We have really good memories of a brief stay -- back in 2020, after the initial covid panic, and before the stultifying restrictions of 2021 -- in Sematan, at the western end of Sarawak.

Having been back in Kuching a couple of months now, we decided it was time to hit the beach. So we hired a car, and set off.

Last time, we went by way of the coast road, with its little ferry. This time we just drove straight up the now-completed highway.

We opted for the same accommodation: Sematan Palm Beach Resort. It's a very pleasant spot:










I'm always happy to be by the sea. Comes of being an islander, I suppose. Every time you go out, it's different. The sky has changed. The sea has changed. The tide has shifted. The crabs and snails have drawn new patterns. You wander along, thinking of all the other beach places you've ever stayed at, and how similar they are essentially -- and yet how unique.


The deals at the resort come with breakfast and dinner, and they feed you very generously. So you need lots of beach walks to work it all off... We went out again after dinner on that first night. The sky was clear, and the stars were wonderful.

And here's our beach on the morning of Day 2 (Tuesday):



That day our goal was to find a couple more beaches in the locality:










From Pandan Beach, you can drive west along the coast until you hit the river. Then you have to retrace your steps, however, as there's no bridge or ferry. But it's worth the trip, as you get good views of Sematan village (where you'll end up later for lunch):



So then we did the retracing. We'd hoped to stop at another beach on the way back. But they're privately owned, it seems, all along this coast. And if they're closed, they're closed. You can't even take a quick photo, as one old lady made very clear when we tried to do just that. "No, no, no, no. No, no, no, no," she said, flicking her hand as though we were flies. We complied, of course, but we were a little surprised. You get so used to people being friendly here -- even if they're saying no, they're doing it with a big smile -- that it's always a bit of a shock to come across someone who's not friendly. In fact, I think this woman was only the second we've ever encountered all the time we've been here (the first was an immigration officer who was clearly having a bad day).

Anyway, the normal order of things was restored once we'd got back to Sematan village. I really like this little place. In the venerable shophouse at the end of the row (the one photographed here), we had plates of Sarawakian "fast food" (which, as I've explained many times by now, consists of ready-cooked home-made dishes for you to choose from), plus tea. And we followed that up with a bowl of bubur cha cha, which we hadn't had for ages, and was every bit as delicious as I'd remembered:



In the course of a quick stroll along the waterfront, we spotted another tempting sign:


Sugarcane juice! The real deal! Super-refreshing on this hot day. We ordered two. "Two won't be enough," said the man ahead of us in the queue. (And as an aside, I'll just mention that all the food I talked about above, plus these drinks, cumulatively came to less than GBP 5...)



Next up, another beach, north of Sematan this time. At Teluk Serabang, a little watercourse separates the land from the beach. But there's a small cafe/guesthouse there, and they've built a handy bridge, which -- for a mere MYR 1 each -- visitors can use.




It's a very pretty beach, and you can -- and we did -- sit in the shade on a fallen tree, and contemplate the world for a while.






And, back on our own beach, this was the end of Day 2:


Today (Day 3) we were due to be heading back to Kuching. We'd planned to call in at Sematan again (the dessert lady was making taro-sago-coconut...), and maybe revisit Lundu.

But we didn't do that. Because Nigel woke up with a left hand that was swollen, aching, and delivering sharp, stabbing pains on an unpredictable basis. Two puncture marks were visible, plus some scratches. Hmmm... So we decided we'd head straight back to Kuching, and just check this out with the doctor.

When I say "straight back", we didn't miss out on our morning beach walk, nor yet on breakfast:







By 0815, however, we were bowling along the very fine highway back to the big city.


An insect bite of some sort, says the doctor, and prescribes anti-inflammatories and painkillers.

We went on from there to do a few other things that are best done by car, so it was only later in the afternoon that the mystery of Nigel's hand was solved.

At the bottom of the washing-machine, having done a full cycle, was this fairly sizeable centipede:


The appearance of the wound and the symptoms are textbook centipede... And they are known for delivering a very nasty bite...

How he got into our room, how he managed to bite Nigel without waking him up, how he stowed away undetected in our dirty laundry, and how Nigel managed to deposit said laundry in the machine without getting bitten again -- well, we don't know the answers to any of these questions.

Anyway, all's well that ends well. The anti-inflammatories kicked in pretty promptly, and the swelling is slowly going down.

And it was a great trip... We're now planning more...