The last two weeks have passed so quickly it seems. We have also done and seen so much that it is hard to think that such little time has passed. And so when we boarded this gigantic houseboat to travel up the Mahakam river, I was thrilled at the prospect of some time to reflect. It turns out that on riverboat with 20 people and then crew, there’s not a whole lot of room or personal space.

The boat was fantastic- big common areas, small bunks and amazing food. We piled on with all of our gear (I definitely have far more than anyone else because of my underwater housing and camera equipment… simultaneously a curse and a blessing) stepping over the thick wooden rails of the boat. We traveled all day, and through the night to our destination, a small village from which we would take longboats further north. Along the way we saw huge coal container barges slowly dragged along by tugs, or being filled by the giant conveyer belts that loomed over the water from the banks. There were small river-houses lining the bank, and we were waved at enthusiastically by literally hundreds of children along the way. As we got further away from Samarinda, the green along the bank became more lush and the cicadas were more audible over the drone of the boats big engine.

We enjoyed a stunning sunset the first night, and had our class on the flat aluminum roof of the boat so that we could enjoy our surroundings. Later we played guitar and watched the stars pass overhead and discussed what we had seen so far. I left my camera in it’s bag the whole day, because I have been feeling a little bit lost behind the lens, and was happy to recharge some of that interest in capturing the moments on camera.

The next morning we rose early and ate a big breakfast of pancakes (with the REAL bananas, not those ‘bonita’ wannabes) and then walked around this village built entirely on ironwood (wood ‘stronger than iron’ that this community used for their roads, and structures) These communities are so full of life it seems, or it could be that life is just so much more out in the open here.

While we walked through the market our longboats arrived, (the same style as in Thailand with the open engine and gigantic long drive-shaft for the prop) 3 people to a boat plus a driver, and we cruised off with a small flotilla of colourful boats full of pasty-white tourists, getting waved to frantically the whole way.

As the villages became less frequent we began to see some really amazing wildlife, there were birds diving for fish in the water, monkeys in the trees, even a large poisonous snake one of the boats spotted curled around some branches hanging over the water. We passed through a large shallow lake, and the sky opened up in all directions creating this beautiful contrast of blue against the green fronds of the lake grasses.

We saw Long-tailed Macacs, Proboscis Monkeys, Hornbills, Egrets, Kingfishers, and I filled up my memory cards quickly- but unfortunately not many of the pictures are very useable because the boat engines are so loud that all of the wildlife we saw was seen at a distance, and when we got close enough to take pictures the animals had fled further into the canopy. There are still a couple of pictures I am fairly happy with, but I decided I would love to come back here with a canoe that does not make so much NOISE!

We made it to the Dayak village and were greeted with the welcome ceremony, which was very beautiful- our impressions of this ‘cultural tourism’ were varied, but we did enjoy the presentation. It is difficult to say if we were helping to preserve their culture by being there, or the opposite. Most incredible was being able to interview the chief about his culture and the changes he has seen in his lifetime. We had a guide who translated for us, and his answers to our questions were very wise. We left the village wishing we had more time to spend in this village to learn more about their culture and background.

On the boat-ride back to the houseboat I counted 12 Proboscis Monkeys, which was pretty incredible to me- it seemed that there were so many in this area (which could definitely be because there is less and less habitat for them elsewhere…) We also had another fabulous sunset- I spent most of the boat ride laying on the tip of the bow so that my head extended out over the water, and dragged my fingers along the smooth surface. The noise from the engines of these longboats make talking almost impossible, and so it was nice to have this time for ourselves and to be able to appreciate where we were.


Now we are back in Samarinda, and staying at the most ridiculous hotel, it’s soooo nice, it’s way over the top- but their internet is absolutely the worst. So I’m not sure if I will be able to upload pictures to go along with this blog until I get back to internet again on the 8th… we shall see.