Kuching>Longhouse on Indonesian border

Yesterday we traveled to a traditional long house, which lie on nearby mountain ridge from the Indonesian border. This particular long house was in the Bidayuh tribe. There was much cloak-and-dagger, with our guide first approaching us in a museum, and then not telling us where exactly we were going to ostensibly protect the privacy of the tribe. The red flags were being raised quickly to the top of the pole, thanks to being scammed in Bangkok in 2004 [from then on introducing the term "being boat-tripped" into our relationship vocabulary, another story all together]. With some relief, the trip met all our expectations, though being challenging at times. We visited one of the largest long houses in all of Borneo, with 400 people , 27 families, under one roof. Our guide, a Bidayuh tribe member himself, offered passage into this unique part of the world, where less than a 100 years ago a man would prove himself husband material by beheading a number of the neighboring tribe. We had lunch with the chief, and struggled to cross the great cultural and language divide. It couldn't be more-removed from the bustling North-American world to which we are accustomed. We visited another Malay village, a Muslim village, and a jungle market, where the tribes come down from the hills to sell their wares. Strangest moment? At a loss for what to say, watching very bad Malaysian TV via satellite dish while sitting in a one-room house where his family has lived for generations [The chief's grandmother, who joined us for lunch, was born in that room, and will likely die there as well]. Apparently,you don't have to understand a word to recognize bad TV.


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