Exploring Kuala Lumpur

Here's the short version, to be going on with. No, not a load of old temples this time - just one and modern - the Thean Hou Chinese Temple. But, to start at the beginning.

I had an excellent breakfast in the Club Lounge on floor 24 of my hotel just after 6.30 a.m., giving me lots of time before my guide came for a tour of the City at 8.30 a.m. My guide was a charming Malaya-born Indian who did his own driving using a comfortable Mercedes saloon. Traffic was bad, partly because of preparations for the KL Grand Prix. We visited the gates of the Royal Palace, where there are two guardsmen and two more guardsmen on horseback. All day long, the coaches and taxis are arriving so that tourists can be photographed with these guards. We went on to the Chinese Temple mentioned above and the returned to the city centre for my visit to the Petronas Twin Towers. You only get about halfway up the towers on the public visits to the 'Skybridge' at floor 41 but I was keen to do it. Obtaining tickets normally involves a long period queuing but a gentleman from the travel company did the queuing so that we could go straight up. Usually, each party has ten minutes on the Skybridge, but we went up with a group of young, excited Army and Air Force personnel and we got at least 20 minutes. Later, I had a buffet lunch at a large, well-known restaurant before we drove north to the Batu Caves area. As we returned to the city, there was an exceptionally heavy downpour and drains overflowed and traffic stopped. However, we made it to the original Kuala Lumpur railway station built by the British for me to take photographs and visit the small museum they have. We drove past a number of other places before I was returned to my hotel, happy and tired. But the rain stopped so I thought I'd better make another trip out on my own.

I went back through Suria Mall to KLCC rapid transit station, travelled to Masjid Jamek and walked first to the Central Market and then to the Chinese Quarter. I continued walking to Kuala Lumpur old station to finish taking photographs (the rain had rather curtailed matters in the afternoon). Then I bought a single ticket for the one stop on KTM Komuter back to KL Sentral, finally catching the Rapid Transit Kelana Jaya line (which, to confuse things, is often referred to as the Putra Line) back to station KLCC, arriving back at my hotel thoroughly exhausted.

Pictures

Thean Hou Chinese Temple.
Around Kuala Lumpur.
The Petronas Buildings.
Visit to Petronas Buildings Skybridge.
Batu Caves.
Light Rail, Mass Transit, Rapid Transit.
KTM railways.
Railway Museum, KL.

On to Kuala Lumpur

Up early and breakfast on the balcony of my room at the Rasa Ria Resort. All formalities complete, I was ready for pick-up at 7.00 a.m. Of course, the hotel had to refund most of the 'Security Deposit' they'd taken, because my 'Extras' were modest. The charming young man at reception took three attempts to get the refund right and I'm still not sure it'll appear correctly on my statement. I couldn't be cross, because he was so keen to get it right.

My car was a few minutes late and we hadn't been going long before we started to hit traffic jams. Nothing too serious, but it slowed us down. Somehow, this wasn't how I'd imagined North Borneo! Rather than go through the centre of Kota Kinabalu, the driver took some sort of by-pass inland which took us through more residential areas and eventually, we joined up with the main road I knew, on the airport side of town. We arrived at the posh new airport about an hour after leaving the Resort. The airport was pleasantly empty and I was checked-in within a few minutes. The check-in girl had excellent English and, after examining my passport, exclaimed approvingly 'You've been everywhere!'. I told here that there were still plenty of places I hadn't visited, but agreed I'd been very fortunate. When I got to immigration, my departure card was missing. I thought it was in my passport, but it was not. 'You have a problem' said the rather officious young man. Eventually, I found it in the passport wallet, which I'd put separately. 'Now you're happy!' I said, but the young man was unyielding 'No, I am not happy'. he said. But he stamped my paperwork so I gave him my best smile and found my way to the Malaysia Airlines Lounge. They were a lot more friendly there and I spent the time waiting for my flight on one of their high-speed internet Dell computers.

The flight to Kuala Lumpur was a few minutes late - the ubiquitous Boeing 737 (-400 series, I think). We took off and climbed straight ahead over the city before turning onto our course for Kuala Lumpur. A meal was served, not too much of it to my taste but I was comfortable enough and read for a while and slept for a while. We landed after a flight of about two and a half hours and taxied around the airport for some minutes before coming to our Gate. The airbridge was attached to the forward door very quickly and I found myself off the aircraft and following the signs for the baggage hall. My bag arrived equally promptly and in the arrivals hall I found an Indian lady from the travel company displaying my name. She used her mobile to summon the car and the car arrived a couple of minutes later. After I'd helped the driver to stow the case, I turned to thank the lady and she was gone! No 'goodbye', no 'enjoy your stay'. I admit to feeling surprised. The driver said it would take us around an hour to get to my hotel, even using the toll road.

Kuala Lumpur is set in a valley surrounded by lush hills and the road we took seemed to climb one hill, then fall then repeat the process a number of times. There were a number of overhead power transmission lines bringing in electricity to a power-hungry city. I saw lots of cellphone masts and most of these had been disguised as trees by the addition of clumps of plastic 'leaves'. We passed groups of huge apartment blocks - like all big cities, house prices reduce as you get further from the centre. I caught my first glimpse of the city centre - the famous Petronas Twin Towers and the KL Tower. I'd forgotten the Twin Towers were clad in stainless steel - they glow white in the sun - and I didn't even know that Kuala Lumpur had a separate observation tower. As we threaded our way into the city centre, it started to rain so I was glad of the 'porte cochere' when we arrived at my hotel, right next to the Twin Towers. Pictures around Kuala Lumpur.

The Mandarin Oriental hotel has over 600 rooms, so there was a bit of a queue at reception. A pretty young girl with excellent English quickly checked my booking form and lead me to the Elevators (as you might expect, nobody calls them 'lifts'). There were eight passenger elevators and we were quickly taken to the 24th floor. Here, they have a 'Club Lounge' with check-in, concierge and lounge with refreshment facilities aimed at business travellers. Whilst the check-in process was completed - it only took a few minutes - I sat with a cup of refreshing tea (Darjeeling and very much to my taste. I'd remembered Darjeeling as slightly bitter but the hotel's blend became my staple beverage during my stay).

I was then taken two floors up to my room on floor 26. In common with a number of large hotels, the credit card room key is also used to enable the lift and give access to restricted floors where certain floors form a separate 'business class' hotel, as here. My room was only a short distance from the lifts (always an advantage - I find it depressing to keep walking through featureless corridors lined with a series of identical doors looking for my room). The rooms in city centre hotels are usually a little smaller but all the facilities were there. Pictures of the Hotel.

But the most noticeable feature was the view from the large window which was dominated by the Twin Towers, looking close enough to touch. The Petronas Twin Towers is one of the few modern buildings that I actually like, so I was delighted to have this opportunity of studying it.

I'd been told that Afternoon Tea was served in the Club Lounge and, a little later, they had a Cocktail Hour. I managed to get down to the Lounge in time for warm scones with cream and strawberry jam. The huge windows on one side of the lounge had a view of the Twin Towers similar to that in my room but the opposite wall had impressive views over the rest of the city.

I enquired at the desk about Mass Transit Systems in the city. They were a little puzzled because, rather than enquiring 'How do I get to...', I was asking what systems existed and where it was possible to go. They found me a City Map with a small diagram of the railway lines and I determined to brave the transit system in the rush hour, having had vague directions to the nearest station 'KLCC'. This acronym seems to generally refer to the upmarket area around the Twin Towwers. 'KL' is the old British ex-patriates' invariable appellation for 'Kuala Lumpur', now in general use. 'CC' can stand for 'City Centre' or, just across a park next to Trader's Hotel, 'Convention Centre'.

