“Load up quick, bad weather, come very quick!”

These are the last words you ever want to hear when you are a passenger in a tiny 20-seater plane flying into the rainforest. As the engines whirred into life, I wondered for a split second whether or not I’d bought enough supplies to last a trek to the nearest village should the plane crash. Risky or not, the flight into the interior of Sarawak only served to highlight the nature of the trip that was to come – remote and, at this point, reckless.

Ceremonial first tree planting of the project "Picnic with the Penan" in Borneo. Photo courtesy of Picnic with the Penan

Last month I headed out on a tiny plane into the interior of Borneo to spend 10 days with the Penan. The Penan are one of the indigenous peoples of Sarawak and were, until recently, the only people to live a nomadic lifestyle within the rainforest. Today, most Penan have settled in villages where they primarily cultivate the land yet still utilize their hunter-gatherer skills to supplement their diet.

I visited two villages that are part of a project called Picnic with the Penan (PWTP). PWTP is a community tourism project that is run by the Penan, and which helps to fund a tree-planting project in areas that were badly burnt in El Nino fires in 1998. In the summer mass fruiting of 2009, there was a once-in-10-year opportunity to easily collect thousands of seeds to plant – knowing that this was coming, the villages sought outside help to fund a nursery and labor costs.

Penan elder making a blow pipe. Photo courtesy of Picnic with the Penan

They realized that by planting species of Meranti, Kapor and some Shorea species, in the future they would be able to selectively use some of the new trees for building, therefore leaving untouched the rare old-growth forest that still exists further from the villages. This project has gone from strength to strength and many saplings are now ready to plant, but the longevity of the project depends on consistent funding and PWTP is still seeking help to ensure the success in this project.

The PWTP projects are facilitated by volunteers who live outside of the villages and have access to the internet and phones, completing administrative tasks that cannot be done in the villages due their remote location. However, all the money that is spent goes directly to the Penan themselves, meaning that you pay your guide/porter/host directly rather than through a middleman. What is interesting about this initiative is that it is run as a co-operative; there is no hierarchy and all decisions are made in village meetings whereby each villager has an equal voice. This serves to create a sense that the project truly belongs to everyone.

One of the many perks of this particular trip is that it remains off the beaten track. With the PWTP program, it is unlikely that you will cross paths with any other travellers for the duration of your stay. Travellers should keep in mind that tourism is new to this area, so if you are expecting five-star amenities, think again! However, if you can approach this unique experience with an open mind, and are willing to make do with relatively basic conditions, then you will surely find it to be enriching and extremely enlightening.

My plan was to enjoy this trip solo, although I did have some concerns about travelling to this remote place on my own (getting on the aforementioned plane didn’t help). However, as soon as I arrived in the village and was greeted by my guide and porter, I realized that I had nothing to worry about. Even though they spoke only a bit of English, my friendly guides successfully managed to make me forget my initial trepidation about our adventurous 3-day trek to the villages.

The Penan may be quite shy when you first meet them, but based on my experience they will open up after a few hours. Soon they will be proudly showing you around the local forests, demonstrating their incredible span of knowledge. In fact, during one of our hikes, I was shocked to find out that my guide had never walked the route we were taking before – he seemed to know where the trails were even when there was no discernible track to follow!

My guide, Paul, was very eager to show me the medicinal plants used by the Penan and it seemed that they were everywhere – almost every small shrub we walked past had some use. It’s not surprising then that the Penan do not see the forest as a monetary resource so much as their whole life, their larder and their hospital. As such, the forest must be kept intact so that future generations and their culture can survive. In a much wider sense, this need to preserve the world’s rainforests can be extended to all of humanity.

Punting down from the Penan village. Photo courtesy of Picnic with the Penan

In this regard, PWTP has empowered the villages, and increasingly there is a real sense that they can do something about their own destinies. PWTP has provided these two villages with an income, which means that in time, there will be more of an incentive for the younger generation to stay in the villages and maintain the traditional connection the Penan have with the rainforest.

Though they have lived a subsistence lifestyle for so long, money has become a necessity in recent years. Ironically this may be the resource that allows the Penan to maintain their way of life. With the funds from the ‘community fee,’ the villagers can decide together how to improve their lives, whether be by replanting hardwoods in areas of damaged rainforest or creating wet rice paddies to provide a stable food supply.

After many years of hearing disheartening news about the Penan, it is really encouraging to see that this Penan-run project is bringing about positive changes that will, in time, provide the stability needed to continue their traditional way of life for future generations.

