Perhaps it is of interest how we came by the idea to visit Sarawak. I guess the main reason was that Roseanne Beck, for many years a close friend and neighbour and party hostess from Southerndown Avenue, Mayals was temporarily living there. She had emigrated to Australia several years earlier with husband Peter Beck, but they had split up and she went to Bintulu with her new husband Craig Hughes, a civil engineer, who was starting work on a huge new plant to extract, process and export Natural Gas. (Nearby Brunei was already a major Oil State).
Joan was working as nursing sister at the Old Vicarage Nursing Home in Sketty. She explained her holiday plans to stroke patient Sheila Lockhead and met with an unexpected enthusiasm. I think Joan already knew that Sheila was the youngest daughter of Ramsay MacDonald, Labour's first UK Prime Minister, and had spent part of her childhood in 10 Downing Street.
She now learned from Sheila's husband Andrew Lockhead that her older brother Malcolm MacDonald had been High commissioner for Malaya and British Borneo during 1947 and 1948, having previously held the same post in Canada for six years. Moreover (Lord) Lockhead who was teaching at Swansea University wrote asking us to contact and pass on information about Sheila to several old friends in Sarawak, and advising us to get the book 'Borneo People' written by Malcolm MacDonald, published in 1956. It was a study of some of the largest tribes in Sarawak including Iban, Kayan and Kenyah.
Sheila was the victim of a stroke which occurred a year earlier whilst on her way to give a lecture at a conference on prison visiting, a major interest. Extremely intelligent and very public spirited she was extremely frustrated by the lack of quality left in her life. Inside our copy of the Borneo People are stored short letters from Lockhead and Roseanne.
Wikipedia says "The Kingdom of Sarawak was a state in Borneo established by Sir James Brooke in 1841 by receiving independent kingdom status from the Sultanate of Brunei as a reward for helping fight piracy and insurgency. Its statehood and identity as a sovereign country was first recognised by the United States in 1850 and then the United Kingdom in 1863." It later became a British Protectorate.
Sunday 29 August 1993 KUCHING and SIBU, SARAWAK
We arrived in Kutching after the 11.5 hours flight to meet a midnight sky bright with firework displays. A taxi around the city found all accommodation overcrowded with absolutely no vacancies so we returned to the airport. We had unknowingly arrived the very start of 30 August 1993, The 30th Anniversary of Malaya's Independence from the British on 30th September 1963.
peanuts coated in coconut and cucumber) in the restaurant. Two mysteries were solved, explaining why the fight to Kuching via KL (Kuala Lumpar) had been appreciably cheaper than the much shorter one to KL alone, and why Roseanne had been unable to book hotels several months earlier.
Kuching Monday 30 August 1993
A taxi for 10$ ( prices thoughout are in Malaysian dollars at £1 = 4.8$M) took us towards the city centre until prevented from progressing by streets crowded with pedestrians. It was obvious where to go so we followed the crowds to the huge crowd around the main parade ground. The few who had been perceptive enough to bring seats to stand on seemed likely to be the only ones with a view. Seeking a vacated spot between the two main viewing areas we sat on our rucksacks.
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| WAITING FOR THE PROCESSION TO COMMENCE |
Within seconds a Malaysian girl came and asked to take our photo. Walking around in search of a better location I noticed the same girl girl had rejoined Joan and asked her to accompany them to watch the procession, but as usual I explored too deeply and she had moved on by the time I returned - pity, a good opportunity for contact lost.
The long procession was a military style affair of groups in fancy costumes representing each of States of Malaysia including just one from Sarawak - clearly the best with a complete mixture of races in tribal costume. There was a group of each major enterprise, banks like MDLBK (Midland ?), Esso in yellow and black tiger stripes, boy scouts, women's groups etc. The procession took 2 hours to pass.
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| ESSO's advertisement of the day "PUT A TIGER IN YOUR TANK" |
Following which we spent 45 minutes in the extreme heat of midday looking for a taxi to take us to the seaside wharf where we hoped to find a boat to Sibu, fearing that otherwise we would be unable to find a bed.
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| SIBU's WATER FRONT AND PAGODA |
We were just in time for the last sea going express boat, 38$M for First Class in very cold air con. It was a bullet shaped double decker packed with about 200 passengers which went like a bomb for four hours.
A very friendly policeman explained where to find the hotels and then followed us to make sure we took the correct turns. Lockhead had recommended the REX Hotel. I didn't like the look of it, the second culture shock, with no real foyer and a narrow winding staircase approach to the bedrooms. We went instead to the nearby New World Hotel where a nice a/c room with twin beds cost 30$. After a shower and change we went in search of the night market, 75% of which sold clothes with two areas cooking food, but unlike Thailand the food was only for take-away. As usual we chose the fuller (most popular) of just two nearby restaurants where we had the tastiest noodles ever and a large glass of tea for just 3.4$M (£1 for two). As we walked back through the market we bought freshly made pancake of peanuts to help swallow our malaria tablets. At some stage later we traveled without such tablets which invariably spoiled my breakfast by making me feel sick. Not surprisingly we slept until 10.30 the following day.
SONG and OUR FIRST LONGHOUSE STAY
A quick breakfast of noodle soup and then off to find the boats up river. It was a different quay to that serving the sea route to Kuching with a choice of destinations indicated on boards with times shown on clock faces, indicative of lack of literacy. We boarded the one to Kapit which would stop en-route at our destination Song.
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| Sibu to Song, note the ever present noisy Video |
Tickets were purchased on board and cost 12$ each. This river boat was similar to yesterday's but much smaller, the general term is Torpedo Boats, an apt description of shape and speed made possible by following the deepest track of the river. We were beginning to understand the popular way of travel was by boat, and later realised there were but a few roads close to the coast.
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| Walking First of Many Planks |
On the other side was a two storey building. The ground floor being completely open was full of market stalls selling fresh fish and vegetables. The first floor open to the street on one side and the river on the other was a Malay restaurant and two Chinese ones. All gleaned from a friendly Iban.
We had come down from our room with the intention of ringing Roseanne from the phones on the opposite side of the street, when it started to pour. (A good job Joan had purchased us a pair of umbrellas in Sibu. for even passing cyclists and a scooter drivers were using them, one hand for steering, the other for holding an umbrella. We at that stage had never witnessed a tropical downpours and dismissed any intention of the phone call. Two hours later it was still pouring and the locals, used to living virtually on the equator were obviously feeling the cold.
Our Iban friend used to be a teacher of English, hence his fluency with the language, though his accent was hard to follow. Nevertheless we learned a great deal in a very good humoured style. He had worked for The Department of Information in Song but was now a private businessman. He spoke with great bitterness of the Japanese occupiers in the second world war who had treated them as animals, beat them and ate all the available food leaving the locals to starve. The Ibans formed a resistance and fought back with their blowpipes, but lots of people were killed in revenge attacks.
Another Iban, tattooed all over in traditional style, collecting tattoos as memoirs of their head hunting travels around Sarawak. Tattoos on the back of the hand were special since each one marked a man beheaded in the days of head hunting. We learned of Kiban fruit which was now exported to make lipstick yellow, originally used as oil because it could be kept a long time before going rancid. The various tribes in Monday's Independence celebration had previously been at war with each other and James Brooke was remembered as the man who when needed used force to get peace and so it remains to this day. Head hunting is a past era.
The thick vertical rain was now being blown by a strong window so we went into the hotel, where the hotel owner (a woman) agreed to organise an overnight stay in a longhouse for only a few dollars. Our Iban hoped we would enjoy their food but clearly thought that unlikely. He had recently been on a visit to Australia with a cousin whose son was being educated in Melbourne, they had hired a car and drove for miles and been continually amazed by the cleanliness of a country where they hosed the streets on a daily basis. Joan countered by remarking on the lovely state of the foreshore much being verdant and the neat children's play grounds full of plastic equipment.
