Wake up at 5am to hike up a steep hill just to see the sun rise is not my usual cup
The 5am hike to see watch the sun rise is a must says Danny Voon, our guide to Semban. Having arrived the previous day, we were still recovering from the sore body but the lure of watching the sun pierce through the distance horizon above the clouds gave us enough motivation to do it and it was all worth the effort.
I personally had to do battle with the forces of sleeping angels to haul myself up that morning. The fact that the cocks were crowing at the top of their lungs didn’t help either. I dragged myself up and reached for my head torch, only manage to mummer a few words to Meun who is already ready to go. It was still pitch dark when we met the rest. Danny and the other guides decided to try a new lookout which supposes to provide a better view. We’ll just follow.
The sun, rising above the clouds over Semban- Pic by Meun
The sun rising over Semban’s beautiful landscape commands a feeling of awe in me. It is one of those moments where you would just be still and wonder how beautiful the world we live in. Clouds can be seen covering the lower reaches of the valley and as the sun rise; its color of powdery white, almost like cotton wool stretched over the tree tops. For a moment when the sun finally made its appearance, there were just silence among us, only the sound of birds and cameras clicking away.
The second day at Semban is filled with great things. After the sunrise, as we make our way back to the village, we pass by a pepper farm. The villagers of Semban do plant, harvest and process pepper as a livelihood. Both white and black pepper seeds actually comes from the same tree, the only difference is that making white pepper is more tedious and time consuming.
Meun and Jan taking a closer look at a pepper plant
The pepper seeds on the plant before harvesting
As we walk closer to the village, we started seeing people busy going about their businesses. Some were on their way to the farm while others were busy processing their harvest. The adults were very friendly, greeting us as we meet them. Some of the children were curious and kept watching us.
One of the villager’s house perching on a slope
A Bidayuh boy curious and obviously half awake at the same time
A village lady with her son heading out to the farm- Pic by Meun
A villager dancing on his harvested hill rice to separate them from the stalks
One of the remaining few elder women of the village still wearing brass rings starting out to the farm
Man made bee ‘houses’- Pic by Meun
It was a beautiful quiet day. According to Nyun, if it were a Sunday, some of the villagers would have gathered at the village Church to pray. A pastor will come to the church to conduct service once in a month and on other Sundays, the village leader would take the lead. There is also the village’s Barruk. A special building dedicated to festivals only. A structure full of mystery and mysticism.
The church in Semban
The Bidayuh’s barruk in Semban
Later that day, we also had the opportunity to join Nyun at the village’s rice mill. Nyun told us after our visit to the waterfalls that he needed to get some of the rice (his and others) milled. The milling machine was kept in the same shed as the generator. Since the village has no supplied electricity, they depended on this generator to power their homes at night.
This shed houses the villagers’ milling and generator machine – Pic by Meun
Nyun working on the milling machine- Pic by Meun
The un-husked rice- Pic by Meun
A few more baskets of rice to be husked- Pic by Meun
Villagers have worked out a schedule where they would actually rotate among themselves the role of starting the generator at around 7pm and switching it off by 11pm. If any of the household wishes to have electricity after these hours, they would have to invest in their own generator set. What’s even more amazing to me is the fact that the generator set was actually hand carried by the villagers up to the village.
This generator was carried up all the way to Semban in one piece by the villagers
As we were leaving the mill shed, we took time to look closer at some of the villager’s house. Though they are no longer living in ‘long house’ style houses, the village still has an ‘authentic’ feel to it. Even some of the ladders or steps are still carved out of an entire piece of logs. Firewood are still stacked, ready for use and objects of artifacts like urns can still be seen.
The ladder that is carved entirely out of a piece of log
Some of the villagers still prefer to use wood rather than gas for cooking- Pic by Meun
Some of these urns are said to be more than a hundred years old
Watching the sun rise at Semban, followed by a walk around the village was an eye opener. Not only is this village above the clouds beautiful but it also retains a charm that is hard to forget. A charm that I hope will continue to greet the dwellers of Semban for many years to come.
Other posts/ videos on Semban:
- Part I- A visit to Semban, the village above the clouds
- Part II- The hanging bamboo bridges of Semban
- Part III- The long walk up to Semban
- Part IV- The waterfalls at Semban
- Part V1- The Bidayuh’s traditional cutting tools
- Part V2- The kitchen and bamboo blades of the Bidayuhs in Semban
- Part VI- Traditional bamboo smoking pipe and great food
- Part VII- Sunrise and morning walk around Semban
- Part VIII- Old tools used by the Bidayuhs in Semban
- Part IX- Ladies of the rings in Semban
- Video- The bidayuh’s hill paddy
- Video- The home made wooden pack that carries EVERTHING up Semban!
- Video- Bidayuh’s traditional furnace
- Video- Bidayuh’s traditional blades