Location : Dusun Simpang Empat, Desa Bengkawan, Kecamatan Seluas, Kabupaten Bengkayang, Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia.

After a good dose of one of the most traditional practices of the Dayaks of Borneo in Kambih village, we requested our host Tomo to allow us to put up a night in the nearby village of Simpang Empat which means ‘Intersection’.Dusun Simpang Empat, adventure, nature, outdoor, jungle trekking, hiking, exploration, Indonesia, Bengkayang, Desa Bengkawan, Seluas, Tourism, travel guide, 跨境婆罗洲游踪, 印尼西加里曼丹

adventure, exploration, authentic, traditional, Indonesia, Bengkayang, Seluas, Tourism, travel guide, tribal, tribe, native, village, 跨境婆罗洲游踪, 印尼西加里曼丹
Simpang Empat village

We took a casual hike of 30min through a jungle trail to reach this village. It was an important crossroads in the early days where highlanders of Tamong would stopover on their way to Sebujit, Gumbang or even Pangkalan Tebang in Sarawak to trade. The locals here had a lot of stories to tell of their younger days bringing in stuff to sell to Mr Chin or Ah Phin. Life is a lot easier now. Dusun Simpang Empat, adventure, outdoor, hiking, exploration, Indonesia, Bengkayang, Desa Bengkawan, Seluas, travel guide, native, village, 婆罗洲丛林徒步, 印尼西加里曼丹, 原住民部落 Dusun Simpang Empat, nature, outdoor, jungle hiking, exploration, Indonesia, Bengkayang, Desa Bengkawan, Seluas, Tourism, travel guide, native, village, 婆罗洲丛林徒步, 印尼西加里曼丹 Dusun Simpang Empat, adventure, nature, outdoor, trekking, exploration, Indonesia, Bengkayang, Desa Bengkawan, Seluas, Tourism, village, Trans Border, 婆罗洲西加里曼丹, 孟加映丛林徒步 Dusun Simpang Empat, jungle trekking, hiking, exploration, traditional, Desa Bengkawan, Seluas, wisata alam, tourist attraction, travel guide, native, village, Trans Borneo, 婆罗洲丛林徒步, 印尼西加里曼丹 adventure, nature, outdoor, jungle trekking, hiking, exploration, Indonesia, West Kalimantan, Bengkayang, Desa Bengkawan, Seluas, travel guide, native, village, Trans Borneo,

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adventure, trekking, exploration, authentic, traditional, Indonesia, West Kalimantan, Desa Bengkawan, Seluas, travel guide, tribal, native, Trans Borneo, 印尼西加里曼丹, 孟加映达雅部落
Arrived Simpang Empat village
authentic, traditional, Indonesia, Desa Bengkawan, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide, tribal, tribe, native, village, Borneo, 婆罗洲达雅部落, 西加里曼丹原住民, 印尼孟加映,
Tea break with our host who is the Kepala RT

Our short stay of only two days made us noticed something peculiar here in this village. Almost every household had at least a pair of rectangular block of wood placed side by side in a shed.  Come evening at about 6pm the village came alive with villagers, old and young, banging away with wooden mallets on tree barks.  These processed tree barks would be sold in Seluas town to traditional craft producers to be made into bags or traditional costumes.  During the day when it was hot they would be in the jungle harvesting tree barks from the tarap tree. Interesting backyard industry.

Dusun Simpang Empat, authentic, traditional, Bengkayang, Desa Bengkawan, Seluas, Tourist attraction, travel guide, tribal, tribe, native, Borneo, 婆罗洲西加里曼丹, 印尼达雅部落, 土著树皮加工
8 year old boy hammering tree bark

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Processed tree bark drying in the sun

nature, authentic, traditional, Indonesia, Kalimantan Barat, Desa Bengkawan, Tourism, travel guide, tree bark, tribal, native, village, Borneo, 婆罗洲原住民部落, 印尼西加里曼丹

Another remarkable feature here in Simpang Empat was the 2 tier pyramid like wooden structure. Paddy harvested would be threshed at the top tier and allowed to fall through the strips of bamboo floor. The rice would be collected by rattan mats and transferred to the silo or danggau just next to the pyramid. Smart.

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The pyramid

Dusun Simpang Empat, authentic, traditional, Desa Bengkawan, Seluas, Tourism, tribal, tribe, native, village, Borneo, 印尼西加里曼丹, 婆罗洲原住民部落

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Caught these kids for a shot before they walked to school in Kambih
authentic, traditional, Bengkayang, Desa Bengkawan, Tourism, travel guide, tribe, native, village, Borneo, 婆罗洲土著部落, 印尼西加里曼丹,
Jambu flowers
Dusun Simpang Empat, authentic, traditional, Indonesia, Kalimantan Barat, Bengkayang, Desa Bengkawan, Seluas, travel guide, tribe, native, village, Trans Border, Borneo,
When the sun starts to go down…it’s volleyball time

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The church
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Dirt road leading to Tamong

Next…Riam Kodu

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