Flawed-Democratic Federation of Malaysia
Malaysian Borneo
Sarawak aka Land of the Hornbills
Mulu Berawan Settlement
Betty’s Homestay
Basic and reasonably clean double room for MYR 30.- or US$ 8.60 per night.
Friendly local hostess.
Click below for an interactive road map of Betty's Homestay in Mulu, which we would recommend, and for directions:Walking at our own pace through the park's steamy jungle to the Paku Waterfall, identifying birds, butterflies and tree ferns with the help of our photographic nature guides and visiting the nearby Penan settlement (the Penans are rather shy and elusive semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers and supreme jungle experts) at Batu Bungan where a friendly elderly woman played flute for us on her nose.
"...every music lover is familiar with the sound of the flute, which seems to possess a magic power that emanates from its innermost being. It speaks, it moves, it entrances, almost as if it had been revealed to us on the glorious day of creation. And yet it is genuine human expression, an element of language, the image of a dream continually repeated..."
Flying with MASwings (“Connecting the World to Sabah and Sarawak”), Malaysia Air's Borneo branch, in an ATR 72-500 from Mulu over vast deforested areas and ongoing big-scale logging operations back to Miri, located on the shore of the politically very interesting South China Sea, for all inclusive MYR 102.- or US$ 28.- per person, one way, and reading after our arrival in the The Borneo Post that “...the state was targeting MYR 7 billion in timber export earnings”.
"The army and the police came to our blockade and threatened us and told us to take down our barricade. We said 'we are defending our land. It is very easy for you as soldiers and policemen. You are being paid. You have money in your pockets. You can buy what you need; rice and sugar. You have money in the bank. But for us, this forest is our money, this is our bank. This is the only place where we can find food'..."
Click below for more blog posts about traditional musical instruments
23 Jun - 26 Jun 2013 Nara
08 Jun - 18 Jun 2011 Leh
27 Apr - 01 May 2011 Chidambaram
13 Oct - 14 Oct 2009 Kudat
10 Jul - 20 Jul 2009 Kuching
Click below for a summary of this year's travels