When the rain eventually stopped we telephoned Roseanne who was surprised to hear as she had given us up for dead. We did agree to get to Bintulu for Saturday night, as Sunday was Craig's day off.
The food in the Malaysian restaurant was OK neither very different or especially tasty, but I was introduced to the local ABC drink lychees, corn jelly, water, milk and syrup, a sort of lychee milk shake - but with whole lychees to eat as well.
I didn't sleep well for insect bites, a swollen cheek, and concern about how uncomfortable the longhouse might be. Since living for years of Canadian summers I had an ingrained fear of blood letting black flies and torture by mosquitoes, which had even ruined our honeymoon - but that was an otherwise wonderful hideaway in the Catskills in NY State!
Noodle soup again for breakfast, it was obviously becoming a habit! Then to the general store to buy gifts appropriate for the longhouse, for no financial transaction was involved for their hospitality. It was run by a Chinese family who had lived in Sarawak for several generations, unfortunately I made no record of exactly what we took on their advice - though I believe it was essentially food including, jam, several types of packaged biscuits and three bottles of Chinese whisky. Noting that my spectacles were continually falling down in the sweaty humidity she strung together several small elastic bands to produce a neck tie, which were in service for the rest of the trip.
It was perhaps the first time we became aware of the Chinese immigrant influence across Asia - not apparent on previous trips to Nepal and northern Thailand. It was a clear indication that migrants were by nature enterprising people who arrived in poverty determined to progress, frequently rising to important positions in their new community. (I remember telling our Chinese student friend 'Michael' Zhong years later that we had come to think of the Chinese as the Jews of Asia). The extent to which they valued education was obvious for they had a son now studying medicine in Dundee even though the fees £10,000 a year (1993), a unbelievably huge expense and single mindedness for a village shopkeeper. Her brother had qualified in Glasgow and now practiced as a doctor in Sibu.
FIRST LONGHOUSE STAY
At 10.30 we were taken to an already full boat going up the Kantibas. I amused the crowd by cracking my head on one of the joists holding the steel roof in position, a six foot man is taller than most in this country, the roof was so low I couldn't even sit upright - talk about shortage of legroom! The boat was fast, the whole thing vibrated making a deafening noise, in strong contrast to the peaceful river, Joan was happy continually pointing out different species of bird. Steering at such speed was a skill designed to test fears, aiming between rocks and huge sawn logs, the most dangerous being those hard to see, ones semi submerged from long immersion, all presumably stragglers from controlled descent by loggers.
The river gradually narrowed and the stops became more frequent, then into a tributary and the final stop on the left hand bank almost under a new unexpected suspension bridge joining the two halves of Kantibas. Our destination was a 10 year old Bankit longhouse with 40 adjoining rooms which had been completely rebuilt on the traditional site. It was supported by stilts leaving more than headroom below the ground floor.
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| KANTIBAS LONG HOUSE |
Out then onto the shared area of verandah or corridor to sit on floor mats.The Chief's room was central with around twenty rooms to the left and the right. Finally were able to relax a little and get a feel of the community Nearby a group of men were sharing one of the bottles we had brought, but there were sat in family groups outside their doors.
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| EARLY EVENING IN THE LONG HOUSE |
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| Playing finger games learnt from the Raleigh Operation "Here's the church and here's the steeple and the people" |
We learned that the longhouse was entirely Christian, which meant less alcohol - though it clearly did not mean prohibition. Two years previously they had housed an Operation Raleigh group of English students who had come to build the suspension bridge.. On the other side of the river was a new Government Complex with health clinic and an agricultural establishment instructing on the cultivation of hill rice, peppers, cocoa, coffee and rubber. There was a primary school for children between 6 or 7 and 13, but for secondary education they had to go to Song - returning home just once a month.
After a walk round we were beginning to feel at ease with the very calm friendly nature of longhouse society though conversation was sparse for lack of language, though the dictionary of a few pages of Iban words in the Lonely Planet was a great help. (In those days the LPs were slim but full of vital information for the travellor off the beaten track). A lad showed me his very hot sick baby who he planned to take to a doctor in Kapit the following day, for the present they were keeping her cool with a wet flannel on her head whilst being rocked in a hammock by her mum. Joan made friends the little girls teaching them to sing 'Half a pound of tuppenny rice..' Anna was especially bright and soon leading us out to the bridge and counting the steps one be jee, two bejee, three be jee etc. The boys had English names James, William and John being popular
We were asked to sign the visitor's book and noted that an english couple had stayed there two weeks ago, the only other european visitors this year to September were Dutch, but lots of Malays commonly Iban from Kuching, Song and Sibu. Scanning further back until 91 and Operation Raleigh, the leaders being a Civil Engineer and a Doctor with many other adventurers mainly from England. There was a bunch of entries from Nepal saying it was good to be back after 27 years, apparently a battalion of these Gurkhas had fought against Indonesia in less peaceful times after the Second World War. The only other English entry I noted was following a visit from a TV Editor, was there a program about the Raleigh project?
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| Bridge Built by Raleigh Operation to connect with the agricultural school |
In the Chief's house was a big sitting room with lots of armchairs (seldom used by the younger generation) and cupboards full of decorative ceremonial blankets. Lots of sporting trophies were on view mainly for athletics. We had eaten in the middle room next was the kitchen then a wash room with slats in the floor though which one peed, I would not have known but I surprised a woman squatting. I did not discover the toilet in an outhouse until shortly before leaving, long after we had relieved ourselves on the river bank under the house, there was Ty Bach for each of the 40 rooms. The Chief's outhouse included a diesel generator providing light in the evening and TV, some others had electricity but most light was provided by oil lamps.
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| SELF TENSIONED HAND LOOM |
We new we should have stayed longer but that is the problem with limits on a backpacking voyage of exploration in a chance in a lifetime such enthralling territory. We had just agreed a deadline with Roseanne.
We had coffee, biscuits and whisky before bed on a mezzanine floor on which a double mattress had been rolled out with a bolster down the middle to keep us apart, the cotton sheets seemed European. The chief and his wife slept on thinner blankets directly on the floor. At 5am before daylight I was awoken by the chief unlocking the door, doubtless off to do his business. We were to catch the Chinese boat at 5.45, so after a rushed coffee we were gathered our things by torch light and hurried down to the now full long-tailed boat boat but with two seats saved for us.
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| Setting out for Song in the dark |
It was still totally dark so the navigator sat in the bow with a miners lamp to the front a torch bulb behind and a car battery on to of his head pointing steering directions with his lit cigarette in outstretched hands to the driver at the back of the boat. The passengers were all smartly dressed, some off to work in Song, some perhaps teachers going to school others off to the doctor as we have seen.
It was one of the most magical experiences of our lives, when that is forgotten it will be time to go regardless of physical health, really! A Chinese crew and Iban passengers in an open boat, darkness and then dawn on a fast flowing river, much larger covered boats overtaking and chasing smaller ones, some being paddled. There were a few stops but mostly we were all headed for Song. At the first stop Joan was urging me to take photograph with flash for it was still dark, Everyone cried out with astonishment and a baby cried more from the shout than the flash, but that made me feel guilty. I repeated the exercise other times on the trip, we have an enlargement and I hope to be able to digitise the original 35mm film.
