Bario Revisited

In 2007, my friends and I went to Bario for a weekend. We made the trip without much planning .... so because of that we did not see much. We did enjoy very much the cool climate, the rural village landscape, the delicious food, and of course, the hospitality of its people.

Now that I had been given a chance to visit again, of course, I would not miss it. This trip, I went with my colleagues.

Bario means "wind" in Kelabit. It is a valley, located far in the north-east of Sarawak, very near the Indonesian borders, and at an altitude of 3280m above sea level. So remote is this little village, that flying is the best option to get there.

Our local carrier, MasWings, services Bario from Miri daily. The twin-otters carry only 16 passengers per trip, and there are 2 trips every morning.

Looking out the tiny plane window to see an ocean of green rainforests, sliced by yellow logging trails

There were 11 of us this trip, and the interesting thing was that we were the ONLY 11 passengers in the little plane the other day. It felt like we had chartered the whole air craft!

Though it was a clear day, the flight was bumpy at times, giving my stomach sinking feeling when it dipped. Coupled with the poor ventilation inside the plane, I felt queasy and was on the verge of vomitting. I later found out that I was not the only one who felt that way. At least 2 other colleagues was experiencing the same thing!

To distract myself from my discomfort, I concentrated on the view outside. Looking out from the little window, I could see the lush canopy-tops of  the dense tropical jungle, and the winding bright orange logging tracks. The 45-minute flight took us past Mulu and then Long Seridan.

Before long, it made a turn ... and I caught a clear view of Batu Lawi, a sacred double-peak mountain which resembles a married couple.

Batu Lawi

According to legend, Batu Lawi were protector Gods, protecting the local people from Batu Apoi,, whose fire threatened to destroy everything. 

Minutes after that , we landed at Bario Airport.

 Our little plane landed safely at Bario Airport 

I was glad to climb out of the confines of the air craft ... and breathed in the cool highlands air. Phew! What a relief to have reached safely, and I was excited for what was to come. 

The signboard just outside the little terminal building

On arrival, we were greeted by J&L. They both worked at the schools. First up, we would be driven to the school for a meet & greet. Lol. Sounded pretty much like celebrities, huh?

Anyway, our transport was to be a pick up truck with gigantic tyres. Hence, even climbing up and down the vehicle proved a challenge. I had to reach for the grab handle inside the vehicle and hoist myself up. Going down? Just jump. :P

At the school, we were so touched that the teachers lined up to shake hands with us. What a warm welcome! We were served lunch almost immediately after we arrived.

The first thing I went for was the Bario pineapple.

Bario pineapple
Bario grew the sweetest and juiciest and crunchiest pineapples I had ever eaten. These were so fresh, and so refreshing. I made a mental note to help myself to more later on! Indeed, I wanted to have my fill this trip.

My rice platter
I had a bit of rice, with bamboo shoots, a dollop of anchovies sambal and a piece of sweet sour chicken. All of us agreed that the bamboo shoots were delicious. They were lightly flavoured, but were so tender and crunchy, naturally sweet and tasty. The sambal spiced things up ... and before I knew it, I had finished everything on the plate. :))

After lunch, we were sent to our homestay, which was just a stone's throw away. We were staying at Ngimat Ayu's. All of us loved the patio from where we could sit down and and chat, while we enjoyed the cool air, admired the blue skies, rolling hills, and the green paddy fields. 

View from the patio

Unexpectedly that afternoon, we got a visit from Bario's resident hornbill. Its name was Toro. 

Toro perched on the table ...

Many of us had never been in such close proximity with a hornbill. Hence, all of us whipped out our cameras or smart phones and started snapping away. To entice the bird to stay longer, we fed it biscuits. It liked it and ate a few pieces too! It stayed long enough for some of us to pose for photographs with it ... and after some time, I got to stroke it. The shiny black feather felt smooth and firm. 

Our hostess was Puan Alau. Over the next two days, she would be taking care of our meals. First ... for a taste of what was to come ....

Wild boar meat

I had great fear for the gamey flavour of wild boar meat and was reluctant to try. But when constantly urged by my colleagues, I gingerly picked up one piece of meat and popped it into my mouth. As I chewed on the meat, I appreciated its tender texture and the sweetness of the meat. Not gamey at all, totally palatable and tasted better than those that I had tried before this. Perhaps it was because the meat was fresh, or perhaps it was the cut of the meat, or maybe the way it was cooked that made it yummy. :)

In the kitchen too, we had a peek of the ingredients for our dinner that night ..... 

Yayy! More Bario sweet pineapples .... can't wait to eat these.


Midin or fiddlehead ferns, some eggplant; not sure what the other vegetable is though ...


