Sarawak West Kalimantan

I was about to award the supreme motor scooter balance award to a man in Pontianak. On the back seat of the scooter sat balanced a full fridge-freezer. The pain on his face from the strap across his forehead, gave the effort away. Then along came scooter number two, this time with a chest freezer on the back, the half metre overhang on each side lifted the game to a whole new level. The most delicate balance award went to the young mother sitting side saddle, baby in one arm and large bag of rice in the other. Her only point of contact with the scooter was her seat. She rode with the elegant poise born of years of practice.

My journey headed west in Sarawak, skirting the big city of Kuching. The complexion of the scene past Kuching was much more traditional and rural. Small stalls of local produce appeared regularly along the route. Water mellow stall holders expertly slice mine into bite-sized chunks. The small town of Bau was surrounded by tall volcanic spires, giving a mystical feel. Next was Lundu, close to the north western corner of Sarawak. South China Sea beach gave a holiday feel.

Crossing the Malaysian-Indonesian border at the remote Aruk crossing had a too-easy feel as I breezed out of Sarawak, just a quick friendly passport stamp. I arrived at the Indonesian side and things started to get messy. “You need a Carnet to bring your bicycle into Indonesia, you must go back to Malaysia and travel by bus”. First question what on earth is a carnet. “It must be issued in the country of origin”. Frantic calls to the NZ support crew connected me to the Jakarta Embassy and to a connection in NZ Police. I now had evidence that I wasn’t bringing it in for commercial purposes. Google told me me the only NZ carnet issuer was the Automobile Association. Sunday, no emergency contacts.

Hours passed. The attitude softened. “We can issue a bond as long as long as you return through the Aruk Border”. A trip the the ATM and the 3 million six hundred rupiah deal was struck. I was through.

The border crossing took me into mountain country. Lush forest and steep climbs. I headed out to the coast stopping first at Sambas. The coast down to Pontianak was dotted with fishing villages. Traditional Indonesian boats crammed into the river anchorages. Rustic quirky and rough, but lots of interactions with locals on the numerous drink stops.

From Pontianak the trans-Kalimantan road headed inland into rolling hill country, hard riding in the heat. I managed to cross the equator 3 times, although without official markers I am unsure exactly where. The heat told me I was pretty equatorial. A few tough moments of doubt as I try not to cook on the climbs and the riding average plummets. It is a huge island.

Across the Kalimantan Border

IBan jungle walkway

Rice Paddies

Drying coconut shells

Typical village architecture