Kuching 2015 - Day 4 - Kampong Hopping and Makan All the Way

Good Morning Kampong Mongkos! Some of us stayed in this longhouse and some of us spent the night in a community hall, there was a blackout last night and the night celebration was somehow interrupted.

One of the entrance to the longhouse and the space beneath is being used as a store.

A simple meal for breakfast provided at the homestay.

The serene and peaceful morning atmosphere in the kampong.

We were ready to start our day for another Gawai experience at Kg. Mongkos.

Six of our friends wanted to cycle back to Kuching and successfully they have managed to complete the ride and have clocked over 100 kilometres on this day. My salute to them, our truly strong riders indeed.

While the majority of us hang around in the village and visited two nearby attractions before another Gawai ceremony starts. A local head was kind enough to lead us to these sacred places.

It was an off road ride, our folding bikes were able to handle it without any hassle.

Our friendly guide briefing us with interesting stories of these legendary spots.

Crocodile rock - a huge croc surfacing from the water with its mouth wide open.

Bukit Kapal - Legend has it that this “bukit” (hill) comprises a woman and her daughter as well as a Bugis boat that turned into stone after being cursed for insulting a crab. Photo showing part of the hull.

Sarawak produces 98% of Malaysian pepper. Currently, Malaysia ranks No. 5 after Vietnam, India, Indonesia, and Brazil in terms of pepper production. Planting pepper in small plots among families in the kampong is a common practice.

After visiting Bukit Kapal, we came back to the village and we could see that the people was in a festive mood coming out from their houses and heading to the longhouse.

We kept our bicycle at our 'door' at the longhouse.

The Chief initiating the ceremony, the man behind him (with head gear) was our guide earlier in the morning.

Dancing is a common ritual for Gawai celebration and we have fun dancing together with the folks.

Of course not forgetting the traditional music.

Beside the local people gathering at the longhouse there were also many tourists present to witness this auspicious day.

Patrick came to the rescue, one of our bicycle encountered a technical problem during our ride to another Bidayuh village, Kampong Mentu Ponduk. Thank you Patrick.

Our kampong hopping has brought us to Kg. Mentu Poduk where we were welcomed by Freda's Aunty & family.

They even rear pigs at their home, what a sustainable village lifestyle seen in this plot of land.

 Thanks to Freda's Cousin and family for their warmth hospitality. That was a great lunch.

The food was delicious and there were tauk and beers for us too.

Thank you so much, we hope to come back to this part of the world again. Cheers.

And it's back to Kg. Bunan Gega for our bus to take us back to Kuching. 

Here we were, waiting for our bus and for sure we were not going to cycle 100 kilometre to Kuching.

Just before we were reach Kuching somewhere in Siburan we visited Freda sister's house for another party.

Patrick, the house owner was very entertaining and thank you Sir for your warm hospitality. Madam's food was the best.

It was serving of tuak again and one should not refuse it's offensive if you do.

Another good brew that can be well remembered.

 We simply love and enjoy Freda sister's cooking, another fantastic Gawai feast. Terima kasih.

Freda's daughter in law and grandson, you must try her home made cake.

Hi young Bidayuh you are the future. I hope one day you will lead the nation.

Kuching 2015 - Day 3 Happy Gawai Day

Good morning Kuching...it's Gawai Day and we were waiting to be transported to a remote place to witness the celebration.

Our stop at Tapah for breakfast, this is Tapah in Sarawak and not in Perak. The rain has stopped just timely for us to get down.

The rain came back as we waited for our food. The waiting was worth the while as the food was super good.

I find that the porridge in Sarawak is more tastier than those in Peninsula, I love this minced meat porridge with century eggs. Truly yummy.

Kolo Mee with minced meat instead of Char Siu.

This Sarawak Laksa tasted better than the one I had in Kuching the day before. Wow, the food in this smaller town is pretty awesome!

Happy faces in the bus for photograph but moment later most of us were snoring and catching up with their sleep.

The bus has finally arrived at the destination, Kg. Bunan Gega which is approximately 95km away from Kuching and it is very close to the border of Indonesia.

Our first visit was to Joyce's house, an old friend of Freda and she is such a sport. We shall remember her lovely tuak.

Freda lead us into the kampong, our bicycles were kept at her friend's house. The weather was excellent. The walking was fun and joyful. Happy walking.

We could see a crowd at the other end of the road and we slowly marched into the scene. There were sound of gongs and drums, smoke and fire crackers bursting and it was the beginning of our excitement for our first ever Gawai celebration.

Gawai Dayak is a harvest festival, which is celebrated by the indigenous people of Sarawak, particularly the Ibans and Bidayuhs. Kg. Bunan Gega is a Bidayuh village.

Traditional dance performed by the local folks as part of the ritual they do annually.

Home made rice wine is the traditional drink of choice called Tauk, but today many Dayak celebrate with beer or whiskey.

Dressing up in traditional clothes is another aspect that makes Gawai. For men, this means putting on a loincloth, animal skin for protection, headgear with hornbill feathers and weapons like shield, sword, and spear.

We followed the procession and it went from one community to another, observing the ritual was something educational. It was surely an awesome experience for us.

There are many variations of the traditional dance which basically revolve around the male dance and female dance which consist of graceful and precise movements of the body, hands and feet with occasional shouts of battle cry. Visitors were encouraged to join in the fun.

This harvest festival, gives thanks to the gods and spirits for the bounty of the land. With centuries of tradition behind it, this native ritual involves communication with the spirit world, ancestral worship and feasting with friends and family of the whole community.

War dances are part of their celebration.

Blowpiping is another activity seen in this celebration, some of us had the chance to blow the pipe.

Finally the procession came to its final place at the Longhouse which they called it Balai Kebudayaan.

The inside of the longhouse is decorated for the occasion with mats covering the bamboo strips floor.

Gawai Dayak as a festival is considered as an auspicious occasion for weddings and family reunions beside an attraction of indigenous culture for tourists.

Some of us were invited to wear colorful costumes for photos, participate in traditional dances, and sample delicious cakes and treats.

Friends from Kuala Lumpur in the Longhouse of Kg. Bunan Gega. Happy Gawai, May another good harvest be fulfilled for this village. What an opportunity for us to witness this auspicious celebration in Borneo.

Day 1 celebration at Kg. Bunan Gega was over, we walked back to Joyce's place for our bicycles and rode to another village where we will be putting up a night there.

Though it was a short ride, weather was superb and the feeling of cycling in a remote village was so good.

It was away from the mad city, road was so quiet, no wifi, no pollution and it's so peaceful indeed.

At last we reached Kg. Mongkos, the village we will be staying for the night.

With another 2.5 kilometres away we could have reached Indonesia but we did not pursue.

A river where some of the folks take their bath, wash their clothing and the kids have great fun in it.

Hi kids, I like to be in your shoe.

Dinner time at a separate double storey building with a mini market on the ground floor. Good night, have a good rest and tomorrow there will be another adventure awaiting for us.