Wednesday 20 November Jebulu, Negeri day trip

Another day and another day trip. This one was courtesy of the Negeri Sembilan tourist board. Negeri Sembilan is the state where Port Dickson situated. This time our luxury coaches whisked us inland two hours to the state capital Seremban. Here we were invited to try local games like blow darting, walking on stilts, running a metal tyre frame with a stick and playing catch with a rattan ball. Not sure why but the local fire brigade where our hosts and challengers in the stilt walking races.

ladies blow dart team

street performer skills

Jason and Karen at lunch

gamelan training

Moving swiftly on, and it was a brief stop, we crossed the road to the State museum where we browsed the cultural and ethnic development of the region. This was more about the mixing of Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures, Islam and Hinduism than aggressive take overs.

Moving swiftly on once more lunch was at a homestay village. Homestays are like staying with a local family and sharing their daily life. In Jebulu the ladies had prepared a superb curry meal for us to enjoy while the youngsters of the gamelan band played and sung for us. We were invited on the stage after lunch to have lessons on playing the gamelan (pitched brass domes suspended on wires), drums and the tambourine. Alas no time to tarry there was one more stop before the end of the day.

at the army museum

Back down to the coast and the Port Dickson army museum with helicopters, trains, tanks, guns and displays the history of the defence of Malaysia. By the end of the day we were quite exhausted and ready for the evening's entertainment which was a reception hosted by the marina.

We had enough time for a quick dip in the pool and shower before donning our party frocks to meet the head of tourism for the region and to enjoy a lovely buffet of chicken and chips, egg sandwiches followed down by platters of fresh fruit and cake. Two cups of tea and I was stuffed.