Back to Basics - The Local Petrol Station

I flew to a small village up in the highlands of Borneo, on the Malaysian/Indonesian border for a few days. Unbelievably I had never been to Bario before, famed for its rice and graceful hospitable culture. Its a very remote region, until recently only accessible by air, but now you can drive there along the roads created by the loggers.

Its fantastic to still see the rural community farming in the traditional manner, using buffalos to plough the padi fields. At the end of June Bario will be hosting its 5th food and cultural festival - wish I go as it would be wonderful to see the old handicrafts being demostrated (sadly, like all progress, fewer and fewer have the traditional skills). If you're in East Anglia and want to hear more, there's a talk during the The Alde Valley Spring Festival at the end of this month.

Everyone gets about by walking, little scooters and 4x4s that see real mud! I loved the simplicity of the local petrol station... it just made me smile!