Built in an arc in between my hotel and the Twin Towers is a very swish, modern shopping Mall on six floors called 'Suria KLCC'. The place teemed with Malaysians and foreign visitors. Every designer label you can imagine was represented but, down on the Concourse Level, there were more basic coffee shops and snack bars which were doing good business. Having an idea of the direction to go, I stumbled upon the entrance to the rapid transit underground station. This was doing a fair imitation of a London Underground station in the peak period but, fortunately, all signage is in English and Malay so I found a ticket office where the girl was able to offer me a 10 Ringit ticket suitable for multiple journeys. Automatic ticket barriers are much the same everywhere so the next problem was to travel in the correct direction. The station had a single island platform with a track on either side and Platform Edge Doors were provided so, even during peak periods, you can't get pushed onto the tracks. After a few moments, my train came in - a 2-car driverless train reminiscent of Docklands Light Railway - already quite full. Being used to London's inadequate tube system, I had no problems insinuating myself onto the train but I was surprised that a number of passengers decided to wait for the next train (my experience is that the next train is often more crowded than the first). After a couple of stations underground, we popped out onto an elevated track. At Pasar Seni, I could see the famous station building, in the Moorish style, of the original railway station in Kuala Lumpur. A little south of this original station, they have built a modern transport interchange called 'KL Sentral' and this is where I got off. After a bit more riding round on railways, I returned to the comfort of my hotel.

Pictures

Light Rail, Mass Transit, Rapid Transit.
KTM.

Kota Kinabalu

I had ordered breakfast in my room for 6.30 a.m. It arrived promptly and the smiling young man set it up on the balcony. I'd learnt that the hotel operated a shuttle bus service into Kota Kinabalu but I didn't know what time it started. The concierge in the Garden Wing reception confirmed that the first bus was 9.00 a.m. I decided to explore the hotel a little and then catch the first bus.

On the way in from the airport the previous day, I'd spotted the North Borneo Railway which, until a couple of years ago, operated a tourist steam train with a 'Vulcan' 2-8-2. The railway closed for reconstruction and the concierge confirmed that it remains closed. Although I'd seen some rolling stock lying around the previous day, the railway certainly didn't look like a going concern.

The Shuttle Bus turned up on time and there were perhaps ten passengers. There were no delays and the coach stopped at the Centre Point Shopping Mall after about 45 minutes. There was lots of cars looking for places to park along roads near shop premises. The cars seemed fairly casual about how and where they parked but every 100 yards or so there was a parking attendant, identified by a Yellow High-Visibility jacket and a pad of printed tickets. So almost as soon as a car had found a space, the parking attendant was there, collecting the parking fee.

I considered trying to find the railway but I realised it would be a long walk and it had started to drizzle so instead I turned off past the minbus station and went inside one of the older shopping complexes - 'Plaza Wawasan'. After wandering around in there for a while, I emerged onto a quieter street with shops and tall apartment blocks. Then I cut across to the waterfront. There's a whole series of bars and restaurants catering for tourists. Visitors seem to be mainly from Japan or Australia as the travelling is not so hard for them. There are a fair few Germans, as well.

Further along there's the Phillipino Market. There are quite a few Phillipinos in Sabah. Many of them came in the 1930s to work on the fishing fleets. When you go to the Fish Market, you can see why. There's a remarkable selection of fresh fish.

Some of the Phillipinos live in the 'Floating Villages' visible a few hundred yards away from the waterfront, surrounding an offshore island. The population of these villages is around 10,000. I took a tour of the villages by water in a small boat with an outboard. Then we landed at one of the two floating schools which provide places for around 2,700 children.Pictures here.

On the way back, the rain became torrential. I wandered around the shops trying to keep dry but the damage was done so I took a taxi back to the Rasa Ria Resort.

The rain had eased so, when I'd recovered from the morning's exertions, I went down to the beach for a swim in the South China Sea. The water, I was relieved to find, was quite warm and once you're in the water you don't notice the rain. There was one couple in the designated 'Swimming Zone'. They left and I was on my own for a bit. As I was leaving, a mother and child arrived for a swim.

I settled for an evening meal in the Coffee Shop, which had become quite full by the time I'd finished. Then, I went back to my room to start packing ready for a 7.00 a.m. pickup the following day.

Into Sabah

After breakfast on 'Pandaw' on Sunday, we were all going our separate ways. Transport to Sibu Airport had been arranged for us by 'Pandaw', with departures from the ship at different times, to suit the flight each group was booked on. I was booked to leave the ship at 8.30 a.m. to catch the Kota Kinabulu flight, travelling in the same minibus as the American Party who were flying to Kuching. Most of the crew and our guides were on hand to say goodbye as we drove away from the landing stage. There are a few pictures on the journey here.

On arrival at Sibu Airport, we were assisted as far as check-in by one of the friendly minibus drivers and then directed into the 'Otis' lift to the first floor to go into the Departures Hall. The Americans were able to go straight into the Departures Hall but, because I was flying to a different state (Sabah), I had to wait for the immigration officials to come on duty. Once the immigration staff were present, I caught up with my American friends as we waited for our flights to be called. More passengers from 'Pandaw' arrived, either booked on my flight or later flights to Kuching or Kota Kinabulu. My pictures at Sibu Airport are here.

My MASwings flight was called a little late. We walked across the apron to our aircraft in broiling sun. The aircraft was one of their new ATR72-500. I took my seat - the other eleven seats in Business Class were empty but the rest of the aircraft appeared full. I had a simple but pleasant enough meal during the flight and then we descended to Kota Kinabulu airport.

I was surprised at how large the terminal building was - it was clearly quite new. My pictures of the airport are here. When we disembarked, we had a fair walk to baggage reclaim and, once I'd retrieved my bag, it was into the Arrivals Hall, where I quickly spotted a man holding up a sign with my name. As we set off from the airport, I asked how long the journey would take. 'Depend on the traffic' he replied 'Maybe one hour'. Whereas Kota Kinabulu airport is quite close on the south side of the town, Shangri La's Rasa Ria Resort lies some distance north of the town. We did lose some time in Sunday traffic jams negotiating the town but the driver pointed out some features of the town as we passed - all shopping opportunities.

Kota Kinabulu is rather as I imagined Kuching would be - lots of modern development catering for foreigh tourists and most of the original buildings lost. In this case, I gather it was bombing during World War 2 which destroyed the buildings. I hope it's not too unkind to say that it struck me as a cross between Las Vegas and Dubai, built on a budget. My pictures are here.

Eventually, we passed the Dusit Golf Club and the Rasa Ria Resort was a little further on. All the hotel staff on hand welcomed me and it was only after my luggage had been unloaded and my car had gone that we discovered I was at the wrong reception. Shangri-La now have two hotels side by side. The Garden Wing was opened in 1996 and has about 100 rooms but about three years ago, they added the Ocean Wing to one side with another 90 rooms together with its own access and reception. However, all the other facilities, like restaurants, are within the original Garden Wing. The girl on reception was most apologetic that they'd not spotted the error before my car had left, but she summoned a hotel minibus to transfer me and my luggage across. Whilst waiting, a number of the 'Pandaw' passengers arrived from the airport in their minibus and I greeted them briefly before taking the short additional trip to the Ocean Wing.

Although everybody was charming and I was given a welcome drink whilst the formalities were completed, two aspects of the process grated with me. Firstly, although the room charge was prepaid some time ago, they insisted on taking a 'security deposit' of around 150 USD to cover incidentals. Secondly, I had to sign what I regarded as a rather broad indemnity absolving the hotel from most of what you would have thought were its reasonable responsibilities. I always feel that these signs of mistrust by a hotel undermine their other efforts to make you feel welcome.

The room was fairly spacious with a decent bed. The bathroom was well-appointed and the W.C. was fitted with a Royal Toto RB900 made in Korea, I think, the land of the Etiquette Bell. The shower was a decent size, with fixed and moveable shower heads. But who decided to put the two-person tiled bath outside on the balcony? It seems a nice idea except that all the balconies on five floors face the swimming pool and various footpaths, so are in fairly plain view. They've 'fixed' this problem by fitting two electrically-operated blinds which give some privacy but also cut off the view when you're in the bath. My pictures at Rasa Ria are here.

The room came with a plug-in LAN connection running at 1GB/s which gives reasonably good internet access, so I was able to upload a fair number of pictures and correct at least some of the problems I'd been having because of the rather erratic internet access on 'Pandaw' and the problems with my Notebook computer.

I slept well (although not for very long) unsure whether I'd want to face the long journey into Kota Kinabalu the next day or whether I would just savour the facilities of the Resort.

