Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Homes by the River



A stolen shot of our mean looking but kind and generous guide as he tells us about the river and its inhabitants, both humans and animals.

The luxury condo looks posh and imposing but the rustic kampung house amongst the trees looks so serene and carefree. And these, as the series below existed opposite each other, separated by the river.

6 comments:

Mak Su said...

terasa ketenteraman melihat gambar yang ke-2.

Mat Salo said...

Cap'n,

One of the things I wanted to do but never got around to do was taking time to explore the "river-ways" there.

I drilled a well in Mukah (land rig) in the early 90s and at the end of the job, I decided to go by river to the nearest big town Sibu where I would take a flt back to Miri.

It was to be the best river cruise of my life...

The main artery was the river, so small villages, post offices, schools were by the river. These places were inacessible by cars. So we see people going about their business by boat; picking up schoolchildren, buy groceries...
I was so charmed!

Every now and then you will see "road signs" and "milestones" put up in trees or at a fork in the river for navigation: "Dalat 6 mi., Sibu 35 mi." etc. These were legacy left by the British.

The journey took took about half a day and as we got close to Sibu I thought we had hit the open seas! The Sg. Rejang is so wide you can't even see the other bank!

Anyway, I told myself that one day I'd rent a sort of a houseboat and just meander upstream. It's a main "road" after all, plenty of places to stop along the way...

Unfortunately, in pursuit of family, career and mortgage patments the idea never came to fruition...

But I hope to do it someday. The Baram river (in Miri) going upstream would be interesting too..

Yeah, I'll do it with my boy, maybe after his PMR. After all, the lucky chap was born there. So I need him to discover his "roots".. heh..

J.T. said...

Ah yes... the serenity of being near the waters. Somehow I can feel a 'cooler' atmostphere at the kampung house.

I used to enjoy sitting on the sea wall near my aunty's place in Malacca. There was nothing luxurious about that place but I will never forget the feeling - under a shaded tree, watching fishermen fix their nets, laying down on the wall, taking in the sea breeze and listening to the mid-noon chatter around me. ahhhh...so peaceful and calming.

jaflam said...

Kuching and its river has always been my favourite City. I usually stayed at the Holiday Inn,with the room facing the river - fantastic view especially during sunset and sunrise. Will be there again end of his month to attend PETRONAS HSE Forum.

It is also the place that turn me into an entrepreneur .... terlalu banyak kenangan.

Apandi said...

mak su, memang cool.

ms, nak ikutttt.

jt, that's my kind of favourite place too.

jaflam, kenangan yang kena censor ke ? he he he

The Ancient Mariner said...

ai... nak jadi org Kuching ke?

I took some pilot boats built by Brooke shipyard for speed trials on the river way back in the early 80s. Great experience.