Jungle Jaunts

How a city-girl survived on a jungle trek.

Kampung Rejoi & SK Semban, Sarawak, Malaysia Monday, August 23, 2010 They are tucked in the remote corner of Padawan, one among the cloud-shrouded highlands near the border with Indonesia in the middle of the jungle with no access road. Getting to Kampung Rejoi and Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Semban in Ulu Bengoh is not for the faint-hearted. Trekking in the jungle crossing six huge bamboo bridges (120 ft long and 30 ft high) and no less than 20 smaller ones.. could take from fo

On a more pleasant note, it was fascinating seeing how they survive using the plants as we use a supermarket. Although I’ve read & lectured extensively on the subject, its totally different when you actually experience & benefit from it. It really makes you appreciate nature and how the indigenous people have learned to harness it. As we walked, they collected various parts of various plants to be used for cooking, shelter and hunting: FOOD: Bamboo branches about 2.5-3” in d

1st nite: IN THE CABIN: Ran out of my bottled water to rinse my mouth after brushing teeth. Went into the kitchen..in the dark...& took a swig from what I thought was a bottle of water.. it turned out to be the kerosene bottle....good thing I didn't swallow it!!..... tasted that for the rest of the night! 2nd nite: IN THE HAMMOCK IN THE JUNGLE: This turned out to be quite an eventful nite..went to bed at about 8:30 ...YES ME!! The 3 guides stayed up another 2 hrs. dri

Note from Jodi: (These 3 Jungle Stories were written back in 2002 & emailed to friends in the US after I returned to my hotel in Kuching. It was before digital cameras & the images were copied from still prints & are not sharp.) Here I am back in civilization after 5 days of trekking & living in the jungle with 2 Iban tribesmen: Janda & Belansai, as guides/ porters/chefs....from one of the original head-hunting tribes in Borneo... The Ibans. What a fantastic experience. M