Today was the first day we were able to explore Malaysia. Our first day in Malaysia included the Cultural Village, taking a boat across the river to see a fort, running in the rain, and eating dinner in the hotel. My day started with a wonderful breakfast provided by the hotel. I have never seen so much food and such a wide variety for breakfast. After breakfast, we left the hotel to head to the Cultural Village. While on the bus, our wonderful guide provided some information about the city. The Kuching waterfront is a stretch of walking trail along the river that contains little shops. Our guide told us that most locals don’t go to the waterfront during the day. The next interesting fact was that pepper production in Kuching is world famous (both black and white pepper). In Kuching, there are very few skyscrapers. Most buildings are 1-2 stories high to maintain the local town feel. Many locals inherit or build houses. Apartment living is a very new concept.
It was also interesting to learn that there are two mayors in Kuching. There are only two places in the world where this is the case. Our guide pointed out that having two majors is advantageous because they compliment each other and are able to collaborate while being in office. The mayor works in a blue and white building that reminds me of Space Mountain. We also learned that the majority of locals in Kuching City North are Chinese and those in Kuching City South are Malay. The Iban tribe is known for being headhunters and is the oldest and biggest group in Sarawak. Next, we learned that the military and police personnel are highly educated and paid well. This was an interesting difference between Malaysia and the United States.
While driving to the Cultural Village, I learned the difference between Kuching City North and South. In Kuching City North, we were able to see the large roundabout. The North part of the city contains a lot of undeveloped land and the routes are less than five years old. The medical system in Malaysia is very cheap compared to the US. They do not have insurance but rather you can pay one ringgit to see a doctor and pay for medication. For a specialist you can pay five ringgit and receive medication as well. Many families will opt to pay for food rather than insurance. The government makes medical services easily accessible.
On our first bus ride, we saw many mangrove trees. When a mangrove tree grows, it means that the soil is solid enough to build a house. There are four different stages of mangrove trees. The trenches on the side of the road are able to show the tide (whether high or low tide).
While driving down the road we were able to see some men in the jungle on the side of the road. They were cutting ferns in order to sell them. This is their way of living. They will park their motorcycle on the side of the road and then go into the jungle to cut ferns and sell later. We were also able to see both the Sarawak and Malaysia flags.
After driving for about 45 minutes, we made it to the Sarawak Cultural Village. This village is a one stop shop for learning about Sarawak’s cultural history and seeing what longhouses look like. Longhouses were built near rivers or at the base of mountains. The first longhouse we went into was called Rumah Bidayuh. This longhouse was known for being a head house. The women stayed in the longhouse proper. Women of maritable age and quality were expected to know how to cook and weave. There were jars in this longhouse used to ferment rice wine. The people of this tribe used to cremate their dead. However, after they were converted to Christianity they would weave a mat to cover the dead. In the head house, people would sit along the side of the wall and watch their enemies' heads get hung from the ceiling. The Bidayuh tribe did not seek to head hunt but rather did it to protect the tribe. By taking an enemy head, the individual would be able to prove that they could do what needed to be done to protect the family.
The second house we visited was Rumah Iban. The Rumah Iban tribe was known for being elite and notorious for head hunting. They would throw their enemies' heads in the ground for the worms to eat or in the sea for the fish. The symbolism of taking a head meant that the mourning period was over. In this longhouse, there were many different rooms. Each room represented one house. The only individuals allowed to stay in the longhouse were either the elderly or the sick. The upstairs of the longhouse was used for storage space.
The third house we visited was Rumah Penan. This tribe was very good at navigating the jungle and using a blowpipe. If the individual was unable to hit the target with the blowpipe in one try, the family would have no home and would be shamed. This tribe was always on the move. The fourth house we went to was Rumah Orang-ulu. This tribe played the sape guitar which has strings made from sheep. We were able to see a demonstration of this instrument used to accompany a traditional dance. We were also able to learn about stab and poke tattoos used by this tribe. Throughout the different houses, there were different traditional foods that you could try for a small fee. We ended up trying almost all of the different foods. In this house, we were able to try tapioca deep fried balls. The ceiling of these longhouses were made from iron wood, making them termite proof.
The three other houses contained more scattered information that pertained to most tribes in general. We learned that the sago worm is eaten as a substitute for rice. In the Rumah Melanau house, they have a boat with multiple figurines. An ailing patient would go to the doctor and transfer their ailment to the figurine and then float the boat down the river.
After walking around the Sarawak Cultural Village, we entered the auditorium to watch a 45 minute show. The show included traditional dance, music, and dress. When the show ended, we loaded the bus and headed back to Kuching. After grabbing lunch at a mall food court, we made our way to the river.
We were able to purchase a river taxi to take us across the river in about three minutes. It was very interesting to cram into the river taxi with locals. We had to distribute our weight so that we would tip the boat too much. Once we crossed the river, we walked up the hill to Fort Margherita. This fort was built in 1879 by Charles Brooke. The Brooke dynasty in Sarawak brought a very distinctive form of government to Southeast Asia. Even though Brooke was English, he was able to collaborate with the locals and maintain their values and traditions. There was a spiral staircase inside the fort, taking us up three stories until we reached the rooftop. The view from the top was a great vantage point to seeing the city and river.
While crossing back across the river in a local river taxi, it started to pour. Part of our group decided to wait for the rain to slow down before heading back to the hotel. Those of us that didn’t mind ended up running back to the hotel in the rain. We were soaking wet by the time we made it back. Melissa, Amber, and I decided that we would go swim in the pool since we were already wet. It was nice to talk and sit in the warm pool while it was raining. After swimming for about an hour and a half we decided to eat dinner in the hotel.
This first day in Malaysia was a great introduction into exploring the city and learning what life was like for the traditional tribes. The Sarawak Cultural Village was an eye opening experience that made understanding Malaysian history very interesting. Getting to use the river taxi and exploring the city by foot with the group eased my nerves and made me even more excited to explore on my own the next day.
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