A walk in the 'real' jungle

This morning we were woken up early - very early - by the roosters and fighting cocks crowing. It was still dark for hours after they started, so we were all very tired! After a breakfast of bread, scrambled eggs, sausages, fruitcake and banana fritters (a bit different to the hotel spread!), we headed out for a jungle walk. This was a real jungle walk, but before we got too far, we all had a go at the blow pipe - I am proud to say I was most accurate, hitting the papaya square in the middle! Then watched how they tap the rubber from the rubber tree.

On the walk through the dense jungle, we saw the family burial grounds, the tokens protecting the longhouse (which was quite interesting, considering they are 'christian') and some traps. We were very lucky to have the witch doctor from the longhouse show us where things were and how they worked, including the native plants used as herbal remedies and food in the jungle.


It was a very hot walk, but great fun, and finished at another long house - this one was much older, and more traditional. The people in this one were much younger, and it was closer to the school, although the same number of childeren lived there as the one we were staying at. It was interesting to note the similarities between the communities. After our visit, we jumped into the longboats for a ride back down the river to our lunch destination - a picnic on a rock island in the middle of the river. While we swam in the river and generally had a great time, our boat crew, as well as Mas and Wilson, cooked lunch. They lit 2 fires - one long one, over which they put bamboo containing rice (wrapped in banana leaves) and chicken (topped with banana leaves). The other fire was for the wok, where they cooked some vegetable dishes.

The chicken and rice were so flavoursome - it was amazing how moist it all was! Such a unique picnic! Afterwards, it was back into the boats, and back to the longhouse for a quiet afternoon.

Late in the afternoon, we went to a 'modern' longhouse. A few years ago the community in the longhouse at which we were staying split in two, as about 20 of the families wanted more privacy. The government sponsored them to build their own longhouse, this one in concrete bricks, with 2 stories, but still with the 'community hall'. It was interesting to see what a stark contrast it was - from the outside, it looked just like a 2 storey block of flats.

Given the lack of sleep, and having had such a big day, we had an early night, after playing cards, and it was soon 'lights out' for all of us!

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!

Back in Kuching...

We had a fantastic dinner last night at Top Spot - thanks to all that recommended this place! It was quite interesting, and difficult to work out how it all worked, but eventually we realised it was simply a whole heap of restaurants providing pretty much the same thing and you just choose which one you want to go to! Delicious food though...

This morning it was off to Saracraft, where the local crafts are being kept alive. There were demonstrations of beading, weaving and basket weaving, which were very intesting. Most of the students had a go at either the basket weaving or the beading. They had a great shop there too - very reasonably priced, especially for a tourist destination!


After a few hours here, it was back on the bus and off to the birds nest factory. This is a very interesting process, where the birdsnests are taken from caves or birds are kept in special 'rooms' where they make their nests and these nests are 'recovered'. The nests are then soaked, and the feathers are plucked out one by one by very patient ladies. It is such a laborious process! But the birdsnest is supposed to be very good for the lungs and immune system, so it is very popular.

Next it was off to lunch. Again, we went to a place for the locals. Everyone had something different - I had wonton soup, which was delicious. The drinks were amazing as well, freshly squeezed juices with crushed ice - so refreshing in the heat.

After lunch we went to a pottery factory, which was a little dissapointing as the pots are all from moulds and finished by hand (I had expected the pots to be hand made, but should have realised, given it is a factory...). The expertise of the artists carving the designs on the pots/vases etc was quite impressive though.

Back at the hotel, it was a quick trip to the laundry to pick up our nice clean clothes, then on a water taxi and quick walk to 'little India street'. Along the way there are little shops that sell all sorts of interesting spices, dried fish, dried fruits and other things by the gram. The smells were quite strong (especially the dried fish) but the spices were fantastic!

Day two at Bako National Park

After a restless nights sleep, it was up early for a quick (cold) shower, before packing everything up ready for our morning walk after breakfast. The walk we were to do this morning was much longer (about 3 hours) in much more difficult terrain.

Breakfast was interesting - noodles, chicken rice, mini sausages, chips and banana bread. The banana bread was beautiful, but the bananas are so good its not surprising (they have little bananas that taste just like lolly bananas!).

