I arrived late last night after more than 24 hours of travelling (including a fair bit of waiting around. The bus trip to Kuching was quite good but there was only one meal stop. At least they stopped for men to go to the toilet at the side of the road, but I pity the women. My travelling companion was a little old lady. None of it seemed to bother her. I managed to get a bit of sleep. The bus (quite comfortable up to that point) broke down in Serian about an hour out of Kuching terminal and we had to wait an hour for a new bus. The whole side just collapsed and it was driving on a tilt until it got to the Serian station, fortunately not far. I had a wait of a couple of hours to connect with the bus to Pontianak. It was not worth going in to town. I had lunch and relaxed. The ride to Pontianak was interesting; it's a very different environment once you hit Indonesia. I had no problem getting through immigration, apart from a lot of questions but an older angmo couple (they sounded Australian) were held up for a long time - we had to wait over half an hour for them. I never got a chance to talk to them as they were dropped off well before Pontianak. They were met by another angmo, presumably an expat
The bag I took with me was not the best. The strap broke on the way to the KB bus station, and this morning the zip broke, so it can't be closed. It is still useable but if I see a cheap bag I may buy it.
When I arrived in Pontianak I had trouble finding a decent hotel that wasn't full. The accommodation in general is pretty lousy here. I was prepared to go to a more expensive hotel but the ones I saw were no better than the cheap joints. Just damper and smaller because of air-con and carpets. At about midnight I ended up at Hotel Sentral, a nice up-market place for 66,000 Rp (still under $20) with a shower (hot!), cable TV and air-con. They even supplied a toothbrush as well as towel, soap and drinking water. The price included breakfast - and that was the problem. It was absolutely atrocious. It consisted of one boiled egg (okay so far), two slices of white bread stuck together with a mass of chocolate sprinkles, and a revoltingly sweet cup of coffee. And the worst thing was that they woke me up from a deep sleep at 7.15 a.m. for this abomination. (It was delivered to the room.) Anyway it was a good time to go walking so I went out and looked for Wisma Patria, Lonely Planet's nomination for best budget hotel. I got a basic room for 25,000 and went for a walk along the port and river areas. At 10 a.m. I went back to take advantage of the facilities in Hotel Sentral before checking out and moving the bags to Wisma Patria. I watched a very interesting program on CNN about Clinton and Gennifer Flowers. Such an intelligent and articulate lady. No wonder Clinton fell for her. I had a shower, knowing I would only have a mandi at the new place. Wisma Patrie is the closest thing to a Backpacker joint in Pontianak, except that they don't get many backpackers here. Quite cosy, and more my style than the Sentral. About a third the price of last night and I won't get woken up for a disgusting breakfast.
I went out for lunch at a decent-looking kantin, more expensive than street food but I've got so much money I don't know what to do with it. Even at twice the price Indonesia is still ridiculously cheap. I ordered Ikan Bakar, a Chap Chay type dish and an avocado juice (that's what I've been waiting for!). All served up nicely in a pleasant environment.
In the evening I went out for street food. I went to one of those tent-like places that appear at night, with a canvas front advertising about four dishes. I met a man called Rudy, a very friendly Chinese man who was a sky-diver and had also recently completed a scuba-diving course. He recommended the ayam goreng. I was a bit hesitant about fried food, but his serving looked so good that I just had to try one. It was delicious. It came with rice, sambal with lime, some cucumber and salad and a glass of ice tea. Rudy them suggested pecel lele, a fish with easy-to-remove bones down the middle and very sweet flesh. He said it is popular in Japan where they eat it raw. It came with the same accompaniments as the chicken. He ordered it for himself and I followed suit. This delicious meal cost 14,000 Rp (under $4), worth it just for the good conversation. I enjoyed it as much as I had the much more expensive lunch.
The people here are friendly, and there is no sign of headhunters! I feel very safe.
