long Lamai full day
29th Dec Long Lamai to Long Banga by longboat (Tan and I)and on foot (Ting and Rajali)
29th Dec Long Banga airport to wait for Sara's arrival from Miri. Spoke to locals about birdlife
29th Dec Long Banga to Long Siut by 4WD, appointed driver never showed up. Took alternative
29th Dec Long Siut long wait ... Penan father with 1/2 pig to trade with trader for sumi
29th Dec Long Siut ... packed lunch prepared by Penghulu Wilson's family ... fried river fish+white rice
29th Dec Long Siut Rajali went up Long Speigen to fetch his father. Penan travels in twos.
29th Dec Long Siut Rajali and father arrived 6pm
29th Dec Long Siut to Long Tungan Francis went ahead with Ting and Francis' family to Long Tungan by his boat
29th Dec Long Siut  to Long Tungan Sara, Tan, I, Rajali and his father on a bigger boat with luggage
29th Dec Long Tungan arrived rather late after a tortuous and arduous longboat journey on Sg  Selungo in heavy rain
29th Dec Long Tungan Dinner and overnite at Francis' long house.
29th Dec Long Tunga Flying Penan Nightmare, woke up at 2am to the sound of the interior.
29th Dec Long Tungan explored Long Tungan, spoke to a few locals and older folks
29th Dec Long Tungan travel by longboat to Long Moh 2xboats Francis' and Rajali's father
29th Dec Long Moh overnite at the Penghulu's house Kenyah longhouse.
30th Dec Long Moh full day
31st Dec Long Moh full day
01st Jan Long Moh to Long Tungan to Lio Matoh
01st Jan Lio Matoh break company with Francis, Rajali and his father at Lio Matoh. Waited for 4WD to go to Long Banga at Penghulu's house ... a day's waiting, left by almost nightfall.
01st Jan Long Banga overnite at the airport ... roof over our head, running water and flushing toilet at the back
02nd Jan Long Banga to Long Lamai on foot lunch at Penghulu Wilson's house. Met with Penan elder Agan, Schumacher (4), NurFaizura (6) and CuncunaMichelle(1)
02nd Jan Long Lamai to Long Banga on foot back to the airport, overnite
03rd Jan Long Banga Long Banga to Miri MASWINGS

The write-up for this trip will be in several pieces coming one by one eventually eventually. After almost 10 years, thank God for the notes I made for this trip.

The longboat ride to Long Lamai from Long Banga.

Hymns in the dark at Long Lamai.

Kenyah longhouse at Long Moh

Boatride to Lio Matoh from Long Moh

Introductory trip to the Sarawak Hinterlands : Long Banga to Long Moh and back

Area covered. From Dec 26th to Jan 03rd we covered Long Lamai, Long Siut, Long Tungan, Long Moh, Lio Matoh and Long Banga. Careful planning and advance prep on our part didn't quite step up to local variations on the ground this being our maiden visit to the area. Yes: there are small grocery shops in most communities where you can buy your entire warbdrobe for your stay. Yes: most villages are connected to each other one way or the other depending how you want to do it. No: timetables are seldom adhered to and even if there is a one, the price has to be just right. Yes, everyone here is very flexible. We didn't manage to cover Long Lamam and Long Ajeng. Map sourced from BMF.


At Long Tungan. After having came out in one piece from what could've been our most adrenaline pumping nite-time blind white water experience down Sg Selungo the nite before from Long Siut, all were in reasonably high spirits the next day during the short walkabout around Long Tungan, a rag tag settlement of Kenyahs consisting mainly of jovial older folks.


At Long Moh. After a few cupfuls of the village local brew courtesy of a wedding several nites before and snortful of smoke from handrolled cigars, members of our party didn't need too much coaxing to take to the floor to perform "Ngajat" or at least what passed as ngajat when we executed it. The village folks gave us plenty of encouragement and opportunity to mutilate the most graceful of ngajat movements.