After breakfast had settled, it was off up the hill. The paths are really just sandy paths where the tree roots are used as steps, very in keeping with the environment! There were some very very steep sections, but the last third of the trip was very easy. It was so much cooler up on the top of the hill - above the rainforest was not nearly so humid, and there was a lovely sea breeze
.

On the way up the hill, we saw pitcher plants, that look like a little jug and trap flys. Amazing to see some of these things in their natural environment. Going down was not nearly as hard as I expected, although there were a few 'interesting' sections...

After getting back from the walk, it was time to finish packing the bags and check out. We had a lovely time at Bako, but we were all looking forward to coming back to Kuching and some variable temperature water and airconditioning (although the fans were quite effective!). After getting back to the ferry terminal, it was time for lunch in what looked like a very dodgy cafe. After quite a wait (they were very busy) we had a delicious lunch of fried rice, sweet & sour fish (with fresh pineapple), palm fronds in garlic, fried tofu with vegetables, and rice noodles. It was really really good!

We came back to Kuching via bus, ready for a quiet afternoon/evening. After checking into the hotel (with welcome drinks - even though we had been at the same hotel just one night before!!!), it was a quick shower, get all the dirty clothes out of the bag then off to the laundry.

Tonight we are heading to Top Spot, which has been highly recommended by a few people, so I am very much looking forward to it...

In the jungle, the mighty jungle...

Well, last nights dinner was eventful. The evening started well, with instructions on which bus to catch and everyone having the right money in their hot little hands, only the bus didnt come, even after waiting for about half an hour. So instead we decided to take taxis...

So we divided into groups - one adult per 3 students, and were given the name of a restaurant to go to. The driver of our taxi wasnt too sure of the restaurant name but asked if it was near the Sunday Market, which it was, so off we went. He dropped us off at the market but we couldnt see the group from the first taxi, so asked a policeman where the restaurant was. He gave us instructions, which we followed, but still couldnt see the restaurant, so one of the girls in my group asked a shop owner, she gave us further instruction, and we ended up in the middle of the market. This was obviously not right, and when one of the others remembered that out of politeness, some Malaysians will give instructions to somewhere, even if they dont know, and being laughed at by the next person we asked, we began to think maybe the restaurant didnt exist at all.

So back we went to where the taxi dropped us off. By this point we expected to see at least one more group, but couldnt. Luckily we were able to get in touch (by mobile) with Sue from the first taxi, who had been driving around this whole time to try and find the restaurant. In the meantime, the rest of the group seemed to appear from nowhere, and we got back to Sue who had found the restaurant, but it was closed! So we decided to eat at the market - a bit of a no-no, but there was huge turn over, and corn & satay's cooked over hot coals couldnt be that bad so we put some tables together and off we went. It was a great evening as it turned out!

The next morning, we headed out on the bus reasonably early after a lovely big buffet breakfast at the hotel. The bus took us out to the Bako National Park ferry terminal, where we caught speed boats down the river to the Bako National Park itself. It was a great trip, our boat didnt see any crocodiles, but one of the others did - very exciting for all those on that boat!

We quickly put our luggage in the store room, and it was off to the beach. Not a simple as it sounds, it was a 1km (I think) walk up and down some interesting terrain, although not that difficult it was very hot which made the walk quite tiring. The beach was beautiful. There was a small group on the beach when we arrived, but left quite quickly, so we had the place to ourselves.


After about half an hour, we headed back across the mangrove swamp, and saw quite a few hermit crabs - including some really big ones! Then it was back to the park office for a packed lunch (sandwiches, a piece of chicken, cake and drink - very filling) and to check into our rooms.

After a quick shower (in the cold water - very refreshing) we lazed around till it was time for our afternoon walk through a different part of the rainforest. The accomodation was much better than we thought - proper beds, each cabin had a shower and toilet, even if there was no toilet paper (we had brought some with us) and only cold water in the shower!

We were to repeat the afternoon walk in the dark, so it was good to have a bit of an idea of the trail. It was a bit disappointing not to see any wildlife on this walk - we had seen a few monkeys in the morning - but hoped to see a bit more in the evening.

After a rest and dinner, we headed back for our evening walk. We saw some glow in the dark fungi, listened to the sound of the rainforest, then it started to spit. Very quickly it was pouring with rain - a great tropical storm! We sheltered in a cave for a while - when I say sheltered, I use that term loosely - the adults sheltered, the students 'showered' in the rain, such a novelty to have such hard rain in such warm conditions!

