I joined my 2 aunts to go on a local tour to the newly-opened Batang Lupar Bridge. I asked Mom to come along but she did not want to go with us, preferring to stay at home. So I let her be. Perhaps she wanted some quiet time for herself, without me around. Heh.
It was Sarawak Day, a public holiday. I got out of bed at 4.45 am and got myself ready. At 5.20 am, I went to the market near my house and bought some kuihs for my aunts and for myself. Then I went to my Fifth Aunt's house to pick her up. I purposely went a bit earlier to give myself a bit of allowance of time, in case I got lost. Indeed I got a bit confused finding my way to her house, since I was not accustomed to going there in the dark. Heh. Still, I picked her up successfully and drove to my Fourth Aunt's house.
I parked my car there and we walked to the commercial area near her house to wait for the tour bus. It came right on time at 6.30 am. Since I boarded it early, I could choose my seat. I settled for one near the back of the bus, near the emergency seat so I had more leg space. Hence, I was comfortable throughout the journey. The downside was that it was difficult to get in and out of the bus, since the bus had only one door that was right in the front. Coupled with a lot of elderly passengers seated ahead of me, I often had to wait for a while before I could get out of the bus.
This one-day tour was a full house with 44 pax - mostly middle-aged and old folks. Heh. It was organised by someone called Annie ... a retired tour agent. I think she lived near my Fourth Aunt's neighbourhood and she often organised trips for them. They had been to many places, but I had never joined them before .... so I thought I'd just tag along for the fun of it.
While waiting for everyone to arrive, Annie distributed butter buns - one for each person. I nibbled on as soon as the bus departed. It was yum with my hot black coffee that I brought along in my thermos.
The first stop was Asajaya ... this small town was still the same as how I remembered it to be - there did not seem to be any development at all. This was our breakfast stop ... so we walked around the small town in search of something to eat. In the end, we settled for roti ....
We bought some fresh produce here at Asajaya ... I bought a container of jackfruit for RM5, and 6 pieces of wax apples, also for RM5. My aunts and their friends bought fresh veges and local oranges at the tamu or the local market.
After an hour and a half at Asajaya, we got back into the bus and headed to Sebuyau. Sebuyau was another small town, and at least there was a bit of development here from the last time I came. After we got off the bus, we went in search of the toilet and also for local produce to buy. Heh .... at this stop, I did not buy anything. We walked around and my aunts were looking for dried prawns to buy. There were none. We also headed to the tamu ...
We got down the bus and took some photos .... individual photos, group photos, with the Sarawak flag, without the Sarawak flag ... heh .... lots of photos taken here. After that, we drove across the bridge and it was a long ride to Sri Aman ....
Chicken rice, RM7, at Dore Food Court ...
After lunch, we headed to the Sri Aman waterfront ... this was the location for the annual Tidal Bore festival held every year.
Well, Batang Lupar always reminded me of the story of Bujang Senang. Bujang Senang was a 20-foot long saltwater crocodile with a distinctive white strip on its back. Word has it that this fierce beast terrorised the Batang Lupar for years. By the river bank was also Fort Alice which I wanted to visit ... but that would have to be another trip.
Half an hour's drive away was Mount Hosanna Chapel. It was already closed by the time we reached there so I could not climb up the steps to visit the chapel. Sigh, Our timing was pretty bad.
We shopped for local produce here ... I bought 1 kg of langsat duku, RM8.00, From Lachau to Kuching was 2 hours. I sent my Fifth Aunt to Le Saigon and then reached home at 8.20 pm. What a long day ...
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