Category Archives: Sarawak

Niah Caves Part 2

July 22, 2009 Ruth

July 22

Niah Caves Part 2

Hi All,

This is the 2nd of 3 emails about Niah Caves. If you have missed the first one or any past ones, they are all posted on www.mydoramac.com. Audrey gets them posted almost faster than I can create them.

Anyway, this email is about our hike through the caves. Pretty impressive though my camera really couldn’t capture it. The 3rd email will be about the men who collect the birds’s nests and bird and bat guano. Yum.

Niah Caves with Joy and Jim – To the Caves

We took off on an in land adventure and hiked to and through the Niah Caves, a National Park site in Sarawak not far from Miri. Our cruising friends, Jim and Joy Carey on Kelerin planned the trip, made arrangements for and drove the rental car. Randal and I just had to show up at 7am with our snacks and hiking shoes and split the cost of gas and the car rental. The car rental, 30 ringgits and the gas 40 ringgits was divided so was about $ 16 U.S. for us. It was about 60 miles from our marina to the caves. Jim did an admirable job of driving the small car that just fit 4 American size people. (And the steering wheel is on the wrong side and you drive on the wrong side of the road too.) Only one window would open, and the AC wouldn’t work. But hey, it cost next to nothing to rent and it did the job.

Our first stop was for gas which involved a tour around Miri and its frustrating puzzle of one way streets, always the way you didn’t want to go. But we found the station and then headed back out of Miri toward Bintulu. Our original destination was a different park where you might be able to see some crocodiles and take a boat ride too. But as began to realize how long it would actually take to get there, and that the Niah Caves were much closer, we opted for the caves. The Sail Malaysia Rally had planned to make a trip to the caves; then it became an optional trip at an additional cost. The last optional trip that was offered in Terengganu never happened. And the day the Cave trip might go, Jim couldn’t so switching to the Caves made perfect sense. As it turned out, when the cave trip was actually organized, none of us was around and when we learned of it the bus was full. Good thing we went on our own. http://www.forestry.sarawak.gov.my/forweb/np/np/niah.htm is the Cave’s website.

Our first stop, about 9 am, was for snacks in Niah Junction. It’s just like those places you stop at for gas and snacks in the US except the food is Malaysian and you’re not sure what it is.

Randal and friend at the snack shop. There was also a “display” of some very large turtles that we weren’t sure were alive or not. Sad when the displays for live things aren’t more humane.

Randal ate noodles but the rest of us had just small snacks. As it turned out, we all should have had noodles and more since it would be about 3 pm by the time we were back in the same snack stop having a meal. We just had no clue. I did have some of the dry floury cookies I’d bought at the snack stop and we all had water so it wasn’t dire or anything.

The Niah National Park Complex offered housing and a cafeteria for people staying overnight. We saw young hostlers and also a couple who probably took the VIP lodging.

Randal, Jim and Joy qualified for the “senior” tickets of 5 ringgits but mine was 10. We rented torches (flashlights) which you truly did need while walking through the cages.

Joy, Jim and Randal. You had to take a motorized boat the two minute ride across the river. I’m guessing they don’t have a bridge so they can control access to the Caves and Park to protect it. The one ringgit fee each way was minimal.

There was a small building that said Archeological Museum but it was closed.

You walk 3.5 Kilometers to the Great Cave. Most of it is along flat boardwalk through the jungle. Unfortunately there was no wildlife to be seen. We could hear lots of different kind of birds, but except for bright orange centipedes and two lizards, we never saw a monkey, flying lizard or anything else. We did see the huge Tapang trees like we’d seen in Kumai and the Singapore Botanical Garden and some fungai, but no orchids.

Not sure if these two were making love or war. They were totally still.

About half way you get to the entrance to a small village. We didn’t walk the half mile there, but in hind-sight wish we had and skipped the trip to the Painted Cave. You’ll see why when we get there. These ladies were selling cold drinks and souvenirs. We had the cold drinks on the way back.

Every now and then you would get to a gated area. Not sure if they were ever locked now.

And stairs! Randal wished we had counted how many we went up and down along the way.

Next email, “into the caves.”