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| FIRST STOP |
KAPIT
We breakfasted at the Capital restaurant in Song along with some other passengers, had a shower at the hotel and just missed the boat to Kapit but again got into engaging conversation with Ibans, this time a group of men off to hunt wild boar, they two were off to Kapit where they would venture into the jungle interior following logging roads. They intended to sell some of their catch in Kapit and bring the rest home. Iban is almost a moneyless society where nuts or meat are traded for sugar, rice and flour, hence the non payment for the overnight stay in the longhouse. It was pouring again, and were soaked by the time we were boarding the boat via the steeply downhill wooden plank. Two hours later we were in Kapit.
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| PAPAYA TREE |
Approached by an Iban with fluent English as we were about to enter the hotel Ark in search of a room, we instead followed him to the Rejang where he offered a good downstairs room with shower for 30$, the going rate was obviously £6. Donald was very interesting, he had been taught English by someone from Bristol just three years ago. Then he started a company running tours for 120$/day for 2 people dropping to 60$/day for 10 people. The idea had come from a friend Julian who had brought a group from Brunei.
He suggested we make contact for next year and suggested the best time was the dry season in June and July, the group travel by long boat and 1-3 hour treks into the jungle, obviously camping with food and cooking equipment so as to avoid the usual Iban food of worms, frogs, tree slugs, snakes eaten in a bloody sauce. Special leaves are burned on the camp fire to scare off mosquitoes, though he emphasised that the malarial type were mainly found in Kuching and Sibu. Sounded too good to miss!! He was an enthusiast of the hunting and fishing way of life.
PUA KUMBU and CHANCE MEETINGS
with Lockhead's contacts George Segei and Edric Ong
Joan phoned one of the contacts George Segei leaving a message with our hotel room and inviting a return call, little did we know that we would meet by chance that afternoon. Into town for an iced coffee and the off in search of Fort Sylvia, up a hill overlooking the towns fine new government buildings, school and hospital and into conversation with a policeman also watching the football match below. In fluent English he advised us to go to Regate but since the inland was out of bounds for tourists explained how to get a permit. His children were studying in the USA, one taking a Ph.D in engineering at the University of California. He was separated from his family and was currently posted to Kapit though longing to get back to Kuching where there was far more to do.
Back in town we searched for the Antiques and Craft shop recommended in the LP, on showing interest in Iban weaving from longhouses he, with no thought for his own business, directed us to a special exhibition in a local hall taking place that very afternoon. We were met by a very pleasant young woman offered to tell us about the huge competitive exhibition, in a large hall full of Pua Kumbu (Ikat) carpets some very large and some precious heirlooms, when we noticed a very suave man sitting on the floor surrounded by Iban women with carpets. He was inspecting their carpets not for tomorrows competition but with a view to purchase, she said he was a very knowledgeable Malaysian authority who knew more about Ikat than the women who made it.
Another blanket he particularly liked and was intending to buy was bigger and more intricate with a distinctive colouring from tobacco was 100$, but Joan was uncertain what she would do with it at home and I was concerned how we would carry it. Looking back we should have bought far more and shipped them back because there was no doubt as to their quality, if so we might be wealthy and knowledgeable importers!
He said he was an architect but this was, together with our girl guide, a labour of love for both were encouraging weaving by traditional methods. The penny dropped, he was Edric Ong. the author of the sections on Longhouse Living and Pua Kumbu in the Periplus guidebook to Malaysia and Brunei that Joan was carrying. What did not occur to us at the time that he was one of Lockhead's contacts, so we did not make ourselves known. We later discovered his up market shop Fabrico in Kuching. He said he was not the Ong who did Batik painting but was related, a brother I think and gave us a card and telephone contact that we later followed up.
As we were about to leave an Iban started to talk to us about the designs, the dyes, and the amount of work involved - several months for the large ones - and asked where we were staying - The Rejang. Immediately his wife remembered our the morning call leaving a message about Sheila Lockhead, by strange coincidence this was George Segei and his wife (Eban or Daisy?). There were perhaps 20 people in this hall preparing for tomorrows competition, which itself was not even advertised for tourists, most of them were the group of Iban women selling their wares, and we had connected with three of them via Sheila Lockhead, Joan's patient in the Old Vicarage, Sketty.
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| An Random Meeting with the couple we had come to see, George Segei and Wife |
As we walked back to the Rejang hotel Joan said "I am a happy girl", happy with her blanket. Delighted with the explanation of the design given through Edric Ong, serpents being protected by water and given food to keep them happy. what a run of coincidences. We agreed this holiday was running like clockwork. Such a shame we had to move on to meet our date with a beautiful woman.
That evening we sussed out the two restaurants that had been recommended and liked the look of neither. We settled one absolutely full of locals selling the best Chinese food we had ever eaten comprising venison with ginger and garlic, steamed fish and green vegetables and doubtless a desert. It cost a fortune by standards to date (often just 50p per head). This one was 16.20$ sat £2.50 each.
CHINESE LESSONS IN SIBU
A two hour return boat journey got us to Sibu on the coast and we soon located the bus to Bintulu in the busy central market but with time to spare went to investigate the impressive Chinese 'Eng Ann Teng' Pagoda and were soon in earnest conversation with a monk who clearly welcomed the opportunity to explain Chinese culture in English. The temple was first as wooden in 1870 and rebuilt in traditional Chinese style with stone blocked floor and tiled roof including a statue of the god Tua Peh Kong. It was largely destroyed by Japanese action in 1942 but rebuilt in 1957 with the later addition of a Pagoda to the Goddess of Mercy at the expense of the state in 1989.
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| Note the three legged vase |
He explained the Chinese names being primarily in three parts using the name of the well known emperor in BC 551 as an example thus in Chinese it is Con fu cious or Chou En Lai (family name, name in genealogical tree, and position born - eg first) showing the precise family heredity mother, father, son (conventionally in red implying reincarnation). Each family keep a book tracing the names through each generation, enabling family members to recognise relationships across the world.
Yin as referring to mother, moon or silver
Yen (Yang?) as referring to father, sun or gold
He gave us lots of notes which at the time - and still, were difficult to comprehend, not helped by over enthusiasm, though today with my later knowledge of Mandarin I can recognise the reference to the numbers 1-4 as ee, er, san, si in pinyin.
Single digit numbers are designated as 'lucky' eg 3, or 'unlucky' eg 4 (which implies death), so it was not by chance that all the tables in the temple had three legs (guaranteeing stability) rather than four.
BINTULU, ROSEANNE, now ROSE and CRAIG
Suddenly we realised it was departure time for the bus to Bintulu and dashed out to race with heavy rucksacks weaving in and out of the market crowds perhaps 100 yards.
Today we have insufficient breath to run even a few steps, the big downside of which that it makes you far more prone to thieving snatches, though our bad experiences have been limited to Central and South America. So far Southern Asia, China, India, Indonesia and Nepal after many months of traveling have been trouble free.
Although advised by Roseanne to fly we travelled by bus and called her by phone on arrival. That evening with Roseanne and Craig, and Terry, originally from Yorkshire now living in Sydney, we went to a Chinese restaurant and then onto a nightspot where attractive Philipino girls in tight skirts were wiggling their asses whilst singing disco songs. We all drank far too much. Craig was quiet and Roseanne admitted to having been there most of that afternoon, but Terry's formidable northern humour was non-stop. The club was full of contractors from the natural gas construction site, some Dutch but mostly Iban. They dropped us off at the house Brendan and Barbara had offered to lend us whilst they were home. The next day we went to the local sports club to swim in the pool with Roseanne and Craig and talked freely in such pleasant surroundings, the pool the tennis courts and the attractive gardens all seen from the shade of an open patio. The construction site was little different to those on which I had spent years in Canada.
