As a teacher, I traveled to many remote exciting destinations during summer vacations. The summer prior to my retirement I joined a tour to Borneo which changed my life. I’m the one who always said I’ll never go anywhere twice, there are too many places to go! My explorations stopped after “discovering” Malaysian Borneo. Everything I ever raveled to see is all in this one fantastic land: wildlife, rainforests, indigenous people still living in the forests, a harmonious, multi-cultural society, tropical climate, and the icing on the cake: English is a second language in Malaysia, so it was possible to have extensive contact and develop true friendships with the locals. This August marks the ninth anniversary of my discovery of what I call “my little paradise” - there is no need for me to go anyplace else!

I first went to Malaysia because I wanted to see the orangutans. But I keep returning year after year because of the diversity available: jungle trekking, seeing rare wildlife at close range, luxurious resorts, wonderful people, tropical climate and fruits, fresh food and much, much more.

For the past 9 nine years I have been living in Kuching for three months each year. It is my home base and from there I explored the East Malaysia state of Sarawak, or just hang out with my friends. I have been to many of the well-known places in the travel guides, and now have the pleasure of experiencing off-the-beaten path places courtesy of my local friends.

As I just returned from my most recent visit, I would like to share one of my many fantastic experiences!

Nancy, one of my local friends, and I wanted to visit a remote rural school. She was able to make arrangements for us to accompany Redan, a dedicated teacher at SK Semban, on his Sunday return trip to Kampung Rejoi where the school is located. We took up the physical challenge of relentless hours of jungle trekking into the Borneo rainforest. To the teachers who make this journey every Friday to go home, and every Sunday to return to school, it is part of life. To Nancy and myself it was an eye opening adventure. Getting to Kampung Rejoi and SK Semban in Ulu Bengoh is not for the faint-hearted. The only access is on foot.

Trekking in the jungle crossing six huge bamboo bridges (120 ft long and 30 ft high) 20 smaller ones, can take from 3 hours in good weather to seven hours in a heavy rain, depending on your stamina and also on the time you start. In our case, the sun set during our trek and we continued the last half in the dark and the rain. It took us 4.5 hours.

Two hours after ‘civilization’, Kampung Taba Sait was the first village we encountered. Here was a real Bidayuh village which really looked like the one I visited with a tour company! We were not yet halfway to our destination and it had started to rain! After a short break to don our rain gear and take pictures, we continued our journey. The scenery we came across was nothing less than spectacular – a walk above the clouds (a step above Keanu Reeves’ “A Walk in the Clouds”)!

Although the six huge bamboo bridges and riverbed terrains below were scary I couldn’t help but marvel at the magnificent feat of engineering that was evident in the construction. How in the world did they get those bridges to span the wide rivers and secure it on the other side?? Not to mention how they make it strong enough to hold all the foot traffic, including porters who carry up to 90 pounds of supplies to the village every week.

I later learned that the skills and knowledge needed to build and repair these bridges were going to be lost along with the older generation, as the younger generations no longer had an interest in learning the necessary skills.

After almost 5 hours of tiring, scary but interesting trekking by flashlight through the many different terrains, and across those scary bamboo bridges, we arrived at the village. It was almost 8pm. All dark and silent, the only sound came from the crickets and frogs. Redan led us into the teachers’ quarters at the school compound and into the unit he shared with the school principal and another teacher. After quick showers by candlelight, our generous host prepared what Nancy calls the simplest but tastiest meal for bachelors/Borneo-style: instant noodles and black coffee! It was delicious!! We all ate in the dark by candlelight. As we continued talking and sharing experiences I noted how the absence of electricity helped form a close connection between the teachers and the visitors. Conversation in the dark, by candlelight and mosquito coils cemented a bond which would not have been there back in NY where everyone would have gone off in separate rooms to computers, play stations and cell phones!

After breakfast, we toured the village, stopping several times to chat with the local folks. We saw a woman hulling rice in the traditional fashion, and then visited the school. During a break, we talked to the children who come from the four surrounding villages. Some of them have a two-hour trek up a steep mountain to school. They live there during the week and return to their villages on Fridays. Redan told me that if one of them is sick on a Monday, he or she will miss the entire week as they walk together Mondays and Fridays. We were graciously invited to join the teachers for lunch.

Although it was a tiring, thigh-busting, nerve-wracking trek, it was also a heart-warming and rewarding visit which I look forward to repeating on my next trip.

By Jodi Jaunts