Malaysia, Miri Marina, Sarawak

Woman Smoking a Water Pipe

July 16, 2009 Ruth

Hi All,

Just trying to catch up on the emails I wrote but couldn’t send. There are about 4 of them. Here is the first, about a woman and a water pipe at the Little Lebanon Restaurnat in Kuching.

ps Spent today doing boat chores: defrosting frig, cleaning up exploded Pepsi Max from the freezer, washing sheets and blankets. Randal did his boat chores and our friend Jim came to return a book and retrieve his hat that he left on our boat back in Tioman. Just a quiet day

Woman Smoking a Water Pipe in the Little Lebanon Restaurant, Kuching

That about sums it up! Randal and I were in our “favorite by default” restaurant in Kuching. I say favorite by default because we really didn’t explore the city all that much. We ate 3 times in Little Lebanon, once in James Brooke and twice in small Chinese open air restaurants. I say open air because the street side has no wall and it’s all just open. Most small restaurants are like that. But some seem more like bistro sidewalk seating than like the wall is missing. And though I’d prefer eating somewhere new each day, Randal prefers to “go with what you know and serves beer.”

One time we were sitting at our same table that we always sit at waiting for our food. We do order different dishes each time and I do have to say that they were all quite good. That visit Randal’s meal came first and mine about 10 minutes later. While I waited a “baggish lady” sitting at a restaurant table but eating her own food, offered me some of her rice. I tried to explain that my food was coming, but she offered again. Maybe she thought Randal wouldn’t buy me any! I had ordered two small inexpensive appetizers that sounded interesting, and were, but larger than I had expected. The first dish was 6 small vegetarian fried pies. When it came I offered some to the lady. She came over to look and was a bit surprised. At first she wasn’t sure what to do, then took one. Then the restaurant owner came out to shoo her away. I explained what had happened; but I guess they weren’t too pleased with her sitting there but couldn’t yell at a tourist. The other dish was Dayak Chicken soup and was wonderful and spicy hot! But that was a different story and this is about the water pipe smoker….

I asked if I could take photos of the process.

They were trying to figure out why it didn’t work. The water apparently acts as a filter. I guess the smoke goes through and makes the water bubble or something that apparently wasn’t happening. The woman was drinking beer and about to smoke this intense pipe. Her male friend was reading a magazine and sipping a Pepsi. Opposites attract.

This woman was beautiful enough to have this odd hairdo. The hair above her ears is shaved almost. The best of both worlds, short and long hair. She actually is quite typical of many of the young travelers we see. The Rainforest World Music Festival attracted many more tourists than we have seen in other places.

Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes…..and several piercings too.

Francesca Ang to the rescue. Somehow she knew how it was all supposed to work and took charge ordering the restaurant worker to bring a different pipe and a new mouth piece. She also took charge of lighting the small piece of coal that heats it all up. A bit later Francesca walked by our table and we stopped her to talk. She is Malaysian but lived in Lebanon (the real place, not this restaurant) and works in the area of Malaysian economic development. Her lunch companions were two men from Egypt. Francesca told us to look for her at the Music Festival and we actually found her and enjoyed a cold drink together.

So that’s the story!

Malaysia, Miri Marina, Sarawak

Woman Smoking a Water Pipe

July 16, 2009 Ruth

Hi All,

Just trying to catch up on the emails I wrote but couldn’t send. There are about 4 of them. Here is the first, about a woman and a water pipe at the Little Lebanon Restaurnat in Kuching.

Woman Smoking a Water Pipe in the Little Lebanon Restaurant, Kuching

I asked if I could take photos of the process.

Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes…..and several piercings too.

So that’s the story!

Malaysia, Miri Marina, Sarawak

Rainforest World crafts

July 15, 2009 Ruth

Hi All,

We arrived here in Miri yesterday morning after a safe but somewhat problematic 2 night passage. Things broke, the sea was rolly, and we we were tired most of the time. But we did arrive safely and that’s the important part. We will be here until about the 23rd of July. There are some Sail Malaysia events on the 21st and 22nd.

I have written 2 emails about the Rainforest World Craft Bazaar. This is the first. The second shows Elizabeth learning to batik. I also tried my hand at it.