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| Roseanne, Brian and Craig on Beach at Bintulu |
We discussed politics and both agreed Malaysia seemed to be led well, we had all seen the BBC programme featuring Malaysian politics and he remarked on the lack of subtitles on Malayan TV during discussions on civil rights and the use of severe penalties including death. Neither was too fond of Australia but expected to go back at some stage because of family ties, though Europe and the UK in particular was a greater attraction. We finished the afternoon with a cool stroll on the beach before going to the Plaza Hotel for dinner. Joan and I had a very pleasant day lots of chat but the day was alcohol free apart from a Gin and Tonic before dinner.
NIAH CAVES, 6 Sept 1993
Time to rearrange our holiday, so we switched our Kuching to KL flight from 9 Sept to 18 Sept (later 21 Sept) in order spent the whole of our holiday in Sarawak. At the same time we booked 2 night 3 day trip with Tropical Travel (860$M) at Roseanne's recommendation including flights by small plane between Miri and Mulu. Then on to get tickets for the afternoon bus to Niah for 2pm.
On arrival we booked into a wooden guest house, choosing the chalet (30$) rather than dormitory (3$) with verandah overlooking the river which led to Niah caves. Two English boys had spent 5 weeks in Malaya and were starting another five in Sarawak. They spoke particularly of being taken for free to a 70 year old guesthouse near Kapit, an experience they obviously loved, there was no doubt they preferred Sarawak to peninsula Malaya.
At Niah we chose a chalet at 30$ over the dormitory at 3$, in fact we had four beds in two bedrooms, it would be good value for a family or two couples. The generator had broken down so we manage with oil lamps. There was a powerful but smokey gas ring, so I had to clean a greasy black coating on pan and kettle the next day. The attraction for Joan was being on the same side of the river as the footpath to Niah caves, so we could easily get there at first light tomorrow. But we decided to walk there that afternoon, there was a strong wooden raised walkway for the first 3km, then a pathway. We were very hot on arrival at 5pm.
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| Rain Forest Trees are really tall |
At dusk we expected to see swallows swirling outside preparing to come back in and equally to see the bat depart, but it wasn't quite like that. At around 6pm a steady stream of swallows started to enter but it was 6.50 and almost dark before they had finished and the bats had started to leave.
We walked back to our chalet using torches, an enchanting experience in itself, but having been alerted by a young Anglo/Irish couple found luminous mushrooms as well as fireflies and a great deal of lichen on old decaying branches. Otherwise the plants we saw no trace of wild life. Parched and exhausted we quenched our throats with a few cans of beer and soya milk and ate a huge packet of cream crackers from the camp's shop. In fact we could have eaten there but had brought food from Bintulu. Next year there will be 24 more chalets and perhaps another Visit Malaysia campaign, the last being in 1990/1.
7 Sept
Up at 5.15am walking in the dark going through the whole cave system on the wooden walkway, able to make out only the cave entrances without using the torch. It was precarious because of the wet wood and moss, but exciting to see the painted cave though direct entry was barred by barbed wire we wriggled in through the wooden barriers.
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| ANCIENT CAVE PAINTINGS nearby NIAH CAVES |
On our way back after a long stay and exploration of the caves we saw plenty of wildlife, a troupe of small monkeys playing and squabbling not far from the path, Joan twice spotted a very small squirrel only 2-3 inches long including tail and several rather larger ones later. Back at the chalet we gulped the rest of the bottle of water we had so stupidly left behind and breakfasted off a packet of noodles in chicken stock with corned beef - true campers style. At midday we paid the boatman 10$ to take us back to town where we bargained with a taxi driver from Miri anxious for any return fare for 10$ each - normally 60-100$. We went past the Lambir National Park just outside Miri then he dropped us at the taxi rank in the Chinese quarter.
We located the Raja Inn where the travel operator would pick us up tomorrow morning, it took us a long time in the heat Jalan Raja being a long main road but eventually found the Inn thanks to a helpful tour office who pointed to Jalan Sieta Raja which ran at right angles to the main drag. We booked in and lay exhausted on the bed watching TV. The tour operator phoned to say he would meet us at 7.20 for the plane. Walking round Miri later was not very inspiring, in the market hall we located two food stalls, the Chinese one was popular but we chose the Malay/Iban one instead - a big mistake pre-cooked vegetable dishes. Next door soup and duck on green leaves looked great but the iced coffee made up for our disappointment.
MULU CAVES
We were collected from Raja Inn by the tour operator Tropical Adventure Miri and picked up what seemed a withdrawn unfriendly man from the Holiday Inn. Ralph was a travel agent specialising in adventure holidays here for two weeks at the invitation of the Malaysian government. Once he realised we were independent travelers who had been around (just cycling in Germany; hitch hiking in Scandinavia, Canada and USA; sailing English Channel, Greece and Turkey; but only Nepal and Thailand in Asia at that stage), we became friends.
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| BRIAN and RALPH on rain forest track |
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| MIRI TO MULLU in FOLDING SEATS! |
At the park two Canadian teachers and two others, who we had come seen frequently, decided to do Mulu independently - having picked up lots of information at the tour office in Miri, sharing a room and presumably a boat and a guide. They had reduced their planned stay from five to two nights so as to be able to share our return flight. We had lunch at the Tropical Adventures restaurant near the reception before taking a 3km hike to Lang's Cave and Deer Cave. Lang's was quite small, though moderately long but the stalactite and stalagmite formations were everywhere, especially lovely for being so close.
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| FABULOUS COLOURS IN MULU CAVES |
Noah from a local tribe was an excellent guide, perhaps selected/intent on impressing Ralph, especially knowledgeable on insects and rocks. He had helped explore the caves and select the routes and spoke impressively about the effects of rainfall, eg the water rate determined whether stalactites or mites grew fastest and the effects of air currents in making the rock shapes and rock colours.
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| MITES STAND TALL BUT TIGHTS COME DOWN! |
That evening we were taken to the Tropical Adventure site by boat and saw that on the other bank was a newly open Japanese 5 star Hotel with a planned golf course and a road direct to the airport across a new bridge. Ones shuddered to think how rapidly this area was about to be exploited by tourism. A pleasant evening meal with Ralph and meeting with many of the British party who were on a 14 night tour with Explore for £1350 - sounded like good value but we were constantly asked how we were managing for though they had been previously with Explore many weren't entirely happy, remembering for instance the Everest and Morocco trips as far better.
Noah was clearly involved in politics, indeed a relation had been imprisoned for it, he himself regarded the government as stealing their land which had previously been classified as NCP (Native Customary Rights).
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| Noah demonstrates Traditional Dancing |
All along the opposite river bank were signs of ownership disputes with natives claiming their rights. The logging companies had destroyed much of the rain forest in Sarawak, which he said, although not obvious to us, was already secondary forest with none of the big primary trees. As a result the undergrowth was much thicker making it more difficult for man and animals to move about. He later explained how men had previously found their way through ill defined tracks by treating the odd small trees as landmarks indicative of direction and how they judged the distance walked by the time taken to smoke a cigarette, with a puff at each resting point.
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| COOLING OFF in IDYLLIC SURROUNDINGS at MULU |
Noah took us to the local longhouse of the Penan tribe, built in a government attempt to alter their nomadic way of life. For us it was unforgettably sad. The longhouse was filthy because here were people who had left a sustainable way of life for an unaccustomed static domestic way of life. House care was previously unnecessary because they regularly moved on to relocate in another part of the rain forest to hunt and forage new territory. Similar in a way to villagers with a perfectly acceptable if rustic style leaving to live an unclean crowded life in a city.
