The village of Pa' Ukat is a 30 minute walk from nearest village Bario and 2 hour flight from the nearest town and has no road access. Everything is flown in and out!

A large padi field where fragrant rice is harvested. Rice is an important source of food in the tropics.

Malaysian longhouse. Why is it built on stilts? Why is the man wearing Wellingtons? 

Planting and weeding are labour intensive jobs. Here a Padi field in Borneo is being weeded prior to planting in August. There are hazards in the water such as leeches and stinging eels. The work is usually done by women whilst the men hunt. 

Students from the UK practice firing a bow pipe. The village men still hunt with blowpipes, bows and arrows and if they can get hold of them shotguns and rifles. 

Orang Utan. These entertaining apes are still wild in Borneo. What is the difference between a monkey and an ape?

Mouse deer tastes good, quite like beef. Hunting trips may only take hours but sometimes the men go out for days. They take very little and live from the jungle while away. From about the age of  5 young boys from the village go out with their fathers and learn the skills they need. Typically they return with deer, wild boar or howler monkey, it is not unusual to see men returning to the village with a boar on their shoulders!

Most young people leave the remote jungle settlements to find work in the city, leaving the elderly to do a lot of hard labour. 

Traditional dress for a visiting Malaysian politician. 

When it rains, it really rains! Some rainforests receive 3000mm or 245 days of rain! How does the vegetation cope with this?

With so much light reaching the river banks, the vegetation here is often thicker than deeper in the jungle. Look what happened overnight. 

The river rose by 5 metres overnight, during a typical convectional storm. 

River crossings are a daily part of life in the rainforest, some being easier than others!

Often the easiest way to get through the rainforest is following water courses, as long as you don't mind wet feet!

Before crossing what do you have consider when choosing a safe place to cross? Do you fall in?

Fresh mineral water from a vine. If the bark on the vine is not in straight lines do not drink it as it is very toxic. The toxin from the vine can be helpful to knock out fish in streams though! Another valuable source of fresh water comes from the Bamboo tree, where the first flour segments may contain up to 10 litres of water. 

"Wagler" pit viper, Baku National Park. All vipers have a triangular head. This will kill. 

Dense forest vegetation

What are the dangers about sleeping on the forest floor. This is by far the safest way to get some rest. 

Some vegetation is not very friendly to insects. A "PItcher Plant", Kinabalu National Park