Ruth Johnson

DoraMac

Crafts Fair with Ruth and Elizabeth

My crafts companions Ruth, Elizabeth and I regrouped for another crafts adventure. The three of us had spent a wonderful time exploring batik together in Terengganu. The Rainforest World Crafts Bazaar, just in its second year, was held in Santubong in conjunction with the Rainforest World Music Festival now in its 10^th year. www.rainforestmusic-borneo.com The festival opened officially on the 10^th but there was “cheap” entry day on the 9^th so we thought we’d take advantage and go. Ruth, Elizabeth and I can enjoy much more time looking at crafts than Cliff, Patrick or Randal, so we leave them to boat chores and off we go. Perhaps most importantly, the three of us always seem to need teh tarik, lunch and the tandas all about the same time. Quite a compatible trio. (Tea, lunch and the “Ladies Room.)

The Crafts Bazaar is held at the Cultural Village about 2 ½ miles from our Santubong anchorage. Randal kindly played dinghy driver and we collected Elizabeth and Ruth for the quick trip to shore. We began walking at 8:10 and arrived at the Village at 9:10. It was a nice leisurely walk not unlike walking up Mill Mountain along the road though not so steep. We passed an upscale condo complex, a resort, one spectacular home and a restaurant along the way. Definitely not a hike through the jungle.

On brochures for the Craft Bazaar both Elizabeth and I had noticed the reduced entry fee charged on the 9^th. One brochure mentioned that the reduced fee was for “locals,” but each of us at different times had asked in the Kuching tourist office if we could also pay the reduced fee on the 9^th. We were both told that we could. The reduced fee was 15 ringits and the regular fee to enter the Cultural Village is 60 ringits which is about $18 US. None of us wanted to pay $18. Our Music Festival Tickets that would allow us to also see the Crafts Bazaar, the Cultural Village and the Music Festival were 180 ringits for our one day. Cliff and Ruth were going for 3 days so had already paid plenty. 15 ringits was about all we were willing to pay for the early visit to the Crafts Bazaar. There was a bit of confusion at the ticket booth as to whether we were included in the 15 ringit option; but because we had walked the 2 ½ miles and had been told by the Tourist Office we could pay the reduced fee, we were finally only charged the 15 ringits. Whew!

Ruth and Elizabeth sitting. Annette standing. Our first cup of tea after our 2 ½ mile walk

Annette, originally from Britain has been traveling and teaching most of her adult life. She is retired now in Kuching and among other things was a volunteer at the Crafts Bazaar. Elizabeth, a Brit who has also traveled the world teaching, swapped stories. It’s hard to see, but Annette’s shirt was one of the designs created in a contest among student artists.

Nabilah Abdullah a potter from Sarawak. I bought the small cup on the left. It looks like brass but it is clay as you can see. I was as intrigued with her as with the pots. The piece was 8 ringits, less than $3 US and I love it. I thought about buying a larger one, but it was 100 ringits and not the best investment for cruising on bumpy seas. The small one is perfect for toothpicks.

My lovely pot. It feels wonderful to hold in my hands. There is no lead in it so it’s possible to use it as a drinking mug. The small bracelet I bought in the souvenir shop for 6 ringits. It is an American flag sort of and I quite like wearing it.

Nabilah Abdullah

Inkubator Caw. Sarawak

016-8009 680

http://www.kraftangan.gov.my

When Randal and I returned for the Music Festival I brought Nabilah an American Flag bandana and she immediately demonstrated that she knew how to wear it hippy style on her head. I would have loved to have taken potting classes from her; she was so regal and calm…. Needless to say, I was impressed.

Batik Painting

This woman made ceramic beads. She too was quite lovely.

Weaving with rattan. There were lots of lovely baskets and these wonderful mats. I limited myself to just my mug and bracelet.

Coconut monkeys.

There were many lovely crafts. But there was also lots of just “tourist” quality stuff. It was a mix. But we had a wonderful day, stopping for lunch about noon. Then after some more looking we all decided we’d had enough and would catch a shuttle bus back to the jetty. The bus was not due for another 40 minutes so we decided to try to catch a taxi or flag down a ride. My hesitant “flagging” probably looked ridiculous, but soon a car with a Kuching woman and her mom stopped to give us a ride. They were quite happy to do it and we were happy to accept. I phoned Randal when we arrived at the jetty and he dinghyed us all back to our respective boats.