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| PENAN LONG HOUSE RATAN ARTEFACTS FOR SALE |
At 10.30 that evening a group of dancers from Noah's Berewan tribe arrived to treat us to an exhibition of local dancing. The girls wore brilliant sequined costumes, not the traditional sparse clothing with beads, and displayed graceful hand movements. On the other hand the male dancers were far better, especially Noah in feathered hat did a vigorous headhunters dance with sword and shield.
BINTULU AGAIN 10 September
Rather than waste the morning after the usual egg and frankfurter breakfast we got the boat to take us to the centre and then followed the red/white trail towards Gunung Mulu summit 24km (we did about 1.5km!). It started as a slippery wooden walkway but before long was a jungle trail, quite wet in places, scrambling over rocks, crossing streams by logs. We saw little sign of animals or birds but did feel closer to the jungle than at any other time. It was nice to be on our own again wondering, ever so slightly if we would find our way back in time to catch the plane. When we did get back to the TA centre Noah was waiting to take us to the airport.
The flight was on time, on arriving took a taxi in Miri and caught the 1.30pm bus to Bintulu after a large cardboard glass of coke and a sugar bun (American style fast food). At the first stop we, led by a fellow passenger, we bought a sweet corn and at 4.30 had arrived at Bintulu.
Roseanne was called by phone and duly arrived at the cafe by taxi, and stepped outwearing a stunning pink and white vertical striped dress and wearing dark sunglasses. Two backpackers we were talking with were obviously impressed by her panache giving an audible sign of drawing in a breath. She had a big kiss for Joan.
That greeting cut an impression as
they were upstaged by us oldies.
She again took us to the friend's house we were borrowing and we settled in again. That evening we went out to dinner with her and Craig, eating prawns and curried fish, whilst Craig being vegetarian ate a bean curd dish, then turned in for an early night.
We breakfasted in the house on cornflakes, toast/marmalade + tea and started to catch up with our diary, but didn't get far before Roseanne arrived at 9.30. We all went into town intent on getting Malaysian cash and changing our air flights home to extend our time in Sarawak, but found the banks were closed as this was a special holiday for a local official's birthday, instead we visited the market buying a chicken, vegetables, papaya and rambutan.
Rose, the name she now used, showed us a video of her marriage with Craig here in Bintulu, which made a lovely record, and some photograph albums including one of a family reunion with her parents and siblings Billy, Donna and Yolanda, and another brother we had never met, in Burnley. Rose dropped us off at the zoo then left to prepare dinner. It was excellent for animals two Orang Utangs, two tigers, alligators, python and birds all in magnificent condition either enclosed by a moat (Orang Utangs and monkeys) or in nice big cages There was a big section devoted to a Botanical Garden.
She had arranged for a meal at her friend Margaret house where we would meet her Iban friends Doris and Tommy. Nasi Goring, vegetables and the Iban rice wine tuak and beer left us quite queasy that night.
We had tickets for a BBQ at the Kellog International Camp at 5pm, preceded by drinks at a friend's house and the intention to have a swim. However at Margaret's prodding I have arranged for her to provide an Iban lunch the next day via Doris with live sago worms, wild boar and prawns cooked in bamboo etc. I think with the pace of life we are making it difficult for Craig for he was obviously overtired in this draining heat and humidity. Rose said he worries a great deal about his job and doesn't sleep well.
Sunday 12 September 1993
Joan was up at 7.30 doing the ironing, it's so handy to have a washing machine and the aids of a modern house. By 9.30 I was helping Roseanne make the beds. At 12.30 we went to Iban Margaret' house after buying prawns, large shrimps 7$/kg, crayfish 20$/kg. Unfortunately having no camera we have no photograph of the guests or the fabulous buffet. The food was an excellent selection of Asian food but they apologised or being unable to buy me Sago worms. Three dishes of fern tips with small fish, eel and sweet potato, chicken and sago shoots, fermented shrimp with chilli, and a big selection of fresh fruit inside the skin of half a melon used as a boat. The same family group as the previous evening plus a beautiful 14 year old girl, very much in contrast to the other women who well over weight, who Rose said was hoping to become a model. Her father Eddie, the customs man, was very small and slight.
Terry was there with the good humoured banter which followed him around, he was a cabinet maker by trade and had soon volunteered to built Margaret an English bar in a room where the original shower/toilet had been removed.
The easy going Iban nature was evident with sing along karaoke with microphone and video with the words displayed in English changing from white to green as they were sung. Margaret's keen eye for business was evident, plans for furniture production with Terry, boutique with Rose who herself thought there was a need for good quality 100% cotton cloths for making clothing in Sarawak. At my suggestion she will investigate importation from Bangkok but was rightly insistent on the importance of good designs. Margaret had an import/export licence and Eddie would help with customs and Margaret was already bringing in 150 labourers from the Philippines to help with the construction, and had permits for a further 150, they had all the necessary skills and were far more reliable than Iban labourers who were prone to disappear back to their longhouse without warning.
Throughout the meal I drank 100Plus for there wasn't a great deal f beer anyway and no-one was pushing the tuak. My fears of a very hard drinking session were unfounded.
At 5pm we went to the Kellog Camp and met some of the Americans, Aussies and Brits who Craig worked with. I was immediately struck by their unfriendliness and the feeling of boredom. I remember being asked by a
senior American manager what I thought about Sarawak
and replying that 'I particularly liked the Iban', quick as a flash he came
back with 'you don't think much of us then'. Correct at the time, we were on
holiday and their situation was very different.
TUBAU Monday 13 Sept and RUMAH KELAP LONGHOUSE
As a parting gift Roseanne bought my London, New York, Paris, Rome, Bintulu T-shirt. (At that time we still had yet to visit Rome!) We caught the express boat to Tubau which was a pleasant trip up river but we were staggered by the amount of logging floating down river to export, avoiding it was quite a task for the helmsman and lookout.
No one offered us a bed as we walked through Tubau but eventually settled for a simple room with fan for 10$.
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| LUXURY TUBAU STYLE |
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| HOME MADE PASTA at TUBAU |
We ate at the Chinese restaurant next door and asked in Malay for a dinner meat (wild Boar?) ginger, greens, rice and a big bowl of beautiful soup with meat shrimp and vegetables arrived for 8$ each. That night was the usual sound of falling rain on tin roof and glass windows, it seems to concentrate on the hours of darkness which is OK by us. The owner arranged a boat for 8.30 and the teacher explained we would join a land cruiser and finally take a boat trip to Belaga. We awoke to the usual riverside sounds of express boats, after breakfast the lodging house keeper took us to the logging camp in his own boat where a land cruiser was waiting for the arrival of the 10am express boat.
The land cruiser was simply a pick up truck and we climbed into the back to wait with around five locals and numerous packing cases of food. We bartered them down from 25$ each to 50$ for three. It was a company truck and was headed for the Centre Camp, there we transferred to a closed jeep for an even more uncomfortable drive this time bartering down from 30$ to 20$ each. Where we were going we did not know but it turned out to be a jetty KTS on another river.
EXPRESS BOAT TO RUMAH KELAP
Here we waited for we know not what and a succession of boats came from the long house opposite and invited to take us downstream to Belaga for 100$ gradually reducing to 50$, which we thought we had accepted but he must have misunderstood and drove away. Joan dropped her glasses onto the jetty and they slipped through into the river below.
Things were looking bleak when we spotted two express boats going up stream, the first stopped at the jetty on the opposite bank but the second dropped passengers on ours, 'Where are you going?' 'Anywhere', I replied not knowing what the options were. The driver said he would take us to a longhouse. Great for I was fancying going upstream for we were already into the interior beyond the legal bounds for tourists.
