Escape the concrete jungle and into a tribal heartland By Tan Chui Hua, TODAY | Posted: 01 October 2009 1258 hrs
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If you really, really want to get away from it all, here's one trip you could take. And it doesn't break the bank.
Deep in Sarawak's interior, lush forests surround a pristine lake. Here, you are more likely to run into orang utans, gibbons and hornbills than tourists.
Take a boat ride upriver, and loosen the reins on your imagination as you meander through swirling waters and twisted, gnarled trees that arch over the river.
It does seem like a page from Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Getting carried away? Whoop like a savage if you want to - save for your guides, no one's going to hear you.
For all that it offers, the 240-sq-km Batang Ai National Park receives surprisingly little attention from Sarawak's tourists.
One reason for the cool reception is logistics. The park is a considerable 250 kilometres away from Kuching, state capital of Sarawak.
To get to the park, it's a four-hour drive, plus another half hour or more on a longboat. On the other hand, this almost certainly ensures that the park is not overrun with tourists. Which makes it an ideal recuperative back-to-nature destination for frayed city nerves.
Batang Ai's most obvious attraction is the huge lake, which covers about a tenth of the park.
This lake is actually artificial, caused by damming for hydro-electricity. Nonetheless, its placidity and clear waters, combined with the green surroundings, are persuasively natural.
You could easily while a day away canoeing on the lake, gazing into the blues and taking in the scenery. It is also one of the best ways to sight animals in the park. Hang around and catch the sunset over the lake - a glorious sight to behold.
If such meditative lounging is not your style, go on a longboat ride with the local Iban cooperative. Watch as they navigate around whirlpools and hazards such as rocks.
To get more up close and personal with the park, go on a trek. There are four developed treks in the park, which traverse old secondary forest, lowland rainforests, Iban cultivation sites and their ancient burial grounds.
The park's not all about nature though. This area is actually the heartland of the Iban tribe in Sarawak.
Before the dam was constructed in the 1980s, Iban longhouses lined the valleys and river banks here.
These valleys were flooded out by the dam, and the affected villages were resettled elsewhere. Upriver, there are still a number of settlements, some of which are open to visitors.
To complete your getaway from modern trappings, plan a visit to an Iban longhouse here. Better still, stay a couple of days.
Unlike other tribal longhouses nearer to Kuching, the Ibans here are still remarkably traditional in their way of life thanks to their seclusion.
Though there is still the occasional satellite dish propped on the rooftops, traditions are still fiercely adhered to.
Animist beliefs play a big role in daily life and common signs include leaves hung in doorways to ward off evil.
Many Ibans still practise shifting cultivation for their livelihoods, and your meals here would most probably be home-grown and organic to boot.
Recharged and ready to face the concrete jungle again? There's one small hitch. It's another four hours by road to the city.
Then again, the drive comes with great views of lush greenery, so time really does fly.
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