Kuching and The Rainforest Music Festival

Back in July 2009, my trip back to Malaysia coincided with the Rainforest Music Festival in Sarawak.

With guests from Denmark and Sweden, I organized our month long trip and threw in almost a week in Sarawak. We flew with Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching. The tickets costed about MYR300 each.

The first part of the trip was at Annah Rais. This followed by 3 nights at the Damai Laut Resort which  is located right next to the festival venue, The Sarawak Cultural Village. With Mount Santubong as the backdrop, both the resort and the venue are fantastic places to sit out and admire Borneo.

We bought two daily tickets out of the three available. This gave us a free day from the festival, either to take it easy at the resort or spend a day in Kuching city.

After a 45 monutes drive from Annah Rais, we arrived at the Damai laut resort around lunch time. Lunch by the pool at the resort was OK but the service was extremely slow. After lunch, we walked past the resort's chalets to the cultural village (10 minutes at most). Within the cultural village, there is a lake in the middle and surrounding it, various ethnic houses.  The crowd in the afternoon consisted mainly of event organisers and sales persons at the various booths. Some visitors were like us, checking out the place.

There were music workshops at the various ethnic houses. We bought a beer and went for the one with a workshop on wind instruments. Some wooden stairs brought us to a big airy hall. A line of musicians sat at the front of the hall. There were representatives from Kenya, Scotland, Australia, the US, Venezuela  and Malaysia. When this was finished, we headed towards another house where a local was playing the Sape, an instrument I like a lot.

As the day got too hot, we went back to the resort and took a swim at the pool. After a buffet dinner at the resort, we returned to the village for some concerts.

This year, the festival organizers built two stages to save time on performers rotation. The sound system was obviously not good enough for such a big open venue. Yet, the musicians were very good, albeit a weird mixture. There were performances from Canada/China, Malaysia, Hungary, Poland and France. It was kind of funny to see patches of whites in masses (masks due to H1N1). What can I say? We, Malaysians, are a paranoid and chicken bunch.

Behind the stages were the lush tropical trees and the bright shining moon. My special moment was when the chinese orchestra played in the tropical wind and the moon shone above.

Day two was spent mainly by the poolside at the resort. We found that there is a second, more private pool near our rooms. So we tanned, swam and drank by the pool for most of the day. Later in the afternoon, some of us took the coach and visited Kuching city.

Kuching, which literally means Cats, is a much more beautiful city than I anticipated. The sense of spaciousness and charm makes KL feel like the ugly sister.

People are very friendly and a lot more polite than KLites. This was consistent with my experience with East Malaysians as a whole. They seem so much more cultured. After a brief walk around the river (the esplanade), we spent some time at the Kuching Museum. Again, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the museum. And it was free! One wonders why our national museum is so much less attractive. Where has the money gone?

After the museum, we walked towards India Street and found many stalls opened. There were drinks, food and spices. When we were sitting by the esplanade and waiting for lunch to be served, my sister taught me the Japanese five finger poses. Very goofy but so fun! I am tempted to post the pictures but my life could be at stake!

Our final day in Sarawak was spent again, part at the festival and part at the resort. I can honestly recommend this resort as the best accommodation if one were to go for the festival. It's so so convenient.

I am currently reading a book titled "Sylvia: Queen of The Headhunters".

An interesting read which provides a good insight into olden days Kuching under the rule of the Rajah's (Brooke).

An Afternoon in Kay El : Sin Sze Yi Temple, Pasar Seni, Old Town

One of my favourite places to walk around in KL is around the old town where I get off an the Masjid Jamek LRT stop. The old colonial buildings of old KL still stand along the river delta. In fact, Masjid Jamek is located where KL's river splits into two. This is where the earliest development of Kuala Lumpur, the capital started. One of the men who contributed greatly to developing this city is a chinese labourer turned Kapitan, Yap Ah Loy. Despite his great contributions, Yap has not been given enough credit by the Malaysian government. He risks being omitted from Malaysian history in the near future.

One of the buildings which will stand as Yap's memorial is the Sin Sze Yi Temple, a stone's throw away from Pasar Seni, KL's Central Market. Most tourists who visit the Central Market are not aware of this temple. In fact, it should not be missed simply for the ambience and its history. It is one of the oldest temples in KL which is still welcoming devotees today.

The crowd peaks on major chinese festivals especially Chinese New Year. On normal days, it is tranquil and one can hear the occasional ritual chanted by the caretakers for the odd devotees coming in.

