MATANG TO SERIKIN 25Feb2006

START ~ Matang Wildlife Centre 250206

Today we plan to hunt for the orang-utans, and we are told that there are some being rehabilitated at the Matang Wildlife Centre. Driving into the forest we come to this delightful place.

In the morning sun.

Looks harmless, so far so good.

Uh-huh? Orang-utans on the loose, and nasty ones too? I thought they were cuddly and cute, or have I been suckered?

More warning and a disclaimer too. Maybe the orang-utans on the loose are really nasty. Does not sound good at all.

We ask a park ranger and he says, the centre has released 5 of them into the forest, supposedly rehabilitated. Of the 5, only 2 have occasionally returned to the centre looking for food but acting like terrorists. The other 3 never came back, and my bet is they ended up on dinner tables somewhere.

Yes, poaching is a big issue here.

Pergola in the compound at the start of the forest trail. There's a small stream gurgling with crystal clear water near where I am. Must be very clean water because I spot a prawn among the fish.

The Hunt 250206

Getting some rough directions from the park staff, we take a forest path, hopefully heading for the enclosure where the 2 orang-utans are kept. I am half-expecting their liberated brethren to ambush us here, but thank god, we are spared.

Huge enclosure indeed. We climb a viewing platform overlooking the high wall, and crane our necks looking for the critters ...

... and yup, there's one at the far end, prolly reading Jane Goodall in his suite. Another one is spotted further away having a nap in the grasses. What a damper!

But we saw nature's work of art.

Leaving Matang 250206

Orang-utan hunting done, we decide to go to another fishing village. And as usual, the the road signages are not helpful at all, skimpy directions (or none at all), no roadside milestones, no distance indicators, etc. Seems to be the theme in the whole of Sarawak, making self-drive travelers like us a tad annoyed.

Kampung Telaga Air 250206

Kg Telaga Air, a traditional Malay fishing village at the mouth of a mangrove-lined river, is idyllic and very rural, but has a library complete with a satellite link (thanks to the Canadians).

Scenic estuary.

Mangroves along the river bank. Must be a angler's paradise.

Laying a fish trap. They do start young.

Bau Town 250206

Downtown Bau, founded in the 19th century during a gold rush. Just an hour's drive south of Kuching, the Gold Town of Sarawak is definitely worth a stop, but gold-mining has stopped a long time ago.

Bau has 50,000 people with 80% of them being Bidayuhs. This cute roundabout graces the town centre.

Bau is the administrative centre of Bau district, one of the 28 districts in the state of Sarawak.

The Dishes 250206

Bau, as is the case with other parts of Sarawak, is awashed with huge C-Band dishes for free satellite viewing. Though illegal in Malaysia, it seems Sarawak has beaten the red light and is getting away with it. Hundreds of free TV channels from around the world can be grabbed using one of these puppies.

The Blue Bau Lake 250206

On the outskirt of Bau town, we come to this beautiful bluish lake, formed when an open-cast gold mining pit was flooded in 1921. But do not let its beauty deceive you ...

... for its water is laced with deadly arsenic, a legacy from it's carefree gold-mining days. You cannot do anything with the lake except just to admire it. And I see a kingfisher swooping to grab a fish, so the lake is indeed alive, but the arsenic permeates the food chain.

The warning sign was only put up in 1999. Prior to that villagers were using the lake water for all purposes, and visitors could not resist a dip in the fine-looking water. In 1999, it was estimated that 300 people had arsenic poisoning.

The Road to Serikin 250206

After having lunch in Bau, we decide to head for Serikin, a border post with Indonesia. We hear that on weekends, there's a market by Indonesians selling Indonesian stuff for Malaysians that goes on from Saturday afternoon till Sunday evening, non-stop.

Sounds intriguing, so after asking for directions (no signposts here), we head towards Serikin. We have no clue how far it is, so we keep on crawling along dusty, rocky earth roads.

After 40 min in the dust in what seems like eternity, we suddenly see the sign 'Serikin Village Catholic Cemetery'. Ah-hah, we are getting somewhere.

Some 10 min later, 'Customs Check Point' and 'Serikin Border Control Post' appear. We are home! But what a desolate place it is. Whatever the Indonesians hawk here, it better be good!

Downtown Serikin 250206

A single metalled main road goes through the village. We are early, so the crowd is still small, but stalls are already set up on both sides of the road, all 300 metres of it, all Indonesians.