WEEK 12: Bintalu to Miri Marina, Sarawak, Borneo

Saturday 2 July – Bintalu to ??
04°11.194N / 113°51.409E
We all upanchored at 6.15 and motor sailed all day. Cilantro caught the first fish (mackerel) sometime in the morning and then the challenge was on! Braveheart caught one, the skipper caught one and stopped fishing but then Braveheart got their second one so the line went back in and the skipper got his second one. Braveheart got a third but it was a bit small and they let it go. We all kept going till 6pm when the frontrunners pulled into the coast and we anchored at 6.15pm. The coast is very pretty here with big sandcliffs. The hills though have all been stepped and we have since found out that it is ready for planting oil palms!
Miles 69 TTT: 1,840

Sunday 3 July - ??? to Miri Marina
04°23.076N / 113°58.347E
Braveheart got an early start and caught a small fish as they went past our boat. We upanchored at 7 and did a slow motor sail to Miri. We have to go into the marina on a high tide. We were calling up on our handheld VHF but getting no reply but we could hear everyone else talking. As we entered the marina we realised our handheld battery was flat so the crew called up on the main VHF. By this time we were in the marina not knowing where to go so someone was rather stressed. But we got in ok with lots of hands to take lines. At 6pm we five boats met on the dock beside Cilantro. Cilantro had their barbeque, Braveheart had their hob smoker, we supplied the fish (delicious marinade) and Cilantro Wavesweeper, Single Malt and Braveheart all brought along delicious salads and we had a great feed and celebration of our arrival. The security guard came down to check what was happening so we gave him some fish too. A really good night.
Miles: 14 TTT: 1,854

Monday 4 July – Miri Marina
It was raining so we waited till 10 then walked to the marina office to check in, raided the bakery and then walked the few kilometres to town. A really interesting placed with lots of interesting little shops. An old Chinese man pulled us up for a chat – people are very friendly. We headed back to the boat and had lots of wind and rain so ate on board.

Tuesday 5 July – Miri Marina to Sibu
We were collected by Simon (a very helpful local “taxi” driver) in his beat up little red car and he delivered us to the bus station where we caught the 8.45 bus to Sibu which is on the Ranjang River. We saw quite a few longhouses though most of them were modern and a few old wooden ones with tin roofs – mostly a bit rusty. There were heaps of oil palms – so much of the jungle/forest has been cleared for oil palms – not good. We had a few stops along the way and arrived in Sibu around 3.30. We caught a local bus to town. The bus station was across the road from the boat terminal so we checked on boats for tomorrow and saw a budget hotel across the way which looked ok, so booked into the River View Hotel. It was 35RM ($12). Hot shower and air con but no top sheet and we didn’t like the look of the blanket so we bought our own little blanket for $2.30. We went for a walk and found the huge market across the road. They had live chooks and ducks all individually wrapped up in newspaper with their heads and tails sticking out for sale. Also live witchety grubs. We found the night market which was very interesting with lots of food. They even had cooked pigs faces!!! We then ate at a little local food place and headed for bed.

“The residents of Sibu are predominantly Foochow Chinese, originating from Southern China led by the Reverend Wong Nai Siong. Rev Wong was a Methodist missionary who sought to find a safe haven for his followers, who were subject to religious persecution in China. Rev Wong petitioned Charles Brooke, the second White Rajah of Sarawak, who gladly offered land in the Lower Rejang area in order to develop Sarawak’s agriculture.”