As a child, I would follow my family to this temple on the morning of the first day of chinese new year. I waited anxiously for my grandma to summon me when she is done with the praying at the main alters. One of the gods she prays to is the Scholar God. My grandma would call out to us kids to walk under the alter table from one side to the other. Apparently, this was supposed to make us more obedient and brighter in our studies. I can testify that this ritual, as it is, has a 50% effectiveness rate.

This afternoon, I find myself sitting on the long bench I used to sit on together with my dad and grandpa. We were just waiting for grandma, my mum and my aunties to finish with their prayers. Yeps...in a chinese family, even the praying is outsourced to the women folk. With both dad and grandma gone, I find myself drifting into a sentimental mood. So I do what most chinese do. I got up and move on.

The next on my agenda was the Pasar Seni. I am not a big fan of this place but there is a shop I fancy. Pasar Seni is the typical tourist trap. All dressed up but not much substance. The non-adventurous tourist will find it easy but expensive. Most stalls sell their goods at a 100% mark up on average. The store I visited is one of its kind in the world.

I arrived shortly after lunch. Ferrelle's owners is a brother and sister team. The sister designs the shoes and handbags. They are made from batik. I will not say it's Malaysian batik lest my Indonesian friends be dismayed. Whatever it is, I love the shoes and bags here. The owners are very helpful and given its unique design, I am more willing to pay the price quoted.

From Pasar Seni, I ventured on further to China Town. In my opinion, China Town's main street has become like an overly dressed lady with too much red rouge on. The show is put up for foreigners by mostly foreigners. I get mistaken for a Japanese again. The scores of Bangladeshi stall keepers and some chinese boys yelling out Japanese to me.
"Konichiwa?" No answer. Two seconds silence and then "Toyota? Suzuki? Honda?". I walked on trying to hide my grin.

The reason why I came to China Town was to buy some chinese tea at Purple Cane. For those who fancy a meal cooked with tea, >Purple Cane also has a restaurant nearby. But for this afternoon, I headed for some sago gula melaka at Culture Street.

With more calories in my system, I walked back to the Pasar Seni LRT station. Next stop, KLCC.

Suria KLCC is the posh shopping mall below the Petronas Twin Towers. Most international brands are available here. I opted for the food court. It has a wide array of food, both local and international in one space. I miss the food court concept which is non-existent in Denmark. To top it all, the food court has a nice view over KLCC park and the surrounding skyscrappers. Another place to sit and have a coffee is right above the food court at the Kinokuniya bookshop. I love the abundance of English books, something I find lacking in Denmark.

I left KLCC just before the 5pm crowd. Another nice afternoon in KL.

Happy Deepavali Malaysia

Me in my Saree

Today is Deepavali or Diwali (the Festival of Light). There has been a lot of talk about 1Malaysia by the government politicians and a lot of criticism by ordinary Malaysians who think it's one of the government's empty promises. Well, my girlfriend Cheryl and I decided to do it our own way by getting to know our fellow Malaysians who celebrate Deepavali. Putting aside the politicians and the critics, I think 1Malaysia stand a better chance of success if ordinary Malaysians show more interest and understanding in our respective cultures. Malaysia is, afterall, malay and chinese and indian and iban and penan ...all the spectrum of backgrounds we bring with us to this land. On Thursday, I took the LRT and got off the Masjid Jamek stop. A short stroll down the river, I came to the Masjid India area, named after the mosque built there. Masjid India is an area dominated mainly my Indian muslims. My mission was to find a saree and experience some of the Deepavali atmosphere there. It didn't disappoint.

Shortly after crossing the river, I started to hear hindi music and smell the jasmine flowers which were made into colourful garlands. There were girls having their hands painted with henna.

A Decorated Kolam

I found my saree in one of the shops. The shop owner was a lady with a very fine saree on. She smiled and made some comments about me to the shopkeeper in tamil. He then smiled at me. I guess it was something nice they said? She picked a size 34 top for me. I put it on and it was tight. She assured me that that is the wya it's supposed to be. I dared not argue. I then asked her what time would be best to visit the temple the next day. Happy with my new saree, I strolled further down the street. There were a lot of people. Many were sitting in the bright gold jewellery shops. Chennai Jewellery, Bombay Jewellery and so forth. Many stared at me as I squeezed through the crowd. I thought "hopefully in a generation or two, this will be a norm i.e.chinese Malaysians celebrating Deepavali".

I stopped at one of the stalls where I bought some gold and turqoise bangles. Next to it, I stopped and got myself some murukku. I left Masjid India two hours later and moved on back to the Masjid Jamek area.

