Kampung Rayoh, Tenom, Sabah

This time, I joined my colleagues to Kampung Rayoh in Tenom, Sabah (a village without electricity supply) for a solar lighting system installation project. This was also a pilot project where the system was specially designed by my colleagues; replacing the conventional solar battery with a power bank. Before the installation of the solar lamps, those who couldn't afford electric generators at home would need to use torchlights, kerosene lamps or light up candles at night for lighting.

The only access to Rayoh is via the oldest railway in Sabah; no cars, no motorbikes, not even tar roads! There's no phone and internet connection at the village too, I felt really isolated from the world during the few nights of stay in the village.

Little Dorabella sending me off at the train station. (This photo was taken few months ago before the project)

Raman, a friend of mine from Pahang boarding into the train. I got to know him after I went to his village (Kg. Ulu Tual) during July 2017. This was his first time to take a plane, his first time to Sabah to join this project as a volunteer, and also his first time to take a train! 

When all passengers were on board, the train started moving to the next destination.
个人很喜欢这张照片，柔和的阳光洒在这位妈妈的脸上，有种说不出的祥和感。

Woke up in the morning to this view
仿佛看见雨林在呼吸

"Why does this weirdo keep taking pictures of me?" the uncle mumbled. 

This uncle (right) only spoke Dusun language, thus we found it really hard to communicate with him. Luckily there's this volunteer, Martinus (left) who can speak fluent Dusun to talk to him. And there goes their never ending conversation which none of the others can understand.....
据说这位年迈老伯已经是个百岁人瑞，但其真实年龄却无人知晓。老伯与妻子一直住在深山里，过着与世隔绝的日子；靠着猎狗和制作陷阱捕捉猎物，他家附近也有种植一些稻谷和植物。偶尔两夫妻会去割胶，然后将橡胶送到城里去卖一些钱以购买一些生活必需品。我的同事要我注意看看老伯的双脚，并告诉我，老伯从未穿过鞋子。仔细一看，老伯脚掌的构造果然有别于一般人，有点像没有蹼的鸭子的脚。在村子里待上那么短的时间，却能够遇见这个隐居深山的老伯，我想我是蛮幸运的。

Uncle was so busy talking to his good friend Martinus that he didn't even bother to look at the camera 😂

Group photo of the staffs, volunteers & the host family who took really good care of us.

When train is not available, the villagers need to use this platform trolley as an alternative vehicle to mobilize or transport goods to other villages along the railway, or even to make their way to Tenom town. Steering this trolley requires a lot of strength and skill as well. It can be extremely dangerous especially when going downhill; if the speed of the vehicle gets out of control, the riders might get thrown away from the trolley and injure themselves. (In this picture: Yong Ling (right) and the kids from our host family)

The boys managed to catch some fish for dinner when we crossed the river just now.

At the end of the project, my colleague, Lilian brought us to the Padas River located at Pangi (1 station away from Rayoh) to experience the white water rafting. Padas River is one of the top rafting sites in Sabah, and it is famous for its challenging rapids, which are rated from Class 3 to Class 4.

Photo credit: The Kayak Man

It was really fun. Thank you so much Lilian for treating us to this exhilarating experience!