Location : Bakun Dam, Belaga, Kapit Division, Sarawak, Malaysia.

It was probably the most memorable part of our trip. Thanks to Alis for organising 2 young guides Desmond and Carmen to lead us to the most controversial dam in Malaysia.

Empangan, authentic, Malaysia, Belaga, Kapit, Bintulu, Dayak, orang ulu, wildlife, destination, tourist attraction, travel guide, 沙捞越婆罗州, 巴贡水坝, 旅游景点
Our guides Desmond and Carmen

Hydroelectric Power, Empangan, backpackers, destination, Borneo, Belaga, Kapit, local market, floating house, exotic fish, wildlife, jetty, Tourism, travel guide, 沙捞越婆罗州Hydroelectric Power Dam, backpackers, destination, Bintulu, Malaysia, orang ulu, native, dayak, jetty, Sungai Asap Resettlement, Tourism, tourist attraction, 沙捞越, 巴贡水坝, 婆罗州旅游景点 Empangan, backpackers, destination, Belaga, Kapit, Bintulu, native, tourist attraction, local market, jetty, wharf, 婆罗州, 旅游景点, 沙捞越, 巴贡水坝

Hydroelectric Power Dam, backpackers, destination, Bintulu, Borneo, orang ulu, native, dayak, jetty, Sungai Asap Resettlement, Travel guide, tourist attraction, 沙捞越, 巴贡水坝, 旅游景点
This was as far as we were allowed to go

travel, Empangan, backpackers, destination, Belaga, Kapit, Bintulu, Borneo, tourist attraction, jetty, wharf, 婆罗州, 旅游景点, 沙捞越, 巴贡水坝

Empangan, Belaga, Kapit, Malaysia, Dayak, orang ulu, native, jetty, Sungai Asap Resettlement, Tourism, tourist attraction, 沙捞越, 婆罗州, 巴贡水坝,
Metal overhead barricade torn down by thuggy logging company

We started off from Uma Bakah before 8.30am to make sure we could catch the action at the jetty where the twice weekly market (Wednesday & Saturday) would be held. The mountain were still covered with thick mist as we headed towards Bakun but by the time we arrived more than one hour later the sky cleared and the sun was burning hot, on the first day of the Chinese new year. Pretty rare. The carpark was already full and mostly double cabs were lining the sides of the inclined road leading down to the jetty. Hydroelectric Power dam, Empangan, backpackers, destination, Belaga, Bintulu, Borneo, Dayak, native, floating house, exotic fish, wildlife, tourist attraction, protected animals, 沙捞越巴贡水坝 Hydroelectric Power, Empangan, Belaga, Kapit, Malaysia, Dayak, native, traditional, local market, exotic fish, wildlife, jetty, wharf, tourist attraction, 沙捞越旅游景点

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Bakun Dam

Lots of fish lots of meat, wild wild meat! There were these bottles of greenish slushy stuff they called ‘budey’ which I suspected were undigested stuff from the deer’s intestines! Sounds yukky but the locals love it. If you cannot stomach it don’t come.

Empangan, authentic, indigenous, Borneo, Belaga, Kapit, Bintulu, Malaysia, Dayak, orang ulu, native, wildlife, tourist attraction, travel guide, 沙捞越婆罗州,
Bottles of budey a local ‘delicacy’

But of course there were other stuff like local honey, machette, durians, vegetables, coffee and tea too.

Empangan, authentic, Borneo, Belaga, Kapit, Malaysia, Dayak, native, traditional, exotic fish, wildlife, wharf, tourist attraction, tourism, 沙捞越旅游景点
Durian season
Empangan, indigenous, Belaga, Kapit, Bintulu, Malaysia, Dayak, orang ulu, native, traditional, local market, jetty, tourism, travel guide, 沙捞越巴贡水坝
Parang for sale
Empangan, authentic, indigenous, Belaga, Kapit, Bintulu, Malaysia, Dayak Kenyah, local market, Uma Bakah, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide, 沙捞越婆罗州, 巴贡水坝,
The coffee lady from Uma Bakah

Heard that the buyers came from as far as Sibu, Miri and Bintulu in search of exotic fish and wild game meat which I do not have to list them. Let the photos speak and view at your own risk! Law enforcement agencies on wildlife are going to frown a lot.

Empangan, indigenous, Borneo, Belaga, Kapit, Bintulu, Dayak, orang ulu, wildlife, backpackers, tourism, travel guide, 沙捞越婆罗州, 巴贡水坝, 旅游景点 Empangan, dam, backpackers, Borneo, Belaga, Kapit, Bintulu, Malaysia, Dayak, orang ulu, native, traditional, exotic fish, tourism, travel guide, Empangan, dam, jetty, Borneo, Belaga, Kapit, Bintulu, Malaysia, Dayak, orang ulu, native, traditional, exotic fish, tourism, travel guide, Empangan, dam, destination, Borneo, Belaga, Kapit, Bintulu, Malaysia, dayak, orang ulu, native, exotic fish, tourist attraction, travel guide, 巴贡水坝 Empangan, authentic, destination, Borneo, Belaga, Kapit, Bintulu, Malaysia, Dayak, traditional, native, jetty, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide,We saw a similarly situation in the Kapit market as well. Life goes on. The locals need to survive and hunting has always been part and parcel of their survival. If anybody is bold enough to stop this, he or she will have to be bold also to provide another alternative to their livelihood. Besides farming/hunting and getting employed in the logging and oil palm plantations, most of these simple village folks do not have what it takes to survive in a modern environment. However, one Kayan Mr Luhat from Uma Belor stands out by going into tourism full time.  Besides the homestay that he runs at Apau Koyan, he also has a floating house in Bakun dam for tourists.

Empangan, backpackers, destination, Malaysia, Belaga, Bintulu, Dayak kayan, orang ulu, traditional, local, jetty, wharf, Tourism, travel guide, 沙捞越婆罗州
With the Kayan floating house boss Mr Luhat

As I am writing, he is on the way to complete a resort on a little ‘island’ somewhere in the dam. When I met Luhat at the jetty with his guests, he told me he would be ready to take in more tourists soon. So guys, check out his page Belanum Bay Floating House after April.  Next….Murum dam.

Market at Bakun DamHydroelectric Power, Empangan, Borneo, Bintulu, Malaysia, native, traditional, local market, floating house, exotic fish, Protected Animals, wildlife, jetty, Tourism, 沙捞越巴贡水坝

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Azigo….have a beer

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Hydroelectric Power dam, Empangan, backpackers, destination, Belaga, Kapit, Malaysia, Dayak, native, floating house, exotic fish, wildlife, tourist attraction, travel guide, 沙捞越旅游景点Empangan, backpackers, destination, Belaga, Kapit, Malaysia, native, traditional, local market, floating house, exotic fish, wildlife, jetty, wharf, 婆罗州旅游景点 Empangan, authentic, indigenous, Belaga, Kapit, Bintulu, Borneo, traditional, local market, dayak, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide, 沙捞越婆罗州, 旅游景点
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