Clad in our sarees, Cheryl and I joined the Indian crowd at the Sri Mariamman temple this morning. Obviously, we were drawing a lot of attention. I was happy to find two other chinese young men who were there to shoot some photos. I thought to myself that when I move back to Malaysia, photography will be a good way to learn more about this country.

Cheryl turned out to be the perfect companion for this experience. Not only is she a great yoga teacher, but her interest in Indian culture and philosophy brings her to India for her personal pilgrimages. At the temple, I simply follow her lead.

First, we took off our shoes and then we washed our feet. We started with the main prayer hall where the chief deity Sri Maha Mariamman is in the middle. There were devotees lined up on either side of the centre space. Two priests held silver trays in their hands. On the trays were an oil lamp, some flowers and red powder. Cheryl guided me when we stood in line to receive blessings from the priests.

I placed some donation money on the tray and placed my hands close to the litted lamp. The priest dropped some red powder on my palms. I then used to powder to dot my forehead. Blessed am I!

We proceeded to the smaller halls, each time bending down to touch the floor before we enter. Cheryl explained to me that this is how we pay respect to the ground we were stepping into. As we watch the devotees pray and chant, Cheryl explained how the rotation of the lamp in their hand symbolizes different things. Clockwise for the Gods and anti-clockwise for those who have passed away.

On one of the prayer halls, devotees circled the middle alter of jasmine flowers and oil lamps. I was told that one could circle it 9 times or 108 times as they chant. holding an oil lamp. I followed those who clasp their palms together when one of the devotees waved at me to join in. The moist and scent of jasmine was really hypnotising. I glanced up once and saw the chart on the wall showing the position of the nine planets within the hall. One of the devotees in front of me poked a hole into his counting paper each time he completed a circle.

As I completed the nine circles, a chinese man took photographs of me. It was quite hillarious as he whispered "I'm such a bad photographer!" each time I hear the click on his camera.

We left the hall into the open space when a group of indian boys asked us to take some pictures with them. Strange, isn't it? It was harmless fun, I guess.

We stayed a little longer discussing why there are no guided tours for such things in Malaysia. I know many of my foreigner friends would be interested in seeing this side of Malaysia rather than just going to a tourist spot to snap pictures. Well, the more cultured of my friends anyway.

All in all, we left quite happy. Hinduism is truly an open religion. It is not money focussed. It is open to everyone. I felt very welcomed at Sri Mariamman today. I would recommend any visitor to Malaysia this special opportunity to share the experience of The Festival Of Light.

A Good Sunday

It's been a week since I landed in Malaysia. Unlike last Sunday, my body was not consumed by lack of sleep. I decided to join my family for the hike up Broga Hill. I have seen many beautiful pictures and saw friends' comments on how nice it is.

We left KL at 6am and arrived at Broga about 45 minutes later. There were already so many cars. There is simply no way to escape a crowd. That is KL. Whenever there is a place which becomes popular, half the city's population gathers there..until it is no longer fashionable.

The climb is quite easy and should take about 30 minutes to the top. Nothing tough compared to Preikestolen, for example. >Broga encourages climbers by having 3 peaks. The first is a little flat at the top. Climbers arriving here can cast their sight on the others heading further up in a green hill above. Not that it makes one want to burst into "The hills are alive....." especially given the 30 degree celcius climate. There is a Malaysian flag at the top. I think it was weird. This was not the moon.

At the top, Broga offers a nice view and some breeze. I won't get into much detail here since you get a whole lot of information if you google >Broga Hill. Overall, it is a spot frequented only by locals since you can only reach it by car.

At the "entrance" to the foot of the hill, you have to pass rows of oil palm trees and some rubber trees as well. There are a few vendors selling fruits and fresh coconuts.

Overall, I had a good time. I shall try to arrive earlier next week to watch the sunrise. Hopefully, there'll be less crowd. :-)

After Broga Hill, we headed to the old market near Jalan Imbi. We had breakfast here, ordering various dishes from the different stalls to have a bit of everything. For five people, the grand sum of a breakfast? RM20 (DKK30).

The Sunday progressed to some authentic Thai Massage. I swear I heard my bone break. Let's just say it was not the kind of massage one can sleep through soundly. After all the awkward positions the masseure tried to put me into, a sudden hope built inside me. I could perhaps be good for the Kamasutra.

What could make this Sunday even more beautiful? Durians! Free durians from the neighbour. Hmmm...

