Dalat

  This cute girl was on the boat to Dalat

Some update about what’s been happening. I’ve been having some bumpy time since starting work in anaesthesia. During my second day I was scolded by the OT MA for being too stupid. Then I got scolded by the MO for not being much of a help during a difficult spinal which made me feel stupid as well. Then I saw houseman doing BTL which made me feel even more stupid. Then the anaesth housemen induced a patient all by himself which made me feel like I’m actually as a matter of fact the stupidest doctor in the whole department. Oh well...

So this morning after waking up early and arriving at the OT with a view of tagging with Kak Asmah, only to notice that my tagging was scheduled to be tomorrow. So I did what anyone on an elective would do. I hopped on a boat and went to Dalat.

The boats to Dalat are a lot smaller and far more infrequent than the ones heading to Kapit. I guess maybe this is because of the existence of road transport to Dalat from Sibu. This one has no air conditioning, unlike the boat I took when I went to Kapit.

 

More luggages are placed on the boat’s roof. Before departing we had to register our names with the River Board so that it will be easier to identify our bloated corpses in case the small boat capsizes. I don’t know how to swim. Fortunately (i guess) life jackets are provided.

 Cute girl with milk bottle and stinky pillow. I'm beginning to want one

Dalat is down river from Sibu. So it’s the opposite way of Kapit. Shipbuilding, logging, and sago processing seem to be the main activity in these parts. As the Rajang River leaves Sibu, it splits into two parts. The one on which we were travelling on was the called the Igan River. This one flows northwards. The other branch continues to flow Westward as the Rajang River.

 

We made a few stops at little villages along the Igan. These jetties were like little bus stops.

The boat ride was smooth which I am sure is a lot better than taking a bus on Sarawak’s bumpy roads. I doubt I’ll be able to sleep like this on a bus in these parts.

 

Daddy, can I have your family. Your kid is awesomely cute and her mom is not bad herself. I’ll trade them with my hundred ringgit blue Nokia.

This village straddles an off shoot of the Igan River. There were water houses along its length. The blue machine is a water pump that feeds a treatment tank.

 

The ride to Dalat from Sibu costs RM20 one way. No discounts for return trips. Children get to ride for RM15.

Floating toilet. It’s a good job they have a treatment plant for their water in Kut. They take dumps, piss, and drink off the same river. I wonder how they keep their bums steady in rough waters...

 

There seemed to have been a wedding going on in Kut.

We arrived in Dalat after around two hours. This is mainly a Melanau community, with a sizeable Chinese presence. All along the Western banks of the river were water houses.

Public toilets in Dalat are amazingly clean. I don’t mind paying thirty cents for toilets this clean. Now to go look for the Kelidieng. 

The main reason I came to Dalat was for the Kelidieng – a sort of Melanau totem pole. The fact that I went through all that trouble for a pole may somewhat reflect on my chauvinistic subconscious...

Besides, this was recommended by the Sarawak Tourism Board’s brochure that I picked up from some hotel in Sibu a couple of weeks ago. According to the brochure the Kelidieng is just outside the district office. When I got to the district office, the only poles available were lamp posts. I almost gave up and while walking back to town for a meal, I noticed a small park right next to the jetty, the other way from the district office. In the middle of it was the Kelidieng. 

Go here if you can’t read what it says. In fact just click on the link. The English on this little sign is even worse than mine. The point to note here is that the Sarawak Tourism Boards brochure is nearly 5 years out of date. They moved this huge pole here in 2008.

That is a really big pole, though I don’t think I can fit in that hole.

The last boat out of Dalat to Sibu was at 12.20pm. On the way back the boat’s driver (is that what you call them?) took a shortcut through what appears to be a drain. 

Kampung Nyabor just outside Sibu. We arrived back in Sibu at just after 2pm. All in all I thought the trip was rather fun. Just like my previous trip to Kapit, the journey is what made the outing worthwhile.

This tattoo parlour is near the main ferry terminal in Sibu. This sort of signboard may incite some serious race riots if it was in KL.

 

I wonder if it can make me as strong as Apek...