Rajang Melanau Muslim Village

This freighter crossed our path more than once as we cruised downstream

We continued downstream in amongst ocean-going cargo vessels. My pictures taken on the river are here. 'Pandaw' moved down river until we reached a landing stage on the right bank serving the Rajang Melanau Muslim Village (also called Tanjung Manis).

Most of the passengers disembarked for a walking tour of the village. This appeared to be a fairly prosperous village - houses in good repair, gaily painted in bright colours, gardens carefully tended and with all sorts of exotic plants. My pictures of the village (and weaving factory) are here.

Songket Weaving Factory

The Songket Weaving Factory is very famous. It's housed in a modern building, traditionally built in wood. There were about a dozen looms there, but only two or three of the women were actually carrying out the painstaking, intricate weaving. There were limited items for sale but, in general, they like you to order from a catalogue and then, sooner or later (I'm told it's usually later), your item is despatched. Since they only accept cash, the nicer items were too expensive for me but my friend April inadvertently secured a massive discount by truthfully saying that she'd insufficient Ringit (the Malaysian unit of currency) for the material she coveted. Neither she nor I thought they'd haggle on price but they decided they'd rather make a sale at a lower price.

We continued our walk and looked at the outside of the prosperous-looking modern Mosque, with its lawns being 'strimmed' by a gardener. In contrast, the Melanau Muslim Cemetery we explored was overgrown and a number of the grave markers were in poor condition. We slowly returned to the boat, on the way examining the garden plants, talking to the children and occasionally playing with the many domestic cats.

The village represented as far downstream as we would go. The boat turned upstream for some serious cruising all the way back to Sibu. Pictures taken on the journey upstream are here.

In the afternoon, Neville gave a ship tour which attracted a lot of passengers. Starting with the small kitchen, we moved on through the crew mess, down into the engine room, forward through the various watertight doors which eventually led us to the foredeck and the anchor winch. Finally, we went to the Wheelhouse. My pictures from the tour are here.

Later in the afternoon, there was a Question and Answer Session with our guides where Louis gave us more information about life and customs in Sarawak.

In the evening, we had the special 'Farewell Dinner' - our last dinner together on this cruise and all the staff who could be spared were presented to the passengers by Neville, receiving applause for all their efforts. Pictures of the 'Farewell Dinner'.

Sarikei

I was woken unceremoniously at 4.00 a.m. by two or three fishing vessels returning to port with their raucous marine diesels disturbing the night. Word processing kept me busy for a while, then I just relaxed on the bed until 5.45 a.m. when I had a shower, dressed and went up to the Sun Deck for an early morning cup of tea. The usual early risers were up there.

At some point ‘Pandaw’ had moved from her offshore mooring to a quay. The quay had a large transit shed and an impressive entrance from the road with separate weighbridges for vehicles in and vehicles out together with a large (unstaffed) security office. There was also a large static water tank which I presume was for fire suppression in the transit shed. But the whole facility had been unused for some time and it currently served merely as an easy way to get us ashore. In addition, during the day, the boat took advantage of the good access to take on two road tanker loads of fresh water.

Breakfast started early on Friday at 6.30 a.m. for those people going on the 7.30 a.m. Shore Excursion. This Excursion involved a minibus ride to Longhouse Rumah Nyuka at Bayong followed by a trek to the Sarekei Waterfall and back lasting about two and a half hours. For passengers who didn’t fancy trekking, there was a departure by minibus at 8.30 a.m., stopping at a Pepper Farm and then going on to the Longhouse to meet up with the earlier group.

After breakfast, I prepared for our hike with Factor 30 Sun Block and a Jungle Formula insect spray. A number of minibuses were lined up on the quay for the 7.30 Shore Excursion and as each vehicle was filled, it made its way through the town towards the Longhouse. Sarikei is quite a large place and there were traffic lights and dual carriageways that come as quite a shock after the smaller places we’d stopped at. Almost every shop and business premises we passed had the name repeated in both Malay and Chinese. It was clear that there’s a large Chinese community here and that it’s a relatively prosperous area. There were some very nice detached houses with landscaped, well-groomed gardens. There was also a lot of new housing estates – Sarikei must be a desirable place to settle. Once we turned off the main road, we headed into the hills and the road undulated like a switchback as we approached the Longhouse. It was a pretty uncomfortable ride in the back of the minibus! After about tens minutes of this up and down, we suddenly arrived at our destination.

Longhouse Rumah Nyuka at Bayong

We parked on the concrete road laid outside the Longhouse’s verandah and, once everyone was assembled, we divided into the Waterfall Party provided with two local guides and the Nature Party who intended to hike a shorter distance with Henry explaining some of the local Flora.

The party that set off for the Waterfall was still quite large. We took a track regularly used by residents of the Longhouse to reach their farming land. After a short climb, we entered a shady forest section. The bamboo bridge over the stream at this point had recently been damaged so we were forced to ford the stream, introducing some delay although it was only around six inches deep. We passed a field with a wooden pig sty. The female domesticated boar there had a number of playful (and hungry) babies. Next, we came to a field of pepper plants, each plant trained up a substantial pole. Sarikei is famous for its pepper. The path then ran across a rice paddy on a series of planks arranged to keep your feet dry when the field is flooded. We found one cheerful woman working here.

We carried on along the bank of a stream, shaded by trees, eventually crossing the stream on a bamboo bridge and passing a number of rubber trees. Next, the track ascended a fairly steep hillside covered in pepper plants. In hill planting, the pepper plants are often planted together with a brightly-coloured broadleafed plant whose root system protects the soil from erosion. Having climbed almost to the top of the hill, the path then dived down into the valley where we came to our goal – the waterfall. Not the biggest waterfall I’d seen but very attractive. Once everybody in the party had arrived, it was time to set off back again. On the way back, I found three large centipedes on the path, the largest at least six inches long. There was the usual delay fording the stream and by the time we arrived back at the Longhouse, the party who’d left the ship at 8.30 a.m. had arrived. My pictures taken on the trek are here.

The covered verandah of the Longhouse provided a huge space for communal activities and our arrival appeared to be an excuse for something of a party. Most of the women were congregated in one section with the children, just sitting on the floor and watching, but friendly and quick to smile. Next came a section where handicrafts were laid out for sale. The women on the stalls had pretty good English. Next, was a refreshment station with tea, coffee, juice and very nice crunchy ‘biscuits’ being mass produced in a couple of small woks just behind. Finally, a mat had been laid for dancing and there was the normal ‘band’ of a large gong beating time and the usual instrument with seven gongs to play the melody. There was plenty of seating for the visitors to watch as they had their refreshments. My friend Jim tried the big gong, then I was invited to try. Before I could stop, the melody had started up on my beat and one of the Longhouse men was doing a ceremonial dance, complete with head-dress, so I felt I had to keep going (or should that be 'gonging'?). Eventually, the official ‘gong man’ relieved me. Tim was then invited to dance and was photographed in the head-dress. While the band had a rest, an audio system blasted out a modern tune and six women, all in identical shifts, started the dance I’d seen on the boat – two steps right, two steps left, two steps back, rock for one beat then a quarter turn left. Done properly, it looks very good. A little later, one of the women invited me to join her and I struggled to copy the (simple enough) moves. Longhouse people and my fellow passengers watched me make a fool of myself with interest. When I made a mistake, I would rush to pick up the beat again and this provoked gales of friendly laughter from the Longhouse people. One of the Longhouse men joined in so we had a line of three dancers, two of whom knew what they were doing. It was a marvellous experience and my performance was rewarded with a second cup of tea and more of the ‘biscuits’. Pictures in the Longhouse.

All too soon it was time to clamber back into the mini-bus for the teeth-jarring ride back to the ship. At the very least, the minibuses could do with some new shock absorbers. Pictures on the journey.

Lunch in the dining room was the usual convivial occasion and then there was time to ourselves until a walking tour of Sarikei town at three o’clock. As three o’clock approached, the heavens opened and we had a torrential rain storm. It was probably twenty minutes before the rain had abated sufficiently for us to venture out with umbrellas. Louis and Henry accompanied us, pointing out some of the shops of interest. At the town square, they left us to our own devices with strict instructions to be back on the boat by five o’clock. This gave me time to take a number of photographs around the town and along the waterfront. I bought a cheap printed sarong with a traditional Sarawak design and then spotted a computer shop. My Notebook Computer has developed a keyboard encoder problem meaning that some of the recent posts have been a bit of a pain to write. So I went in the shop and bought an External USB Keyboard which is working fine. I rather liked the idea of buying high-tech computer equipment in Borneo! Needless to say, the keyboard was made in China.

