Thursday, July 15, 2004

Bario – a remote rice-growing highland known for its people

http://thestaronline.com/news/story.asp?file=/2004/7/15/nation/8442623&sec=nation

Thursday July 15, 2004

Bario – a remote rice-growing highland known for its people

KUCHING: Bario, which is 1,128m above sea level, is a fertile rice-growing plateau in the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.

The only way to get to the highland – the homeland of the Kelabits who are a close-knit ethnic group – is by the 18-seater Twin Otter aircraft operated by Malaysia Airlines.

The warm and hospitable Kelabits are known for their sophisticated wet-rice culture and they produce several varieties of high-quality rice.

Many Kelabits still live in longhouses and are evangelical Christians. They have great knowledge of and respect for the virgin forests.

Records have it that during the Japanese Occupation of World War II, a group of Allied Armed Forces parachuted into Bario to organise resistance.

Outside attention was again focused on the area during Indonesia’s confrontation with Malaysia in 1963, and in the 1970s when communist terrorists hid out in the surrounding jungle.

The Sarawak Government has an ambitious plan to develop Bario into a niche tourist destination with the growing of temperate flower gardens and the introduction of horse-drawn carriages.

From Bario, tourists can trek through the forests and visit several settlements along the way before reaching Bakelalan on the Indonesian border.

There is an airstrip in Bakelalan, which is connected by air to Lawas by Twin Otter aircraft.

No comments:

Post a Comment