Fireside

Towards the end of our 3 weeks in Bario, we took up every opportunity we could to soak up our surroundings.

On one of our last nights, we asked if we could check out this place Uncle Julian had been telling us about. It is known to us only as 'Laman', part of Tepuq Sinah Rang’s privately owned land. Uncle Julian had been working on a little watch-tower there, saying it was a great spot to watch the sunrise (or was it sunset?).

Being the extremely kind and gracious host he is, he agreed to take us there. Sean came along too, bringing a big uyut’s worth of supplies (aka. food, aka. tapioca).

It was a short walk to Laman. Upon reaching, a few of us (including myself) eagerly climbed the ladder to sit on the watch tower. It wasn’t a particularly clear night. We could barely see anything even with our torchlights, but sitting up there was cool nevertheless. I can bet Uncle Julian was thinking to himself: ''Look at these city kids, getting so excited over a pile of bamboo''. I use the term ‘a pile of bamboo’ because that was exactly what it was. Not that it wasn't built well. It was still a work in progress but it is the most impressive pile of bamboo I have seen in real life. All of us were so eager to sit on the top deck but what we only realised after climbing up was that nothing was tied or nailed down. 

Steadyyyy

it was basically a very tall table with half its top gone

So there I was (I can’t speak for anyone else here), sitting next to Xueh Wei, terrified to move because I was worried the whole thing would collapse if I did. Fortunately, nothing of the sort occurred *internal sigh of relief*.

We didn’t stay up there for long though. Uncle Julian and Sean started a campfire (in a really boss way: with fuel and branches) and we gravitated to it like moths to a flame (heh.). There is something about staring into the fire that makes you feel warm (and fuzzy, not just ºC) inside.

When there is a campfire, there are snacks. And when in Bario, there is a high chance that those snacks are tapioca. The menu of the night consisted of boiled tapioca with condensed milk and fried tapioca chips. Drinks (milo or tea) were served in a fancy tea set. This beats high-tea at a hotel cafe anytime.

It’s hard to explain the vibe that surrounded us that night, with the warm food, the light of the campfire and music playing in the background (thanks to Dev for bringing his portable bluetooth speakers). It was one of those nights that you just didn’t want for it to end.

Unfortunately, it started to drizzle. We weren’t fazed at first; we expected it to stop in a short while. The weather had been “On The Verge of Rain But No It Will Not Rain” that whole day. But the rain did start to come down heavier. With some haste, we wrote our wishes on the TangLong (big big lantern) Rhonwyn brought and lit it up. We stayed long enough to see the lantern rise up to the sky and out of our sights.

With that, we walked home.