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| SHOPPING LONG HOUSE STYLE |
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| JOAN AND MANNIE WAITING FOR A BOAT to ANYWHERE BUT DOWNSTREAM TO KAPIT |
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| SAGO WORMS |
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| THEY ALL CHEERED AS WE CAME BELOW, A VIDEO FREE BOAT AT LAST |
A friendly man grimaced in fun as he ate a sago worm and pointed to a large basket of them on the floor, more than anything I wished to try but could find the cheek to pick one from the basket without being able to ask and not even knowing whose the basket was.
At one stop a helplessly drunk virtually unconscious young man was hoisted piggy back style and carried through the thick slimy riverside mud and then up the steps to the land, a height of perhaps 150 metres, before being laid out on the ground - the house on stilts was much higher again.
I spent the journey on the roof with American Backpacker Mannie and the young lads where there was a crate of Guinness. To get to the roof entailed walking along the narrow six inch deck, something Joan was not prepared to risk. It was wonderfully attractive remote country which felt entirely authentic, numerous colourful sites high above were burial grounds.
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| LIWAN HOLDS UP FISH for DINNER |
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| CYTHIA, her SISTER and LIWAN at HOME, RUMAH KELAP LONG HOUSE |
They sat us down indoors and gave us a wine drink called bujak. Dinner consisted of Wild Boar Stew - used mainly as soup, wild boar pieces (previously stored in pig fat) reheated in a wok, fish which we had bought on arrival, and boiled rice. As for a toilet since they had none we were permitted to us the one in Liwan's sister's house or the Headman's house. Joan started to talk with is wife Cynthia Bang on the verandah from which they normally pee or discharge onto the ground underneath the longhouse - so there is little to it but waiting for privacy.
As for plans, tomorrow Liwan hoped to take us up river well passed Long Liko to Rumah Daro (Cynthia's parents long house) then upstream a further day returning to Rumah Daro by about 3pm so as to get a lift to the logging camp with long houses where we would spend the night with a relation, returning by logging truck to Kapit. It sounded great.
That night we slept on a thin mattress spread on the floor, with Mannie in one corner and with the couple Liwan and Cynthia from us by a sheet curtain in the other corner. The bed was very hard nevertheless we slept well in spite of heavy rain starting at 5pm and lasting all night. A solitary cock was crowing in the morning. Joan found it hard to bend down in the morning. Unfortunately because of the rain the river was now swollen ruling out any question of taking a small boat upstream and through the rapids to Rumah Daro, so we changed plans and made a day return trip to Long Liko We paid Liwan 100$ for 10 gallons of petrol plus another 10$ for the boat.
We set out in a small (unstable ) long boat with Mannie and a 10 year old boy as look out. At exactly the same time as a party of 3 or 4 plus 5 dogs were setting out from the same longhouse to go hunting.
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| THE WILD BOAR HUNTERS SET OUT WITH SPEARS AND DOGS |
We had talked earlier with Liwan about hunting but established it would be necessary to run with the dogs in the jungle, which made us wary for fear of not being agile enough to keep up and getting lost. It was an interesting 2.5 hour journey to Long Liko passing several other longhouses en route and fighting up several sections of rapids. Liwan pointed out the giant Lizards on the sandy shores.
LONG LIKO LONGHOUSE
At Long Liko we were welcomed into the Headman's house for tea, wild boar pieces and later for a lunch for 5$ each of rice and wild boar. The headman's house (door) was extremely well decorated including Christmas streamers, hats, shields, swords, trophies for badminton etc. (we had seen them playing Badminton in Tubau). After lunch we were shown the contents of the cabinets with an old decorated hat worth at least 800$, skins of leopards. We took it in turns to model and get photographed in the hat.
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| PRODUCE DRYING COCOA BEANS ? |
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| THERE'S A BBQ! |
The headman's son took us outside to show us the wild boar he had caught yesterday with a rugby tackle, now captive in a pig sty. Elsewhere two boars heads were being cooked over a wood fire. Liwan took us up the hill to sort out a blockage in the plastic pipe feeding fresh water to the longhouse. At strategic points he pulled out plugs to check for water and through an area intended for a new longhouse and the new road way cleared by the logging bulldozer, the up to the paddy area where corn was growing. The blockages were sticks and leaves at the input basin point and at several points in the series of small water falls above.
A lady of perhaps forty years in an Indian headpiece, teeth red from chewing beetle, with a lovely smile, invited us for drinks from a kettle full of tuak. She started by encouraging Mannie and me to down quite large glasses in one gulp several in quick succession. Joan gave her 5$ for the drink with which she was delighted, we were told the going rate was 10$ a gallon. Finally invited us into her house and more challenges where a crowd were but sipping their glasses while Mannie distributed sweets. We left with much shaking of hands and smiles and gingerly made our way down the log stairway noticing the tobacco leaves and the cocoa nuts laid out to dry, the nuts were 1.30$/kilo.
PENAN (tribe) LONGHOUSE
Next stop was at the Penan longhouse, it was was newly built from supplies given by the government. The contrast however was staggering, it was very poor, but the children were very proud, frightened of nothing and especially not us, as most other children were, but a home poorly suited to a nomadic tribe whose forest dwellings were being taken for logging. At first we felt like intruders, but the poverty was stark evident when the headman asked for 15$ fare for a boat for he had no other way of going to Belaga. Two wild boar were being butchered at one end of the longhouse. Their rooms were almost bare and some 2x4 foot planks were lying unused.
Liwan explained that they did not know how to use the things the government had provided, Cythia later said they did not know how to decorate their rooms for they were a mess.
However the kids satin a row on a bench facing us with open faces, so Mannie had them singing and that led to dancing. No doubt the tuak from Long Liko was helping break down our inhibitions. We all had turns being pulled up to dance one by one by the kids. A girl of about 10 gave a superb demonstration of the type of dance we had seen at Gunung Mulu. They were singing their own school songs with Mannie teaching them 'One little, two little, three little Indians, except that he used satu, dua, tiga for the numbers.
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| THE BUTCHERS at WORK on WILD BOAR |
Joan meanwhile had gone with the teacher to her house. She was Kenyan 30 years old with two small children. We were invited tod tuak and sweet chestnuts. Her house was near but separate from the long house, she was living in a far cleaner and we could have stayed there, so could Mannie - he probably would have if he had seen the house for he would like to have stayed but feared for fleas in the long house proper.
I didn't think they had many visitors but if we had a cold bewildered reception but gave us a cheery goodbye. They had relaxed, many of the women had bared their breasts and some were feeding their babies, so far elsewhere we had seen only bottle feeding. As we left by boat many of the children came down naked to the water to wave us goodbye and probably to wash in the river. We went back with happy hearts. I had given the schoolteacher 50$ completely spontaneously to spend on the children, a great deal by the standards of that longhouse.
CATCH, BUTCHER and EAT WILD BOAR
The young 10 year old was at the l helm for the return and Liwan was on look out - perhaps he too had drunk too much tuak, anyway the lad coped well enough though we were all but swamped going through the eye of a rapid. Suddenly Liwan hollered because he had seen something in the water, we circled back to pick it up thinking it was one of the decorated sunhats we had been lent for the day - but no there was a large stick vertically floating downstream, it was a spear and below it was a boar. Which presumably had escaped the morning hunting party run into the river. Liwan and Mannie lifted it on board, it was big, somewhat lighter in colour than the others we had seen. Next we past the hunters and they had caught 4 wild boars. As we were coming home in the boat we had stopped on the shore to pick green leaves and fern tips.