Although known as the birthplace of Malaysia’s petroleum industry – and still reliant on oil as a leading source of income – the coastal town of Miri, in northern Sarawak on the island of Borneo, is today so much more than an oil and timber town and site of national monuments like the Grand Old Lady,  or Oil Well No. 1, drilled way back in 1910.

The Grand Old Lady - Malaysia's first oil well was erected in 1910 and is now a state monument

Looking past its industrial origins, Miri and its surrounding region draw in many visitors eager to indulge in Miri tours and activities, including scuba diving, beaches  and, just 30 minutes from Miri, the largest biodiversity park in the world, Lambir Hills National Park. Another national park, Loagan Bunut, is a magnificent haunt for bird watchers, who keep watch over a central lake that shrinks every summer. Before and after such trips, a wide range of Miri hotels covers all tastes and budgets.

Mulu Caves National Park is a World Heritage Site located 110 km west of Miri. Believed to be the longest connected cave system in the world, Mulu includes marvels like the astonishingly large Sarawak Chamber, voluminous enough to accommodate 40 Boeing 747s. Mulu’s origins probably date back more than 5 million years, giving it another superlative: the oldest cave on earth.

The Kenyah are one of Borneo's indigenous tribes and can be found living in small communities across the island

Speaking on behalf of his team, Khirul Zainie says: “We are confident that as part of the whl.travel network, MegaBorneo Tour Planner can reach out to travellers interested in enjoying an authentic local experience in a responsible manner. We believe in practicing sustainable  tourism  in our daily business operations and we feel that we are not  alone in this crusade. We will continue to contribute positively to local communities by featuring the services of carefully selected, responsible suppliers and work to avoid the risk of ‘green wash’.”

whl.travel’s launch of www.borneo-mirimulu.travel puts travellers directly in touch with Khirul and the team at MegaBorneo Tours and adds to the existing destinations in Malaysia, including Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan.

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IN MALAY / DALAM BAHASA MELAYU

Miri dan Taman Negara Mulu – Destinasi WHL terbaru di Malaysia

Selain daripada dikenali sebagai tempat kelahiran industri petroleum Malaysia, Miri yang terletak di bahagian Utara negeri Sarawak di kepulauan Borneo, Bandaraya Miri hari ini adalah lebih daripada Bandar Minyak, kayu balak dan tempat Monumen nasional seperti tempat telaga minyak pertama di Malaysia atau lebih dikenali sebagai “Grand Old Lady” yang ditemui dalam tahun 1910.

Hari ini, Miri dan kawasan sekitarnya menarik ramai pengunjung yang ingin melawat tarikan pelancongan di Miri, termasuk aktiviti scuba, pantainya yang sunyi  dan terletak lebih kurang tiga puluh minit dari Miri adalah Taman Negara Bukit Lambir yang terkenal dengan keperbagaian sumber  biologinya dan air terjun yang indah. Taman Negara Niah dan Taman Negara Logan Bunut adalah diantara pusat tarikan pelancong yang terletak  tidak jauh dari Miri. Miri juga menawarkan Miri hotel dari perbagai kategori sesuai untuk  pelbagai cita rasa dan saiz saku.

Abraham Lincoln’s Silhouette is a natural limestone formation in Deer Cave part of the world's oldest cave system at Mulu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Taman Negara Mulu adalah sebuah kawasan “World Heritage Site” di negeri Sarawak yang terletak 110 km Barat Miri. Dipercayai system gua yang terpanjang di dunia, Taman Negara Mulu megah dengan keluasan Gua Sarawak Chamber yang boleh menyimpan 40 buah boeing 747. Dengan usia yang lebih dari 5 juta tahun, Taman Negara Mulu juga dipercayai adalah gua tertua di dunia.

“Kami yakin dengan menjadi sebahagian daripada  gabungan whl.travel, MegaBorneo Tour Planner akan dapat mencapai kepada pelanggan yang berminat untuk menikmati pengalaman tempatan yang unggul sambil mengamalakan sikap yang bertanggungjawab kepada pemeliharaan alam sekitar. Kami percaya kepada amalan industri pelancongan yang bertanggungjawab dan dengan menyertai whl.travel network, kami tidak keseorangan di dalm usaha murni ini. Kami akan terus  menyumbang secara positif kepada masyarakat dan persekitaran tempatan dengan memilih hanya bekerjasama  dengan pembekal perkhidmatan yang bertanggungjawab sahaja,” menurut Khirul Zainie mewakili semua kakitangan syarikat beliau.

Dengan pelancaran www.borneo-mirimulu.travel oleh whl.travel, para pengembara dapat berhubung terus dengan MegaBorneo Tour Planner dan menambah satu lagi destinasi  baru di Malaysia selain daripada Kota Kinabalu dan Sandakan.