My wife and I stayed with Saloma for 3 days, but should have stayed longer at her lovely homestay in her small Bidayuk village about 1.5 hours South of Kuching.... read more It was an immersive experience during which we got to be up close and personal...More

  The pluses for this homestay during my 3 day stay.. - not too far or difficult to get to from the city of Kuching - excellent communication with hosts leading... read more up to arrival so you know exactly what is planned and what is happenning - great hosts, the family is very welcoming and hospitable, and the food is fresh and tastes amazing. They also have some amazing pets that are so friendly, 2 dogs and 3 cats. Also, everyone else you meet in the village is really welcoming and friendly so you don't feel out of place once you're outside the homestay. - Very interesting tours, with very knowledgable guides, and you learn so much you wouldnt from google and youtube. The tours are also quite varied and customisable so something to suit all tastes and energy levels. - A real genuine insight into how life is lived in jungle areas. - Accomodation is clean and for a junle homestay, has everything you need for a comfortable stay. The minuses - Well just one minus really, if you're hoping to encounter or view lots of wildlife, it may not fulfil that wish. So I'd advise to also book a trip to Bako nature reserve during your stay in Sarawak. In some parts you can explore some quite dense primary tree and plant life, but it's quite uncommon now to encounter, or even hear bigger animals like monkeys or flying foxes... The pluses for this homestay during my 3 day stay..
- not too far or difficult to get to from the city of Kuching
- excellent communication with hosts leading up to arrival so you know exactly what is planned and what is happenning
- great hosts, the family is very welcoming and hospitable, and the food is fresh and tastes amazing. They also have some amazing pets that are so friendly, 2 dogs and 3 cats. Also, everyone else you meet in the village is really welcoming and friendly so you don't feel out of place once you're outside the homestay.
- Very interesting tours, with very knowledgable guides, and you learn so much you wouldnt from google and youtube. The tours are also quite varied and customisable so something to suit all tastes and energy levels.
- A real genuine insight into how life is lived in jungle areas.
- Accomodation is clean and for a junle homestay, has everything you need for a comfortable stay.

The minuses
- Well just one minus really, if you're hoping to encounter or view lots of wildlife, it may not fulfil that wish. So I'd advise to also book a trip to Bako nature reserve during your stay in Sarawak. In some parts you can explore some quite dense primary tree and plant life, but it's quite uncommon now to encounter, or even hear bigger animals like monkeys or flying foxes which were very common in the area around 20 years ago. This is of course part of a bigger problem being played out around the world. You may see some bird species but there's plenty of interesting insects if you like that (luckily not in the homestay, but the jungle areas!) More

  We booked our stay at Saloma’s homestay in the beginning of January. From the first contact on, Saloma helped us with the planning of our holiday. After some talk we... read more decided to stay for 4 nights and 5 days and thus the full program. At first we thought that this would be a bit too expensive, but it turned out to be the best choice of our holiday. Everything is arranged for at the homestay. We did a lot of nice tours with guides that speak very good English, people from the local village. Via them we got to know the Bidayu culture. They also invited us into their daily life and showed us how friendly and hospitable their culture is. Saloma will welcome you as a friend at her Homestay. A business she started 10 years ago. She told us about the rough start and the reasons why she wanted to start it in the first place. The ‘homestay’ is called a ‘villagestay’ because it contributes to the whole village. Local guides, local cook, local everything. Even the food we got (3 complete meals a day) where (partly) locally produced or collected in the forest during our trips. As vegetarians we had no problems at all. Within every meal there where several dishes. We highly recommend everybody to stay at this place during their travel in Sarawak. It’s the best way to get to know a culture and to... We booked our stay at Saloma’s homestay in the beginning of January. From the first contact on, Saloma helped us with the planning of our holiday. After some talk we decided to stay for 4 nights and 5 days and thus the full program. At first we thought that this would be a bit too expensive, but it turned out to be the best choice of our holiday. Everything is arranged for at the homestay. We did a lot of nice tours with guides that speak very good English, people from the local village. Via them we got to know the Bidayu culture. They also invited us into their daily life and showed us how friendly and hospitable their culture is.

Saloma will welcome you as a friend at her Homestay. A business she started 10 years ago. She told us about the rough start and the reasons why she wanted to start it in the first place. The ‘homestay’ is called a ‘villagestay’ because it contributes to the whole village. Local guides, local cook, local everything. Even the food we got (3 complete meals a day) where (partly) locally produced or collected in the forest during our trips. As vegetarians we had no problems at all. Within every meal there where several dishes.

We highly recommend everybody to stay at this place during their travel in Sarawak. It’s the best way to get to know a culture and to meet new friends!

Saloma, thank you again for everything. Hopefully until the next time. More

  Saloma and her family give a genuine kampung experience. Their home is very clean, beautifully maintained and so welcoming. A shout-out to Selena, a beautiful young Bidiyuh woman who... read more even took me to church last Sunday.
The daily programme is very well organised behind the scenes, with each small group of guests having a similar yet uniquely personal daily experience.
William is a star, he should be retired by now but his physical strength is incredible. The full day waterfalls experience concluding with pomelo at his house that he climbed to pick....
On the farm-walk day with Nicholas, Andy and Saloma's mum we saw this is truly a genuine hunter-gatherer-cultivation village. Cos we twigged a can of sweetcorn was the only bought food we had eaten in 3 days.
Saloma's vision to bring outsiders into her kampung was bold but it is clearly successful and respectful on both sides.
Living softly on the land and with the land. More