Both Elizabeth and I tried our hand at waxing a batik project and I’ll do a separate email about that.

Malaysia, Miri Marina, Sarawak

Batik training at the Craft Bazaar

July 15, 2009 Ruth

5:41 pm Miri Marina www.mirimarina.com

Hi All,

Today Joy and Jim Carey on the boat Kelaerin from Bellingham, WA USA and Randal and I biked into Miri. We stopped first at the Harbor Master and then had a wonderful lunch of Banana Rice. Banana Rice is wonderful rice dish served on a placemat size banana leaf. Around the mound of rice they place small servings of different vegetables and then offer you the choice of 3 sauces, dahl, chicken or fish. It was very good. I had asked about lamb Redang and so also received a dish of that which was also very good. Joy ordered a lemon flip to drink and then Jim had one since it was so good. What made it so thick? Raw egg yoke much to Joy’s horror. We only found that out after the meal. I had a lemon/honey drink that was more lemon than honey so very good. Everything was very good. Randal also had the banana rice, some curry chicken and a 100 Plus which is a carbonated version of Gatorade. Our bill was about 40 ringits, around $12 US. After that we biked the mile into town to the small wet market for cucumber, tomatoes, potatoes, and mangoes. Then we checked out the fish market and then we just went biking around. The city is full of one way, no u-turn streets. But the drivers mostly were very curtious. I think we will quite like it here!

So that’s it. I still owe emails about Santubong and the waterpipe smoking woman of Kuching. Hopefully I’ll catch up while we are here.

Batik at the Crafts Bazaar

One of the stalls at the Rainforest World Crafts Bazaar was run by a lovely and patient Indonesian woman from Jakarta. Visitors could attempt to use a canting tool to apply wax to a simple picture drawn on a white cloth. The image looked like something one could embroider and we actually used an embroidery hoop to hold the cloth though she did say that mostly children used them and adults often just held the cloth in their hand. Here are photos of Elizabeth doing batik. Hers came out quite good. Mine had lots of wax blobs.

Elizabeth and our teacher. She didn’t mind showing and re-showing and then saying, “Turn the blobs into art!” (Though it was only mine that had lots of blobs. I had gone first and maybe the wax wasn’t so runny or maybe I just had less steady hands.)

Elizabeth being shown how to hold the canting tool.

A steady hand!

The instructor was wearing a lovely skirt and at her feet are the tools and melted wax for making batik.

Tools of batiking and some samples and a map showing Indonesia.

Elizabeth’s project. I found that when I held the cloth up the wax wouldn’t come out of the canting tool and when I held it level the wax came out in blobs. I was encouraged to turn the blobs into “art” but they just really looked like blobs. It was lots of fun to try.

I really also liked our batik teacher so brought an American flag bandana for her too when Randal and I returned for the Music Festival. She was very proud of Indonesian batik and encouraged everyone to come to Jakarta. The crafts bazaar and the music were held simultaneously so you could do both during the day and evenings.

And since I wrote so much about it, one photo of Banana Rice. They haven’t put the rice down on our leaf yet; but you can see the pile of it in front of Jim. He had white rice.

There was spicy ginger pickle too and some whispy bread. Randal is holding the orange chopsticks. The rest of us used forks though eating with just your fingers is also acceptable. The lamb Redang is in front of my plate.

Malaysia, Miri Marina, Sarawak

Kuching Minibus Tale

July 15, 2009 Ruth

5:04 pm Miri Marina

Here is the 2nd catch up email; it’s about our minibus experiences. A minbus is just a large van with 3 rows of spassenger eats like a large van and could probably hold 11 adults comfortably. For all of our trips there were at least 3 people in the front driver’s seats and 4 or 5 per row and some on makeshift seats facing backwards. It wasn’t so terrible unless someone started smoking. There was a tiny No Smoking sign but it was ignored. There was usually no AC but luckily the windows let in air while we moved. But we did only pay 4 ringits for the 40 minute ride. The public minibus and the private resort minibuses were all about the same. Our definition of, “the van is full,” and the driver’s version of “the van is full,” were about 3 or 4 people. But everyone was always polite and friendly and the children well behaved.