Pineapple shoots ... Yayy! Hadn't eaten these since my last trip here to Bario

Not sure about everyone else, but I definitely anticipated dinner! 

In the afternoon, we went to the secondary school, where my colleagues spoke to the students. Some then helped the Form 3 students revise for their PMR exam. The children looked so eager to learn, and were all taking down notes diligently.

A block of classrooms at SMK Bario

Look! An old-fashioned school bell! Hadn't seen this since my primary school days.

After our activities at the school, the school was kind enough to serve us tea. With our hot drinks of tea and coffee, we had some ... 

Biscuits

Flaky pastries 

These pastries were a little dry for me ...

Doughnuts
But these deep-fried rounded buns were quite tasty. The fluffy buns were filled with salty butter inside.

As soon as finished our tea, we climbed up the hill behind the school to visit the museum.

Climbing up the slope ... the locals used the leaves (on the left corner) to wrap rice .... 

And encountering a lemon tree on the way up. Look at the fruits growing in abundance! 

The museum buildings

The museum exhibited the historical information about Bario and cultural artifacts of the Kelabit people. Some information about the school was displayed too.

The view of Bario from the museum veranda was really stunning.

View of school buildings below, and the village beyond, with the hills as background. 

Wait a minute, I was told. I could see more from the look-out point at a higher elevation. That got me excited. I climbed a flight of stairs to reach the upper museum building ... and when I exited, I reached the site of the original secondary school. This was where a spiritual revival occurred back in 1973, and there was a monument here to commemorate this event.

Here, I plopped onto a bench, took a deep breath of the cool fresh air, and feasted on the picturesque scene. This was bliss. 

Breathtaking view from the top of the hill behind the school

A short walk away was Bario Asal - the original longhouse in Bario.

Bario Asal

This house was very long, made up of 29 rooms. 

This was the only longhouse here till the 1960's. During the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, the people living along the Kalimantan borders were forced to move to Bario. Hence to distinguish themselves from these newcomers, the original longhouse community renamed their home Bario Asal. 

The kitchen

We entered the house through the kitchen. It is because the kitchen is the life of the house. It is where families commune and spend their time. At the centre of the kitchen is a traditional stove, where fire can be stoked to warm the kitchen up or for cooking. 

The long corridors

The gallery where family portraits are hung. They were family photographs, wedding photographs and graduation photos of its inhabitants; All mark just how successful they have become

Neatly cut firewood stacked up outside the house; 

After spending time at the longhouse, we walked back to our homestay, and by then, the generator had been turned on. It certainly transformed the house. Like magic. The yellow lighting encased in traditional baskets brought a cosy and relaxing feel to the place. 

I just loved the lamp! 

The wooden hall was illuminated by the lights

The patio lighted up .... Traditional basket being used as lamp shades. So beautiful. 

I think this was a traditional fish trap made from rattan .... now it served as a lamp. How creative!!

While waiting for dinner to be served, we took our turns to bathe. Seriously, the water was freezing cold. Back home, I showered with hot water even on a hot day .... so the cold water was quite unbearable for me. I did my ablutions at lightning speed lest I turned to ice. :P

Dinner was cooked by Puan Alau. She was assisted by a few of my colleagues. What's on the menu .. 

Dinner

Fragrant Bario rice was served with so many dishes. Bario rice or Adan rice is the finest rice locally grown here in the heartlands of Borneo. It is a medium grain rice which is marble white in colour. It is known for its soft and sticky texture and and sweet taste. There is only one yield per year, usually in the months of December and January.

Sambal

This sambal was very potent .... piquant, spicy and yummy. It made everything even more appetising.

 Chicken and leek stew. The leeks were grown locally. This dish was simple but full of flavour.


At the bottom of the pot were banana leaves. Fish, onions, and ginger flower was place on top to steam-cook. As a result, the fish fully absorbed the flavour of the herbs and spices.


Stir-fried pineapple shoots. I remembered that I liked pineapple shoots last time .... but I found these ones tart and a tad bitter.


Stir-fried Midin or Fiddlehead Ferns
I much preferred these ferns .... sweet and crunchy, and just a bit spicy. It was real yum to eat.


Pineapple curry
This dish was full of flavour - sweet pineapples and spicy curry and a hint of cinnamon. Delicious indeed, and very appetising with rice.

Bario pineapples
And of course, for dessert, there was Bario pineapples. Yums.

After dinner, we sat at the patio and chatted the night away. At 11.30 p.m., the generator was turned off .... and we were all enveloped in darkness .... With our torches in our hands, we slowly made our way to our beds. More adventure awaited the next day.