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| THE YOUNG LOOK OUT DRIVES US HOME |
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| THE DOGS RETURN WITH THEIR CATCH OF WILD BOAR |
It was little but a butchering exercise when we got back, the guts and heads were removed from the four which would go to Belaga for sale in the morning. Liwan with a deaf and dumb helper cut up the whole of his in the bathing area of the longhouse, then they carried it up the long steep log staircase to the longhouse on their shoulders, an impressive feat but one reminiscent of the dead drunk seen carried up similar steps earlier. With sharp long knives they first shaved off the boars hairs from its skin, cut off the fat layer to leave a lean carcass. The fat layers were cut into cubes, prime meat easily available was cut from the bone and then into cubes, the rib cage was broken with the same knife into 1.5 inch lengths ans stored separately.
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| AND IS BUTCHERED READY for LONG TERM STORE |
Liwan was first to bed, not surprising that he had finished off with 2 to 3 hours of heavy butchering. Before bed we had showers in the dark throwing buckets of water over our naked bodies on the verandah.
17 September
We hurriedly dressed in the dark then settled up with Liwan giving him $150 including $15 each per night. He said we had overpaid for the food and lodging - anyway they were well pleased and we had had an unforgettable experience. Mannie considered this and The Jungle Centre at Sandikan , where there were lots of wild animals, as the highlights of his trip to East Malaysia.
The steep log ladder descent was made even more treacherous by being thoroughly wet from the overnight rain, Joan fell off after two steps and was helped down - testing for someone with a bad back. I followed gingerly and was relieved when a strong man walking in the deep thin mud to the sides of the log held my arm firmly to guide me down the last few steps.
PELEGAS RAPIDS to BELAGA and KAPIT
A hoot and Liwan's torpedo boat was off into the cloudy mist. We had a breakfast of bits and pieces and the vultures descended for the remains. The lads from our long house had brought one of their four boars to sell, they wanted $15, $5 for Mannie and $10 from me.
On arrival in Belaga, the only? authorised guide in town took Mannie to a shop run by Cynthia's sister to buy a shield. She initially asked for $50 but settled easily for $30. In fact we found a Chinese shop later with shields with an asking price of $18, and I bought it for Geoffrey without bargaining. The guide took us to his office to explain what he did for another year. In 1992 he had taken a party for $2800 right up the Balu to the very last establishment which was still traditional Penan for 8 nights. or for a party of four he would take on a jungle experience $140/day camping in for 3 days in traditional forest tents of ferns then one night in a long house just two up from Belaga. Then we were joined by another very drunk guide soliciting for business so we picked up our rucksacks to go in search of a hotel.
We turned down a room, smelly from last night's party, was turned down for $15 but we settled for a far better room at the same price in the hotel across the street, but they were unwilling to go below $14 for a single for Mannie so he ended up sleeping on our floor and they got nothing! Joan and I walked along the old main street which followed the river and were struck by how prosperous it looked, large Thai style houses with gardens full of flowering shrubs. The hinterland looked extremely fertile and the gardens were growing a wide range of fruits including coconuts, pineapple and banana. The road terminated in the school campus.
We had a very nice dinner with Mannie having chosen the food in the kitchen, a plate of sliced pork and two types of sliced sausage plus a main dish of fish stew with vegetables and rice. Late we entered the shop where I eventually bought the shield. There were three generations of Chinese, all very friendly and showed us around including an antique black gong in the back room. They joked and gave us prices for ratan bags, head gear at $500 and much more knowing we were unlikely to purchase anything. The 40 year old said his great grandfather Teo Guan Sing was the first Chinese man in town and he had started the shop.
Our bedroom was too hot and none of us slept well, nevertheless we were up early on Friday 17 September to catch the 5.30 express boat. Mannie and I went outside and sat on the raised deck, but Mannie went inside after 30 mins. I stuck it out the exciting bit was the 3km section passing the Pelegas Rapids made difficult by the narrowing of the river and by steering to avoid two or three the small islands in mid stream.
We had a quick breakfast in Kapit and re-boarded for the descent to Sibu, where we found an excellent room in Hoover House but were cheated of a good night's sleep by a number of very small mosquitoes.
I recommended the restaurant in Jalan Market but the meal was disappointing compared with last time. We tried again in the evening but found it closed, nevertheless they were happy to serve us drinks whilst we ate charcoal grilled chicken and what we thought were small tuna, though we later learned at an aquarium that they were mackerel. In the afternoon Joan and I tried our hand at shopping, there were T-shirts for $30 made of cotton but spoiled by designs in plastic so we bought only a performing coil $4 for Rachel.
Sat 18 Sept
The express boat would not leave until 7.25 but being up at 6am we took an earlier boat to Sarikie and ate breakfast there instead before catching a much bigger sea going boat for the journey to Kuching, the most comfortable boat so far. Three English girls got on although we did not speak then. but Mannie did later and found one was a student doctor working at Sibu. We shared a taxi with Mannie to the Bako Park Office but found we needed to go to the Tourist Office to book where we booked for that night in a standard guest house room for $21 with a second night in the hostel dormitory for $6. Mannie had decided to stay those two nights in J Kuching, perhaps with an eye for the girls but also feeling there would be too many at the park for the weekend and booked Mon/Tuesday in the dormitory.
Next stop was the Anglican Guest house in a lovely park setting where we booked a spacious apartment with fridge, shower, toilet, verandah and sitting area for Monday for $35.
BAKO NATIONAL PARK and Probosis Monkeys
We wished Mannie good luck and parted to search for a bus to Bako Park. We had to stand all the way, an hour with packs on backs, because we happened to have chosen the school bus taking the children home, and that meant it went to each small village. The return journey was in contrast done in just half the time. At the jetty we hired a boat for just $25 each and in fact payed Salim double that to include the return at 12 midday on Monday.
The standard residence was very satisfactory, in much better state than equivalent accommodation at Niah Caves. There was a large kantin selling drinks and provisions as well as meals so as at Niah there is no need to bring food, but not knowing what to expect we had arrived with provisions for the first night. The second night we had Mixed Rice (Nasi Campur) for$3 with Chicken curry, fish and vegetables.
The main attraction for us here was to see the proboscis monkeys at play well below the high canopy in the dusk, so we set off in the fading light on a forest trail which like the start ended in several feet of water, this time the start of the mangrove swamp at the sea shore.Nevertheless it felt great to be following the trails. A guide told us the monkeys were about as he had heard them, to judge from later success this was probably much nearer the camp. We turned in early and slept extremely well, the windows were extremely well protected against ingress by mosquitoes so the only time we needed the mosquito coil was when sitting on the open verandah.
Sunday 19 Sept
We woke early as arranged for was the Park Keeper to take us by boat to where there was a good chance of seeing the monkeys, but no luck we were probably too late setting out at 06.50.Next we walked on the main circular path to the recommended beach Telak Kecil which was indeed very beautiful and deserted so we went for a swim, unfortunately the water was too warm since the beach scarcely sloped and no matter how much you walked out the water seemed scarcely to become deeper. However our peace was suddenly shattered by two boats full of tourists, so we left and walked home from our paradise.
Joan as usual spotted plants including three of the four types of pitcher plants (she found the final type elsewhere later) and Ant Trees (the ants live symbiotically with the tree supplying it with nitrogen, which is in short supply in these poor soils, in return for a home.
We were also coming to recognise the various types of tree, the huge Diplerocarp or primary rain forest and the slender ones including the Sago Palm (the name means that rice will not grow), and the vegetation in cracks in the rocky outcrops.The rocky outcrops were also notable for in certain parts the surface was made harder from the iron naturally occurring in the sandstones, frequently resulting in groups of small cylindrically shaped protrusions. I was exhausted and wet with sweat by the time 1pm we returned to the guest house, soon put right by a cool shower in our new hostel location.