Taking a Minibus

Randal and I went to Kuching one day; just to go for lunch. We spent 45 minutes waiting for a minibus that never came. There were 8 cruisers waiting so cars couldn’t offer us a lift. Finally a “resort” minibus stopped but was charging 10 ringits instead of the public minibus fare of 4 ringits. Two cruisers got in; the rest of us opted to wait for the public minibus which would be coming by anytime soon. We waited and waited and waited. Early in the morning several go by and even private minivans charge 4 ringits. About midday the first school shift ends and the second one begins so school kids apparently are taking the minibuses around Santubong so fewer make the trip to Kuching. Finally a cruiser in a hired taxi went by and Randal and I got in because Cliff and Ruth and Jennie and Eddie were going together to the motorbike rental store and not all of us wouldn’t fit into the taxi anyway.

Jeanette in the blue hat, Ruth sitting next to her, Randal, Eddie and Cliff. Jeanette and Eddie are from New Zealand though he is Dutch by birth. Te Wai Paunamu is the name of their boat. It means something in native New Zelandese that is quite nice but I can’t remember. I think Paunamu is a bay there.

While we were waiting I walked up to take a photo of this which is just near the “bus stop.”

It’s the tomb of a past Sultan who was the Sultan of Brunei, I think. Apparently his family has a home near Santubong, I think.

We heard later that our friends had waited another 45 minutes and then it took 40 minutes to get to town. I’m sure they were starving by the time they got to Kuching. Our taxi driver told us about life in Kuching. I’m not sure how much education he’d had; but his first job in the early 80s was as a PR guy for the Kuching Government. He was paid 250 ringits per month; less than $100 US. He had to travel a great deal too. After 3 years he quit to work in a hotel, stay put and make more money. He owns his own taxi and will pay off the 7 year loan next year. He married at age 30 and waited 4 years to have his first child. He has 4 and tells them to wait to marry so that they “won’t have to share.” He explained that when you marry and you have 1 ringit; you get only 50 cents and your spouse gets 50 cents. If you are not married then you get to keep the whole ringit for yourself. You get to do as you wish and not have to do as someone else wishes. This is the advice he gave to his almost 20 year old daughter. He told her to work and wait to marry. At dinner time when the whole family sits to eat together he teaches his children by telling them his thoughts about life. Jarfar is in his early 50s. Very, very reasonable. We arrived in Kuching about 12:30, ate lunch, bought new hose for our water catchers, some paint brushes for Randal to repaint the dings in the hull we got in Terengganu, and then went to catch the public minibus back to Santubong.

As I’m writing this about 10 days later, I can’t actually remember the point of the story…. But I’ll end with a description of a typical minibus ride back to Santubong. If there are only 2 or 3 cruisers in the van, then it is filled with at least 10 or 12 local people going back to Santubong. (One time we had 18 though 3 of them were small children.) Each person is dropped at his or her door! It reminded me of taking the airport shuttle when I’d visit my parents in Florida. We’d leave the airport and then stop at 2 or 3 condo complexes along the way to drop off passengers. I seemed to always be the last one off on the way to my parents and the first one on returning to the airport. Santubong actually resembles Florida with the foliage. We drove down small lanes to small villages to small homes and a passenger or 2 would get off the van. One time, it was so neat to see, we dropped off one man whose kids just looked so happy to see him. There was a small home at the end of a double board path along the river. A small boy and his smaller brother in diapers were waiting at the door. The baby was jumping up and down with joy seeing his dad. Another boy came from where he had been swimming with his buddies and followed his dad down the path. The dad had groceries and also a new bicycle wheel rim which seemed to be for the older boy. Then the van turned around and retraced its way back down the lane to another lane to drop off another passenger. By the end of the trio the van felt very roomy and comfortable!

Kuching, Malaysia, Sail Malaysia, Santubong, Sarawak

Santubong

June 30, 2009 Ruth

Anchorage at the foot of Mount Santubong

We are here at Santubong (Kuching stop on the rally) and will go to Miri up north next.

