by Louisa Ponnampalam on 12 December 2022
Waterfall 1 on the “Passage to Ulu Baram” adventure – U’ong Bilong Keluan
Deep in the interior of Sarawak, magnificent waterfalls are aplenty. One just needs to have the determination to reach them because the hikes aren’t always easy peasy.
Waterfall 1 on our “Passage to Ulu Baram” adventure was this breathtaking beauty – U’ong Bilong Keluan. Felt like a scene out of Jurassic Park. We just needed some Velociraptors to appear overhead.
U’ong = Waterfall in Kenyah language
Waterfall 2 on the “Passage to Ulu Baram” adventure – U’ong Three Sisters Keluan.
Three thunderous falls falling into one large area of crisp flowing water. We hiked somemore till our legs were falling off and we discovered muscles we never knew we had. But, it was well worth it, because, just look at this enchanting beauty……..
Once we reached the river, all that peeked at us was a single fall, but hike a little along towards it, and wallah, that magnificence caught us off guard, even if we already knew there was going to be three falls together.
It was incredible to stand at the feet of these gushing sisters – I could wax lyrical about them somemore, but one really has to be there to really take it all in.
Our local guide told us that above the leftmost falls are 10 more! He’s found them all, but the trails aren’t yet visitor-friendly. I’m just happy to have seen the Three Sisters.
Long Beku – Penan Parang (Machete) Craftsmen Village
*This activity is no longer included in the Passage to Ulu Baram package.
A little downriver from Long San is the remote Penan village of Long Beku, situated on the banks of Sungai Akah, a tributary of the mighty Baram River. The village is only accessible by boat. Here, skilled craftspeople upcycle car springs and other scrap metals into parangs (machete), a highly essential blade for the communities who dwell in or near the forest.
The parang is always kept handy when they enter into the forest, to clear the trail and/or cut off plant/tree branches that obscure the pathway.
The metals are cut and shaped into a parang, and then forged in charcoal fire, and later stuffed into a carved wooden handle and sealed in with melted plastic taken from the thick plastic packaging of rice bags.
These parangs are in constant high demand, and the Penan have since become a main supplier of parangs to the Kayan and Kenyah communities in the larger surrounding areas, and even all the way up in the highlands, where the Lun Bawang reside.
Wild about wild banana hearts in Ulu Baram – puso’ seka or jantung pisang hutan
One rainy morning, while we waited for the weather to clear up, our host Sly returned with his kiba (traditional rattan backpack basket) filled with wild foods from the forest. The bright purple-fuchsia colour at the bottom of the kiba caught my eye – hearts of the wild swamp banana, Musa campestris.
I was already aware that the hearts of regular domesticated bananas are consumed, but didn’t know the wild ones could be too. Except that in this case, it wasn’t the hearts we were gonna eat, but the inflorescence (flowers) neatly tucked away within each petal of the banana heart.
To prep it for cooking, one has to first remove the inflorescence all the way till the last one at the heart of each heart. Within each flower, the stiff pistil needs to be removed – a bit of a sticky fingers affair!
Our host Linda cooked up the banana flowers into a fragrant and mildly spicy dish. I have no idea what she threw into the recipe, all I know is that it’s super yummy and I’ll be dreaming about it until my next time in the kitchen of Jevinda Village Stay.
San Slide & Dam Brothers Waterfalls
Trekking along the San River (a tributary of the Baram River) to San Slides, and then to Dam Brother looked easy enough but was actually a bit of a challenge too, as we had to watch our footing as we walked over and around the pebbles and rocks while crossing the river several times.
The entire trek was simply beautiful and uplifting, and at the end of it, we were rewarded with lunch served on the river, a thrilling time standing behind the falls, and floating in a gentle merry-go-round with the swirling water. 🌀
Our local guides Ben, Moses, Samson, Sly, Lawai and William were wonderful, patient and completely tuned in to safety alerts.
Sape’ Performance by sape’ master Alek Apoi Lanyau
I’ve always loved the soothing sounds of the sape’, a traditional lute of the Orang Ulu. While in Long San, I thought I’d try my luck, and ask Linda our host on whether anyone in the kampung could give us a mini sape’ performance. Turns out, the neighbour of our homestay was sape’ master Alek Apoi Lanyau, and he was around!
Together, we put together a contribution to host a sape’ master at the homestay for the night.
The former was a song for the men to dance to, while the latter was for the women. He explained to us that this sitting position, with his cheek against the lute, is the traditional way of playing the instrument. Ah it was so soothing 😍 Thank you Cikgu Apoi.
Riding the rapids along the Baram River (Telang Usan)
SCENES 🚣🏽♀️ Have belanyat. Will travel up and down the Telang Usan (Sungai Baram).
Our boatman Gabriel recalls a clearer river in his childhood; these days not so clear due to the years of logging in the surrounding areas. Still very scenic, nonetheless, and we even spotted a pair of hornbills high up on a tree, silhouetted against the sky. And thank goodness that proposed Baram hydroelectric dam got damned years ago!
Local Rice Wine – Burak, Tuak, Ragi…
In Iban, they call it tuak. In Kenyah, they call it burak. In Bidayuh, they call it ragi. On my taste buds, I call it delicious. We had some really nice tasting ones made in the kampungs (and where there always seemed to be magically more of where those bottles of burak came from 😂). Uwaaaaaaay….! 🍻
Tuak, aka traditional fermented rice wine, also comes from so many other source ingredients these days – pineapple, mango, rozelle, barley, apple and orange, to name a few. I really liked the rozelle one, because it tasted sweet (but bahaya!), like alcoholic Ribena ☺️
The beautiful people of Jevinda Village Stay, Kampung Long San, Ulu Baram, Sarawak.
I travelled deep into the interior as a stranger, and left gaining a new other home with the Kenyah.
Tiga tawai Linda and Slyvester for making us feel like panak (family).
Got an experience to share? Write to us at hello@mowgliventure.com !