Longboat and 4WD to Limbang

Saturday 16 August 2008

Longhouse to Limbang

My leaden, lactic-acid laced body complained all the way to Limbang.

My leaden, lactic-acid laced body complained bitterly every time I rolled over during the night. It was not a peaceful night’s sleep. I was actually glad to get up shortly after light began creeping into the sky.

We had breakfast of eggs and toast, tea or coffee, said our goodbyes and walked the short distance back to the river and to our uncomfortable longboats. The boatman was the same one we’d had yesterday. He was also the owner of the longhouse we stayed in. His wife did all the cooking for us. It was a pleasant stay but one that I felt lacked further interpretation by either our guide or by the owner of the house. There were so many questions left unanswered including the one asking where were the ancestral skulls? Where were the heads that had been “head hunted?” Other questions had come to mind as I tossed and turned during the night. How many lived in the house? How long had the house been there? Did these longhouses ever burn down due to the cooking methods? What about schooling for the kids? How did they hand on traditional skills and culture to the young? How were these being eroded in today’s contact with the city – with the clearing of the jungle? So many questions left unanswered. If our guide, Ricky, had been a little more communicative, we would have had at least some of the answers. Ricky was personable enough and has been guiding since the ‘80’s so should have known a lot and should have put in a bit more effort. He seems to be tired of the job but can’t do without the money. Of course, last night we could have cajoled him into giving us the answers but we were probably all just too tired to be bothered.

And so we headed off downstream for a further one and a half hours before we reached a road-head at Nanga Medamit. On the way, we passed many farms and a couple of timber loading places. There’s obviously a lot of timber being taken from the forests as very large barges were being loaded with huge logs. Tugs guide the barges downstream to even larger staging places before the timber is exported. Where does the timber in our furniture come from? When you such logging of rain forest jungle it’s time to take stock!

Nanga Medamit doesn’t have a lot going for it… except it was the place where we were able to get out of the longboat and stretch our legs for half an hour before again folding them up to be able to sit in a 4WD for an hour long drive to Limbang.

We were checking into Limbang’s Puranama Hotel by 10h30. It’s quite a snazzy place, or was that just by comparison with our accommodation for the last few nights? Actually, it was very pleasant. I did much needed laundry and tried to sleep, but not successfully.

It had been arranged that we would meet in the lobby at 15h30 for a guided walk around this thriving but small town. I was the only one who turned up! The rest were obviously more successful in getting to sleep. Ricky and I walked the town in 45 minutes. I bought a disposable razor for RM1.60 and a pair of reading glasses for RM20. I can read again! I only saw one other Westerner in Limbang. It’s not on the tourist route evidently.

Dinner was organised at Maggie’s Café which was a short walk from the hotel along the muddy banks of the very muddy river. Limbang is known for its seafood and we were all looking forward to seeing what was on offer. The menu indicated that we had to order separate dishes – no sharing and tasting here. But we managed to talk the waiter into providing 6 platters to be shared between us all. One platter was squid, another was sliced fish, then chilli crab, a feed of large prawns, and a platter that was half and half fern shoots with large lumps of garlic and a baby bok-choi like local green. Finally, to round out the meal, there was a large platter of pomme frits, with lots of salt to replace some of that lost through copious sweating. A cold Tiger beer was the usual RM6. Even sharing the cost of Ricky’s meal between us, the whole meal cost us only RM40 each.

The ‘entertainment’ for the evening was provided when a large rat turned up to join us! It ran along a ledge two-thirds of the way up the wall. The staff armed themselves with sticks that were half the length of a broom handle and went in pursuit. But the well fed beast hid behind a large neon sign and may still be there for all I know. The arrival of the rat heralded Frau G’s departure! Clutching her mouth and stomach and throwing some ringgit on the table to pay her share of the meal, Frau G left. A very pleasant and relaxed meal followed.

Back at the hotel I decided my still complaining body needed a massage. A full-body oil massage was in order as my whole body was still in torture mode, particularly my thighs. The masseuse was quite good and found knots in my shoulders, the result of carrying my backpack. She nearly put me through the roof when she attempted to separate the muscles in my thighs. The hour went all too quickly but was a steal at RM50. I expected to sleep well after all this relaxation therapy but again a rather disturbed night followed – not by being woken by external noises but by waking myself up every time I rolled over and disturbed those still aching muscles.