I returned to the boat in good time as preparations were being made for our departure. Just as we were about to depart, a tug appeared from a tributary just upstream towing a log 'raft'. Now, the log 'rafts' they use in Sarawak are not like I've seen in photographs from North American logging. In Sarawak, there is a single cable running the length of the raft and each log is attached to the cable at one end only, herringbone-style. So emerging from a side-river and turning left to pass us and go downstream must be a bit tricky. They'd placed a red flag on the vertical pole near the front and another near the and. This was the only warning to other river traffic! The raft passed us safely and then I realised that one man in a small dinghy with an outboard had been attached to the back end of the raft as it made its turn. I presume he was there to try and tow the back end out of harm's way if there was a problem. However, apparently satisfied that the tow was satisfactory, he detached the dinghy, started the outboard and sped back to the tug. We then set off downstream, passing the tug and log raft further down river as he was not making much speed with such an unwieldy tow.

As it became dark, we turned to face upstream and anchored for the night, somewhere near Kampung Seberang. I went to bed quite early - the combination of the trek and the dancing seemed to have taken its toll. But I was disturbed by the noise of a marine diesel engine, so I slipped on some clothese and went to the Upper Deck to see what was going on. A number of my fellow passengers were still up there drinking and talking. The tug with the log raft was bearing down on us with his headlight blazing on a course set to take him between 'Pandaw' and the nearer bank. It was quite obvious that, whilst the tug would get through, his 'herringbone' load of logs was far too wide. The tug stopped just short of us and a cross voice could be heard shouting in the dark. Our crew must have agreed to re-position the 'Pandaw' and once we had moved further from the bank, the tug, making a deafening noise as the tried to get the raft moving again, moved slowly past us, followed by his load of timber, which now displayed two white lights, one near the front and one near the back. After this excitement, I was able to get to bed.

Postscript 24-Jun-2010

After I'd returned to the UK, I was delighted to hear from Daniel, who produces a blog about Sarikei which you can find here. A section on Sarikei's history is here. There's a growing Facebook Group for Sarikeians here, with links to maps and further information about the town.

Katibas River

I was up before six to take a cup of tea before going on a longboat excursion. The longboats are long and thin elegant wooden craft with a Japanese outboard. Just after six about five longboats arrived, one with an awning, and waited at the landing stage. We each donned a lifejacket and carefully boarded the boats. The boats left when full, so I’m not sure which I was on – the fourth, I think. Not all boats had guides but Henry was in my boat. We went downstream at a fair pace and then slowed to turn right into a small tributary. Immediately, we were transported into a different world – the jungle towered above us in the early dawn, mist still hanging on the hills. Plenty of birds were singing but we didn’t see too many.

We carried on upstream for nearly half an hour, past various habitations where people were stirring. Then we turned round, cut the engine and started to drift back. It was a wonderful, tranquil experience. My pictures are here. But breakfast and the day’s timetable called, so the engine was re-started and we made our way back to ‘Pandaw’, where I immediately took breakfast, in order to be ready for the next trip which departed at nine.

Another version of the Express Boat was now berthed at the landing stage, steel-hulled but with the superstructure built of wood on a welded steel frame. I gathered it was a ‘first-generation’ Express Boat, not as fast as the all-steel version and generally referred to as a ‘Wooden Express Boat’. Once again, there was no internal seating so rattan chairs from ‘Pandaw’ had been arranged in two rows facing outwards. We all boarded and I found myself a perch near the front where I could easily lean out side for photography.

The boat slipped away from the landing stage and headed upstream, shortly turning right onto the Katibas River. After about twenty minutes, we pulled into an extremely dilapidated wooden landing stage on the right bank serving the Nanga Kebian Longhouse. The land between the river and the Longhouse was the opposite of manicured, filled with an ill-assorted collection of wooden buildings with various functions, hen-houses, storage and similar. There were chickens of various breeds, all confined on a very short tether. A concrete access road was provided along the length of the Longhouse with a series of wooden garages for motor bikes, pick-ups and small saloon cars. A number of residents watched this invasion by a boatload of foreigners either impassively or with a slight acknowledgement.

The Nanga Kebian Longhouse

At the far end of the Longhouse we found a good hard-surfaced road from Song lined with concrete posts carrying overhead power lines distributing power around the area. There were a number of detached houses with well-tended gardens and, across the road, a modern water storage facility.

Behind one of the detached houses were three palm trees used to make Ijok palm juice wine. This is unique to the Song area and has never been commercially exploited. Short bamboo ladders are used to access the productive branches which are cut to allow the tree to exude a milky, white liquid. Each tapping can produce a few litres of fluid. Over a few days, the liquid will ferment, because of the natural yeasts, to produce a drink of a few per cent proof.

Tapping Ijok Palm Juice

We were taken to a wooden building distinctively painted pale blue where members of the crew gave us samples of Ijok and the widely-produced rice wine, while the elderly Longhouse Chief looked on. Whilst I've always found rice wine rather rough, the Ijok slipped down very well.

A couple of women in traditional dress wearing variations of coolie hats were spreading out rice on large mats to dry in the sun in a ritual performed in every village. Growing rice is a sure way of producing a crop that can be sold for cash. I noticed some bags of fertiliser on hand. Another wooden shed appeared to be threshing the rice, using a fairly modern machine driven from a little Japanese internal combustion engine. Everywhere, you see these contrasts between the traditional and the modern. We didn't go into the longhouse itself but it was of modern construction with louvred glass windows. The verandah section running the length of the building had a white tiled floor and, of course, each family*s private room led off this verandah.

We cautiously returned to our boat using the steep landing stage with missing slats. A box of nails was sitting on the landing stage so, presumably, some remedial work was in progress but there was no other evidence of activity. For me, that summed up the whole site – a rather curious visit! In twenty minutes or so we were back at Pandaw. Before leaving the boat, I was allowed to take pictures in the engine room which, to my surprise, was exceptionally clean with well-organised storage lockers.

My pictures of our Katibas River cruise are here.

Lunch was a leisurely affair and, in the afternoon, we left Song behind and cruised downstream, retracing our outward route of a few days ago – it seem like some weeks ago to me. At three o'clock, Louis gave a very interesting talk titled 'Longhouse and its management' on the Sun Deck. Before he'd finished, there was the distraction of sailing past Sibu. After a few days up Country, the sprawl of Sibu and the amount of industry – mainly ship-building and timber-related – was quite impressive. We carried on past the 'Pandaw' Landing Stage where this adventure had started and continued towards the Delta area where the Rajang discharges into the South China Sea. The river broadened and we saw in the distance what appeared to be ocean-going ships. We passed a local container terminal – no special container handling cranes - and more shipyards. We saw a number of sprawling sawmills.

Our channel then narrowed somewhat so that we might have been in a canal. In the Delta, the land is quite flat and the lush forest grows to a uniform height so as to look almost artificial – a complete contrast will the towering hills and magnificent trees we'd left behind. We passed one small town called Bintangor and various minor communities. Very often, children on the bank would wave to us. My pictures of the cruise downstream are here.

As it was getting dark, we approached the town of Sarikei but, instead of docking, we turned around to face upstream and dropped the anchors about 200 yards offshore, where we stayed for the night. After dinner, we were entertained by most of the crew on the Sun Deck. The crew is Malay, Burmese and Cambodian and we were treated to displays representing each culture. One performer looked fearsome in his tribal dress but, fortunately, his blowpipe was used to merely to burst balloons. At the end, the passengers were invited to join in the dancing which quickly moved to Rock and Roll and The Twist. After a token contribution from me I went to bed, totally shattered as usual after a fascinating day. There are a few pictures of the show put on by the crew here.

