Photo Essay: Annah Rais Homestay, Malaysia

Driving a few hours outside of the city of Kuching on the island of Borneo brings you back in time to a simpler way of life. The steel and concrete fade away, making room for trees, rivers and structures made of bamboo and corrugated tin. This is the land of the longhouse, where dozens of families make their homes in one extended structure.

The community is built on stilts that connect through bamboo walkways. Families are divided by makeshift walls. The longhouses were once the standard in Malaysia, but as years have gone by, more and more of these tribes have moved to the cities or to modern homes. But a handful exist where locals still live and a few even allow visitors to explore and spend a few nights.

Annah Rais Longhouse is one such place, where we arrived and were immediately greeted with a small glass of locally brewed rice wine. Visitors can sleep in the traditional accommodations with a local family while spending the days swimming in the waterfalls and hot springs, trekking through the jungle and learning more about their culture.

There’s one house in every longhouse village used for official community functions. In this case, it was the storing of the skulls of victims of headhunters. Men would be expected to bring home a head in order to be eligible for marriage or leadership roles. But fear not, for the tribes haven’t been involved in headhunting since the early 1900s.

The longhouse is full of creatures sharing a home just like the people, specifically cats and chickens. Two local kids rode bumpily over the bamboo paths in their brand new bicycles. It’s like living in one big house. There’s always someone to play with. And there’s always work to be done, fruits and vegetables to harvest and plant.

Annah Rais is also unique in that it’s covered in murals from street muralist Ernest Zacharevic, whose work can be seen throughout Malaysia and Singapore, as well as parts of Europe. His most famous work is of a boy riding a bicycle on the wall of a building in George Town, Penang, Malaysia.

The more local experiences, particularly home stays, are on the rise with travelers to Southeast Asia and many can be found in Malaysia. Learning about longhouses at the Sarawak Cultural Center and the Sarawak Museum is certainly educational, but there’s nothing quite like seeing the real thing.

Getting There

Getting to Annah Rais in is not easy, as there’s no public bus that runs the remote roads. Instead, you’ll need to take a taxi or ask the longhouse to book one for you. It should cost around RM 100 ($30 USD) for up to 4 adults and luggage one way.

The journey takes an hour and a half. If you’re staying overnight, bring bug spray and extra snacks you may want, although there’s a kitchen and small store and meals are included.

My visit to Annah Rais Longhouse was coordinated and hosted by Tourism Malaysia.