Dhahran British Grammar School Expedition 2006

21 March 2006
Camp 5 – Kuala Terikan Longhouse

Everybody was tired this morning, and whilst not exactly bad tempered, were somewhat grumpy when asked to tidy up after themselves.

We left Camp 5 much dirtier than we had arrived for few of us had any clean, dry clothes left. 

Although there is quite a bit of wildlife in this national park we didn’t see anything on our walk to Kuala Terikan.  Either we were making too much noise or the animals could hear us coming.

The Head-hunters Trail is an easy 11km walk downhill through unspoiled dipterocarp rainforest – quite different in character to the alluvial rainforest we had walked through two days before.  Philip stopped the group from time to time to point out different medicinal plants and explain their uses.  Away from the limestone, we were back in leach territory.  Aristo found the first one and came crashing through the undergrowth screaming.  Fortunately it hadn’t had the time to get too attached to him before Laing removed it.  Yuk.  There were giant millipedes six inches or more long, fluorescent white fungi and red flowered parasitic plants along the trail.

Where the trail would have been muddy, narrow boardwalks had been constructed, more to keep erosion to a minimum rather than protect tourist boots though I think.

A narrow rope bridge across the river provided some amusement.  One student shouted down “Oh so high, so wobbly, I’m scared” teasing a girl who had crossed tentatively before him.  At this point there was a large crack, giving the impression that the bridge was about to give way.  The boy’s tone changed quickly and he scampered across the bridge as fast as its swaying would allow.

For most of us the walk passed quickly enough and we were soon climbing into narrow perahu panjai – long canoes powered by outboard motors and constructed from three huge planks of dipterocarp timber.

The river wound its way through the thick jungle.  In places it was so shallow that we were in danger of running aground.  On some meanders the boats tipped alarmingly, threatening to dump us overboard.  A steep rapid came up suddenly, producing assorted shrieks of horror and delight, and adding to our overall level of dampness. 

These few splashes were nothing compared to the sudden downpour that followed however.  The rain droplets had been super-sized and, driven by a strong wind, were at first refreshing and then uncomfortably cold.  At this point the students who hadn’t listened to instructions (to get out your rain jacket and put your valuables in plastic bags) began to suffer.

We took lunch at the park boundary and had time to swim above the rapids.  Butterflies quickly settled on our discarded socks to enjoy the salts and other aromatic substances contained therein; glad something could.  The boys lost my Frizbee, which didn’t float, and despite diving for it had to leave it for the fish.

The longhouse was built in 1964 and houses two hundred and fifty four people.  Wood and corrugated iron, surprisingly spacious and terribly warm, the longhouse is to be replaced by a concrete terrace on higher ground in the near future.  I think that it will be a great shame, but then I don’t have to live in it and put up with the annual flooding.

We shed our clothes in the longhouse’s outer balcony.  Soaked and sweaty, we must have made the whole house stink.  Nevertheless, we were given a warm reception by Encik Payung – our Iban host.  I don’t know what his name means in the local dialect, but in Malay I think it means Mr Umbrella.

There were dozens of small children at the longhouse and they quickly made friends with our students.  They had several games in common, including a hand game like pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake and tag, and one or two they could learn from each other, despite the language barrier.  Aristo taught the boys how to make paper aeroplanes and hats.  The local kids caught cicadas and showed him how to tie pieces of string around their bodies so that they could stop them flying off.

After a communal meal where we all sat on the floor in a big circle, we were entertained by some of the longhouse residents who danced and played a simple gamelan.  Some of us danced too, although most were too shy.  When challenged to make a group performance we had all the kids line up and played a game that resulted in everybody falling over, to the amusement of the audience.  A bit lame perhaps, but we don’t seem too good at singing songs or performing a group dance.

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