Wednesday Walk And Make Me Smile: A Hike Up The Lost Temple Of Sarawak

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Since I have heard of the intriguing story behind the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple at Mount Matang, I have been yearning to see the temple. The story goes something like this. In 1968, a Dayak man came across an abandoned building when he sought refuge from a tropical storm deep inside the rainforest of Borneo. He was surprised to find that a large part of the interior was still intact. When he saw a wooden elephant statue, he realized that it used to be a Hindu temple. According to the story, he took home the statue but he could not sleep and was having nightmares the whole night. In another version of the story, this house literally shooked that night and was given a vision to return the statue. Whichever is the true version of the story, he immediately returned the statue the next day.

This area used to be a coffee and tea estate and workers from India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) were brought in by Charles Brooke, the second White Rajah of Sarawak to work in the estate. It was believed that these Hindu workers build the temple in the 1890s. The workers dedicated this temple to the Hindu Goddess Sri Maha Mariamman. When the tea and coffee estate ceased operations, the temple was subsequently abandoned.

After the discovery of the abandoned temple, the Hindu community took great pains to restore the temple to its former glory.

One fine Saturday morning, my family decided to do something a bit more adventurous: hike to this Indian Temple that's perched at the top of a mountain, which I heard so much about.

This statue can be found at the foot of the mountain. This was constructed only recently and is not part of the original temple.

The temple is not accessible by anything except a narrow road that's been tar-sealed. The walk is not terribly difficult, but it can be steep in certain parts.

The devotees build this road so that it is easier for them to bring offerings by motorbikes or four-wheel drive and also to maintain the temple.

During the hike, we were at times out of breath. But the scenery more than makes up for the hike up: there are so many trees and plants along the way that you feel enveloped by nature.

The tall trees provided shade against the morning sun and therefore it was not too hot. But we all wore caps just in case.

Along the way, we can see lots of fern-like vegetation.

The remants of Charles Brooke's Bangalow can also be found here. As we were short of time, we decided to visit only the Hindu Temple.

And then when we finally crested the top of the mountain, we were rewarded with a beautiful sight: the temple, shining like a jewel against the cloudless sky.

Beautiful statues adorned the grand entrance of the temple.

There are a number of beautifully crafted statues in the temple.

The inside of the Hindu temple. On the day we visited, prayers were blaring through the two loudspeakers.

Offerings and inscene were left at the various altars.

My daughter posing with the temple's bell.

The three columns are located just outside the temple.

There is no electricity supply here and so the temple has to rely on its own generator.

I was enjoying the spectacular scenery as I was walking down the steps. I could see part of the city on the horizon.

The hike down was much easier, and we took about half the time to get back down compared to our ascent. We were exhausted but felt a sense of accomplishment for reaching the top of the mountain. It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning with family, burn some calories and at the same time being one with nature.

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Wednesday Walk And Make Me Smile

As I am still recovering from my slipped disc, walking and swimming are my major forms of exercise. I am glad to stumble upon the Wednesday Walk community. The Wednesday Walk is a challenge started by @tattoodjay to encourage people to go for walks, take some photos and write about it. Now I can combine my two hobbies; walking and writing.