Ruran Balang

The Beautiful People of Borneo.

Ba'kelalan.

Sultan Libang

Kading sounding off his 'tawak' (gong). different beats represent different meanings ..... a beat to inform the village people of meetings, a happy beat for entertainment, an urgent beat to let the people know that there's a death in the village and in the earlier days there even was a beat to stop storms and rain. Kading tells a story of how Paulus' uncle once sounded off the urgent beat. the whole village comes running to his house only to find out that he beat the 'tawak' because he was bored and lonely and only wanted some company. needless to say, he got into a lot of trouble that day!

Kading's beautiful family .... Lila, Jesse Jed and Cassandra.

George Siga Sultan. Head of the 5th Division Border Scout in Ba'kelalan during the Confrontation.

Ibu ....

off to the 'ladang' ....

the beautiful Maureen Saban ....

Sutris starting up the fire for a barbecue ....

practicing for Christmas at church ....

Christmas caroling with Lisa (guitar), Maureen and Paulus (vocals), Kading (ukelele). Beautiful!

Pa' Anis feeding the fish ....

playing 'batu lima' (5 stones) with Dulina. she kicked my behind big time.

my friends n' guides, Kading Sultan @ Bayu....

.... and Paulus @ Umut.

while trekking deep in the Pa Pering and Pa Puen rainforest, i came across this Lun Bawan boar hunter with his 10 hunting dogs. chatted for a while before going our seperate ways.

Long Bawan, Kalimantan, Indonesia.

the little boy who's name i share ....

fishers of men ....

my home ....

my buddies ....

definitely Not from these parts ....

kids having a friendly 'gasing' (top) competition after school ....

bikes fitted with mud tyres, simple body modifications, these Indonesians from Long Bawan, Kalimantan can transport almost anything.....gas cylinders, long water pipes, rice, cement, rocks....

occasionally, they do get stuck in the thick mud....

.... but hey, so do their cows.

the gentleman who hitched a ride by literally hanging on to the back of our 4 X 4 in Long Bawan, Indonesia.