Pasar Malam

Need a pair of socks and some shorts? And some fruits? And some beddings? What about dinner? Or traditional oitment? Did you say an alarm clock? You can most probably get all of these at a Pasar Malam.



One of the things I include in my annual trip home to Malaysia is the pasar malam. It translates to Night Market from the malay language. From my travels, one of the most interesting places to meet some locals and see how the locals live, is a market.

So yes, I am suggesting that if you visit Kuala Lumpur (KL), you can get off the tourist path and visit one of these markets. Firstly, these are not dressed up for tourists. Secondly, nothing is priced as if they are for tourists. And finally, these places are easy to find. At these markets I am suggesting, people would leave you to your own unless you ask for help.

Before I go further, a little about Pasar Malam in KL. These night markets are held in different suburbs on different nights of the week, typically from 6pm tp 10pm. As a result, the same of group of vendors may set up stall in 4-5 markets during the week. What you can find in the markets depends very much on which suburb it is and who frequents them.

Most tourists in KL find their way to China Town where there are about two streets filled with stalls selling different things. Well, that is all fine but honestly, it's more interesting to see the locals at a Pasar Malam instead. My favourite Pasar Malams are the one at Taman Tun Dr Ismail (Sundays), SS2 (Mondays) and SS2 (Thursdays).

Taman Tun Dr Ismail is about 15 minutes drive from KL city. It costs about RM10 to get there from KLCC without traffic by taxi.

Taman Tun, or TTDI as the locals call it, is an upper middle class suburb where properties have been appreciating in market value consistently since the 1970s. The Pasar Malam here is smaller than that at SS2. However, since the patronage at TTDI is a good mix of the different races, you can find a better mix of locals and products.

This pasar malam is very popular with housewives who come to stock up supplies for the work week. They buy things like fruits, cookies and snacks.

What I love about the pasar malam is that my senses are awaken throughout. The noises of people bargaining, vendors shouting out the offer of the day, the smell of food and all the colours and people around.

I normally do not have dinner but take a walk along the street at a Pasar Malam and eat tit-bits and local tropical fruits. You find things like the malay kuih (cakes) which are typically made from coconut and pandan (screwpine leaves), fresh sugarcane or longan juice. My favourite is the home made soy milk and some chinese cooling herb tea.

SS2 is a mainly a chinese area. Here, you find bustling shops and eateries which are opened throughout the night. The rows of massage and beauty parlors, electronic shops, chinese medical hall and coffee shops forms the main square. You really get to see the chinese at their best and worst entrepreneur games. SS2 is where eager business people come to sell. Only in SS2 that you will find eat-all-you-can durian buffets, old fashion gold jewellery shops guarded by small armed men.

The pasar malams at SS2 (section 2) are very popular especially with the young. Here, the stalls stretched out over four streets. Similarly, it costs about RM10 from the city or you can walk from the Taman Bahagia LRT station.

At the SS2 markets, there are more food but also a lot of the latest craze and gadgets. You can find things like fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, toads, plumbing tools, chinese medicine, Taiwanese tofa and milk tea, pirated DVDs and softwares, clothes, accessories. The list goes on. This is actually a good place to get some cheap clothes you're willing to chuck away later.

Once, my Danish friend found a pair of gloves which Malaysian women buy to cover their hands while driving. Yes. We have an obsession with staying fair skinned.

In fact, recently, some foreigners from Myanmar and Pakistan started selling things like bamboo lamps and pashmir scarves there.

A word of advice on the pirated DVDs. There are the cheap ones where the movie is recorded with someone holding the camcorder in a cinema. I cannot understand why anyone would pay anything for this. But...just ask, in case.

Once I hosted a friend from Hong Kong. After seeing my mum bargain, he wanted to have a go at it himself. So we gave him a rule-of-thumb i.e. 50% off the quoted price. Well, we forgot to tell him the exceptions. Surely, he should have known better not to bargain for an RM2 coconut jam (the locals call it "kaya").

So here you go. If you do not want to do the touristy thing and be harassed, go to a neighbourhood Pasar Malam when you're in KL.

A What Girl?

20 posts into this blog and 1 comment. I am a failed blogger. well, based on the traffic monitor, I seem to be getting more than 1 visitor but you bunch are shy, I get it.   :-p

So, some visitors, for reason unknown to me, writes to me on email instead of commenting. Not what I prefer but some communication is better than none. Therefore, I'll try to satisfy your curiosity here.

Two visitors wrote separately asking me why Kampung Girl? what is Kampung Girl? A friend who visits this blog commented "but you're not a kampung girl!".