We ended up walking back in the rain, and having to cancel the next part of the walk to see the fireflies, which was disappointing, but no-one wanted to be out in the rain that much! Luckily, Johnny, one of the students, had bought a really big pineapple from the market the day before, and had brought it with him, so our guide cut it up for us and we munched on really yummy, fresh pineapple before heading to bed.

Off to Malaysia!

I know the title of the blog is the travelling two, but this time Im off without Andrew...

Andrews Mum, Barb, invited me to go with her on a school trip to Malaysia - how could I say no to a cheap holiday! So Thursday night we headed to the airport, where I met the kids (15 of them) and other adults going.

It was an uneventful flight, and I think everyone got some sleep (we left at midnight), and arrived in to KL airport early friday morning. We had a 4 hour wait till our next flight, but that just meant we had plenty of time to check out the airport! Eventually we made our way on to the flight to Kuching.

Arriving in Kuching, we started to feel the heat. everyone was tired, but really well behaved = particularly seeing as the hotel didnt have the rooms we were expecting (It turns out the company we booked with subcontracts a company in Malaysia who in turn subcontracts to a local company in Kuching who stuffed up the booking and missed one room!).

This was soon sorted, and it was out for a quick lunch before heading out on the bus to take a drive around Kuching. this was interesting - the architecture is such a mix, as there are predominently Malaysian and Chinese settled in Kuching, with some other minor races. The city is divided in two - the malaysian section (north Kuching) and Chinese section (South Kuching). There are similarities to Hong Kong and China, but it is so different all the same.

This morning we went to the Kuching Cultural village, where they have replica houses of each of the different tribes from Kuching, as well as a show of the costume and dance. It was all really interesting. The show included some audience participation, and the girls were only too happy to jump up on stage!

This afternoon has been spent catching up on emails, and then a quick trip to the market. All in all, it is interesting, but the heat is exhausting.

The next few days will be even more interesting - tomorrow we head to the jungle, with a trip down the river to a long house where we stay overnight. Should be quite an experience...

Birthday Present Number 1 - Savour School

I was very lucky for my birthday - everyone was very generous in donating towards some cooking courses. I have been wanting to do a chocolate making or petit fours course for a while, and now I have enough to do both - well sort of.

Today I went to a variety day at Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School in Brunswick. The day started a bit after 9am, with getting in to groups and preparing the ingredients for a gateaux, a tart and some chocolates.

The first thing we started with was the bits and pieces to make up a white chocolate gateaux. Given the number of things needed, some items were made by each group, and others were made once for the entire group. It was a little disappointing not to be doing it all myself, but I guess to get through everything, some shortcuts need to be taken (even with only 10 in the group). After making all the bits for this (Coconut Dacquoise, White Chocolate cream - our groups was by far the best!, Passionfruit Cream and white chocolate glaze), we moved on to item number two - Raspberry Hazelnut Tart.

Again, some items were done as a group and others were done once for the whole group. We started this with Breton Shortbread, and Raspberry Jellied Coulis, which had to be fozen.

Following this busy morning, we started on the chocolate making, with the first layer of chocolate in the mould. Then it was finally time for lunch.

After lunch, we only had a couple of hours, so it was time for the final cooking - Vanilla Ganache and Caramel Filling for the chocolates, and then to put our cakes etc together.

Following making the fillings, it was on with putting together the white chocolate gateaux, with the coconut dacquoise in the bottom of the ring, followed by a layer of the white chocolate cream. This is then brushed up the sides of the ring, to create the 'sides' of the gateaux. Next goes the passionfruit cream (which has been frozen)and its all topped off with more white chocolate cream. Once this is done, its into the freezer for an hour or so (more if its needed).

Next up was the decorations for the top of the gateaux and tart. Paul, our instructor, did these, while explaining different techniques and ideas for decorations. After this, it was on with the custard and hazelnut cream for the raspberry hazelnut tart. As this was all taking a bit of time, so Pauls lovely assistant finished off the chocolates, which again was disappointing not to get to do this.

When this was all done, we could finish off the gateaux, with the white chocolate glaze and decorations. Finally, it was time to put the coulis on the shortbread, pipe on the hazelnut cream and decorate.

We ended up with some fabulous looking treats to take home.