Exploring the Heart of Borneo
Western Borneo, or the country officially names it Kalimantan Barat, keeps magnificent natural and cultural treasures which remain well protected so far. More than bordering the country to its neighbor, Malaysia, the area is also known as the lung of the earth for its dense tropical jungle. Pontianak, the capital city of the province actually has its own attractive sides including the museum and equatorial monument located exactly on the equator. However the real adventure of Borneo is hidden in its tropical jungle, far away from its administrative and economic centers.
Putussibau, the largest town of Kapuas Hulu regency is reachable by two hours on pioneer flight from Pontianak. But do not expect too much as as its frequency is rare, and some of schedules are canceled for technical reasons. Overland trips is the only other option which takes 18 hours. The town is quite small especially when compared to other towns in densely populated Java, with very strong cultural influence reflected by, among others, architecture of both governmental offices and residential houses.
Here you can see Betang Baligundi, a traditional house owned by Dayak Taman ethnic. The house is 145 meters long, elevated floor by about 2 meters above the ground, and consisted of 33 clusters. Each cluster has 2-3 rooms and home to a separate household. The ethnic of Dayak Taman has a traditional ceremony to welcome visitors. Held at night, the event includes traditional dance and flow of traditional alcoholic beverage, Arak, a tradition inherited among generations. In the morning you can enjoy their traditional breakfast of young bamboo and sticky rice cake packed in corn leaf.
Further trip from Putussibau is a 2 hours bus drive on a bumpy country road. Imagine that you take a speed off road, but instead of jeep you are taking a large bus with some tens other passengers plus luggage. The last point where four wheeled vehicles have to stop is the check point to enter Betung Kerihun national park. The next trip can only be taken by small boats along river Emboh to enter the natural rain forest of Borneo. Somewhere on the riverside you will have to stay overnight in tents, sleeping bags. Forgetting mosquito repellent will change your amazing experience in spending a night in the middle of one of the world’s most dense tropical rain forest a nightmare.
Betung Kerihun National park provides various facilities for tourists who want to enjoy the wildlife of Borneo. There is a 3 kilometers path where you can find various species of tropical wooden trees and other floras. A hiking track to climb 1,770 meters height mount Lawit is also available. For a more relaxed activity, you can experience traditional fishing method in the rivers including River Belabi and River Menyakan.
A trek into the jungle in Recce Walk method normally used by forest rangers for survey and monitoring will give you an experience you will never forget. If you are lucky you will find nests of Borneo’s giant ape, Orang Utan, a species that many believes as the closes family to human. You can take your way back on foot as well, but you better off taking this challenge: body rafting along the strong stream of river Emboh with its ice-cold water. Can you imagine the fun of floating along two kilometers river stream in the middle of tripical jungle? Some foreigners found screaming “I love you Indonesia! You are so beautiful!” whilst their body are floated only with a life jacket and helmet.
National park of Lake Sentarum is not so far away from Betung Kerihun national park. Another one hour bus ride from the entrance of Betung Kerihun will take you to Lanjak where you have to hop on to a speed boat for another one hour cruise to Semangit village located in the middle of Lake Sentarum national park. The lake is home to a very famous exotic fish known popular as Arowana. Chinese ethnics living in Indonesia are prepared to spend millions rupiah to own an Arowana in their aquarium which they believe brings fortune.
The only accommodation available here is in local residents’ house, which are actually not houses. Villagers call it Motor Bandung, floating on Lake Sentarum, these are residence of fishermen families. There are currently 70 families living in 70 Motor Bandungs, forming up to a village administration led by an official village head. Local residents of Lake Sentarum has an annual traditional event called Keriyan when all villagers gather together to catch fish trapped in shallow ponds. The fishes are then all sold to finance certain communal activities or facilities through a kind of trust fund.
The way back to Pontianak can be taken through Sintang. A speed boat trip along River Kapuas takes 6 hours to Sintang where we can take a 9 hours bus ride back to Pontianak. The whole trip is more than 1500 kilometers which includes 1,200 kilometers on surface and 375 kilometers on the rivers. Oh, right, two kilometers body floating, also on the river.
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