I set out to see what people would find if they had no idea what a "kampung girl" is. I googled. And then I find some indication on Indonesian Matters. Image searches gave results from this

to this

Let me clarify. Kampung = Village in the malay language. I am from KL and no one would say KL is a village. It is a big city. BUT... many in Malaysia, even though living in KL, lives in it. The world outside is a mystery.

At least that was true for me. I grew up in a very traditional and gender-biased Malaysian chinese family. As a kid, the boys were allowed much greater freedom than girls. Most often, financial resources were limited which meant priority was always given to boys. My sister and I thank God for not having a brother. We would otherwise not have the chances we had in pursuing our studies.

As a child, my world was small. In suburbia off KL, it does not matter how big the city was. My childhood was defined by the borders of the suburb I grew up in. I did not travel or fly until I turned 18. That was only to get me to university. So I saw the world outside my little "kampung" for the first time, very late in life. Most chinese parents give their kids education and what they think is best. Most neglect to give exposure.

So, as kids, we made up pictures in our minds about the places we hear about and dreamt of visiting. The hunger to travel grew in me. I take every opportunity to travel.

I think travelling like a kampung girl means to travel like I do not know anything about the place and its people. It means seeing with open heart and mind. It means being excited about what is before us and being there entirely.

That was the idea behind the title of this blog.

This Passport

A few years ago, I was flying from Denmark into Istanbul. On the flight I met a rather captivating Israeli guy named Oded. He suggested I remember by way of "oh dead!".

We started talking. I was simply intrigued since I have never talked about important things such as concentration camps, religion, democracy with a stranger. Even more so, an Israeli stranger.

The history of the Israeli people have been omitted from Malaysian history textbooks. I believe this is still the case, although the internet provides those who search for answers an avenue to do so. In fact, the movie Schlinder's List was banned in Malaysia.

On a Malaysian passport, we see "This passport is valid for all countries except Israel."

At a glance, it seems like an attempt to completely deny the existence of Israel. But then why trade with Israel? In actual fact, Israelis are allowed to travel to Malaysia with permission from the Malaysian Home Affairs Ministry. So if it is denial the Malaysian government is after, it is really shooting itself in the foot.

After my conversation with "Oh Dead", I became interested in seeing Israel. So I asked the Israeli embassy. I was welcomed right away. All I need to do is to get a piece of paper from the embassy and have that as my ID where all travel stamps should go on. Any Malaysians would know that a stamp on our Malaysian passport indicating travels to Israel can end us in very hot water. 

Seriously, our government should reassess this very ridiculous situation it has created. Malaysia Boleh!

Can't take the KL out of the Girl

I know it seems strange that I am blogging about Kuala Lumpur in my travel blog. I was born and raised in a suburb at the edge of KL. Bear with me though. I travel back to KL every year and yet, every time I go back, something is new yet some things remain the same.

It is a very fascinating city to me. It is a world away from Copenhagen. At the time when I decided to move to Copenhagen, I was tired of my life. I felt so small in that big chaotic hustle bustle city. Copenhagen provided fresh air, a lot of space and privacy, peace and quiet. I never would have thought at that time that 6 years later, I would miss KL.

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I miss being able to have food any time of the day. I miss driving around KL city. I miss the smell, noises and colours. Copenhagen suddenly seem so bland and sterile. Sometimes when I am walking in Copenhagen, I wish someone would talk to me. Ask me something. I don't need all this privacy anymore. Copenhagen can be such a lonely place.

So you can imagine how much I enjoy travelling back in KL, rekindling my love for it every trip. I know I am biased. Afterall, who in their right mind would enjoy more haze, more shopping malls and more traffic. But I do! I have to remind myself that living there may be different though.

What A Gem!

Every year, when we travel back to Malaysia, we go to an island or beach resort somewhere for a couple of days. So far, our experiences have been fantastic.

This year, we drove from Kuala Lumpur to Marang for 7 hours and took the boat to Gemia Island.  It is owned by a chinese businessman who also own the Gemia Beach Resort.

We were picked up at the Marang jetty and transported to the island in a short 15 minutes ride. According to our snorkling guide, he can swim around the island in a full circle if given 45 minutes.

Because it is a small island with only one resort, we had a lot of privacy and the beach to ourselves most of the time. The rooms were very clean and airy. Each room has a balcony with a rattan hanging chair. In the mornings, we saw fishes of blue, green and grey baby sharks swimming right below our balcony.

The food was primarily chinese but tasted so good.