At Long Lamai. Meeting up with a Penan hunting party on the way to their playground along the Long Banga-Long Lamai trail. One of the men is actually working in Miri, returning home for short break for Christmas. His hunting dog came from Miri, a stray he picked up from Krokop market who's now nearly graduated from stringent Penan training in the bush.

Stories to come. All images by Sara Wong.

Ulu ulu no. 1

Waiting for the flight to Long Banga.


Entering Long Banga on foot led by a kindly Penan lady from Long Lamai who's heading the same way.

Our boatman just negotiated one of the many shallow rapids on the way to Long Lamai. Another route is to go on foot from Long Banga.


Watching a Hong Kong movie on a laptop in Long Lamai.

Bes Hyang Dney

From the jungles of Pahang to Hilltop

Kuala Lumpur Gloomyskies

nice to visit ...

Asian Waterbird Census 2010

Come and join us for AWC 2010!

Near Bungai by the sea

A river leading to the sea at Bungai Beach ... at low tide.

Slideshow 'Introduction to coral reef in Miri'

Tisha, Amer and Kumar at Pustaka Miri

Birds in the Paddyfields of Merkang, Pasir Puteh

It's not exactly backyard birdwatching but close enough ... from the family home it's merely 5 minutes by car, or 10 minutes cycling, or 20 minutes walking, or perhaps 30 minutes using a walker (estimated travel time if I needed to use one 15-20 years from now) traversing small kampong houses scattered in the fringes of these paddyfields.

Further on the horizons are forested hills, undoubtedly areas begging to be explored for birdwatching potential. I doubt if anyone has ever ventured into these places for birds.

In the paddyfield itself are egrets, herons, bitterns, raptors, mynas, kingfishers, pipits, shrikes, munias and others. Egrets made up most of the numbers conisting of Cattle Egrets (greatest numbers), Little Egret, and Intermediate Egrets. Chinese Pond Herons and Yellow Bitterns are next.

Black-winged Kites are commonly seen hovering about the fields. Two other raptors were also sighted but not identified ... one seen walking around after a low exploratory flight.

White-throated Kingfisher is a possibility at every dead branch or stump in the area. Two juvenile Oriental Pratincoles were also sighted looking for food among a freshly ploughed patch.

The area looks superb for birdwatching, can't exactly say why I missed it altogether all these years! It definitely gets coverage at least twice a year from now on ... Nov/Dec and Feb/Mar looks best.

Our Children

13/11/09

Ali and Aisya Nov 2009

Ali and Aisya fully attired on the way to a half-day school function at Dynasty Hotel. Ali will be nine 11th December 2009 and Aisya has just celebrated her seventh birthday 02nd July 2009. Tok Wan would've been proud of both ... we tend to spend the least time with those we love the most.

Little Egrets at Lutong Beach

Some work harder for breakfast than others, perhaps having more fun too while at it.

Morning walkabout at Lutong Beach

It's full moon this week ... and the tide was really low this morning at Lutong Beach. There was a large unidentified raptor swooping low along the beach, a few waders, one Little Egret, one Chinese Egret, one Great Egret near the kampong. Heard some terns but wasnt able to locate where the calls were coming from.


Looking back towards the sunrise.


Another blueskies day today.


Waves and rainbow way yonder.

Cant believe this is durian!

It's spiky just like one ... and wait for this : red fruit, thin yellow flesh, black seed, the flesh is ultra sweet and mintish! Durian tuntong ... it's like eating candy!

Durian Tuntong, resplendant in red!


On the inside, bright yellow flesh with black seeds. The taste ... sharpish (really) sweet with a mintish aftertaste. Leaves your tongue tingly for a moment ...

Kuala baram

Two mini surfers

Kuala baram

Beach party

Kuala baram

A beached boy eating monster dolphin

Kuala baram

Baked and its only 10am!

Kuala baram

Roaring fire on the sandbar

Kuala baram

Campfire