This post is continuation from
here.
So after we finally break free from the muddy seashore, our boat finally able to get close to the land. There was no proper jetty or anything so we just Hop, Hop and Away! LOL.
On land 2 pajeros (or is it Landcruiser?) were waiting for us. So we after loaded up the things, we started our journey into the interior via land. The roads were really narrow and bumpy and muddy, with alot of trough (
longkangs) here and there. Nothing unexpected of jungle roads. The vehicle was trudging through, our bodies were swaying left and right like coconut trees... We smelled some petrol odour at one point, and the driver gone down to inspect his goods. Apparently he put the petrol containers on the top of car and the petrol leaks out due to the heavy "swaying" just now. Gosh! Luckily the car didnt went up in flames LOL
So after about half an hour of swaying, we finally reached our destination. There is a sign that says "Perkampungan Orang Asli RPS Kemar". These are quarters for staffs who work here, including the aborigines welfare department and us.
Granted that i didnt expect 5 star hotels here, but the quarters here are in pretty wretched. There were 2 tiny houses side-by-side. One for men, the other for ladies. Silly me went into the wrong house LOL. I think the ladies house manage to "seduce" me because it looks more livable than the men's house. Ahem...i mean the house definitely looks cleaner and more neat. Haih....no luck.
So this the how the inside looks like. Pretty bare, kind of dirty looking (
yiaks!), kind of untidy with things littered around. Lucikly i didnt find any cockcroaches or other crawlies!
There were around 10 men living inside this small house so its pretty crowded. Stuffed with men's stench to the max! These are not the culture-refined metrosexual men we are talking about here, its your average middle age men clad in
sarongs! OMG!!! Since I'm the only chinese around, i definitely feel like any alien there... The electricity was sourced from an indoor generator, the type u often see in
pasar malam. So imagine how noisy the house is. I didn't sleep AT ALL the entire night! Poor me.... The water supply is from some nearby river i think...the water is brownish colour but no funny smell luckily. Good thing i brought my own water supply. I even have to use mineral water to brush teeth! Looking at the dirty water makes me lose my appetite LOL
This is how an average
orang asli (aborigines) settlement looks like. High-stilt wooden house here and there in the middle of jungle. These are the more "advanced" orang asli i guess because they wear shirts and don't live on treetops. Though i do see some old orang asli ladies baring their chest while happily chatting away with their neighbours (but clothed when they see foreigners of course!).
The environment is very serene and peaceful. Sound of chicken mooing, dogs meowing can be heard here and there. But sometimes i smelled the odour of human excreta... most likely because they don't have
Indah water there LOL. Or is it because im standing too close to their lavatory? Hmm...
A bamboo house to the right.
The more populated villages have some simple drainage system like these small drains. Not too bad...
Notice the gas containers in this pic? Apparently not all orang asli nowadays use dry wood planks or coal to cook, they have gas stoves!
This is the actual work we did there. We loaded the trucks with whatever necessary medical equipments and go from village to village providing medical service. This journey we were more concentrating on investigating the gastroenteritis outbreak there. But it seems the situation was not too bad with none needed referral to hospital. According to the mobile team who frequently visits these villages, apparently the medicines or whatever food we were supplying
sometimes does not serve its intended purpose. This is because the food does not go to the malnourished infant, it goes into the tummy of the parents instead! And the medicines? They just take it for storing in the house. For what purpose im not sure...as good luck charm? mojo? Haih... We did told them how to use the supplies and its purpose. But if they themselves do not use it wisely it serves no purpose. But then again, certain things are beyond our control... Just like when we were touring around, i saw alot of "Astro Totem poles" in front of their houses (
Astro is a satellite broadcast provider). Yes! They even have Astro in their house! Even my house doesn't have it! See... im poorer than these orang asli ... sob..sob..
IMHO, it all boils down to the question of PRIORITY. They can afford satellite TV service but cannot afford to feed their malnourished babies?? Does it make sense to u? To the city dwellers, a typical family average has 1 or 2 children only. The parents put alot of emphasis on children wellbeing and education. Where as for the orang asli, their family size is much bigger and thus, their children might not be their foremost priority. Although it does not make their children any less precious!
A hazy early morning there...
p.s. Apparently they still havent found replacement for the office-in-charge of the mobile team, thus me and another guy have to take rotation go to this place again!! My next rotation is next month!! This time its 4 days 3 nights! OMG!OMG!OMG ! Im gonna die there :(
Looking forward to my HK vacation in two days time. Wanna enjoy it to the fullest before coming back to dreadful working life!