There is a stop in Brunei but we may not make that stop.

Hi Everyone,

The legend of MT Santubong goes like this. Beautiful Princesses Santubong and Sejinjang were sisters and great friends. Sejinjang was an expert rice grower and Santubong an expert weaver. They were sent to bring peace and harmony to the warring villages of Kuning and Putih. All would be well unless the sisters would quarrel and that would bring war back to the villages. All was well until, you guessed it, the handsome Prince Serapi came along and fell for them both. Being modern princesses (in spirit) they refused to be joint wives. They chose to fight it out, (not so modern spiritwise) Anyway, so the legend goes, Sejinjang swung her rice thresher smack into Santubong’s cheek. Falling backwards, Santubong returned the favor throwing her loom and hitting Sejinjang’s head. Their father the king, in disgust (though what did he expect) cursed both sisters into mountains. Mount Santubong is supposed to resemble a woman lying on her back with a crevice at the peak where she was hit by her sister’s thresher. At the base of Mount Santubong is the Sarawak Cultural Village Museum. www.scv.com.my is the website. The legend comes from a small booklet Treasured Malaysian Legends that Elizabeth from Labarque gave to me. She had gotten an extra copy at one of the visitor centers. Just to keep things on a light note, at the bottom of the back cover in all caps it says, “TRAFFICKING IN ILLEGAL DRUGS CARRIES THE DEATH PENALTY.)

MT. Santubong

We watched clouds roll over the top of Princess Santubong’s head. At least I think that’s supposed to be the top of her head.

My version.

We walked into the small town of Santubong today for lunch. They have one restaurant and a few stores and several schools with kids helloing us along the way. We really weren’t sure where the town was and mixed it up with the Cultural Village. But after walking one way then another and then another we found the really longest way to Santubong and took it. Lunch was rice, greens, tofu and sprouts, curried okra and friend chicken. Pretty good. Then we browsed the 3 stores but didn’t buy the half gallon of ice cream since it would be totally melted by the time we got it back to the boat. Tomorrow we are going with Jim and Jenny Jobbins from Amalthea (New Zealand) and maybe Elizabeth from Labarque to Kuching. We go out to the road and wait for the minibus to show up. It sort of has a schedule. On July 3rd the rally is doing a tour of Kuching and the National Park. I’m looking forward to that and also to maybe finding a hiking trail for Mt. Santubong.

Our 3 night, 4 day passage from Terengganu to Santubong was good. We left Terengganu 5 am Friday morning and cruised at a very slow 4.5 knots average most of the day. During the nights we each take 2 watches. The watches start at 7 pm and go to 7 am. Each watch is 3 hours. Randal starts the 7pm watch. He wakes me at 10pm. I wake him at 1 am. And he wakes me again at 4 am. If he is lucky I don’t wake him during my watch to ask for help. During the 3 nights of passages I had to wake him during my 4am to 7 am watch on the first and third night. But that is great because I have in the past almost always had to wake him at least once each watch. I don’t like standing watch because I have to make decisions about how to interpret what I see on the radar screen. Sometimes I see lights not on the screen usually they are further away than the radar radius; but it looks like they are RIGHT THERE!!! I have learned not to panic if the radar says boats will be within a mile of us, or even a half mile if it is an anchored squid boat with huge lights. If I can really see it, then it’s ok. When it rains, that’s the biggest problem for me because the rain covers up the entire area and I can’t yet pick out the boats on the screen. Luckily I can see them with my eyes and luckily it was a very light rain my third night. We also have an AIS Automatic Identification System now. If a boat has AIS, and most large boats do, it tells you more accurately where they are going and how close they will come. We crossed a shipping lane our third day and it really helped to have that. Our fourth day we had a storm and I realized that I wasn’t so afraid of them now. Watching the boat’s bow go down where I couldn’t see it and then back up again just became uncomfortable, not so scary. But the waves were only about 5 feet and that apparently is no big deal to seasoned cruisers which I am not yet.

So that’s about it. Hope all of you have a great 4th. There is actually another American boat here so maybe we’ll get to say, “Happy 4th” to someone this year. We haven’t yet met them because they haven’t been on any of the stops at the same time. Not sure why.

DoraMac