explore malaysia
HOMESTAY HOST
“When I was a school kid”, my homestay
host Sang Sigar exclaimed, “we walked
five days from our boarding school
in Lawas all the way home and really
thought nothing of it.” Hearing people talk
about walking is not unusual, as distances
here are measured in how many days
it takes to reach various destinations.
Considering that some of the surrounding
countryside is tropical rainforest with
protruding buttress roots and rapidly
flowing rivers, I appreciated the difficulty
in moving between communities.I was informed that the main service
centre of Lawas was a five-hour drive
away, or about 125km along a dusty, pot-
holed former logging trail.Walking is something most visitors will
do while in the village with its cooler air
at 1,000m altitude. To walk to all rice-
growing communities in the valley would
take most of the day, but it is possible
to hitch a ride on one of the four-wheel
drive vehicles heading off to Lawas.A rewarding walk that I did was one up
a hill opposite the airstrip to a viewpoint
where I enjoyed a panoramic view of the
valley with its mountainous backdrop
and a kaleidoscopic sunset.Keen walkers may want to consider
walking to other destinations such as the
Kalimantan border or Bario in the Kelabit
Highland. From Bario, it is then possible
to fly back to Miri. Another possibility
with the assistance of local guides is
to attempt an ascent on Mount Murud,
Sarawak’s highest peak at 2,423m.