Beautiful, mystical Kelabit Hills

Ironically, the first time I heard about Kelabit Hills was from an American backpacker that my friend met in one of her travels. Now, what does an American know about the history and geography of the jungles and tribes of Borneo (Kalimantan)? Obviously … more than me. Goes to show we shouldn’t underestimate people. Although Americans are known to think that the world revolves around USA alone, there are exceptions to the rule!

In any case, when my friend decided to organise a trip to the Kelabit Hills during the Merdeka holiday week, I jumped at the chance. We flew into Bario from Miri on a twin otter (now that was a pretty neat ride!) and trek through the jungles of Borneo to B’kelalan in three days (with a quick in and out of Indonesian land on the last day). Yeah, we spent three days trekking through mud covered trails and leech infested jungles. We must be out of our minds! What were we thinking of ~ to leave the comforts of our home with water heater, air conditioning and television; for the likes of longhouses, Malay type houses on stilts, jungle shelter, freezing cold well water and river water, toilet au natural (dig your own hole literally), exotic game (i.e. wild boar, bucking deer and civet cat) for food and many more exciting experiences. The shelter which we put up a night at was also the base camp for the rescue operation (which cost about RM2 million, I was told by the guide) of the helicopter tragedy last July that killed seven people including Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Office, Dr Judson Tagal.

The verdict? I have absolutely no regrets. Bario was like another world. Imagine a remote community that can only be reached by air or on foot through other villages that have better access to the road system (such as B’kelalan, which is a 3 day walk away). Imagine electricity supplied only through generators. The guide told us that diesel cost about RM150 per litre as it has to be flown in. Therefore, generator usage is very rare and only turned on when travellers are around. Imagine no road system exists except for a dirt road leading from the airport to the village and lots of dirt trails. Transportation is in the form of motorbikes and the only vehicles there are pick-ups and 4WD; which have no registration no. and no road tax. Communication is limited to public fixed line phones. (Actually, I only saw one.) There are no mobile phone connections. (Yup, I tried but no “bar”.) Imagine a community that is so selfless that our host invited his competition to his place to entertain us as he (our host) was unable to speak English or Malay well enough to communicate much with us.

B’kelalan too boasts of very hospitable and courteous people. We actually stayed at the late Dr Judson Tagal’s parents’ lodge. They are excellent host and although our contact and communication was brief, we could feel the genuine warmth of their welcome and care. What happened to their son was very sad indeed and their lost reverberated through their home. On a good note, it was really heartening to see a community that truly loved their minister. Civilisation is also more apparent at B’kelalan as they have better access to electricity and the outside world although it took us 5 hours of mud road driving to get from B’kelalan to the trunk road and onward to the nearest town of Lawas. And if you have never experienced the actual 4WD adventures, here is one opportunity that you shouldn’t miss. I promise that you will get an excellent massage on the backseat of the 4WD! *evil grin* And B’kelalan oh B’kelalan ~ it looks like a mystical place in the early morning as it is located in a valley surrounded by the beautiful and serene Kelabit Hills with clouds hanging mysteriously over these hills. A picture paints a thousand words and therefore, here’s one to feast your eyes.

And that folks is our experience at Kelabit Hills. For more information and write-ups, you might want to google it or check out the following website. http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/6980/bario_1a.html
If you seek a different kind of adventure holiday, look no further than our own backyard. Kelabit Hills is certainly a highly recommended place to go.