Tuesday 7/8/01
When I explored the market yesterday I met some gold merchants who bought me a coffee and recommended Katapang. So here I am on the boat waiting to leave at 8 a.m. This place is only accessible by sea. It's supposed to be five hours, so it will probably be about seven. It's a place that doesn't seem to feature much in the guidebooks, so I thought I'd give it a try. I just found out that Indonesian time is an hour later than Malaysian. So I got up at 5.30 a.m. thinking it was 6.30 a.m. (Which means that breakfast the other day came at 6.15 a.m!) Just as well as it took me a long time to find the boat. I was sent a kilometre in the wrong direction and had to go back again. It was after 7 a.m. by the time I got here, but I did stop for roti canai and coffee on the way. It was okay but I couldn't eat the goat meat that came with it (sapi). I managed to find a cyber-cafe last night, so I e-mailed Yoong before dinner, and again after. She hasn't received it yet as it's still highlighted. (We e-mail each other by writing to our own Yahoo address.)
I have a bit of an ear problem. I splashed water in my left ear when having a mandi yesterday. It is blocked like the time in Bali when I dived deep into the swimming pool. I hope it clears up by itself, otherwise I will have to see a doctor back in Brunei to have it cleared. Meanwhile I am practically deaf in the left ear - combined with the lack of voice (which I lost in Brunei a few days before the holiday began) it's like being deaf and dumb. Fortunately my throat seems to be getting back to normal.
Wednesday 8/8/01
There was not enough of interest to keep me in Ketapang for more than a night so I'm on the Cinta Express back to Pontianak. We just left the river (nice scenery) and heading for the open sea. Yesterday's trip was over seven hours so I know what to expect today. I don't have such a good seat as I had on the Merpati Express but I can stretch out and sleep. I have a lousy view of the TV. I did watch a decent movie yesterday - Chinese with English subtitles, much better than trying to hear the dialogue in an English film over the noise of the engine.
Last night I walked all over Katapang, and had an okay nasi goreng and a delicious alpokat juice for dinner. The best was some yam-puffs I got at a little night market stall. Less than 10c each. I sat down with a family group for about an hour and talked to them as best i could. They gave me "Ketapang whiskey", actually arak with some kind of energy drink. They also got some kropok ubi from a nearby stall. It went well with the "whiskey". It was quite a pleasant evening.
The hotel situation was not good. Everything seemed to be "full". I ended up in a shabby room for 40,000 Rp, with a very noisy air-con and a one-channel TV. I turned the air-con off at about 2 a.m. and it was much more peaceful. I just had coffee and a rice-cake for breakfast. I hope they include lunch on this boat. They did yesterday, so I suppose this one will too.
Thursday 9/8/01
Yes, they did. It was quite an easy trip. The roughest part was over in the first four hours. Last night I stayed at the Hotel Khatulistiwa. It's not as good as Sentral and costs more but it's a more convenient location and also has cable TV. For dinner I found a Chinese vegetarian restaurant, where I had a mixture of vegetable satay and other delicacies and an apple juice, all for only 10,000 Rp, which seems to be a standard price for a meal. I had a meal this morning at one of those Chinese places with roast meats hanging up. I had a very generous mixture of roast chicken and pork portions and a kopi susu, also for 10,000 Rp.
I crossed over the Kapuas River on the ferry planning to go to either Sintang or Singkawang, whichever bus I could find first. There was a bus to Singkawang waiting on the other side so there was no need to go to the terminal. Now, of course, I'm still waiting for it to leave. I guess it has to fill up first. I may still go to Sintang when I return but it's a seven hour ride. This one is four hours (at least in theory). This bus is rather dilapidated, but at only 8,500 Rp (about $2) I'm not complaining. After all, the luxury bus in Malaysia ended up on an angle. I seem to be on the move a lot so far, a bit restless. I must try to relax and stay a while in Singkawang.
Friday 10/8/01
I am in Singkawang. The Lonely Planet says it is best avoided by budget travellers as accommodation is expensive. This is nonsense. There is plenty of good cheap accommodation here. I am in a cosy little room at Hotel Putera Kalbar, with a bathroom - even a shower - and a fan, which is much better than air-con. Cost is 35000 Rp which, even at present exchange rate is under $8. It's also very centrally located.
I have met various groups of people here from all walks of life. It's very relaxing here. I managed to e-mail Yoong - spent two hours catching up on the news and writing to her. I just came back from a long walk. I'll rest for a while, then go out to see exciting Singkawang by night.
Saturday 11/8/01
Food here is good. It's a very Chinese town. I went to an "expensive" seafood restaurant last night and had a whole steamed fish, kailan with prawns and a fruit juice (sawak?). The bill was around $6. Most of my meals are much cheaper - more like $2 and also very good.
