Sarawak Cultural Village - The houses of Sarawak

I liked the way they built this village by preserving the natural surroundings. They built around nature and not nature around them. They maintained the originality and authenticity of the ethnic houses using natural materials such as tree trunks for stairs !!!  :-0{  Most of the wood used was from the "berlian" tree - a hard type of wood - according to our esteemed guide aka Vivien. :-))

The entrance fee was quite steep and there was no difference for Malaysians and foreigners. In Sabah, to enter the islands at Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park - there was different payment for Malaysians and foreign tourists. Same goes for diving fees around the islands. Here, you pay RM60 for adults and RM30 for children below 12 years old. Vivien, being a Sarawakian, was charged RM25. Most of my friends who had come here did not enter the village as the fee was quite steep. There were 8 of us with 5 adults and 3 children. Our entrance fee alone was RM390. At least transport was provided by Vivien. Hmmm ... was it worth it? I supposed so as we made the best of the situation and tried to gain as much as we could from this visit. Another discomfort was the smoke from the small campfire in every house to ward off mosquitoes. Almost all the houses were very high except the "Rumah Cina"  and "Rumah Penan" which were on ground level. There was a reason for it being high up above ground level. The main reason being to ward off wild animals and protection against enemies. I would say one could park a few lorries down there. .. :-D))

We started with the Bidayuh House. Here we were entertained by a dance performed by their resident dancers. The staff in the house were very friendly and welcoming. They answered our questions with patience and knowledge. One could sense their pride in their culture and heritage. One of the staff demonstrated how they made loin cloth from the bark of the tree while another played naturally made musical instruments.

They sell souvenirs and Vivien said locally made beads from the river mud are only sold at the cultural village and not elsewhere to preserve the authenticity of the beads. Every ethnic group has their own beads design and these beads reflect the culture of each different ethnic group. Vivien collects these beads to preserve her heritage and culture. I also learned about the significance of the bells and how important they are to symbolise the respect and love given.