TTFN; Ta-Ta For Now

Dev and I were leaving a day later than everyone else. The reality of leaving hadn’t hit me when we were sending everyone else off, the day before Dev and I left. While the tepuqs were saying their farewells to the others, the both of us kept telling them “Oh, we are only leaving tomorrow. Don’t worry, we aren't gone yet.”

Having that one extra day was great in the sense that we could soak up as much of Bario as we could; we went for Tamu (the weekend market) and lunched at Joe’s Cafe. But the longhouse had never felt quieter. If it hadn’t hit me earlier that day that we were leaving, it definitely did that night by the fire. I stayed up as long as I could, taking turns with Sean and Dev to keep the fire burning. Man, do I miss that fireplace.

Phone cameras do not do the fire justice.

Then the morning came and the weather was beautiful. After chilling by the balcony for a short bit, Dev and I took our last walk around Bario.

The view of the paddy field was good even after we harvested the scenery.

We made it back in time to have breakfast. My wonderful Sina Supang paid me a surprise visit to gift me another 2 pineapples. I was both happy and panicked because: Hello, Pineapples! I feel the love! :D but also: Oh no! I gotta rearrange my luggage! :O Fortunately, I managed to fit everything into my bags.

When it was time to leave, most of everyone else had already gone to church. We didn’t have a big farewell like the day before, but we did get to say good bye to Tepuq Sinah Rang :)

Uncle Julian fetched us to the airport; my last time standing on the back of the 4WD. It was so bittersweet, getting the final view of Bario.

How would I describe the flight back to KL? It was a sad transition from Bario feels back to KL city life. The plane made a stop at Marudi Airport, which was similar to Bario’s, except outside the airport there were more roads and modern-looking longhouses. Then at Miri my heart was so conflicted because our smartphones were finally smart again (internet connection) but the fake, cold, air-conditioned air was nowhere close to the cool crisp air back in Bario. I bitterly connected my phone and caught up with e-mails and messages while waiting for the flight back to KL.

In a way it was good being back home though. Recounting my 3 weeks in Bario with my family and friends, I appreciated my time with Project WHEE!