I usually get up early for a walk and have a sleep in the afternoon when it is hotter. Actually the weather has been very nice. There was a bit of rain yesterday for the first time, which cooled the place down. I found I did not need the fan for most of the night.
Everyone is very friendly and eager to attempt to communicate. Quite often I find I know more Indonesian than they know English. I don't find the problem with touts that is common in many parts of Indonesia. They just don't get many tourists here. I think about 2000 a year, and many of those would be on organised adventure tours. Apart from the couple that arrived on the same bus, I have not yet seen another orang putih.
I am not going to be walking in the jungle. It is not like Malaysia where there is a good system of national parks. The national parks here are practically inaccessible and require a lot more time than I have.
Tomorrow I hope to go to Pasir Panjang (supposed to be a very nice beach) if the weather is okay. Then to Sintang the next day. It's a small town up the river so they may not have e-mail. By boat it takes 2 days and one night, so the bus will be good enough.
Yoong has mailed and said she gave all her Sarawak batik to her sister. Now she wants me to buy some more for her. It looks like I will have to stop in Kuching on the way back. She also wants me to look for a gold pendant with a fish design. I haven't yet been into one of the many gold shops, but I will have to start doing so.
Wednesday 15/8/01
I am back in Pontianak after three nights in Sintang, a small town upriver. I had a very enjoyable time there meeting the local people. Everywhere I go, families and other groups invite me to come and sit with them. "Santai santai" is the usual invitation. (Come and relax for a while). The first night there I was invited into a shop/restaurant, given a coffee, and the owner put on an English VCD for me to watch - "The Lick" with Harrison Ford. Quite a good film. They asked me the meaning of "lick" but I didn't understand it myself in that context. A couple of times groups of young people sitting around playing guitar have asked me to join them and were very impressed with Bengawan Solo and Takana Jo Kampuang. I have been offered soft drinks, arak, local snacks, and have had a lot of opportunity to improve my Bahasa Indonesia. Conversations generally start off following the same formula so I'm gradually picking up the essential phrases. Sometimes we manage to have quite advanced conversations but it's not easy. I generally get lost along the way. Most people I have met have been either Dayak or Chinese - sometimes half/half. I have seen little sign of disharmony between these races, though nobody likes the Madurese, who were the target of the recent violence. I have never seen one as far as I know. I did meet one very anti-Chinese man though, who invited me in to his house to meet his family. He was convinced that the governments of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei are all stupid ("bodoh") because they allow Chinese into their government - unlike sensible Indonesia which keeps them out! Not much point arguing with that kind of attitude. I just kept quiet. He also asked if I had any Jewish blood. I was pleased I said no, because he said he would have to shoot me if I did! It was all kind of joking - and he did have Chinese friends coming in and out of the house - but I wouldn't like to be on the wrong side of him. Australians are in favour at the moment - he showed me the newspaper which had a big picture of Megawati with John Howard, who is apparently in Jakarta at the moment. Everyone is very happy with Megawati (so far) and the rupiah keeps going up. I get less of it every time I change money.
In Sintang I met my first orang putihs. I went to a nice cafe near the river for a drink (fruit juice - I've been having a lot of them) and there were a Czech couple (about my age) having a meal there. They had bought some fish from the market and asked the restaurant to cook it for them. A good idea, which I did myself the next morning. They have been in Kalimantan for months researching/ writing a guide book as there is nothing in Czech on Kalimantan. They have been everywhere. It was very interesting to talk to them. They spoke good English. Whereas Sintang was the remotest part I have been to on this trip, to them it is like coming back to a city, after experiencing very primitive conditions upriver. The next day I met, briefly, a group of eight fairly young Australians who were staying in the same hotel and about to head off for a five day trek through the jungle (with a guide). They asked me to join them for beers in the river cafe but I had had too much arak the day before and didn't feel like drinking.
