Yesterday we set out on our big road trip to Bintulu, a coastal town that lies to the northeast of Kuching. The way we're hoping to go involves a journey of about 650 km... 

We actually intended to do this little jaunt two weeks ago. We know the rainy season is approaching, and La Nina means it's likely to be a doozer. So we wanted to do our motoring while we were still very comfortably in the transition zone, rather than approaching the full-on monsoon. 

But our plans were put on hold by the CMCO (which stopped us leaving Kuching, and prohibited tourist activities). So our transition window has closed a little. And when you wake up to streaming rain on Day 1, you do wonder if you are doing the right thing...


But by 7 o'clock, the sky was all smiles again. It had another little cry just after lunch, but then was serene for the rest of the day. 

Our goal for this trip was to reach Bintulu via as many of Sarawak's river ferries as possible... These have become a little obsession since our return from covid-exile. On two successive getaways, we came across ferries that had been replaced by bridges, and on the third, we took a still-live ferry across the Rambungan.

So that kind of set us wondering: How many more of these gallant little boats are there?

Sarawak's Ministry of Infrastructure and Port Development is a helpful source of information, and on the basis of this, we think we can reach Bintulu via a route that involves six ferries, and gives us the opportunity to view and/or ride another two.

Information on actual routes was relatively hard to come by -- Google Maps is really not au fait with this area -- so I'm going to include some timings in this post in case anyone wants to cover the same ground. (It does all depend, though... We were really lucky yesterday, and had very little waiting to do. But on rolling off the third ferry, which can take 24 cars, we saw that the queue forming in the other direction definitely consisted of more than that... So it's essential to factor in PLENTY of time.)

Anyway, the trip...


We left home just before 1030, heading along now familiar roads to Kota Samarahan and Asajaya. By just after 1200, however, we had not only crossed our third major bridge (over the Sarawak, Sabang, and Sadong rivers), and consumed our three-course packed lunch (a really splendid car repast: celery soup, mozzarella buns, and cinnamon apples), but we had also arrived on territory that was new to us. This is the bank opposite the one where we stood to take these photos:


Swiftlet houses are everywhere. And slightly strangely, given this is a coast road, you see little to nothing of the sea. 

At 1250, we boarded the Lupar ferry, and left almost immediately.


This estuary is a biggie -- we weren't disembarking till 1320 -- and it's also an odd trip in that you load, and then the vessel swings round, so that you set off for the far shore with all the vehicles facing backwards. At the other end this process is reversed, and the boat swings round again, so you can drive off forwards. There was a lorry-load of tweety chicks just up ahead, and a cat in the car in front. So it was quite the menagerie gliding backwards across the Lupar. Not to mention the terns, who -- very definitely facing forwards -- were following along behind us.





The next bit of road is best described as "bouncy". The motorcycle pillion passengers looked as though they were riding horses. But it's very scenic. There are patches of oil palm (you often see piles of fruit waiting for collection along the road), but they're interspersed with coconut, banana, nipa palm, even rice. You start thinking of desserts involving these elements...

With the Saribas ferry, we had to queue only about seven minutes. We were on by 1417, and off by 1430 (once you've landed, it only takes a few minutes to get everyone off these boats).

Here you can see there's a bridge under construction, so the little ferry's days are numbered...




This section of the road is much less bouncy. But also much quieter. You start to wonder whether there will actually be a ferry at the end of it. But there is. This one is the Krian ferry. Again, we queued only about seven minutes. We were on by 1502, waited a short while for the boat to fill up, and were rolling off the other side by 1520. Both this ferry and the previous one come off the ramp heading downstream, and have to turn in the river to come back upstream. There's a lot of skill involved here, I reckon.








Anxious to avoid the driving nightmare that is the Pan Borneo Highway (PBH), we turned left just out of Saratok (after the road swings round to the right). You're starting to see longhouses near the road now, the wooded countryside is lovely, and the carriageway is undulating rather than bouncy. But it's very rough in places. I'm not sure whether they're fixing it, or just need to fix it, but sections of it are slow-going and distinctly PBH-like.

At 1615, there was no escape from the PBH, but we had to endure it only for about 11 km, as we were by now only 20 km or so out of Sarikei. We arrived at about 1645, after a journey of 270 km.

We're staying at the Sarikei Garden Hotel, which does its job perfectly satisfactorily. The room is a decent size; everything works.

We'd been through Sarikei twice before, on river trips to Sibu. But we'd only seen it from the boat, and assumed it was the sort of settlement that boiled down to a few shophouses and not much else. It turns out this is absolutely not the case. It's quite a sizeable town, and rather grand in places.



We had dinner at the One Family Cafe, and I must say I really rate their roast chicken noodle soup... Fantastically flavourful chicken, and a really tasty broth. Simple, but impeccable.


Sarikei is definitely photogenic.














Second breakfast happened at Aik Seng, a venerable wharfside coffee shop with a solid reputation for roti bakar. There was no way this could remotely be spun as low-carb, so Nigel abstained while PT shamelessly indulged.

The buns are toasted over charcoal, and this really does make a difference. You get a fabulous toasty flavour, and in addition to the usual butter and kaya they add a slick of peanut butter. Yums. By the time we'd finished, the place had filled up, and almost everyone was having the roti bakar... No surprise there.



This is one of those traditional places where the floor manager takes your order, and hollers it back to the kitchen. Quite how they keep track of all these hollerings I never know. But they do.

While Sarikei sits on the Rajang River, between two tributaries, Bintangor, situated a little upriver, occupies the triangle between the Rajang and another tributary. Like Sibu, it's very much a Foochow town. It used to be called Binatang, but that means "animal" in Malay, and officials found it embarrassing to be introduced as -- for example -- "Albert Wong, Animal Divisional Medical Officer", so in 1984, it was officially renamed.

Again, it's an unpretentious and picturesque little town, this time dedicated to the orange (and other citrus fruit).










Bintangor also has a car ferry, and we got all excited on learning about this, thinking we could add another boat to our journey, and avoid having to go through Sibu (nothing wrong with Sibu, but we've been there already). But no, the Sungai Sian ferry (named after the area it serves, not the river it crosses) takes people to the settlements on the far bank, from which there is no onward exit. Never mind, at least we got to watch it in action:





Part 1 of lunch was the famous rojak that you can buy from Wong Hung Ping. A rojak is a mixture of ingredients (this one had cucumber, pineapple, water chestnut, sweet potato, tofu, and fried dough stick pieces) tossed in a sauce that is both sweet and salty. I rarely eat it, because I usually find the sauce too sweet. In this case, it was just right. A little sweet, a little salty, and the whole thing topped off with crunchy roasted peanuts. PERFECT. The best rojak ever. And to go with it, fresh local orange juice.



Part 2 was tumpik from Haji Abang Saini. This is a Melanau dish made from sago flour (called lemantak) and coconut flakes. The "ordinary" version has a nice crispy texture, and goes well with gula apong (nipa palm) syrup. The "special" version has a prawn filling, and needs no additions:



We're really enjoying exploring Sarawak's fascinating little towns. They are characterful and quirky; they're effortlessly photogenic; they offer amazing culinary opportunities; and their inhabitants are friendly and welcoming. What's not to like?

Looking forward to more tomorrow as we head for Mukah.