Two aims for this little road trip: 1. To go to Sibu, knocked out of our July itinerary because of covid; and 2. To witness again the "benak", the amazing river bore that every day grants Sri Aman a little miracle.

We're out of practice as far as travelling is concerned, and preparations that we would once have taken in our stride we somehow made a massive song and dance about this time. Nevertheless, we managed to get ourselves on the road reasonably bright and early on Tuesday 8, heading out of town towards Asajaya (very glad we weren't going in the other direction, where long queues of traffic were lurching stop-start towards Kuching).



The Sarawak countryside is beguiling, there is no doubt about that. A white bird rises languorously from a tree; a trio of black birds flap messily into the overcast sky; here's a little country school, all neat and proper; here's a little cemetery, a surprisingly long way from any visible habitation; ah, too early for the roadside stalls I always find so interesting; and wow, those rampant climbers are really mobbing that banana plant, which is so on its way to becoming a creeper goon; those bananas, on the other hand, are ringing that coconut like sentinels; here are those brightly painted water-towers, and more of the ubiquitous swiftlet houses; and now we're stuck behind something slow (a regular occurrence); but soon we're on the B107, which is just as lovely as we remember it, fairly quiet, and so scenic; wraiths of mist hover round the wooded hills; we're starting to see longhouses now, always a nice injection of depaysement; and approaching Simunjan, we notice little rice paddies, which we'd totally forgotten; such a pretty little town, and there's a new mural, but we won't stop this time...

And so on...

Our first objective was Gunung Ngeli. This is the elevation (a hill, really, rather than a mountain) on whose slopes Alfred Russel Wallace (as in the Wallace Line) spent nine months, back in the 1860s. He was researching the flora and fauna (often, unfortunately, by killing it). We'd read that there was a track to the top, and that it was the sort of track we should be capable of doing.

We drove past the start, of course. We usually do drive past things first off. But we got ourselves turned round, parked the car, stopped the car alarm (again), lathered ourselves with insect repellent, and set off up the hill.

The track alternates between flattish sections and sharp uphill bursts (there are rough steps, and in places helpful handrails, but it's still a steep, uneven, and slippery business, and care and attention are required throughout). But you're in the forest, which is always atmospheric. Several times we heard the sound of some animal crashing through the trees. We saw nothing, so can't be sure if it was a monkey or a wild pig.

The top is wooded, so the views are not that open. But you can see enough to feel rewarded.







We ate our lunch by the side of the road a few miles further on. And we stopped for coffee (and other stuff) at Sungai Tenggang, where we'd stopped once before to buy duck, only that was at a different cafe.



We've been staying at the Seri Simanggang Hotel, as we did on our previous trip. Strictly speaking, as I explained last time, Simanggang is now the name of the town, and Sri Aman the name of the district, but it's still pretty much the case, I think, that the town is colloquially known as Sri Aman as well.



Two evenings running, we went down to watch the benak. We kept meeting people who'd missed it. So take note: You really need to be there at least 30 minutes before the time given for high tide in Kuching.

I can't describe how awesome this phenomenon is, and I don't think I'd ever get tired of watching it (Nigel has a video here). As the tidal wave hacks up the river, the effect reminds me of horses -- rearing, galloping, tumbling over each other, leaping up the banks:





Sri Aman has acquired some additional decorative features since we were here last:




But, more traditionally, its classic shophouses are still very attractive:



The waterfront temple has lost none of its lustre:



And there's a pretty mosque:


It's a town that also has plenty of culinary pleasures:








And talking of birds... There's another little miracle that takes place in Sri Aman, I'm not quite sure how often. We had only yesterday been mentioning the amazing swift show we'd witnessed in Sibu, and that same evening, we were privileged to see Sri Aman's version.

Thousands of birds -- mostly swallows, but also starlings -- gather of an evening to take up a posi on the electricity wires in the centre of town. These wires are so studded with birds that they look like necklaces, and still more candidates constantly flit and hover round, looking for places to land. The whole crew keep up a constant chatter that's really quite loud. It's an enthralling spectacle. It's also incredibly difficult to photograph. This is the best we could do (although I quite like the surrealism of some of our attempts):






As well as being interesting in itself, Sri Aman is also a great jumping-off point for several visit-worthy neighbours. They're in the next post.