Baleh River Trip

On the fifth day, after the usual start, we have one trip planned by a special Express Boat, starting at nine o’clock. The Express Boats we’ve seen before have had an enclosed cabin and glazed windows. But the Express Boat that ties up on our port side has the usual window cut-outs but no glazing –and no roof! Instead of the normal welded steel roof, there are a series of round steel arches supporting sheets of white plastic securely held in place. It actually looks quite suitable as a ‘day trip’ boat. There are no seats on the boat so, once again, two rows of rattan chairs are placed back-to-back down the long cabin and we all troop on board.

As we head upstream towards the confluence of the two rivers, we pass on the left an opencast coal mine. Yesterday, a massive barge with its attendant tug was being loaded but that’s already departed to go upstream and the coal being gouged from the hillside today was passing through the Screens and being discharged via a conveyor into a huge, conical pile. A further two conveyors are arranged so that, as required, the coal stack can be transferred to a barge.

A large timber barge, with its attendent tugboat, at a logging camp on the Baleh River.

At the confluence, we turned right into the Baleh River and passed through impressive jungle scenery with periodic logging camps and longhouses. The amount of logging activity is amazing – it’s supposed to be sustainable forestry these days with Government control to ensure re-planting. The majority of the Longhouses we saw were modern. We rarely saw individual houses or traditional, old wooden Longhouses. We passed one big sawmill with the finished product – constructional timber - being loaded onto timber carrying cargo boats. A few yards upstream, a longboat with an outboard was being loaded with a few pieces of timber, for some local building project I imagined.

Most of the Longhouses were either completely new sites with manicured gardens leading down to the river with impressive concrete entrance steps or what appeared to be modernised Longhouses on a traditional site, with various surviving outbuildings of traditional wood construction.

There are lots of pictures taken during the cruising here.

Arriving at Mujong, there was clearly a mixture of old and new buildings. The Methodists built a chapel here in 1959 and added a primary school. Much expanded, the school survives today and we disembarked for a visit.

Young pupils at Mujong Primary School

Primary schools are boarding from Monday to Saturday, presumably at least partly because of the distances children have to travel to school in country areas. We assembled in the school canteen and were addressed by the schools head teacher who was dressed in grey trousers, white shirt and tie secured by a tie-clip which doubled as a name badge. All the male teachers dress smartly as an example to the pupils. We looked at the dormitories used by the children and some empty classrooms. Although we met some children in and around the school, we didn’t go into any of the classes being held. Pictures around the school are here.

Crossing the football field, we came to a number of wooden houses and the Medical Clinic. Only minor operations are carried out here and there are a couple of treatment areas with examination couches. All the rooms have been furnished in modern style with wooden workstations, each provided with a computer screen. The patient waiting room was not in use whilst we were there, but it was provided with a large flat-screen television. We talked with the doctor-in-charge and he told us a little about the work of the clinic. It appeared that no expense had been spared in equipping the centre. I’m ashamed to say that I was expecting something a little more third-world in the middle of Borneo. There are a few pictures of the Clinic here.

We returned to our soft-top Express Boat and carried on upstream past more logging camps and more modern Longhouses. Whilst we had been looking around Mujong, our boat had taken the ‘Pandaw’ staff and lunch provisions upstream to the site for our picnic lunch, set on a sandy beach on the inside of a bend in the river. When we reached the site, we could see all the preparations which had been made but we paused only to drop off the Purser, Neville, after which we continued upstream to look at two wrecked cargo vessels fairly close together with, in each case, part of the bow exposed.

One of the two wrecks we saw in a treacherous part of the Baleh River

Having been suitably impressed with the sight of the damage that the river water had done, we looped around the upstream wreck and continued back to our picnic place. The sun was hot, the sand was golden and the food was excellent.

It was odd that cargo boats and the occasional express boat were passing noisily a few tens of feet from us but nobody seemed to noticee and I think everybody enjoyed the meal. Part of the food had been cooked using the traditional Iban-style bamboo pot cooking. I found it very tasty. The boat driver let me walk along the deck of our waiting boat to take some pictures in the engine room (included in the collection here).

When everybody had had their fill, we all clambered aboard for the journey back to ‘Pandaw’. We’d brought a fair bit of sand from the beach back on board and the crew collected our shoes for cleaning, clipping a peg bearing the cabin number onto each pair of shoes to avoid mix-ups. Shortly afterwards, ‘Pandaw’ set off downstream whilst the passengers relaxed. A little later, the sky darkened and we had a fierce downpour which lasted for some time, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

On the way upstream, we’d passed by the village of Song without stopping but, this time, we docked. It was already almost dark but a few of us arranged to go for a short walk before the Briefing and Dinner. We got as far as the Chinese Temple where a number of young men were practicing on a temple drum and cymbals. They were good. It amused me that the drum was transported on a four-wheel truck. With a small audience of foreigners, the good-natured young people got out the Dragon Costume and two of them did an unscheduled Dragon Dance for us. Pictures at Song Temple are here.

I’d been invited to join my new friends Richard and Alison for dinner, because it was Richard’s birthday. After a splendid meal, the lights went out and the restaurant staff brought in a birthday cake as we sang happy birthday.

Amazingly, there was still one more item on the evening’s schedule. The Sun Deck had been cleared and chairs moved back, leaving a performance area covered with two patterned carpets. A group of young people from the town performed a number of traditional dances for us. They were attired in marvellous brightly-coloured traditional dress which made a wonderful spectacle. See pictures. At the end, the passengers were invited onto the floor to join the dancing. The Group’s Dancing Master, in Western dress, invited me to join him. I stayed on deck to watch the dancers leave and then went straight to bed.

Pelagus Rapids

This is the fourth day of the cruise and the pattern of life on board has become familiar and agreeable. Early Risers’ Coffee and Tea is available self-service from the Saloon Bar on the Sun Deck from 6.0 a.m., a wide range of items is available buffet-style in the Restaurant on the Main Deck from 7.0 a.m. Although it’s self-service, there are always a number of attentive and friendly waiters to bring tea or coffee, arrange refills, provide cooked items to your choice from a menu, and clear away used items promptly. Like all meals on ‘Pandaw’, breakfast is an informal, sociable time.

Boarding the Cargo Boat for transfer to the 'Jungle Walk'

It’s an 8.00 a.m. start this morning for the ’Jungle Walk’. A small cargo boat has berthed alongside to take us ashore. These craft are steel-construction, all-welded where most of the length is a single cargo hold with a small wheelhouse at the rear. This rather basic boat has been imaginatively adapted for use as our ferry by adding steel steps allowing passengers to climb into the hold from the foredeck. I presume a floor has been fitted, but it’s covered by either thick P.V.C. sheeting or the gaily-patterned vinyl sold as a floor covering for domestic use. Bench seats have been added along the length of the hold on either side and that’s it! We climb aboard and only a handful of passengers remain on board ‘Pandaw’. We set off upstream and draw level with Kapit, on the starboard side, after a few minutes sailing. But we turn towards the port river bank, where a hillside covered in rain forest stretches down to the water’s edge. The boat enters a tiny inlet shaded by branches and gently nuzzles the bank. The ‘Pandaw’ crew then rig a gangplank from the foredeck to the bank at a spot where a series of steps have been cut into the hillside, with rope handrails arranged on either side to assist the climb. This trek has been built by Pandaw, specifically for use by Pandaw passengers, with periodic resting places and bamboo bridges. There are two treks, one of 2.5 hours with Louis and, for the less fit, an easier trek of 1.5 hours with Henry.

I happen to be first off the boat, so I lead the way to the first resting place, about 200 yards ahead. The first pitch is mainly steps and the rope handrails are fairly essential to haul yourself up. Once everyone has arrived at the first resting place and Louis has made some explanation of the exotic vegetation around us, we carry on to the second resting place, re-group, then continue again. Occasionally, the track is muddy as it winds across the hillside providing a sometimes easy, sometimes challenging trek. Looking around, you could imagine yourself miles from civilisation but, in fact, the bustling town of Kapit is only two or three hundred yards away across the river and the noises from the town and, especially, from the express boats waft across to us. With the forest canopy for shade, I don’t find it too hot but, like my companions, I’m perspiring freely. After about 130 minutes, we’ve looped around to the first resting place and then we have the final descent on the steps leading back to the waiting boat. Our cargo boat, with its precious human cargo, then takes us back to the moored ‘Pandaw’ in plenty of time for lunch. Pictures of the 'Jungle Walk' are here.

