SEVENTY years after Tom Harrison landed at Bario Highlands – parachuting from a four-engined Liberator bomber – the BAT team, with more than half of its members being first-time visitors to picturesque highland, touched down at Bario airport yesterday.
The field where Tom Harrison landed in Bario 70 years ago.
A captivating view of Bario.
The Bario airport.
Captain Nurrachman (left) and his co-pilot SO Nurfarah made a smooth touch-down at Bario airport.
Rose in front of her sundry shop. Her business is badly affected by the subsidised food programme.
It was a smooth landing. We have captain Nurrachman and SO Nurfarah of MASwings to thank for reading how Tom Harrison made his landing in those bygone years.
“Dropping out of a four-engined Liberator bomber is roughly comparable to water-skiing behind a speedboat or bobsleighing. But it also has something more. There is one moment in this kind of parachuting which has never ceased to hold a magic not quite to be met with any other way.” – (World Within A Borneo Story by Tom Harrison – page 191)
To be sure, our landing was not as “eventful” as that of Harrison and his team, some of whom landed on a soft field while one ended up atop the jungle canopy.
We arrived at the terminal – only 50 steps from the apron – and were greeted by Scot Apoi Ngimat, our homestay host.
Bario, located in northeastern of the state, is very close to the international Kalimantan-Sarawak border. The so-called capital of the Highlands, it is made up of about a dozen villages scattered over a beautiful valley with a population of around 1,200.
Scott said during the holiday seasons with the younger generation of highlanders coming home, the number could swell to about 1,500.
He then led us to his homestay – a beautiful house on top of a hill near the town.
The hospitality of the Kelabit people was evident as Scott explained that almost all the families in the area welcomed travellers the world over to stay with them.
There are around 12 homestays in Bario and one of the oldest is James Lounge.
Scott receives visitors around the world – some come on a leisurely tour while others for the challenging trekking experience.
“One of the most challenging treks takes you from Bario to Pa’tik, a Penan village, requiring around seven days to complete,” he explained.
The weather in Bario is pleasantly cool – an average of 21 degrees Celsius – and can drop to 14 degrees Celsius at night.
However, Scott said global warming had taken a toll on Bario too as the temperature there is not as consistent as before.
He said 20 years ago, a mist covered Bario till 10am everyday but now, this atmospheric phenomenon is a thing of the past.
“You don’t see it anymore,” he lamented.
Renowned for its rice – the premier of premiers Bario rice – the Highlands is accessible only by air or a torturous 4WD track.
It is also known as the “land of a hundred handshakes” for the heart-warming hospitality of the Kelabit people.
We were served a scrumptious meal by our homestay hosts. The food was as fresh as it could get with bamboo shoots and Midin all freshly harvested and venison taken from deer that were hunted very recently.
After the meal, we went to the nearby town – a mere 20 minutes walk from the airport.
There is a small town square where the main shops are situated, comprising a sundry shop, a variety of handicraft shops, a little café and an Internet station.
During our walkabout, our attention was caught by a Chinese word on the signage of a sundry shop.
Out of curiosity, we asked Rose Garauk, a local whom we met, about the word and she told us it stands for ‘Gui’ which is her daughter’s name.
Rose, 48, is a Kelabit married to a Foochow sea captain from Miri. They have two children and two grandchildren.
While the government’s subsidised food scheme has benefited the people, it is not a blessing for Rose as it has badly affected her business.
Rose who sells non-subsidised goods is losing her customers to subsidised-goods dealers because of the big price difference.
“In terms of percentage, the subsidy given by the government has affected my business by 100 per cent,” she pointed out.
Meanwhile, sauntering around the town and savouring their first few hours of Kelabit hospitality, the BAT team immersed themselves in the breath-taking vista and the dream-like way of life of the mystical Highlands.