Road trip Day 6. Saturday.

Started well. Near this lovely mural there's a food court that does a very creditable laksa (the "ordinary" version came with two big prawns, lots of chicken, two big bits of tofu, and two clams -- all for MYR 8 -- so I'm not sure what further delights the "special" would have offered).


Our goal today was Kampung Jepak, a Melanau village across the river from Bintulu. I'd read there was a ferry across the river. I'd read there were small-scale village industries, like sago and belacan. I'd read it was picturesque. But in Sarawak, you're never totally sure what to expect...

Th first stroke of luck was finding the ferry really easily. As we headed along the riverside looking for possiblities, an adorable little boat came chugging across the water towards us. We simultaneously exclaimed how pretty it was; and it turned out it was the ferry...


The fare: MYR 1 per person per direction. Payable at the desk on the far bank. So you just climb on board, and enjoy the historic little craft, as it chunters across the river:







Jepak is similar to many other little villages: Full of stilt houses, greenery, flowers, cats, and chickens. Oh, and lovely people. I lost count of how many times we -- obviously strangers -- were treated to smiles, waves, and friendly greetings.








So this was all very nice. A great place to rack up a bit of walking distance.

But of traditional crafts we were seeing nothing.

I wondered whether we were just missing it all. We're generally a bit reluctant to go venturing up the tiny byways of these places. I know others have no qualms, but we try not to be intrusive. Tourists wandering up these walkways would be a bit like tourists suddenly appearing in the corridors of our condo.

So, if anything craft-like was happening, it was too far off the beaten track to be identifiable.

But, to be honest, we didn't mind too much. We'd had a very pleasant walk. And we'd both just LOVED the little boat:


Later, I dug around a bit more on the internet, and found this post from just over a year ago. Apparently, there's no more sago-processing in Jepak. And the production of cincalok and belacan is seasonal. I don't know what the season is, but if there'd been anything of that nature happening, I'm pretty confident we'd have smelt it... (You're always on dodgy ground defining any food in this country, but belacan is a kind of hard paste made from a particular kind of shrimp, while cincalok is a fermented shrimp product. There's lots of fascinating historical context here, but the key thing to know is that they're both delicious.)

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself, because once back on our home shore, we checked out a bit more waterfront:






And here's the bridge from the other side:


It has taken a while, this bridge. They were building it when we were here at the end of 2020. And the good folks of Jepak are apparently looking forward to its completion.

You're going to need a car to use the bridge. I hope the little ferry will still continue, for the convenience of foot traffic. But we have seen a lot of boat services go out of business since we've been in Sarawak, so I don't know, I don't know...