In the afternoon, a further excursion had been arranged with the cargo boat. A number of rattan chairs had been arranged in two rows along the centre of the cargo hold, facing outwards. A large plastic sheet had been rigged as an awning over the hold. Once we were all on board, we headed north to the confluence of two rivers, the Pelagus on our left and the Baleh on our right. By this time, they’d rigged the gangplank as a temporary seat across the foredeck and I was one of the people who moved to this position. It was a wonderful vantage point. We passed a number of logging camps and various Longhouse communities. The buildings were very modern, in complete contrast with the 1880 traditional Longhouse we’d visited in Kapit. Thick rain forest came right to the water’s edge on both sides which reminded me of the the Mekong in Laos. Then the waters became troubled – whirlpools and vortices appeared. To make headway, the boat was zig-zagging across the complex currents – at one moment heading straight for the left bank and a few moments later pointing at the right bank. I spotted a modern looking building on the left which was clearly the Pelagus Rapids Resort and shortly afterwards the water became very turbulent.

The engine noise increased as it attempted to propel our boat through the surging water – it really appeared that the boat was going uphill. We emerged into somewhat quieter water but two more times we traversed further rapids. The boat was turned around and speed picked up as we were carried by the current. By this time, I was alone on the foredeck and thoroughly enjoying myself. Once clear of the rapids, we retraced our steps as it started to rain but I stayed where I was for a while. The other passengers in the hold seemed to be getting quite wet as well, because the rain was driving at us almost horizontally. Umbrellas were handed out but the fierce wind damaged a number of them. Henry, seeing the series of ‘Pandaw’ umbrellas deployed all over the cargo hold commented that it looked as if we were growing mushrooms. In addition, the weight of rainwater was causing the temporary roof sheet to sag and crew and passengers were attempting to discharge this water by lifting the roof sheet with brooms or similar objects. Eventually, I decided that I was wet enough so I climbed down into the hold and discovered that, if I tucked myself into the very corner of the hold, with an open umbrella above and to the side of me, most of the rain missed me. By the time we arrived at the ‘Pandaw’, we were a pretty wet bunch but I think everybody entered into the spirit of the occasion. After a shower and a change of clothes, I felt fairly human again. Pictures of our trip are here.

The day concluded with cocktails, briefing for the next day and, this time, a ‘Rainforest Dinner’. This comprised a spicy wild fern salad with balsamic scallops and lemon grass followed by radish soup with fresh basil leaves. Each table was served with plates of all three main courses, allowing diners to mix-and-match. There was pan-fried fresh Dory river fish with lime gherkin sauce, grilled beef with calamansi chili sauce and steamed rice and, finally, baked chicken leg with steamed rice, pineapple and turmeric sauce. Dessert was advertised as Rainforest Sago Pudding. After a good dinner and good conversation, I was happy to retire at about 10.30 p.m.

Kapit

Onto the top deck for early morning tea about half past six today. At seven o'clock, the anchors were raised and we set off upstream to Kapit. There are a few pictures here. Quite a few people floated up to the top deck and there was a lot of discussion before we trooped downstairs for breakfast. After about two hours sailing we moored again, in sight of Kapit.

First view of Kapit as 'Pandaw' approaches the town

The fastest and noisiest vessels on the river are the Express Boats which roar up and down all day. We were told that we’d be using an express boat to transfer to the town and at about nine o’clock one of these improbable-looking vessels came alongside. These craft are long and thin, loooking something like an aircraft without wings. I’ve seen a similar design in use on the Yangtse River in China. We boarded through a hatch just behind the tiny cockpit. for the boat driver. The front cabin is first class and has ‘two plus two’ seating and, at the front, a modern plasma screen which can show videos. I didn’t get a chance to look at the second cabin which extends astern as far as the engine room. Since we were only going a few hundred yards to the new landing stage at Kapit, we didn’t get to experience the effect at speed with the engine screaming but, with journeys of around four hours non-stop common, it must be a bit wearing! There are a few pictures of Express Boats here.

Disembarking from the Express Boat at Kapit Landing Stage

We disembarked, in the rain, at the landing stage and walked along the waterfront, marvelling at the range of activities with goods coming off boats large and small at the various jetties. I saw a coffin standing at the edge on one pier whilst a group of men, in ordinary clothes, manoevred a wooden longboat into position. I wasn’t able to see them load the coffin, but it must have been a tricky operation.

A little further on, we came to another Brookes-era fort – Fort Sylvia, built in 1890 by Rajah Charles Brooke and now in use as a museum. These Forts were built to prevent the Iban tribe moving up-river and fighting the Orang Ulu people. There were some interesting artefacts on display and an interesting series of old photographs illustrating the complex history of the area.

Another short walk in the rain took us to a large, modern building a small part of which was in use as a town museum. There was another interesting display of artefacts used by the various communities, including Malay and the Chinese immigrants who did so much to develop commerce. There were a number of wall panels describing education, hospitals, civil works, electrification and other aspects of the infrastructure. Unfortunately, most of this information was made up twenty years ago and did not appear to have been updated since so it didn’t give an accurate idea of modern Kapit.

It was still raining as we made our way to the town centre and the modern market building where we split-up to explore the area on our own. The ground floor was the typical bewildering array of fish, meat, fruit and vegetables all sold from the ground on temporary pitches whilst the first floor had permanent stalls with shoes, clothes, fabrics and household goods. A number of coffee shops and shop units were located on the first floor. I noticed an insurance broker and a number of ladies’ hairdressers.

By this time, the rain had virtually stopped so I walked round the Chinese Temple next to the market hall and then I did a circuit of the town. In addition to all the shops, there were lots of offices and apartments, all fairly modern and, inevitably, built of reinforced concrete. It’s not the most elegant of building materials but its use has made possible the development of buildings of a size and convenience previously impossible, particularly in relatively un-developed areas. My pictures of Kapit are here.

We all met up at the landing stage at ten to twelve and re-boarded our Express Boat for the short journey back to Pandaw and lunch.

The trip was now getting more intensive and, at three oclock, we went ashore again on a different Express Boat. This time, a fleet of about eight minibuses had been provided for our journey by road to an Iban Long House. We drove, in convoy, out of the town on a road which was initially quite good but then the road surface became completely broken up and the buses were going from one side of the road to the other trying to find a reasonable track. After about half an hour, we spotted a long, wooden Longhouse nestling on a steep hillside and we pulled up in a compound surrounded by dilapidated wooden garages housing various cars and motor bikes. We were separated from the Longhouse by a river and the access was via a suspension bridge which I thought great fun. For those of a nervous disposition, a small detour led to a modern steel bridge which had been provided in connection with a project to build a completely new Longhouse. I am assured that Longhouses continue to be built because people like the community-style living.

Steep concrete steps led to the original Longhouse, raised above the ground on a forest of wooden poles. Wooden steps led up to ‘main street’, the open walkway between the two long wooden ‘sheds’ on either side forming the living and working accommodation. On entering, each visitor was invited to take a spoonful of beaten egg from the Chief’s son, who was in traditional dress, and deliberately pour it onto the ground as a ritual to bring fertility. This is an animist culture.

Inside, we passed a storage area for rice before being seated around a clear area with a number of musicians already playing gongs and a drum. Once we were all seated in the sweltering heat of the room, the dignified looking chief, in T-shirt and shorts, made a welcoming speech which Louis translated. Ritual offerings of food and salt were made ready and one of the visitors was asked to perform the ceremony under direction. The ritual finished with a live chicken being brought in and presented to the four cardinal directions. Blood sacrifice was supposed to follow but the chicken was certainly unharmed when it was carried out of the room. We were all presented with a small glass of rice wine for the traditional toast. The Chief’s son and, also in traditional attire, young grandson performed a traditional dance. One of the visitors gamely joined in at the end.

