Mari-Mari

The last day I was in Malaysia, Ben and Margaret took me to the Mari-Mari Cultural Village in Kota Kinabalu.  Mari-Mari means "come, come," and our guide Felix kept telling us to mari-mari as we moved from one village to the next.  I'm pretty sure that's why it is called mari-mari, and not because a group of people is named Mari-Mari.  It is a great place to visit.  It is a smaller version of the Polynesian Cultural Center.  We went to five different tribes of Borneo to see how they lived a long time ago.

That's our guide Felix making rice wine.

At every village we got to do or make something.  We are making dinner in a bamboo tube.

 This tribe had a marriage tent in the village.

 Everyone likes the Murut tribe the best, the head hunters.  As we approached their village, they came out to meet us.

 We practiced our blow gun skills trying to get a poisonous dart in the target.  It was harder than it looks.  In this tribe they needed a human head before any wedding to prove that the groom could take care of his family.

 This is an old fashioned trampoline that they jump on to pull down prizes, heads maybe?

 We got to jump on the trampoline too.

 In every tribe, they have a room for their unmarried daughters in their huts.  It is the high room in this picture.  She would have to climb up that pole to get into bed each night so she was safe from the enemy.  We wondered what she did if she had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

 After visiting the five tribes, we went to their performance.

 I got to dance with them at the end.

They fed us after the performance.  The stuff that looks like salad is very bitter so I didn't eat it, and there is also a fried salted fish that I didn't eat.

What an amazing experience to go somewhere so different from the world I know.  I'm so grateful I got to see so many things.  Thank you, Ben and Margaret!

All About the Food

 I tried lots of different food in Malaysia.  This fruit and vegetable market is where Ben and Margaret shop.  I tried mango stein, rambatans, and another fruit I forgot the name.

 Duck anyone?

 We ate at this restaurant on the water in Sandakan.  The fish you eat are swimming around.

 A couple of places where we ate, they just put a box of silverware on the table for you.

 This little girl with Margaret was our waitress.

 Sounds delicious, mayonaise corn.

 The food you have to try while in Malaysia is a fruit called durian.  Bro. and Sis. Lee bought one and let us eat it one night.  It smells horrible and the taste isn't all that great, but the locals love it.

Fish floss?

More Sites of Sandakan

 We went inside the Agnes Keith house.  She was an American author who wrote about the experiences she had living in Borneo for 30 years.

 The Sandakan Memorial stands where the Japanese held Australian and British soldiers prisoners of war in World War II. Of the 2300 soldiers at this camp, only six lived to tell about it.

 Beautiful grounds at the Sandakan Memorial.

 Malaysia is a Muslim nation and you'll see this kind of toilet everywhere.  I had to think long and hard if I had to go bad enough to use this toilet.

 This crocodile farm was pretty funny.  The crocodile show consisted of picking up a crocodile...

 and then lying on one. Pretty exciting.

 I thought it was pretty exciting that I actually ate crocodile when Sister Lee cooked it for us one night.  Tastes like chicken, just a little tougher.

I thought this was interesting.  This is an outdoor thrift store.  

Out of Small and Simple Things...

 While in Sandakan, we got to see where the Branch of the church meets.  Compared to the Buddhist temple, it is a humble little building.

 This is the primary room.  That's it.  One room.  

 The chapel 

 That white box is their baptismal font.

Our last night in Sandakan we went to the Young Single Adult activity.  Sitting on the front row is Elder Lee who is the branch president.  I was surprised at how small this branch is.  I'm reminded that there were only six members of the church when it was organized.  This work really is the work of the Lord.

Buddhist Temple

Overlooking Sandakan stands this beautiful Buddhist temple.

The drive up is pretty steep and the driveway is lined with these statues.

Sister Read and our tour guide of Sandakan, Sister Lee.

Quite amazing.

Awesome views.

I'm pretty sure that swastika in their garden doesn't mean the same thing to them as it does to us.