How to tackle Borneo with the kids
The Cagol family head deep into Kalimantan in search of orang-utans. How will the kids adapt to life in the Indonesian rainforest?
Our adventure in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, began in Palangkaraya. We hired a boat to take us up river, stopping off at traditional Dayak villages and looking out for wildlife, especially the elusive orang-utan.
The boat headed up stream to Bukit Rawi, past stilted and floating houses lining the river banks. The villagers had heard that we were bringing children, so the local school met us at the pier to provide a traditional Dayak welcome. Musicians and dancers put on a performance for us and the kids got to play the local game of dancing between sticks.
We were taken into the village to meet Herta, an old lady who weaved rattan and remembers when the Japanese invaded the village during the Second World War. Herta never married, lives with her brother and works incredibly hard to weave baskets, handbags, coasters and art pieces. She was very sweet so we bought an art piece from her and two coasters for the girls.
The kids were impressed by the local costume that featured hornbill feathers, but not so sure about the bone houses where the Dayak Ngaju people encased human bones in painted boxes. The guide had explained that in the past they used to sacrifice humans and that head hunting had been practised here too.
Our boat was our transport, hotel and restaurant, all rolled into one. After a short trip down stream, we moored up for the evening. We enjoyed a very impressive meal, cooked in a very limited space, before settling down for the night, a fan to keep us cool and a spectacular thunder and lightning show to serenade us off to sleep.
The next morning we visited the village of Katimpun, where we were greeted by the local teacher, Pery. He took us on a tour of the village, leading us along a succession of wooden planks to show us the library he is building for the village. The local children were excited to see us and began showing off by jumping into the river and paddling their wooden canoes. They rarely see foreigners, explained Pery. And almost never see foreign kids.