Wednesday 6 July – Sibu – Kipat – Sibu
We awoke rather early as the aircon was stuck on 16° so it was really really cold. Bought some fruit from the market and decided to catch the 6.15 boat to Kapit – 165km up the river. We were asked if we wanted first or second class so said second but when we got on the boat they said we were in the wrong place – we were in third class so they sent us up to second!! Not too many people on board. All the windows had black stuff stuck on them to keep the sun out so we couldn’t see out. Someone had peeled a couple of holes so we alternated between these windows. When the ticket collector came round we asked if we could sit up top and he said yes. These boats are kind of like a long train carriage in size and its a bit like sitting in a plane. There is a walkway around about 2ft wide (no railing) and that is how you get on and off. The conductor opened the door (bit like a plane) and we stepped out onto the platform - the boat is hooting along – and held onto a head high hand rail and walked along and clambered on to the roof of the boat with all the vegetables and luggage and one other man (a smoker). What we hadn’t bargained on was the cold – it was early morning and hooting along at great speed it was freezing! Good view though! When we came to a couple of villages he blew the horn – which we were sitting underneath. Deafening! At a town called Song they took all the veges and luggage off and we went another hour on the roof till we got to Kapit. Here we pulled in next to another boat and we all walked down the side of our boat and across the next boat to the steps. Kapit again was a most interesting town. We explored the town, went to the museum which they opened specially for us which told all about the different tribes who make up Sarawak. The fort however, was closed and we didn’t manage to get in there. We had read in the paper a couple of days ago about how Pangolins (anteaters) are endangered and protected and how a couple had been released back into the wild. The market had lots of fruit and vegetables all done up very artistically and then there was the wet market. Lots of big river catfish and other things. The usual chickens and then there were two pangolins cut in half!!! Poor little things. Kapit has no roads and can only be reached by boat and everyone comes from up and down river to town for the market. We caught the 1pm boat back to Sibu. It was a different boat and we could see out the windows so remained inside!!! The boat had to avoid a lot of fishermen in their canoes with nets across the river and a bit further down all the tugs towing barges filled with logs – so many logging places. Its a wonder there are any trees left. We got back and checked out the Swan statue, the symbol of Sibu and went up the Chinese pagoda for which they gave us the key to get in. Met Bernie and Doug (Single Malt) who arrived today and had the room next to ours and went out to dinner. – Bought another $2.30 blanket!!!

Thursday 7 July – Sibu to Kuching
Bought the tickets for the boat and went to the market. Walked through the meat section – big mistake!! There were intestines, gizzards, hearts hanging from their bits – really dry wretch stuff!!!! Bought some pastries and fruit for the journey but when we got on the boat people were in our seats and there were at least six seats each side – very squashed. Peter checked the upstairs which had two seats each side so I asked the driver how much they were and he said 45RM same as downstairs so I asked if we could sit up there and he looked at our tickets and said no downstairs. So I ran back up to the ticket lady and asked for upstairs. At first she said no but after a brief conversation she changed our tickets to upstairs. So we sat in comfortable seats with a good view. Though we spent most of our time at the back of the boat on wooden benches (with all the smokers) and had a great view. After seeing all the rubbish, logs etc in the water we were pleased we didn’t take our boats up the river (3 boats did go). There are hundreds of saw mills down each side of the river. It took a couple of hours till we reached the ocean and then we went into the Sarawak river to Kuching. We took a taxi to our hotel and walked around the city. It was nice to see it at night with all the lights.

Friday 8 July – Kuching
We met Cilantro and organised our bus tickets to the Rainforest Music Festival. We left at 1 but didn’t get there till 2.30 but managed to see the end of one of the workshops. They have workshops in which about six musicians all with similar instruments play a little of their own music and then they jam together – most of them have never met each other so it makes the workshops really interesting. The nights entertainment started at 7pm. Its not really what you would imagine rainforest music to be. It started with the sapè which is a local string instrument with the most beautiful sound. Then there was a Malaysian group from Sabah who did their traditional stuff and some upbeat stufft. The three ladies from Canada did their Indian music (the only thing lacking was the war cry). Australia and Italy were just bands really. The Mexican sang and played a pretty mean harp (electric). Then there were the Blue Canyon Boys (USA) bluegrass music and we left as the last act was coming on – another hour back in the bus and got to bed after 1am.

For those interested here is a little history of Sarawak taken directly from a guide book:
“At the beginning of the 19th century, Sarawak was a typical Malay principality under the control of the Sultan of Brunei. Apart from occasional piracy on the coast and headhunting in the interior, Sarawak was peaceful. All of this changed when the Sultan of Brunei appointed a hugely unpopular Governor. The Malays and Bidayuhs of the Sarawak River revolted in 1836 and declared independence. An ugly guerrilla war ensued, which continued until 1939 when James Brooke, a young wealthy Englishman arrived on the scene in his well armed yacht, The Royalist.

Brooke set himself up as a freelance adventurer and the Sultan’s uncle immediately asked him to help put down the rebellion. Brooke readily agreed. The spears and muskets of the rebels were no match for a modern warship, and the conflict soon ended. As a reward, the grateful Sultan made Brooke the Rajah of Sarawak in 1841. Brooke was not content to rule over a small riverside town and set out to pacify his new kingdom, with the help of the British Navy.” There were three Brooke Rajahs and the history is rather interesting so google it.

Anyway its an interesting place. Sorry for the delay in this blog.

Take care all
Love
Dell and Peter