The highlight for me was the snorkling. I swam with sharks and Nemo.  ;-)

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The problem with writing a good review about these kind of vacations is that I generate publicity to the place and hence traffic. And knowing by experience, these places then become polluted and detroyed. On the other hand, I would like to share this wonderful experience with people.

The good thing about Gem is that there can only be so many guests at one time. So there is a cap every season.

But please, if you ever visit the island, be considerate and don't throw rubbish about and don't take/touch the corals when you're snorkling or diving. Let's all enjoy the place for a longer time.

Doing the tourist thing at Kampung Annah Rais

In July, I played both a host and tourist in Malaysia.

Wanting to know more about my country, I jumped at an opportunity to stay with a Bidayuh family for 2 nights in the rumah panjang (long house). Traditionally, the longhouse is one unit where many families occupy their own space in the house divided only by minimal bamboo partitions. In modern times, I guess the concept of privacy has sipped into the minds of the Bidayuh.

The Bidayuhs here are land Dayaks. It was not too long in the past that some still practised head hunting (yeps..nothing to do with HRM!). In fact, part of the village tour includes a stop at the "head house". With the death of half of the four shamans and a conversion of one to Christianity, most probably this practice will not be preserved. Although I am told that some sea dayaks still practise cannibalism in Borneo.

Annah Rais itself has been in existence for over a hundred years. Many of the young villagers left to work in Kuching, the capital which is about 45 minutes drive away. Although many move back later in life, the villagers started offering outsiders homestay packages to generate income and preserve their way of life and culture. Hence, I do not mind the tourist prices at all. 

One of the things I learnt after staying here for so long is the concept of value for money. In Annah Rais, we paid about DKK 400 for full board 3 days 2 nights including guided tours to a hotspring, waterfalls and night cultural activities. In Copenhagen, I get dinner, a sulky waitress and no service. Not to mention the 25% VAT. What is the government's value-add in this process that it amounts to 25%?  Makes me wonder.

Most villagers at Annah Rais are independent farmers. When we were hiking around, there were the sporadic lone farmer cutting down trees. After of which, they would burn the soil to enhance fertility. They do this one big patch of land at a time. The villagers know the nature around them inside out. At the longhouse, most if not all things are made from bamboo. Different types for different purposes.

Everytime we past villagers on the way, they smiled but were very camera shy. We were told the rules of the longhouse. It was obvious that the younger villagers came up with the homestay idea as some older villagers were not so keen to open their home to outsiders.

On the first day we were there, it rained heavily in the afternoon. Our host's grand daughter, a litte girl about 4 years old, went and play in the rain. She waived for me to join her. After a while, I gave in. So there we were, playing in the rain, laughing. It was a magical moment in every sense. The sound of our laughter, the rain hitting the bamboo, the long long endless of bamboo soaked, the host family sitting in a corner watching us. Then the girl's father came to her with some soap. He shampooed her hair and send her out to the rain again.

Being a city person, I felt a sense of liberation. In KL, parents would be forbidding their kids to even go near the rain.

In the trips out to the waterfall and hotspring, we were shown how to make bamboo chicken. The guide put pieces of chicken into the piece of bamboo about 1.5m long, stuff it with different plants from around. There were wild ginger, lemon grass etc. Then he lits a fire and place the bamboo on top. Rice is also cooked inside a bamboo.

At night, we learned to play the pratua'ng, the Bidayuh's music instrument made wholly from ..yes..you guessed it - bamboo. Even the strings are from bamboo. The sound is very soothing. Our teacher was to perform in the Rainforest Music Festival's opening the next day.

The second night, other guests joined us for some traditional Bidayuh dance. Most of the pieces were about celebrating fertility of the land.

As a city girl, I also enjoyed seeing the fruit trees. I love tropical fruits. In fact, it is one of those things I miss at most when I am here in Denmark. I miss eating tropical fruits fresh. Not from Føtex, not from Irma.

One of my danish friends was shocked to find pineapples growing from the ground. Ah well, I was really excited when I first saw an orange tree in Greece. So I shouldn't give the fella a hard time.

The other thing I miss is being able to swim outdoors. Danes laugh at me when I say the water is too cold in the summer. Well, they should try it in Malaysia where the water and land temperature does not differ 10 degree celcius!

All in all, I would really recommend people going to support Annah Rais. The hosts are caring, friendly and have integrity. I left my belongings in the house and nothing ever happened to them. When my friend misplaced something, she called them. They looked high and low and even call us back to follow up afterwards. She had placed it in one of her bags and found them later.