Caroline had invited us to have breakfast with her today, so we went round there as soon as we awoke. She had given us each a present yesterday – me a shield, + V al a hat – + I returned the compliment by giving her the bracelet I’d made yesterday. This seemed to please her greatly, + I taught her how to make them, + gave her the threads to tie her own.
Despite making some strenuous enquiries, we didn’t have any luck finding anyone heading further up-river – there certainly wasn’t any regular service, so it would simply be a matter of finding somebody prepared to take us, or, even better, someone already heading up that way. To this end, Val waded off to the place where the boaties obtained their petrol, that being the best contact place, to make some enquiries. I really didn’t expect any good result, so was pleasantly surprised when she re-appeared, drifting along in a long-boat – she had achieved her aim, + the boat was ready to go right now. This meant a great panic, of course, rushing to collect our things together, + saying a hurried goodbye to as many of our kind hosts as we could find. Val gave one of her penny whistles away to a lady who’d shown an interest in it the other night, + suddenly we were off. Just about our only regret was that we barely had any photos of Long Bemang – we had tried the camera again, but it seemed irretrievably fucked.
Once again there were 4 of us in the longboat: the guy at the back was quite young; then Val + I sitting side by side, this being a wider longboat than most; then one other feller up front, working for one of the timber companies, + doing rather well I would judge, being pretty well-dressed. Our agreement was to go with him as far as Long Huat, the next village up beyond the Punan village. There had been no mention yet of money, so I didn’t know whether we would be getting a free ride or would be badly stung, but we didn’t feel we had much choice – we had to get out of Long Bemang somehow, + this seemed our best, maybe only, bet.
There was virtually no conversation – longboats are not made for sociability – but it was a fast + enjoyable enough ride. At Long Huat we were taken to the Headman’s house, + tho’ he wasn’t in, his wife gave us a carton of chrysanthemum tea – kind gesture, tho’ it was revolting. Our longboat was going on to Long Bedian, + we were given the opportunity to carry on with them if we wanted. After a moment’s reflection we agreed to do so – otherwise we could find ourselves stranded here in the same way we had almost been in Long Bemang. And Long Huat really didn’t look top be anything startlingly different.
So on we pushed, the next longhouse along the rover being Atip. I don’t know if we had planned to stop there in any case, but we were forced to when our outboard started playing up, + we were forced to call in at the shop there to buy some split pins. Our friend in the boat also bought us a can of soft drink each. We had a brief look at the longhouse while we were there – it is the longest longhouse in one building in the area, we were told – it certainly made an impressive sight, looking along the colonnade. We also chatted with the headmaster of the school, who gave us an interesting different perspective on the West Malaysian teachers being sent to Sarawak. They don’t want to be in Sarawak, from what we’ve heard; at least so far as he is concerned, he doesn’t want them here either. Which, if anything, makes their plight even more pitiable.
The final stretch of our journey to Long Bedian was a little bit touch + go, with the outboard continuing to shed a vital split pin every so often. Each time we would stop, + the guy on the back would put another one in – twice he had to climb out into waist-high water at the bank, + sort things out. We had bought 6 spare pins from Long Atip – no. 6 went in when we were 400 metres short of Long Bedian. Fortunately, we made it.
Long Bedian seemed more advanced than other longhouses we have visited. They have several shops within the kampong, + tho’ this seems to be unnecessary duplication, in that their stock is almost identical, I suppose it is a mark of progress. The longhouses themselves are tidily kept, + other things, such as a floodlit basketball court indicate a touch more sophistication. Long Bedian has also turned its back, to a large extent, on the river that flows past it. They have a road link with the Baram river, originally a logging road, + the village now operates 3 Land Cruisers, which provide a regular service over to connect with the Baram express boats, + can also be chartered on a commercial basis.
When we told our fellow passenger we intended to visit a Punan village, he at first thought his company might be able to help us, but then, citing the coming Chinese New Year holiday as a reason, he suggested we charter one of the village’s Cruisers – $50 for the day he reckoned, the trip out, one hour with the Punans, then back. Not what we had in mind at all, not only because of the price, but because we had no intention of being one-hour tourists.
We thought it a matter of form to offer to pay a share of the petrol costs for the trip we had just done, but were a little taken aback when we were asked to pay two-thirds, and greatly so when we were told this would amount to $32. But we really couldn’t complain, having received so much recently. And the price of petrol does hit these people pretty heavy.
As usual, we were taken to the Headman’s house. He wasn’t there – apparently, he’s very old, + is currently in hospital in Marudi – but his grand-daughter, Bullen, looked after us very well. She is a teacher at the school, + speaks good English. Discovering we hadn’t eaten lunch yet, she prepared us a fine meal. It included some fried chicken, which I tucked into greedily. (For the record, this heavy rice diet is doing me no harm at all – my stomach no longer being violently ill.) During the afternoon, we were taken on a tour of the kampong, + later chatted with the West Malaysian teacher posted there. He seems happier with his situation than his 2 colleagues at Tamala Camp, even though (or even because) he is alone. I joined in a knockabout game of volleyball with him + a few of the older boys, + then I went down to the river to take a bath.
In the evening, Val, Bullen + another girl were busy teaching each other various crafts, while I, I’m afraid, spent much of the time watching TV. It was tuned to the Brunei station, which was slightly more interesting than its Malaysian counterpart, tho’ it is still interrupted periodically by calls to pray + readings from the Koran. Unsurprisingly, the locals are distinctly unimpressed by such antics.
Mostly a day given over to one long journey, which after a while does lose some of its attraction. But we have successfully negotiated our way to another longhouse, with a potential route back to Marudi.
