Ar y Lein
The series
- Programme 1 : Brazil
- Programme 2 : Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands
- Programme 3 : Borneo
- Programme 4 : Singapore and Sumatra
- Programme 5 : Kenya (1)
- Programme 6 : Kenya (2)
- Programme 7 : Uganda
- Programme 8 : Gabon
Programme 3 : Borneo
They all thought they were going to Borneo, but after browsing through travelling books they learnt that the Bornean region on the Equator is called 'Kalimantan'!
Samarinda was their first stop, the capital city of East Kalimantan and home to the Mahakam river. After Bethan made a fool of herself whilst trying to weave the traditional way, it was time to move on and meet the ancient 'Dayaks' tribe.
The crew anticipated a long journey to Tanjung Issuy, but it became an adventure in the end! The drivers got lost and the stormy weather came, a common climate on the Equator. It was midnight when they arrived. Although the Dayaks' homes were isolated and remote and their clothes and dances traditional, Bethan was disappointing to see that they were forced to change their way of life, “We'd been told it was a jungle there and the bushes would be our bathroom! So we were very shocked to see they had electricity, their own rooms and bathrooms with toilets and showers!”
But at least Bethan got to meet the oldest 'Dayak’ in the world. He claims to be 130 years old!
So from the people to the wildlife and came a visit to a crocodile farm in Samboja where they tasted a 'croc kebab'! The next stop was at Samboja Lodge to meet to the famous residents – the orang utans. Bethan and the crew learned how people endanger these animals' lives and environment, before visiting a training centre where orang utans are taught how to survive when they are released back into the wild.
View images of Bethan's journey in Borneo