Before i go on with Pt. 3 of this gawai trip, just wanna share abit of my experience staying in the longhouse. there’s no wi-fi, no astro (unfortunately for this longhouse), no cybercafe, no ambai lalai. it’s all back to nature.
Of course, i get to practice and improve my silat movement in the toilet. yup, toilet is the worst place cos that’s where all the mosquitoes like to hangout. the worst time is when you go and do your big business. this only happens when you’re new to the environment.
The 2nd day at the long house started with breakfast at the ruai wit my adopted family. the time was only 6 something in the early morning and for those who was too “happy” the previous nite, they were still in bed. the weather was cold and it was raining too.
After breakfast, it was paying a visit to the ancestors’ grave for the iban ppl. we spent quite some time at the graveyard, getting to know a couple of interesting graves belongs to the Rentap warrior and his faithful comrades who fought against the Brooke’s in the early history.
When cleaning up of the graves was over, we headed to the nearby town, Betong before going for house-visiting over the afternoon.

Early breakfast… ppl still in sarongs

At the grave… chinaman rocks!

statue of angel watching over

a gothic tombstone

Rentap’s comrades

About this grave, there was this joke on it. when i was told this was the Rentap’s warriors grave, i thought it only has 1 person in it. but when i read the tombstone that it stated 4 different years, i thought to myself ‘wow, this guy’s amazing cos he can di 4 times!” actually, it was not. this grave consist of 4 persons and their bones was actually collected from various locations before burying here cos that’s where they originated.



dun know why i was looking so scare in the photo

We came back from the grave and got ready for another breakfast session at the ruai again. now by then, everyone was up already, still in their celebration mood though.

got back from the grave and ready for another breakfast session

makan lagi



do they look alike?

dun know who’s nenek is that

cheryl, darren and aunt mary

i’m still sleepy

awal-awal pagi minum, 1 beer a day keeps the reality away
After the breakfast session, we headed to the nearest town, Betong. it’s like a half an hour drive from the longhouse. it’s a small town that has no nightlife, as there’s no kopitiam that i saw is capable of opening till late night. it’s more like a town for tourist or long-distance travelers to stop by for break.

on the way to Betong

this guy has tattoo and earings but sad to say he’s hunchback

exploring the town… ahead of us is the bus station


the kopitiam we stopped for lunch





crispy noodle fried in tomato sauce

my kolo mee

kolo mee soup

everyone’s full and satisfied
One thing i like to make it clear here. the kolo mee in betong is the best, those in miri and sibu cannot challenge except for kuching. and that’s the verdict for the best kolo mee! it’s not in miri, not sibu but in Betong!!!

the only monument in the town center


this type of hotel got suite you know?!
Yup, the above hotel does have suite for only RM60 per night. i wonder if they have jacuzzi or sauna room. :p



support Brazil for this EURO 2008

i’ve changed my belief…

Such small town also got Everise, better than nothing la. not only that, they also have electronics shops around that deals with laptops and hps but it’s expensive.

Betong got stadium…

Fort Lily is the fort used during the time when the Rentap’s warriors fought against the Brooke’s.


When we headed back to the longhouse later on, the ppl was having bowling competition. it has never came across my mind that they could think of such game. the ‘ball’ is actually a coconut and the ‘pins’ are the beer cans.


Over in the afternoon, we went for visiting to another longhouse. it’s totally 2 longhouse we went to. the first one belongs to Datuk Jabu. his longhouse is the most modern compared to the others longhouses.






The tuak served was compulsory and based on the color, this is not kick.



the most modern toilet in the longhouse, must be got air-con one


the 2nd longhouse we visited

the tuak getting more kick and kick
These are the delicacies being served to us:








We visited 4 rooms in the 2nd longhouse, and tuak was serve in every room. as we visit from room to room, the color of the tuaks also started to change its color from yellowish to pure milky color.
That’s all for now. Click here for Part 1 & Part 2 if you’ve missed it.
cheers & GB…
