Sri Aman Eco Rangers: Sabak Bernam Homestay Programme

As part of a post-PMR programme to keep third-formers occupied after their long-awaited post-PMR freedom, our school has organised a trip to Sabak Bernam, a place known for it's homestay programmes, where participants of said programme would get the opportunity to experience life in a typical Malaysian village. This trip was initially meant for members of the Eco Rangers club, but as a majority of the club members had to prepare for their final exams, the school decided to open the trip up to every form three student in the school.

We departed for Sabak Bernam from our school at around 8.30am on a sunny Saturday morning. The trip took three lengthy hours, with one toilet break at a petrol station where we were also allowed to shop for snacks, a must-have on long trips for the most of us. Upon our arrival, we were given a warm welcome speech by the people in charge of the homestay programme in Sabak Bernam before we were grouped into pairs and assigned foster families.

My partner was Elsa, and my foster father was called Pak Cik Manan, a man whose home was situated close to where we first gathered upon our arrival, called 'the centre'. Elsa and I walked to his house, where he made us feel right at home. An appetizing lunch courtesy of Pak Cik Manan's wife was soon served, which consisted of catfish seasoned with cili padi, vegetables cooked in tom yum broth, fried eggs, fried fish, jellies, and watermelon. I particularly enjoyed the catfish, as it was my first time eating catfish prepared in such a way. As much as I enjoyed it, I have to admit that the spiciness of the dish elicited tears from my eyes and sweat oozing out of every pore of my body. My frantic consummation of the sweet and cool jelly after eating the catfish was in my opinion, completely worth it was I enjoyed the dish immensely.

After a short break in our quaintly furnished room, Elsa and I decided to wander around Pak Cik Manan's house compound. I made a flower chain, and Elsa rolled her eyes at my childish actions. As Pak Cik Manan's house was where batik painting would be carried out, Elsa and I were given permission to get started on our batik painting before walking to the centre in order to carry out our next activity. We were assured that candle wax was used to draw the outlines of the patterns on the cloth so as to prevent paint from oozing out of the borders. Even so, I still managed to spill some ink out of the outlines, which I then tried to conceal with black ink, with limited success.

We walked to the centre after batik-painting for a while, leaving our half-completed designs to dry. At the centre, Elsa and I were reunited with the rest of the students who came along for the homestay programme. We were also shown the traditional method of removing husks from paddy plants, which was a tedious process of first grinding the grains with a mortar and pestle, before putting the grains on a woven bamboo base where we would they would be flipped repeatedly in order for the husks to be carried away by the wind.

Then, the time came for everyone to batik-paint. For Elsa and I, though, all we had to do was complete our paintings. After batik painting, we were shown how to make bahulu cakes, which were only made out of sugar, flour, and eggs but tasted fantastic, anyway. Unlike the way city-dwellers prepare bahulu cakes, the villagers prepared the bahulu cakes over a fire instead of using an oven. Though they were all slightly burnt, it tasted tender and fresh, much better than most of the bahulu cakes I had tasted.

Everyone was then loaded on to a lorry and brought to where we would go fishing, using both a fishing rod, and our (horror of horrors) own bare hands. It was my first time on a lorry, by the way. Sure, I had to share the lorry with 20 other students, but nothing will take away the pride and joy I felt for riding a lorry. No one in our group of forty caught a fish using a fishing rod. Six people caught a catfish using their own bare hands, though, after trudging through a muddy swamp barefooted and worrying about leeches. Elsa and I both caught catfishes. To be specific, Elsa caught a catfish carcass, but it's okay, people still love her anyway.

Elsa and I then dragged our muddy selves back home to freshen up and eat dinner. My dinner consisted of everything served for lunch, except that fried chicken now replaced catfish, probably because of my sensitive, over-ambitious taste buds. We then departed for the starting point of our night walk, which so happens to be the exact same location where we fished earlier. Something momentous happened, once again. I rode a motorcycle for the first time. And it has to be said that I can't even ride a bicycle, so being a passenger on a moving motorcycle was something like a milestone to me.

