We got back into Kuching after 3 days, 2 nights in the forests of Batang Ai. Our Diethelm Travel guide was a man named Selvan who had once lived with various communities of the Iban tribe for 2 years and 3 months and has been leading tours to the forest for over 25 years. He's fluent in the Iban language and customs so we all learned a great deal from him. Our first day we took a 20 minute longboat ride across the reservoir to the Iban longhouse where we presented gifts of tea, sunflower seeds, and biscuits and were welcomed by the chief and the 37 families that share the same longhouse. We had a simple, but delicious home-cooked meal and watched some of the younger Iban dance in traditional costumes to music played by the elders. We slept under mosquito nets in the longhouse. I didn't bring my camera, but here's an Internet photo of the exact same longhouse we stayed at:
The next day we awoke to the chickens, cats, and dogs at what was likely the crack of dawn. But, considering that we were sleeping in the equivalent of the family room, it was time to get up anyway! After breakfast, we trekked for 6 hours uphill, downhill, and through crop fields, secondary forest, and streams to a tributary where we met the Iban who had taken boats. There, they set up camp and we enjoyed dinner before the sun fully set. By 8pm, everyone but the Iban were asleep! This morning, we had a nice breakfast cooked by the Iban and the students carried out their first tree species diversity assignment. Hopefully, the students will collect enough data to analyze and present at next year's UURAF. Some of us had excellent bird sightings and many of us saw awesome invertebrates, like the lantern bug. Sadly, no leeches :(
We are now back in the 56 Hotel in Kuching. We had dinner at a local multi-ethnic eatery and a postprandial lecture. I'm pretty sure many students went off to 7-Eleven around the corner for some ice cream and extra snacks. Off to Bako National Park tomorrow!
The next day we awoke to the chickens, cats, and dogs at what was likely the crack of dawn. But, considering that we were sleeping in the equivalent of the family room, it was time to get up anyway! After breakfast, we trekked for 6 hours uphill, downhill, and through crop fields, secondary forest, and streams to a tributary where we met the Iban who had taken boats. There, they set up camp and we enjoyed dinner before the sun fully set. By 8pm, everyone but the Iban were asleep! This morning, we had a nice breakfast cooked by the Iban and the students carried out their first tree species diversity assignment. Hopefully, the students will collect enough data to analyze and present at next year's UURAF. Some of us had excellent bird sightings and many of us saw awesome invertebrates, like the lantern bug. Sadly, no leeches :(
We are now back in the 56 Hotel in Kuching. We had dinner at a local multi-ethnic eatery and a postprandial lecture. I'm pretty sure many students went off to 7-Eleven around the corner for some ice cream and extra snacks. Off to Bako National Park tomorrow!
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