Whilst waiting for the warden we spoke to two more English medical students on a two week visit to a hospital in Kuching and were going home via India and Nepal. They had seen the monkeys at play that morning from 06.30 until 08.00 on the path we had followed the night before and were able to describe the exact location (a raised walkway followed by steps down the only ones).
We went out that evening but saw nothing and were returning at 18.30 when I stopped thinking I had heard a large cat falling from a nearby tree. Sure enough after a few minutes the heavy monkeys started jumping from tree to tree using the tall swaying palms as a pole jumper uses his bending pole. The crashing noise was unmistakeable but then we saw clearly profiled the long nose of one male monkey.
We went home happy at the discovery to eat at the cantin, leaving at 20.30 a tour guide asked if we were going to see the film show, although not advertised the tour guides had obviously organised videos for their parties and we would be welcome to join in. There were 3 videos, one by Mark MacDonald (any relation? I expect so) on the general aspects of Sarawak including the economy, the history of its development and features of interest to tourists. A second video was an excellent one about Mulu in the audio visual room where we had met the medical students, they were there again. The third video was a fascinating account of the natural history of Bako including the forms of vegetation to be found. It was almost midnight when we crawled off to bed, there were two other occupants who welcomed us into our dormitory, which housed three two tier bunk beds. We again slept well.
Monday 20 Sept
We woke early, got showered and dressed without disturbing the other occupants of the room who were still sleeping and had a quick breakfast of bananas. By 07.50 we set out on the 3.5 hour circular walk round the park, we should have left earlier because at the exact spot described by the girls we were only just in time to see the final performance of the Probosis monkeys. They obviously felt exposed being too close to the path but we got a good view in good light as they climbed the trunk and exposed branches back into the canopy. We could see one but only because we had watched it climb and therefore knew exactly where it had gone to the very top of an especially tall tree. Unfortunately I had come without a camera thinking we would be too late. The circuit took only 3 hours and well briefed by last night's videos we were able to distinguish between the various types of vegetation, starting with a steep climb up through a Dipterocarp forest to the Sago Palms and on to the barren rocks. I was again soaked in sweat and ready to finish before the end, but we must have got fitter because the improvement in performance was clearly evident.
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| OVERLOOKING THE BAY |
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| Beautiful but Water too Shallow and Hot for swimming |
Luckily the bus to Kuching was late and virtually empty, it may have been waiting for a fare. We ate lunch at a restaurant by the bus station, a mixture of four dishes with rice from a display of twelve and then checked in at The Anglican Guest House by 13.00. That afternoon we went to the Old Museum which was well presented as expected including a sample Iban room from a local longhouse. In the evening we watched the sun go down on the Kuching River, and admired the newly restructured riverside and started to evaluate the possibilities for shopping on the final day of our holiday, We ate a snack of Satay and sauce (mainly peanut) before retiring to bed, sleeping slightly delayed because of the noise from above and the complete absence of a false ceiling.
More contacts, RAMSAY ONG and FABRIKO shop
Tues 21 Sept We had until 19.30 to depart for our plane home, so this left a full day. We phoned Kenneth Kanyan Koh, on of our initial contacts but didn't get him, we were to phone back later but never did find the time. We inspected the shops on Jalan India and again on the Main Bazaar. We had been unable to reach Ramsey Ong (Artist) by phone because the number was engaged, but we got help in the Fabio Shop but they came back with the same number, this time we got through and he arranged to pick us up at 14.00at The Anglican Guest House which left us with 90 minutes to burn bought 2 Sarawak T-shirts, two Indonesian ones and a carving of a tribesman returning from the paddy field and 4 metres of material for Judy. Not as good as shopping in Bangkok or for that matter as good as Kuala Lumpar.
Fabrico was full of Pua Kumba as expected at for instance $850 for the large wall hangings, two were in silk but smaller at $1400 and $1100.We didn't buy any thing but were shown around whilst they tried to contact Ramsey. The first floor was all wall hangings and also crafts, a painting by Ramsey on bark, musical instruments, drums, decorative bark, tunics, baskets etc. Their private collection on the second floor displayed wall hanging from various sources - very impressive indeed.
Ramsey was 20minutes late and I was walking around thinking he had gone to the wrong place when he drove up in a small 2000cc basic black 2 seat van with a makeshift bench seat in the rear. He took us to the Aurora Hotel for lunch where we had a chicken curry and a couple of glasses of draft Carlsberg We chatted freely and soon had built up a good rapport We heard the history of the Ong family, the top Chinese family very close to the English Raja who owned a great deal of land in Kuching given to them originally by the Raja. Edric is his cousin and currently well into religion.
Ramsey told us a good deal of the politics of Malaysia and was critical of the current attempts to hold back those of Chinese origin and deny them higher education (presumably a comment on the governments attempts to prioritise the native Malays status and life chances). On the other hand he spoke highly of the Ibans, who he regarded as a race with considerable artistic talents. He was also critical of the amount of money spent on the new waterfront development when a little amount of money could make a big impact in much needed areas such as tribal development and the unemployment across the rivers.
After lunch he took us back to his studio which we were surprised to find full of the carvings and other artifacts. His brother and another man were working with the Iban to try to restore the old art of carving hornbills and he had collected some large and impressive examples. Large hornbill carvings in hardwood with modern staining were very beautiful - though not traditional for these were painted in black yellow and red.
He gave us a smaller hornbill traditionally carved in softwood to take home, less delicately finished than the hardwood ones we had so admired, but as I write 20 years later it still has pride of place in our dining room - also autographed copies of an art exhibition of his at the Hilton Hotel to mark the 20th year of independence for Malaya. He also asked us to take a similarly sized black tortoise for Sheila Lockhead, saying it was chosen because the tortoise was a symbol of long life, little realising Sheila was very dissatisfied with her post stroke life.
We had originally contacted him with a view to the purchase of a Batik painting for which he was well known, but for the last few years he had changed style to almost monochrome painting on sheets of tree bark in a sparse modern style of faces - I liked them for their haunting looks, but Joan was not so impressed.
He was a very kindly interesting man who had spent long periods in Hawaii where he arrived with only 50USD, without a job but intending to live by selling his artwork. He ended up teaching at the university in San Fransisco in the flower power 60's of which he spoke so highly, before returning to Sarawak.
He showed us a photo of Sheila Lockhead giving a speech on her 81st birthday celebration in Kuching after lunching on an appropriate menu. We were to pass on a message to Alison (Sheila's daughter) that he felt there would be an opening in KL to develop her high class stationery made from palm leaves - they had hoped Edric would take them up but that was not to be. He dropped us back in town at 5pm with just time to complete our shopping and catch the taxi which arrived early thus causing us to miss our shower. We saw him briefly at the airport where he had come to meet a friend just returning from Miri.
HOME AGAIN - Tuesday 21 September
The plane connection in KL was good and too soon we were back in Heathrow. Joan had had a very bad back since our Rumah Kelap from sitting and sleeping on the wooden longhouse floor, which made it painful to sit although the plane seats were not too bad. By 20.30 we were home eating a tin of baked beans and finding it difficult to recall that our trip was anything but a dream.
My notebook of the time is full of addresses including
Mannie Frances, Miami, Florida, USA
Liwan Lawai, Cythia Bang, from Rumah Kelap, Long Sah, Belaga
Edric Ong Liang Bin (Architect)
Ramsay Ong (Artist)
Jugo AK Ajang, Te Belikew, Nanga Bangkit, Kalibas, Song (longhouse)
Yek Chee Heng (teacher met at Tubau), Bintulu
Fabriko (shop) 56 Main Bazaar, Kuching
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