Malaysia: Kampung Life at Homestay Labu Kubong, Perak

In Malaysia, there is a tourism product/programme that’s called “homestay”. While many might confuse homestay as just staying in someone else’s house during their travels (be it through Airbnb, Couchsurfing and the likes), this tourism product is a lot more than that. It involves staying not just in someone else’s house but also provides a wider experience and unique way to not just travel like a local but also live like a local. This is because (approved) homestay programmes are mostly located in traditional kampongs or villages and offer a window into the local’s lifestyle through various activities (incl. culture, food/cooking, games, etc.) that may involve the whole community in the kampung and not just the homestay family. For foreigners, it’s probably the easiest way to get to know Malaysia beyond the big city destinations like Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Melaka. For locals - especially city dwellers - it gives them the opportunity to experience a real kampung life, which many might not have had the chance to experience.

Personally, I have stayed at a few homestay programmes over the past few years, and have previously written and shared a video about one of my best homestay experiences, which was at Homestay Kampung Beng in Lenggong. The short 3D/2N stay there reminded me of my own paternal grandparents’ place back in Terengganu, in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Recently, I had another chance to stay in a homestay, which must have rated among my best experience as well, in Homestay Kampung Labu Kubong, located about 15 km from the royal town of Kuala Kangsar. Incidentally, both homestays are located in Perak - a state just to the north of Kuala Lumpur - which has been selected by Lonely Planet as one of the Top 10 Regions in the World to Visit in 2017.

My visit and stay there was during a Tourism Malaysia’s programme called “Jelajah Kesultanan & Tradisi Melayu Perak”, a tour of Perak Sultanate and Malay traditions in Perak’s royal town of Kuala Kangsar.

Our arrival at Kampung Labu Kubong was greeted by the villagers who went the extra mile to don traditional Malay songket dresses, complete with the headgear and keris (Malay dagger), that are normally worn just on very special occasions like at one’s own wedding and perhaps at royal events as well. The welcoming party entertained us with some live traditional music before allocating us to our respective foster family.

With 2 other fellow bloggers, I was “adopted” by one elderly lady, Rapisah Ab Rahman, whose nickname, among the villagers, is “Mak Su” (means "youngest auntie" in Malay). She introduced herself to us as “Mak” (mother) before bringing us over to her house, located not far from the village community hall.

Mak Su's house

Now, I’d be the first to admit that I’m not comfortable staying at a stranger’s place whilst travelling, what more when you basically have to “live” with the stranger and his/her family, have small chats over TV, eat whatever meals that they have prepared and are having, share the same bathroom, and so on. There’s simply no privacy unless if you stay in your room or go out. One word comes to my mind when I think about this: awkward. This is why I prefer to stay in hotels whenever I go on a trip somewhere. But then again, a homestay programme is not meant just for a quick one- or two-night stay. It is meant to give us the chance to learn more about local life, the culture, the food and the tradition directly from the locals themselves.

Luckily for us, Mak Su is very chatty. That broke down the barrier and put us at ease. We learnt quite a bit about her and kampung life in Kampung Labu Kubong, where she moved to after marrying her late husband decades ago.

Irrigation ditch that passes right behind Mak Su's house

As mentioned earlier, an approved homestay programme in Malaysia usually involves the whole community in the kampung and it has to offer unique products/activities for guests to experience. In Kampung Labu Kubong, there are plenty of activities for guests to experience, learn and enjoy. This includes, among others, rubber tapping, asam keping (sliced tamarind) making, traditional honey production, fruit & vegetable harvesting and cooking traditional dishes/desserts as well as making handicrafts.

Rubber tapping the traditional way

Making asam keping (sliced & dried tamarind)

Traditional honey production using kelulut, a type of honey bee that doesn't sting

Learning to make handicrafts for sale

In just 2 short days, or rather, 1 full day, we did all these, and a lot more. We even caught some fish and played netball in the muddy paddy field, took a dip like happy kids in the irrigation ditch that runs across the paddy fields in the kampung.

We also travelled and walked around the kampung and captured so, so many photos and memories (as you can see below! 😆)

Taking a refreshing dip in the irrigation ditch

Taking a stroll along the recently harvested paddy fields

Photo op: In banana/pineapple plantation

Photo op: Picking up pucuk paku (fern leafs) in the bush

Photo op: By the paddy field

Photo op: In the rubber estate

Photo op: with a kampung house

And that’s what made me really fell in love with Homestay Kampung Labu Kubong. It’s not just Mak Su, our foster mother and chatty host. It’s not just the friendly villagers, and it’s not just the local food that we ate and activities that we did. It’s a combination of all these things and the amazingly scenic views that you get in Kampung Labu Kubong. The mountain range, the paddy fields, the irrigation ditch with water sourced from the nearby stream, the rubber estate, not only give you the chance to enjoy nature and experience the tranquillity that they offer, but also provide you with so many great photo opportunities. Something that would make you treasure the memories of your stay here even more.

And definitely, something to remind you to come back again in the near future.

Morning views at Kampung Labu Kubong - taken from behind Mak Su's house

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Further information:

Homestay Kampung Labu Kubong

Address: Lubok Merbau, 33010 Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/labukubonghomestay/

Email address: Encik Meor Shamsudin (village head) meorshamsudinabuhassan@gmail.com
Telephone number: +60195773471 / +60192571196

P.S. Homestay Kampung Labu Kubong is also the site of the annual "Badang Malaysia" competition, a competition that is not dissimilar to Strongman competitions in Europe, but with local flavours. 😁
For 2017 edition, Badang Malaysia would be held from 15th-17th Sept 2017.

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Have you stayed at Homestay Kampung Labu Kubong or someplace similar before? What do you think about the experience? Would you recommend it? If you haven't, would you give it a shot?

A Thank You and Disclosure Note

As mentioned earlier, my stay at Homestay Kampung Labu Kubong was part of “Jelajah Kesultanan & Tradisi Melayu Perak” programme with Tourism Malaysia, Destination Perak and KTM ETS (Electric Train Service). KTM ETS provides fast, comfortable and frequent daily inter-city connection between Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Kangsar (for Homestay Kampung Labu Kubong) and beyond, up to Padang Besar near Thailand border in the north.

For other blog entries on Malaysia, click here.

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