My First Steps In Bario

My First Steps In Bario

It was a cloudy morning in Miri, the morning we were flying to Bario. After around 45 minutes in the small and noisy plane, we reached! I was so excited. When the airplane door opened, with my trembling legs, I stepped into the land of Bario!  

The airplane to Bario.

Extra: You can even see the pilot fly the plane!!!

The first sign I caught was the beautiful greenish scenery that you would never see in the city.  We sent our luggage to the homestay by car while we all walked. I found that the wind in Bario was cold although it was in the afternoon. During the walking journey, we saw the hospital, police station and many interesting things -- There were NO petrol stations but they have Hilux (four wheel drive) and motorcycles. Only later I found out they sell petrol in bottle form. 

We went into a shop and bought things we needed before we continued our walk. I bought a local hand-made bag and hat. After around 45 minutes of long walking, finally we reach Tepu' Sina Rang's house which was also our homestay. Before this, I never knew how a longhouse looked like until I entered the dining place. It was seriously very long!

The Beautiful Scenery in Bario!!!

After dinner and rest, our Bario Asal coordinator, Nicole brought us to walk around Bario Asal. The first place we went was SMK Bario, the secondry school. We went to other homestays to take a look and the last place we went to was the art gallery. I would say I liked the art gallery the most because it was so cool and creative. The most impressive art I found was the map of Bario drawn by Steven, the artist of the art gallery. 

Map of Bario, by steven

I had a stomach ache on the way back to our homestay. I suddenly felt that I really really couldn't hold it anymore. I asked for the nearest toilet but it was locked! We ended up in someones house to use their toilet. While doing my 'big business', I was thinking about the people of Bario. It was only my first day, and I already liked this place. People are so friendly that they would allow a stranger to enter their house to use their toilet. This is something you would never see in the city!