We were told upon our arrival that for the night walk, we would be divided into four groups, and each group would be given one torch. A literal torch, with an actual fire burning at the tip of it, to be held by the person in front of every group walking in a row. I nearly wet my baggy track-pants in happiness at the prospect of being able to hold an actual torch with an actual fire burning at the tip of it. We were also told to walk straight the entire way, and that every junction, there would be someone holding a neon lamp showing us which way to turn. We then set off.

My group saw two owls, a group of teenage motorcyclists, and many trees which I had to be careful not to burn to the ground. Nearing our destination, our torch's lifespan came to a fizzling end, eliciting groans of frustration. Half a minute later, our destination, fully equipped with florescent light bulbs, was in sight. We quickened our paces, and finally, we made it to our destination, which happened to be the centre, where a kuda kepang performance was taking place.

A Jawa performance followed the kuda kepang performance, which consisted of people being possessed by otherworldly beings who make these people do strange things such as tear the husks of a coconut with their bare teeth before throwing the coconut in the air to have it land on that person's head, showering that person with coconut juice. Exorcising a possessed individual required the usage of a whip, which whipped the floor repeatedly. With every crack of the whip, audience members flinched. Nearing midnight, the performance finally ended. Elsa and I walked home, eagerly awaiting our cozy bed. I fell asleep almost immediately, and slept fairly well, but Elsa, as she put it, 'slept like a baby'.

The next morning, after freshening up and eating breakfast consisting of fried rice, bread, and kuih, Elsa and I bid farewell to our foster parents and walked to the centre, waiting for the bus driver was was supposed to take us to the nata de coco and kerepek factories. A miscommunication resulted in us having to wait for hours for the bus to arrive, during which we made kites, flew them, and had lunch. The frame of kite was already made for us, the paper was also already glued to the frame for us, and all we had to do was glue the edges down, attach the tails, and decorate the kite with colourful butterflies.

Flying my kite, it got entangled with someone else's, resulting in my kite being stuck up a tree. The person whose kite got entangled with mine and I tried many ways of getting my kite off the tree. I tried lifting her to get my kite, throwing a rock at the kite which did not even touch the kite, but landed on my finger instead, shaking the branches of the tree, and using a chair. The chair attempt succeeded, but two of the tails and a bit of my kite string was sacrificed in the process. No matter, it resumed soaring and landing at regular intervals.

Lunch was a meal of ayam masak merah, pumpkin soup, rice and watermelon. I ate with my hand. I looked like a tractor. The farewell ceremony was then held, which included a speech from Atikah, who represented our entire group of students, and speeches from the people in charge of the homestay programme. After taking photographs, we took off for the factories, followed by two of the people in charge of the homestay programme.

We first arrived at the nata-de-coco factory, where we discovered that it was actually made using young coconuts made into sheets which are soaked in a fluid to get rid of the coconut's smell. The coconut sheets would then be diced into cubes, and there you have it-nata de coco. We were then given the opportunity to purchase nata de coco, but instead, I purchased a packet of instant noodles imported from either Thailand or Vietnam. I'm not sure, because I couldn't recognise the text on the packet.

We then visited the kerepek factory, where 2 packets of kerepek was sold for 5 ringgit. Many students bought enough packets of kerepek to open up shops of their own, which made my measly two packets seem pathetic in comparison. We then bid farewell to the two people in charge of the homestay programme who had followed us on our excursion to the factories, and left for home. School, actually, where each of us would then depart for our respective homes.

I enjoyed this trip more than I thought I would have. It's strange how the highlights of my trip include catfish and riding on various vehicles for the first time. But then again, that's the main reason I enjoyed this trip immensely- I was taken completely and utterly by surprise.

I miss Sabak Bernam already. :')