The small villages of Ba Kelalan in Sarawak celebrate Christmas the rustic way, and with a real tree!
Shopping malls nowadays may be decorating for Christmas as early in the year as possible, but they are not alone in their enthusiasm! Christmas also comes very early to the countryside in Sarawak, but thankfully not in a commercialised deck-the-halls manner.
In the villages of Ba Kelalan in northern Sarawak, Christmas is a time set aside for reflection, and is dedicated to family and community.
The small population of this isolated settlement in the mountains easily triples with city dwellers returning home for the season. During this time, the thrice-weekly flights get fully booked as early as six to eight months earlier.
