Since third year geography I had always been fascinated by the equatorial rainforest of Borneo and its indigenous tribes living in longhouses, now was my chance to actually visit one. After all that is reported about the destruction of the rainforest I was curious to see just what might be left. We chose a tour which was a 5 hour (250km) drive into the interior, every year the tours go deeper and deeper into the jungle as each longhouse becomes more accessible by transport links. As our tour guide, a third generation Chinese Malaysian, Kenny explained, we would be driving inland to the Lemanak river (see the 'Our Trip' map) and the Ngemah area. We would then transfer to a longboat, which would take us and our two fellow travellers Melanie (Argentina) and Esther (Holland) upstream to the Alo longhouse. The longhouse is home to 38 families of the Iban tribe. The Iban were famed as headhunters (up until the British made it illegal, of course). Headhunting was not as bloodthirsty as you might think, only the bravest enemies would be killed in battle and their heads taken as trophies back to the longhouse. The heads were honoured and seen as protective spirits for the home. Families of the dead would be incorporated into the community. Today, only treasured heads from over a century ago are kept by the tribe. Iban warriors, however, still need to go out in the world and prove their bravery and worthiness before marrying. The Iban are land Dyaks, which mean they own huge areas of the rainforest (protected by law) and farm a small percentage of it, growing rice, palm oil and rubber trees. Kenny told us that the chief of this longhouse was very protective of the rainforest and his personal 15,000 hectares of land. Some other chiefs have leased land to big Chinese corporations to grow palm oil, in exchange for money and wages as farmers. This practice has lead to bigger portions of the rainforest being razed to the ground and also to other ecological disasters such as river poisoning. The Alo longhouse chief was using his power as chairman of the chiefs committee (52 members) to try to persuade others not to succumb to the Chinese. Our drive to the river gave us a glimpse of the devastation soon to befall the deeper parts of the jungle. The Malaysian government continues to build roads deeper and deeper into the jungle - where there are roads, there is access for illegal logging. The roadsides were lined with burned patches of rainforest as they are cleared for housing, businesses and rice fields. Alo is so far inaccessible by road. Part of the tour included a stop off at a traditional market, we have now been to plenty! This one contained the fruit, vegetables, cooked snacks, meat and fish. In the wet market part (mainly for fish) Paul saw a guy chopping up and bagging a huge python for sale - illegal of course! Later along the trail we stopped for lunch and to buy gifts for the Iban. As there are 38 families and as the gifts are shared out equally, this was a difficult decision - the shop we were at did not have much choice. We bought a 40 pack of snacks/crisps - not the best choice, admittedly. Finally We stopped at the Lemanak river to get our longboat. Thankfully the river level was high so we didn't have to wade or push the boat. The boat was narrow (one person wide) and flat bottomed for shallow waters, it was powered by motor and steered capably by the boatman's wife. The journey upstream was magical, just as you would imagine, a winding brown river dappled and shaded by rainforest. Even Paul's photos can't do it justice. The journey took about an hour upstream through many shallow rocky patches. The longhouse was perched high up on the river bank with steps leading up to some wooden and concrete outbuildings and the longhouse itself. An Iban woman banged a gong to announce our arrival and we followed her up the carved tree trunk staircase to the entrance where we were greeted by the old chief's wife serving us sweet rice wine 'Tuak'. The longhouse has a shared covered verandah down its full length and a room for each family off it. After tea and coffee we were left to explore the house, leaving Kenny to cook a meal for us and the Chief's family. Longhouse family life went on around us, older men and women sat smoking, the men decorated with traditional tattoos. One elderly woman wore a 'Hard Rock cafe' t-shirt with her sarong - only the best of western culture! A young man was carving a wooden Iban mask, while his wife and young baby sat by him on the verandah. A younger woman was separating rice husks from the rice. Children played, some washed and swam in the river. As evening drew close, more people went down to the river to bathe before eating. We walked along the verandah and saw about 15 people watching a Malaysian soap opera on the TV. The Chief arrived at the longhouse and introduced himself to us, he was 44 and looked very young. He spoke English well and was clearly proud of his heritage and way of life. He explained to us that the Iban philosophy was about sharing, hence the common verandah area where the community gathered. We were then invited into the Chief's rooms, where Kenny had prepared a feast for us all. We sat on the floor (Iban style) to eat it. Family members came and went stopping to eat some of the food. The 'old Chief' came in from working on the paddy fields, he looked great for 78, albeit a bit tired from his labour. We ate jungle ferns, kailan (green vegetable used in Chinese cooking), pork in soy sauce, chicken in chilli and onions, fried bean curd and the usual noodles and rice. Kenny had also prepared fried pork fat bits and chicken feet for the family, but we didn't partake! The rice whiskey also got passed around a bit too! After dinner was the dancing, the Iban changed out of their jeans and t-shirts and into traditional costume. The men wearing feathered caps, weaved tunics and carried shields and knives. The women had elaborate headdresses and beaded costumes. The dances were designed to imitate flying hornbills. The music was provided on traditional instruments - gongs and a wooden xylophone. Dancing was interspersed with yelps and the taking of rice wine shooters. Then of course it was the turn of the tourists - presumably to keep the Iban entertained. Paul's interpretation of the dance was both original and amusing. The show was stolen by a Polish guy though! There were 10 tourists staying that night - apparently the Iban were hosts to 60 a couple of nights earlier! After the dancing it was time to present our gifts to the Chief which were then rather chaotically shared out amongst the families. After the evening show and ceremonies, it was time for bed. The tourists beds were on the verandah, 'thin' mattresses on the floor with mosquito nets above. The generator switched off at 10 and so it was flashlights at the ready if we wanted a toilet trip outside. My trip so far has taught me to always take earplugs, boy were they needed! Paul had to suffer dogs barking, c*** crowing, snoring, coughing, baby crying, cats fighting, bats sqeaking and a number of strange sounds from the tin roof (drips, scampering etc.) Suffice to say Paul did not get to sleep until around 3am. We were properly awoken at sunrise (6:30) when the longhouse started to stir. We rushed down to the outdoor sink and cold shower facilities to wash before the other tourists surfaced. Paul went for a jungle exploration before breakfast and I stayed inside to people watch. Kenny had prepared another feast in the Chief's room, jam/bread, cakes, noodles, rice, chicken sausages, bananas and hot tea. At breakfast, the Chief told us about the 'cloud tree' a tree that can be seen up on the mountain from the river - it is silver and stands out amongst the other trees, but no-one in the 100 year history of the settlement has ever found it in the forest. When the Chief takes tourists out for treks he always challenges them to find it. After this lovely tale, he told us that there was an orang-utan in the forest, we were excited that they were still living wild up here. Then he proceeded to mention that the people of a nearby longhouse had killed it, ignoring our visibly aghast expressions, he explained that they had eaten it! Further horrified at this, we gasped as he nonchalantly described the number of litres of water and tins they needed to boil it in. A very animated Esther protested and asked if they knew it was endangered and illegal. "Of course" was the casual reply, "but they were hungry..". The final part of our stay was to see the blowpipe and cockfighting demonstrations. Thankfully the cockfighting was more posturing and flapping about than harming each other, which seemed to also be a relief to the boys fighting them. Cockfighting is also illegal but a strong part of the culture. The blowpipe is not traditionally Iban (it is Penan), so not sure how authentic this was. We had a demonstration by Kenny, who was very good, then another by a young Iban man, then it was our turn. We hit the target on both our tries so no shame there! Sadly, it was time to head back down the river towards Kuching! We had had a great experience and a brief glimpse of the simple but happy lives of the Iban, a dying culture and disappearing world....