Saloma Villagestay - Authentic Bidayuh Experience

11/06/2025

Eat Roam Relish: Sarawak Malaysia Ep 2 - The longhouse experience

It is well worth spending time at longhouses when visiting Sarawak. I would honestly suggest staying a couple of nights at one just to disconnect from the busy cities, re-energise and get back to basics. It’s a time to unwind and truly enjoy nature and all its gifts and abundance. There are quite a few to choose from but I particularly enjoyed .villagestay because of its cosy atmosphere with only a few rooms on offer. My favourite time of day was dawn, woken by roosters, it’s pitch black until the sun starts to peek through the trees. This region was a slice of heaven.

Check out the seasons for various fruits and most importantly, try and avoid the rainy season. As we are in the tropics, with high humidity, lots of sunshine and rain, maintenance of these longhouses are an ongoing affair. You’ll come to appreciate it when you are there.
villagestay

10/06/2025

Thank you staying with us at Saloma Villagestay - Authentic Bidayuh Experience. You left smiles on our faces. Wishing you many more adventures!

06/06/2025

Eat Roam Relish: Sarawak Malaysia Ep 2 - Saloma Homestay

My first time visiting an indigenous village, Saloma’s was bliss! There were no formalities, the moment we met each other, we embraced and I immediately felt her warmth. It’s customary in Asia to remove your shoes before entering someone’s home, here, we did the same. Greeted by her family with the same warmth and smiles. I felt right at home. The surrounds of Saloma’s family home and homestay was lush and peaceful and you just can’t help feeling relaxed. It was like living in a tree house!

This place is all about family and community. Just nearby are other families and it’s so lovely to see everyone looking out for each other. When they have an abundance of crop, they share it with the village.

Saloma takes you on a wonderful experience through the jungle, visiting Uncle Andy’s pineapple farm, foraging for midin (wild ferns), tapioca leaves, cangkup manis (another wild green vegetable), tegus (wild sugarcane shoot) and we would take this back to the homestay and cook it. I was in seventh heaven experiencing picking so many things for the first time - did you know that Bunga Kantan (Ginger Torch flower) grows tall from a stem into the ground? And you simply cut off the top half? Oh my gosh, this honestly was an epic experience.

Down at the hut, her extended family gathered. Some helped us with the cooking, others were weaving serving ware. It’s unbelievable how good they all were with their hands at this intricate weaving. I was so touched when Saloma’s dad gifted me a bracelet that he weaved that afternoon. They were just the most incredible folks. Spending the day with Saloma and her family, foraging, cooking and finally breaking bread, the time spent there couldn’t get any better. I didn’t want to leave.
villagestay

05/06/2025

We made it! Top 3 on TripAdvisor! Thank you everyone who has supported us by coming to share in our culture and traditions in a Bidayuh village. 🥳🥳🥳🥳

21/05/2025

Slowly but surely!

16/05/2025

Rainforest trekking

15/05/2025

From farm to table.

10/05/2025

Relax & Recharge with .villagestay. For booking & inquiries, [email protected] & for more information, visit our website at salomavillagestay.net. We do not accept walk-in booking. Have a wonderful weekend!

20/03/2025

Welcome back everyone! Looking forward to seeing in the jungle again! Saloma x

28/01/2025

Today’s view due to heavy downpours for nights.

23/01/2025

https://thewest.com.au/travel/humbling-bidayuh-hospitality-c-17102582

Getting deep into the heart of Borneo and trying some authentic indigenous hospitality firsthand doesn’t take much effort. Marco Ferrarese maps out a truly worthy homestay experience.

17/08/2024