We woke this morning still in Sibu. According to the original plan, we'd have been back home by this time. But we'd discovered soon after we arrived here that there's still a boat to Dalat...

Actually, there's a boat to Daro, too, but all we saw of that one was a notice yesterday morning saying it was full. And Daro is an awkward place to get in and out of if you don't have a car.

Dalat, however, seemed doable, if we extended our trip a little. And who knows how long this service will persist? Boats used to hack around from Sibu with gay abandon, serving all sorts of destinations including Kuching and Kapit. But then the roads came, and many river routes just ground to a halt, leaving just a few sad pensioners behind:



So why not go to Dalat? Especially as we hadn't booked our passage back to Kuching, and still had a degree of flexibility.


A slight issue is that you can't reserve a seat on the boat until the day of travel. At about 0800, they put a list and a clipboard on the counter at the port building (the one that used to be so much busier). You add your name and details, and then you can go away and do whatever you need to do until 30 minutes before departure time (the first one goes at 1130, and we're told there's another at 1230).

So, yesterday, with a supply of clean clothing organized, and a roti downed, we went off to sign up. Big snag: No boat that day, because they were doing charters. But there would be a boat on Sunday.

We headed off to drink coffee, and consider this new turn of events. And we decided that we'd try again today. But we'd move hotels, because our stay at the original one was up, and it made sense to be a bit nearer the port.

So, long story short, this morning we again went to sign up on the boat list, and were told to be back at 1100.

It's all very informal. If you think your luggage will be OK on the roof, you hand it over. And then you hang around, hotly, until it's time for everyone to climb aboard. The little cabin was full, what with passengers lining the benches, and lots more luggage piled up between the two rows. But once you're moving, there's a good draught, so although it's hot, it's not unbearably so. They collect your money once you're under way, which -- given the loadedness of the boat -- is quite a feat. It's MYR 35 per person if you're going all the way to Dalat (approximately a two-hour trip).




It's an interesting journey. You head off down the Igan River, as we'd done on our little cruise, but soon we were way beyond the point we'd reached then.

The scenery on this stretch is mostly green river bank, punctuated by kampong, and the occasional ship-building hub. We passed a few sand-extracting barges.

About an hour into the journey, we started shedding passengers and cargo. All sorts of things had come with us downriver. Bags of rice, bags of flour, bags of coffee, trays of eggs; a flatscreen TV and a gas stove; a chicken (live). And more...

Sometimes, we'd stop at several jetties in quick succession.

Eventually, you turn off the Igan, onto the Kut, which is a much smaller affair. You wind your way along that until you reach the totally loopy River Oya, which you follow for just a short way until you get to Dalat. Not that the Igan was exactly straight... If you look on the map, you'll see it does a fair few wiggles. But that one is such a big waterway that you don't really notice.














It's actually not that great an idea to arrive in Dalat on a Sunday... Most businesses are very firmly shut. But we found a little place that supplied lunch. And then we checked into our accommodation, which used to be called the Sago Inn, but is now the Homestay Dalat. It's basic, but it's fine. And as far as we can tell, it's the only game in town.

It was incredibly hot today, but we managed a bit of a walk:



We particularly wanted to see the interior of the Tua Pek Kong temple, which we'd missed on our last visit:







There's a cendol shop marked on the map, but either it's gone, or it's not open on a Sunday. (I always find it amazing that when you're really craving one of Malaysia's quintessentially heat-busting refreshments, you can never find one...)

We had to make do with a Borneo chocolate ice-cream KitKat from the "department store" (aka supermarket). Which was actually pretty nice...:


Anyway, it was worth persevering with the boat ride, especially as the new-road writing is already on the wall.

Tomorrow, we'll head on to Mukah, but by bus this time.