The Chief kindly invited us to visit his private quarters. The large living room was furnished with television, sound system, DVD player and satellite box but most noticeable was the photographs of family, family weddings and numerous official-looking certificates. Next was a storage area with four or five wardrobes, all of different designs, standing in a line. Partitions had been provided to make a couple of private rooms, which I surmised were for overnight foreign visitors. A spacious kitchen was provided with both bottle-gas cooking rings and a traditional wood fire cooking arrangement, a couple of washing machines and sinks. Out the back were a number of toilets with modern fittings which we were told connect to a septic tank.

Finally, we went to the weaving area where a number of the dark-haired ladies had laid out jewellery and weaving for purchase. Eventually, I bought a nice piece of weaving and asked the girl who sold it if it was her work. She pointed to an older lady who insisted it was the younger girl’s work. We then indulged in a bit of good-natured slapstick as I tried to fathom it. Louis was asked to clarify and he said ‘they both made it’. I took a picture of them both holding the weaving.

I rather think the older woman was teaching the younger one and that’s why there was confusion about who made it. It was a very instructive and enjoyable interlude and there are lots of pictures here. I was quite surprised when the Chief shook my hand on the way out. We returned to the waiting buses, running the gauntlet of numerous smiling children, and drove back to the landing stage at Kapit. The Express Boat returned us to ‘Pandaw’. Cocktails were available on the upper Deck but, instead, I elected to check e-mail and post my blog for Sunday! After a pleasant dinner with my American friends, I returned to my cabin to sort out my photographs and notes. Quite a day!

Kanowit

It was still dark when I went onto the top deck for early morning tea. A number of my new friends were up, enjoying the fresh, new day. We weighed anchor a few minutes after six and headed upstream, with a spotlight trained on the near bank to help the helmsman check his position. Very soon, it was light enough to make out our progress without the spotlight. By the time we’d taken breakfast, we were passing the small town of Kanowit where we turned sharp right to enter a tributary, the Kanowit River.

View on the Kanowit River

After cruising upstream for a while, we passed a Longhouse, either new or extensively modernised, providing homes for over eighty families. The helmsman then showed his expertise by performing a U-turn where the river was only slightly wider than ‘Pandaw’ is long (55 metres). Returning downstream seemed to involve a lot more steering changes and changes in engine speed, I presume because of the reduced effectiveness of the rudder when going with the flow. Pictures along the Kanowit River are here.

When we rejoined the main river at Kanowit, the helmsman turned the ship to face upstream and very gently drifted us alongside the concrete jetty. The water level wasn’t too convenient so the crew arranged steps from the main deck down to the lowest part of the landing stage, from where concrete steps led up to road level.

View of Kanowit from our mooring

We disembarked for a walking tour of the town. Since there were around fifty of us, we were divided into two groups – odd cabin numbers with our guide Louis and even cabin numbers (including mine, 314), with our guide Henry. We started at the Hock Ann Teng Chinese temple, next to the jetty, and then made our way up the main street. The locals don’t see many tourists, so we provided the Sunday morning free entertainment for the people shopping or sitting around in one of the many ‘Coffee Shops’.

I was upset by one sight. On the pavement outside a shop were two rat traps, each containing a frightened rat. Henry said the rats are destroyers, caught eating food stocks in shops. Because of this, it’s considered fair to leave them out in then sun to suffer for a time rather than despatch them humanely.

We carried on to a large wooden building which is the traveller’s lodge. This is a place where locals may overnight cheaply before continuing a long journey. The limited facilities are communal but it’s cheap.

The water treatment station stands on the top of a small hill overlooking the town. Water is pumped from the river to the plant where it is treated by Reverse Osmosis and stored in a large water tank for distribution to the town.

Near the river bank is Fort Emma, one of the wooden forts built during the Brooks period. Fort Emma was built of wood in 1859 and has survived quite well. There’s been some recent restoration and, when I ventured upstairs, I was amazed to see its new function – there’s a fully-equipped computer learning laboratory with swish new equipment! The young man in charge explained that the laboratory had only just been completed - all the chairs retained their polythene transport covering - and that it was not quite open yet. He’s right to be proud of a wonderful facility which will bring all sorts of skills to the local community.

My pictures of Kanowit are here.

By the time we reached the boat, the water level had risen so that we had to take off shoes and socks and paddle a couple of paces through river water a few inches deep to get to the ship's ladder! As soon as we were back on the boat, we set off upstream on the main Ragang river. Pictures of this part of the river are here.

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch in the restaurant and then, at 4.0 p.m., Louis gave an absorbing talk on the languages and customs of some of the tribes in Sarawak. A little later, we had a briefing on the next days activities.

At 7.30 p.m. we had the ‘Fusion Dinner’. The vegetable tempura was not, to my mind, a complete success - I use as a standard the marvellous tempura I had on Miyajima during my Japan trip. The cream of broccoli soup with fresh crab meat was wonderful. I then had the Honey Sake Fish with onion rice as the main course and enjoyed it, finishing off with a fruit salad and ice cream. So you see, we were not exactly starving.

The film ‘Farewell to the King’, set in Borneo, was later shown in the Lecture Room but I decided I was too tired to see it and, from what I heard the following morning, I missed nothing. Another very enjoyable day!

Sibu

Against expectation, I enjoyed my visit to Kuching. I thought a city with modern roads and tall buildings would put me off. Kuching certainly has those, but the old waterfront has been modernised in a fairly inoffensive way and manages to generate the right sort of ‘seaside effect’ on visitors. They’ve kept the old town which retains its human scale and bustles with all sorts of commercial activity. After breakfast, I wandered through the Old Town again taking in the sights. Because of the Chinese immigrant population, there are various Taoist temples. I looked at the Hiang Thian Siang Ti temple, first built around one hundred and fifty years ago, subsequently relocated once and renovated a number of times.

I was picked up on time for the next stage of my journey and we headed for the airport along congested dual carriageways. Kuching Airport has a modern, airy terminal and check-in and security was carried out with the minimum of fuss. Most of the gates are numbered but, for some reason, my flight was from gate ‘R’. When we finally boarded, I was impressed that the airline employee just stood by the exit to the tarmac and said in a soft voice ‘Sibu'. It was a pleasant change from the usual loud but often unintelligible announcements over public address accompanied by ‘ding-dongs'.

For this leg, I was booked with the Malaysia Airlines subsidiary MASwings. They've re-equipped with modern turbo-prop aircraft and 9M-MWG was gleaming in the sun. No doubt there’s more information on the MASwings Website. We look off on time from the single runway 25/07 and in less than an hour were landing at Sibu. The cabin crew just had time to give us a small cake and a pot of guava juice. On arrival, my luggage arrived promptly and I was then faced with the problem that I was responsible for getting to the Pandaw jetty in Sibu. There were a number of Europeans on the flight who looked likely candidates for the Pandaw Cruise and one lady, actually from New York I discovered, asked if I was for 'Pandaw'. Because there were different packages, their little group were being collected and I was able to arrange to accompany them in their minibus to the boat.

The covered market in Sibu

Sibu is a fairly modern town with greying reinforced comcrete buildings of the utilitarian style we’re all too familiar with. The waterfront in the town has a series of scruffy looking jetties and building work is going on to build new quays or renovate old ones. I immediately recognised the distictive shape of my home for the next few days ‘Pandaw’ or, to accord her the full name the R.V. 'Orient Pandaw'. We were greeted by various members of the crew and before long I was reunited with my luggage in cabin 314 on the starboard side. My pictures of 'Pandaw'.

A number of the passengers had arrived earlier in the day and had been taken on a walking tour around the town. Some of my new friends who'd flown in on the same aircraft said they were going for a quick walk before we cast off, so I joined them. The grim-looking multi-storey car park was home, on the ground floor, to a large market which we toured. There was debate about whether to check-out the nearby Chinese temple but it was very overcast and starting to rain so my friends returned to the boat. However, as you would expect, I went to look at the temple before making my way back to 'Pandaw'. Pictures of Sibu. The rain was getting worse and one of the crew (I afterwards discovered it was the concerned Captain!) came running towards me with a spare umbrella. We were offered welcoming cocktails but I elected for an orange juice. Later, we had a briefing on the schedule for Sunday and then dinner as the boat made its way upstream to the mid-river overnight mooring - pictures are here. I joined a jolly group of six Americans for dinner (Mike was from Las Vegas, the others from Salt Lake City). The meal was over by 9.30 p.m. and, already exhausted, I retired early having turned off the air conditioning in my cabin.

