Flying to Bario

Bario is in the heart of Borneo.  The best way to get there is by the twice daily MAS Wings service from Miri, which uses robust old 14-seater Twin Otter light planes.  You can also go by four-wheel drive using a network of logging roads, but it's a muddy, bumpy 12-hour ride.  The flight is a visceral experience during which you can watch the pilots wrestle the controls and flip the switches as they dodge the clouds then swoop through a clear gap down towards the tiny strip of grey tarmac which is Bario Airport.

I had made no plans, which is just as well because the Lonely Planet Guide to the area is uselessly out of date.  As I left the arrivals shed there were several locals milling about, looking for clients.  I spoke to one who invited me to his Homestay (Malaysia's word for "bed and breakfast").
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Douglas".
"Guess what my name is?"
So I joined Douglas in his four-wheel drive truck along with three young obstetric nurses from Miri and went to De Plateau Homestay a couple of kilometres outside Bario itself.

De Plateau is quiet and charming and, like pretty well every Homestay in Bario and its environs, costs 80 ringgits (about 20 euros) per night, full board.  Also like all the other Homestays, De Plateau relies on a generator for electricity, which runs from around 7.00 to 10.00pm, there is cold water only in the basic toilet and shower cubicles and it gets chilly at night.  The food is good, with a wide selection of vegetables, chicken and sometimes wild boar for lunch and dinner with fresh local pineapple for desert when I was there.  Breakfast is omelette and noodles.

Once in Bario the big question is "what do I do now?"  To which the "Lonely Planet's" answer would be to find one of the many local guides queuing up to offer their services.  Not so, guides are actually few and far between and I found myself kicking my heels for the best part of two days, while Douglas promised me the immanent arrival of an experienced local.  During my wait I did a four wheel drive tour of Bario with Douglas' son (for which a charge of c twenty ringgits was made) and walked up "Prayer Mountain," a three to four hour hike to and from a local peak with excellent views over Bario and the paddy-strewn plain in which it lies, with the three nurses.