I stayed at the Sesean Hotel, in one of the cheaper rooms. I checked out the more expensive rooms (ie. aircon) but they had no windows. I am paying about five dollars for my perfectly adequate and clean basic room and it has windows on two sides. It is the only room I have had without a bathroom but that is no problem as there are plenty of clean bathrooms nearby. There is a new expensive hotel in Sintang - the Sakura - which the locals are very proud of. The Czech couple moved there after a night in the Sesean as they wanted some luxury after exploring the primitive interior of Kalimantan for so long. They probably had one of the awful windowless air-con rooms. I'd want to move too if I was in one of those. But the Sesean has a far better location - and has a policy of not allowing prostitutes in the rooms - unlike the more expensive hotels which almost always seem to double up as brothels.
One unusual thing about Sintang is a very prominent gay community. Near the river, not far from the hotel, transvestites would gather at night - something like the old Bugis St used to be in Singapore. It was quite interesting to watch their antics. I talked to one guy who said that although they were his friends he didn't approve of the way they behaved. He was much more serious and had a profession (he ran a beauty salon) and did not dress up as a woman. He was also quite knowledgeable about which countries allow gays to marry. So, you meet all types here.
Had a seven hour bus ride (that's the official time - it was actually a couple of hours more) back from Sintang to Pontianak. I'm staying in a VIP room at the Hotel Khatulistiwa (which means equator). Pontianak is right on the equator. VIP basically means they have cable TV. MTV and maybe CNN if I'm lucky. It still has an Asian style mandi, though there is a western-style toilet, which has to be flushed from the mandi. Went back to the Buddhist vegetarian restaurant again for dinner. Very nice food. I managed to find a golden fish in one of the gold shops. It's the only one I could find so I hope Yoong likes it.
I went to have a look at the museum this morning as it is not open in the afternoons. It wasn't open this morning either but one of the workers let me in to have a look around anyway. Not much of interest compared to the Kuching museums.
I have booked a bus for tonight. I had to check out at 12 noon so I have to fill in nine hours - not easy in the equatorial heat of Pontianak. Here in the big city I don't get invited into people's homes.
When I went to book the bus this morning I was told it was full. Tomorrow is Indonesia's Independence day so it is not the best time to be travelling. I went to a second company who told me the same thing - booked out. So I went back to the first place to buy a ticket for Friday. In the meantime just one seat had become available. I was lucky to be there at the right time. So I will be on tonight's bus after all. Started watching The Legend of Sleepy Hollow last night on HBO but I was too tired and turned it off and slept.
I went to a popular warung for lunch today for their speciality, somay, which is a mixture of things covered in satay sauce - boiled egg, potato, fish-cake, tofu and vegetables. Quite a famous place in this town. Later I stopped at a nice air-conditioned restaurant for an avocado juice. I can't resist the fruit juices here - very refreshing in the hot weather and just over a dollar at the present lousy exchange rate. I may go back to eat there tonight as the food looked quite good - Japanese style presentation. The expensive-looking restaurants here don't really cost much more than the street places. Maybe the food is not quite as good, but you eat in airconditioned comfort, and at least an illusion of hygienic surroundings.
Tonight I'll probably cross the river and go for a walk along the opposite bank. Like all the towns around here, Pontianak is a much nicer place in the evenings. I have left the main bag at the bus agents so I can walk around freely.
Sunday 18/8/01
I have just arrived back home. I decided to break the journey in Malaysia as there was really no need to be home until today. I stayed a day in Kuching, which is definitely worth a return trip. Arrived in Miri late last night - about 1 am and stayed at the Tai Pho Inn. Both Brooke Inn and Fairland were closed for the night, but Tai Pho had a bell and a sign saying there were rooms available. It was a pretty lousy room - no windows - but at that time of night I just needed somewhere to sleep.
I stayed at the Longhouse Hotel in Kuching - double what I paid at Tai Pho but well worth it. The TV was all in Malay though. In the evening I went for a walk along the Waterfront. It was good to see it all again. They even had dancing fountains - not as spectacular as the ones here in Brunei, but at least it was free.
The bus trip to Miri was long but comfortable. I was the only passenger going all the way to Miri and at one stage there were only three other passengers. I met three young Italian guys who got on at Sibu and were going as far as Bintulu to see Niah caves. They were from Milan and were travelling all over Malaysia. Kota Kinabalu is their next stop, flying from Miri. I asked them if they ate the local food, because all they got at the meal stop was potato crisps. They said they preferred Italian food. Not very adventurous I thought.