Semai of Ulu Geroh

The settlement of the indigenous Semai community at Ulu Geroh. The carpet grass makes this look like part of the Shire.



Some houses are still made from bamboo for the walls and flooring. The bamboo is split and "flatten" to give it a bigger surface area. It gets pretty cold here at night and the gaps from the bamboo walls gives lots of ventilation. Walking on raised bamboo flooring takes getting used to as the floor sags when you put your weight on it. However, it won't break unless one is grossly overweight!




The Semai are friendly and mostly camera shy. Most attempts to shoot them had them covering their faces or some just simply ran off! To get the pictures, shoot fast and from afar before they realize it.




No Deuter, Karrimor or Tatonka backpacks for them. Almost everything is carried with the rattan basket with simple shoulder straps.




It is the durian fruiting season now and the locals are doing brisk business gathering the fruits to sell. Oh, the durians here are absolutely yummy!




To check for a good fruit, use the nose and shake it a bit. Not too sure why the shake tho. This guys is probably doing a last minute check to ensure only the good ones make it for sale.




These look like middleman buying up the stock to be re-sold at the nearby towns.




I hope this fler don't use his catapult on the birds and other wildlife.




You can spot him a mile off with his big smile. One of the 3 Semai guides with Green Badge and the friendliest person around. One never ceases to be amazed with his keen eyesight and knowledge of the surroundings. He'll show you stuff that you would just pass over even if you had looked for it.