A Day of Firsts

Dev and I had different flights in and out of Bario from the rest of the group, so we arrived a day late and had to leave a day later as well. Here’s how the first day went :

Skipping the parts about the flight from KLIA2 to Miri. It was pretty standard (McD breakfast, long walk to the boarding gate, quiet flight).

The flight from Miri to Bario was…an interesting First. We flew on the MASwings Twin Otter aircraft, which was a tiny double-propeller plane. Taking off was terrifying for me because we could feel every little jerk of the plane as it was ascending. But once we got to higher altitudes, the plane steadied and I sat back to enjoy the view. Being on a smaller aircraft, it just felt so intimate with the clouds *warm feeling in my heart. My eyes were kept on the view throughout the flight, despite being incredibly sleepy.

As Rhon put it: Compulsory Propeller Picture

Touchdown in Bario!

After a bit more than an hour, we finally arrived at the Bario airport. The airport basically comprised of one landing strip and one single-storey building. Stepping off the plane, we saw our Batch 5 family, waiting at the arrival gate :) and with that, we loaded our baggage onto Uncle Julian’s 4WD and headed to Tepuq Sinah Rang’s home stay in Bario Asal. You could really appreciate the fresh air and the scenic view from standing at the back of the 4WD (also a First for me). The bumpiness of the road only added to the excitement :D

There wasn't much time to settle down when we arrived home (home stay). Dev and I just brought our bags to our rooms and we were off to see Arur Dalan, which is a neighbouring village about 10 minute’s walk away.

Scenic walk from Bario Asal to Arur Dalan

We decided to visit Aunty Dayang as it was beginning to rain. That was my first hand experience with Bario’s well known hospitality. Aunty Dayang was so welcoming and friendly; she offered us canned drinks and sliced up a pineapple for us. Another First: tasting Bario pineapple. We were all instantly hooked. I had never tasted such a delicious pineapple, I’m not even exaggerating. And then we found out it wasn’t even Pineapple Season yet (that’s in May). Imagine the pineapples when they ARE in season! *droooooollllll 

As the rain let up, we walked home in time for dinner. I’m sure many of the previous blog posts have mentioned before how good the food is in Bario.

After showering, I witnessed my First Prayer Meeting which gave me more of an insight of the culture there. From the first day I could tell how closely knit the community was, which was so nice to see and actually be a part of, in comparison to the city where most of us don’t even know our neighbours.

It was a good first day.