Kapitulation

With time on my hands following my return from Raleigh International in Sabah, I've decided to spend some time exploring Sarawak.  Sue had arranged a weekend of luxury at the Marriot Hotel in Miri, so I resolved to join her by getting boats and buses from Saratok.  My plan was to travel by boat up the River Rejang from Sarikei to Belaga, where I would get a four wheel drive taxi to the main Sibu-Miri highway.

On Sunday 21st July I got a lift to Sarikei then a ferry to Sibu, where I changed for a boat to Kapit. The Kapit boat was packed with people returning home after the weekend.  The ferries on the Rejang above Sibu are battered steel tubes with two stonking diesels at the back which hammer the boats through the water at an ear-splitting thirty knots.  Inside the passenger compartment has a similar atmosphere to a meat cold storage warehouse as the a/c units are always set to "max" for some reason.

The mighty Rejang was actually more of a trickle due to the operation of the Baku dam more than 100 kilometres upriver, forcing the ferry to go aground on the shingle at every stop to disgorge its cargo of people, chickens and other assorted baggage.  For the last hour of the four-hour trip from Sibu the boat had emptied out enough for me to fight my way onto the roof and warm my bones in the hot afternoon sun as the ferry continued to zigzag from one longhouse community to the next.  At Kapit I was met by Tibor, a British Council mentor who had kindly agreed to offer me a bed for the night.

Next morning I made my way confidently to the Kapit jetty ready to get the 9.00am boat for the six-hour journey to Belaga.  "Where boat to Balaga?"  I asked in my best grammar-free English.  I was greeted by shrugs of incomprehension.  "No boat" someone said, looking at me like I was an idiot.  Finally a Chinese lady selling snacks to the ferry-goers kindly explained:  "Dam make water too low, no boat 'till 26 July."  "26 July," I moan, "but it's 22 today!"

I wandered around town helplessly for a while, stopping for a hot, sweet, coffee to formulate a plan.  According to the "Lonely Planet" Guide when the water is too low for the ferries you can get a speed boat for an affordable price.  I try this tack at the ferry jetty to be told this may be an option if I have a few thousand ringgit to spare.  In the end I made my way resignedly to the ticket counter, where I joined two strapping but confused Scandanavian girls who have given up their quest to reach Belaga and decided to go back to Sibu.  "Welcome to Sarawak" I say to myself as I buy a ticket back downriver.