It’s Fernanda and Phoebe today! This morning started off with a wake-up knock from our homestay dad (Pachi). We ate a big breakfast of roti, scrambled eggs, chicken, and papaya. At 8:30 a.m., we headed over to home base (Angah’s house) to finish up our eGuide presentations. The eGuide presentations are so that local people can translate the research into their own language to perform tours around Kuala Tahan and the national park, Taman Negara. We split up into four groups–two talked about the national park and two talked about the village. We presented to Roslan, a local park ranger/emergency services officer who works with the Batek tribe. Then we hung out and ate lunch together, with a special appearance from Angah’s two-year-old nephew.





After lots of music and rounds of UNO, we all headed back to our homestays. Some of us cut up coconuts or had long chats. Fernanda and Phoebe sat down for some high tea (masala chai and a type of fried banana treat) with our Pachi. We noticed Neil, Sohum, and Ella walking by and invited them to join us so they could meet our Machi and Pachi.


We are loving our homestay parents, Wan Mohammed and Wan Rosnah (Pachi and Machi). Last night we chatted about their upcoming journey to Mecca. Machi cooks us a different meal about every hour, which we love. Last night we gave Machi a break and made them a spontaneous pasta recipe. Machi and Pachi were very excited about having some Californian chefs cook for them.


As we write this blog, our boat just pulled up and we are headed to another Batek village. Then we will enjoy a nice picnic dinner and then a peaceful night stroll through the river under the light of a full moon.







It’s now four hours later! We took a rainy boat ride over and walked up a muddy hill, which a couple of us slipped on (Phoebe and Ananya). We made it to the Batek village where we picked up some cool souvenirs (necklaces and darts made by the tribe members) and observed how locals made fire from scratch. Fire, specifically smoke, is very important in indigenous communities here because it is not only used for cooking, but it also helps to keep bugs away from inhabited areas. Also, we met the local kids as well as village elders and saw some fish, including a snakehead fish, and turtles that they had caught. In terms of animals, we saw one of the world’s biggest ants and heard that one of the world’s biggest woodpeckers was nearby. After eating dinner with the company of the Batek villagers, we got a village tour and saw the solar panels and lights that Andrew had installed, and huts that he built for overnight stays for ecotourism. They will begin to host overnight stays in the huts soon to develop cultural awareness about the Batek community and also as a source of income. After a boat ride back, we are heading to our homestays for a nice rest.

–Phoebe and Fernanda







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