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Wednesday 3rd October
Today decided to visit the Mari Mari Cultural Village. We was picked up from our hotel and along the way we picked up another tourist who looked like Father Christmas going on a Safari. We passed the harbour where the US Navy Aircraft Carrier John Steniss was still docked, and that was when we got introduced to Ray who was also American and told us the Navy Vessel was leaving Borneo that day.
We arrived at the Miri Miri village, meaning As it Was, As it is, and was introduced to our guide and was shown around the traditional homes built by the descendants of the tribes and to have a look at the ethnicities of tribal Sabah life,,or as our guide kept saying " in the olden days"
The Village portrays the life of 5 tribes and demonstrations were shown on how they make rice wine (very potent but tasty) preparation of meals using bamboo to cook the food in, and how to start a fire using bamboo shavings and bamboo cane (see photos).
Our guide then told us that we was entering another part of the village where we was to be introduced to traditional Tribes men, but they would possibly be hiding and if they jumped out on us, not to scream, run or laugh or they would find that insulting and we was not to fold our arms.
So we walked in a single file towards the entrance to the village when they jumped out on me, and yes you guessed it, I screamed, ran, then started laughing when I realised I had done what I was told not to do. They then came walking up to me trying to look all fierce, when one of them spoke really good English, asked me where I was from, "England" I said, ah Manchester United, yes our daughter lives there, so,these half naked fierce looking tribes men stood chatting to Lee about football!
We was then rewarded with a traditional dance ceremony which was very entertaining and we had a little go on the stage having a dance over the bamboo canes, followed by a very tasty lunch.
We left the village and on the way back to the hotel we got chatting to Ray as he mentioned a lot throughout our walk in the village time he spent in Cambodia. I just asked him out of interest where he enjoyed in Cambodia and he told us a wonderful story about an orphanage he opened 2004 out side of Phnom Penh and how he has also set up a school in the village as well. It was wonderful listening to his stories about how these babies were found or brought to him and how he arranged adoptions for couples in Europe. He gave us his card and turns out he owns a Winery Company in Oregon, USA. So he really was like Father Christmas.
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