Bako National Park

When I got up this morning it was raining. Whilst I was having my breakfast, it was raining. When I was picked up by today’s guide in a Mercedes, it was raining. So I wasn’t sure it was the right day to visit Bako National Park.

Jan at Bako National Park

Kuching is situated on the River Sarawak which meanders generally northwards to reach the South China Sea about half an hour’s drive north of Kuching. The west bank of the river forms one side of the Bako Peninsula, a smaller river defines the west side of the peninsula. In 1957 the whole peninsula was made a National Park. We turned left to reach Kampung Bako, a fairly typical Malay village with a modern terminal building run by the Forestry Department. The terminal has a boat jetty on the smaller river. After a little delay, we were met by another CPH guide with his clients – two young European men. We made our way to the jetty and boarded our boat – a small fibreglass craft to carry about eight with a 40 h.p. outboard. Having donned lifejackets, the boatman took us downstream, past a number of odd wooden frames across part of the river which I understand are used to support the nets needed for prawn fishing. It was still raining hard and, since I was on my own in the front seat for balance, I received plenty of water full-face, particularly when we neared the sea and crossed the incoming waves.

The park headquarters is situated in the north-west part of the peninsula, facing the sea across a wide sandy shore on which our boat was beached. When the tide is high, there’s a jetty that can be used but at low tide, you take your shoes and socks off and climb over the side into the shallow water. There were a number of similar small boats coming and going and, once we'd crossed the beach, lashed by the rain, we found quite a few people at the solitary café. There are chalets nearby where you can stay overnight but most people come for a day visit. Almost immediately, we spotted the bearded pigs, looking for food round the back of the kitchens. We also saw a couple of small vipers, sleeping on leaves during the day.

There’s a variety of trails you can take so my guide chose a fairly simple one and we set off across the beach through a mangrove forest which is out of the water at low tide. We then turned into the jungle and followed the track. The rain eased and eventually stopped. By the time we got back to the park headquarters, I’d seen some fascinating sights and the weather was just right for walking. I was given a simple but delicious packed lunch, like yesterday, and I found the walking had given me an appetite. We'd seen six proboscis monkeys on the trail but, back at headquarters, we had even better sightings of other proboscis monkeys. At two p.m. we met up with the other guide and his two young men, boarded our boat and were brought back to the jetty at the Terminal. Here, we picked up the car and my guide returned me to the Hilton, damp but happy.

My pictures of Bako National Park.

They serve afternoon tea with light snacks in the Executive Lounge at the Hilton so I availed myself of this whilst doing some work on the hotel's computer. I’d seen the fairly large trip boat moored on the waterfront a little upstream of the hotel. It's called the M.V. 'Equatorial' and gives river cruises - I'd wondered whether to try it. After a bit of internal debate, I walked to the jetty, bought a ticket, and embarked about five minutes before it left for the 'Sunset Cruise'. It was an excellent trip, first going upstream for about 15 minutes before turning round and cruising downstream for about forty five minutes. We passed numerous business-like looking deep sea fishing boats, the Customs fleet and various sundry vessels, finally turning round opposite a couple of rather grand houses which are the homes of government ministers.

Dancers pose for photographs with a group of passengers during our return journey

On the way back, we were entertained by traditional dances performed by members of the crew. We arrived back at the jetty in the dark at about seven p.m. Pictures taken on the cruise.

Tomorrow afternoon - Saturday - I take a short flight north east to Sibu, Sarawak’s second largest city. Sibu lies about 60km from the estuary of the river Rajang. At Sibu, I will join a river cruise on the R.V. 'Orient Pandaw'. We’ll be sailing up the river Rajang visiting places like Kapit and Song. It’s unlikely that I’ll be in touch during this period so it may be the 28th before I’m back on line.

Around Kuching

The Astana in Kuching, built as the home of the 'White Rajahs'.

Very unusually, I had trouble sleeping on Wednesday night. My left arm has been giving me some trouble since I fell down walking the dog in our very cold weather. Before I could fall asleep, the arm would start playing up, so I paid for some computer time for my Notebook connected to the hotel’s physical network and started uploading pictures and answering e-mails. I got up at six again, so as to be in the Executive Lounge where they serve breakfast. Alternately, I could’ve gone downstairs to the Coffee Shop but the Executive Lounge on the twelfth floor gave me what I wanted plus a view of the Sarawak River waking up.

First, a little history. John Brooke was another of those English adventurer types. He was invited into Sarawak by the local Rajah to assist in quelling a spot of bother the Sultan of Brunei was having. To paraphrase an old T.V. advert, he liked Sarawak so much, he bought the country and started a hundred year rule by White Rajahs. During Japan’s expansionist phase, the Japanese occupied Sarawak and the White Rajah at the time needed the help of the British government to force the Japanese to surrender. So, after WWII, the country became British with a Governor-General living in the Astana, the fairly grand house facing old Kuching from across the river. By the 1960s, Britain was committed to giving most of its former Empire independence and Sarawak became a State in the Federation of Malaysia. Malaysia, like Indonesia, is predominently Muslim. But, just as Bali is the exceptikon in Indonesia, so Sarawak is the exception in Malaysia, with 29% Christian – both Catholic and non-Catholic, 26% Muslim and 19% Buddhist, Taoist or Hindu. That leaves about 30% as none of the above. I’m assured that all these faiths co-exist without problems – certainly I saw no overt signs of tension. The Taoist contingent comes from the significant Chinese population. In Sarawak, as in other countries where they’ve settled, the Chinese characteristics of industry and single-mindedness have left them in control of significant areas of commerce.

Shortly after eight my guide, also the driver, arrived in a Mercedes and we set off for the thirty minute drive to the Semenggok Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. Orang-utans are now protected in Malaysia, but not before a number of these noble creatures had been kept in captivity. At Semenggok, the rehabilitated orang-utans roam freely in the rain forest, often returning to at meal times. A successful breeding programme means that there’s a chance of seeing mother and baby together. About a hundred visitors trooped through the forest on prepared footpaths to watch food being left out and the rangers calling the creatures by name. At one spot, one of the females came with her youngster of a few years for food. They remained thirty of forty feet away from us but sixteen feet is regarded as the minimum separation as they can be violent. It’s quite odd when the only physical barrier is a rope barrier at the side of the track to keep the humans out! By the ranger’s office, there was another female with her one year old baby. In this case, they were much closer to us. There was no sign of the dominant male called Ritchie. As we left the forest, my guide pointed out some of the more interesting plant species, like the Sensitive plant and two varieties of Pitcher plant. Pictures at Semenggok.

We drove further along the main road which eventually leads to Brunei and Sabah, turning right onto the road which eventually leads to Indonesia. We parked at the village of Anan Rais. This is a village of Bidayuh people – Land Dyaks. They live in three Longhouses but these are not quite like the South Sea Island version I imagined. Think of a street raised about ten feet above the ground on wooden poles and framing held together with coachbolts where the ‘paving’ is two sets of split bamboo, one laid in one direction, the other set at right angles, all tied togther and none too secure. Now erect a series of wooden sheds on either side of the street where each single room represents the living space for one family. Now, just like a British housing estate, let individuals make alterations to their property. Some people are happy with the basic dilapidated garden shed, some spend money putting on a modern fascia. In the street and in the buildings add cooking hearths burning dried bamboo and a few sinks. Add standpipes for water which stick upwards through the floor every so often and install electricity. This is something like the impression I got. The Government are paying to keep the Bidayuh traditional rice-growing economy going and encourage them to explain it to tourists. They make various beadwork and blow pipes to sell. In one meeting room there is the barrel of an ancient Dutch cannon and, casually displayed in a wire mesh drum with a hinging mesh lid secured with two padlocks, a pile of human skulls. Pictures of the Long Houses at Anan Rais. We completed our tour, had a snack lunch and drove back to Kuching where I said goodbye to today’s guide.

A little later, I took a walk round the old part of the town, near the river. My pictures of Kuching. It was very hot and on my return I decided to spend the rest of the evening uploading pictures and writing this post.