Longboats and longhouses

This morning we were up bright and early to pack up ready to go to an Iban longhouse. We had to pack our small day packs with enough water, clothes etc for 3 days - which is a big ask when a new set of clothes is needed pretty much every day!

The drive was a lot longer than expected, but the trip was broken up with stops at a market to look at some traditional handicrafts, for lunch at another village where we also purchased some gifts for the longhouse chief. One of the early stops was to an Orang-Utan rehabilitation centre, where we were lucky enough to see 4 Orang-Utans in their natural environment - amazing.


The bus is not able to get to the longhouse - there arent any roads in, so we left the bus and headed up the river in longboats. These were not quite what was expected - I was expecting a really long skinny, shallow boat that most of us would fit in, that would be paddled. The longboats are long, and skinny, and shallow, but each one carried 4 of us and was powered by a small outboard motor! So we sort of jet skied up the river - it was heaps of fun!

At the longhouse, we were to stay in the guesthouse, not in the longhouse itself. The guest house is very simple, a bit like a shed on stilts, inside there is a raised platform along each side with dividers, dividing up each of the sleeping quarters. There are two mattresses provided (2 to each cubicle), with sheets and pillows - although it was quite hot, it was quite comfortable at night as it did cool down (thank goodness!).

It was quite late in the afternoon by the time we got there and settled in, so there was enough time for a quick swim in the river before dinner - the river is a bit like the Kiewa/Ovens, so everyone was quite comfortable!!! Mas, our tour director, and Wilson, our driver, were assisted by some locals to cook a fabulous dinner, after which we headed up to the longhouse for the welcoming ceremony.

The longhouse itself is really interesting. Its a wooden structure, with a very wide verandah that is used for drying pepper that is farmed by the community, as well as the rubber tapped from the rubber trees. Inside, there is a great long hall, stretching the length of the longhouse. Off this are the rooms of each of the 24 families that live there. There is a great community atmosphere.


The welcoming cermony consisted of a drink of home made rice wine (tastes a bit like sweet sherry) then some traditional dances (which did get a bit boring after a while). After this, the group were invited to learn to dance with them.

It was all great fun! Soon enough it was off to bed, mozzie nets tucked in around us!