After breakfast we go down at 8:00 to the lobby to meet our guide. She's a young woman, Nik, who suggests postponing the the ride until the afternoon or rescheduling to the next day. The next day doesn't work because we already have activities scheduled. We decide to postpone until the afternoon. I figure it can't rain any worse than it was. We agree to meet again in the lobby at noon.
We decide to grab a newspaper and head to the pool deck and check out the action there. At 8:00 am on a rainy day I'm really not surprised when no one is there except for one hotel staff member, Pauline. We sat down at one of the covered, open air tables and ordered coffee.
It was quite enjoyable being dry and listening to the rain falling so hard around us. We had a nice conversation with Pauline who has worked at the Hilton for many years. We spent the entire morning there drinking a little coffee, reading newspapers and monitoring the rain. We were pleased to watch it dry up in time for us to order some lunch before we headed out again. I had the Roti Canai, the same dish we had on our food tour in KL. Judith had some veggie pizza thing.
We met up with Nik in the lobby and got into her vehicle for a short ride to the bike shop. There we got fitted for bikes and helmets. Our travel agent had asked for our heights as part of the pre trip planning before we left, but clearly that information didn't get passed on or was ignored. In any event we get our bikes fitted and go and select a helmet. I insisted that Judith wear one. I think she would have gone without if I hadn't said anything. I only found one helmet with an expiry date label. It said May 2012.
With our gear on, we took the obligatory picture and headed out on the street. Cycling the city streets was easy as Nik used a whistle to advise drivers that we were going to navigate in front of them. It took a while to get used to what direction to look for cars due to their right hand drive system and numerous traffic circles.
The villages are interesting. The homes used to be built on stilts because the river overflows its banks, flooding the area during the rainy season. It also provides an additional benefit of air circulation under the floor. We stop by one of the oldest examples of these homes. The posts are made from ironwood, a particularly hardy wood. The long houses would hold multiple families and there would be communal areas for cooking, eating and ceremonies.
We hop back on the bikes and stop in the driveway of a house to investigate a Pandan plant. This plants gave off a fragrant smell when you crush the long slender leaves.
We rode to the next village and visited the Satok Weekend market. It's a big (and I mean big) open air market with many many stalls from local framers. The vendors come from small nearby farms and bring an amazing amount of produce. The selection is phenomenal. We walked around the stalls. First there was a dry market--produce, spices, drinks, goods, etc.
And Judith finds a cat at the market.
The other section is known as a wet market and sells meats and fish. I only saw one stall selling meat and the sight was enough to put you off meat for the rest of the trip. There was meat sitting out on this hot day. Lots of flies buzzing about and the hygiene looked a little weak. I think I like my meat less recognizable than what I saw in this stall.
The wet market also had a ton of fish and shellfish. We saw a local fisherman with a bagful of fresh river prawns "Udang Galah". sell it to the vendor. He was paid based on weight.
We gathered up some things to eat for lunch. One of the items was Kuih Talam, a popular Malay cake that has two layers. The white layer is made of coconut milk and rice flour. The green layer is made from rice flour, green pea flour and extract of pandan juice -- the same plant we had seen earlier.
We also ordered Laksa Sarawak, a rice vermicelli soup. Since we already had lunch, I was too full to each much of anything. Plus it was hot, and that tends to make me loose interest in consuming much.
After we rode through another village back to the river. We waited for a water taxi and it didn't take long for one to appear.
The water taxi ride was great. Lots to see from the water side.
We drop off our bikes and come back to the hotel via the riverfront walkway. We're hot and sweaty; showers are called for.
I end up blogging. Judith decides to hang out at poolside. She tells me she ordered a "Singapore Sling" but it wasn't what she was expecting. I think she wanted to be 23 again.
We ended up at the White Barouk restaurant for dinner. We ate out on the deck overlooking the Sawarak River. There was a family eating on the inside of restaurant and the little boy started waving back at Judith and blowing her kisses. That little guy was very cute.
After dinner we walked over to the Riverfront amphitheater and watched a show celebrating the indigenous tribes.
The act involved much singing and dancing. There was a demonstration on a blowpipe. It's an amazingly accurate weapon.
We went back to the hotel. Another earlyish start.
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