Kuching - ComeSarawak

Batang Rejang River: Travel from <b>Kuching</b> - Sibu - Kapit - Belaga |

Posted: 27 Oct 2013 10:00 AM PDT

You see why they're called 'flying coffins'?

Recommended by the manager at Tracks B&B in Kuching, we decided to make a multi-stop boat journey along the Batang Rejang River to venture up further into the Malaysian Borneo. This route would take up from Kuching via boat to Sibu where we would catch another boat the same day to Kapit, stay the night there then take a boat to the town of Belaga. The main sights during this boat journey are the longhouses that line the riverbank and the small towns you visit along the way. Now that I've taken this route, I wouldn't take it again and would instead catch a long distance bus from Kuching to Miri.

Here's my review of the journey and a rundown of where we stayed, what we ate and what we did along the way.

From Kuching to Sibu, you have to catch a taxi (or early public bus) to the terminal that is about 20 minutes away and catch the boat that leaves at 8:30am. The cost is RM45 and it takes 5 hours. There isn't much to see during this journey as they have you sit downstairs and you're unable to see out of the windows. There is a top deck where you can sit amongst the luggage but it was raining heavily the day we took the journey. Overall, the ride was fine (and air conditioned!) but rather boring as you can't see anything! Upon arrival in Sibu, we had to get off the boat and wait for an hour until our boat to Kapit left at 2:30pm. There are many shops within close proximity to the terminal in Sibu and it's very easy to find some lunch before getting on the boat.

Longhouse watching from atop the flying coffin

From Sibu to Kapit, we boarded what is known as a "flying coffin" and you can see why – they are long, skinny boats where you are seated in another bottom deck area where you can't see out the windows (air-conditioned again, though). This journey took 3.5 hours and cost RM20. It was dark when we reached Kapit at 7:30pm and the town was extremely dreary. We managed to find decent accommodation at the New Rejang Hotel though the price was steep (MYR$72/night!) for an aged room with air conditioning, hot water, "wifi" (didn't work) and no breakfast included. The other hotels in the town were also overpriced, stinky, haunted-looking and had odd staff running the place, so unfortunately New Rejang was the "best choice" when compared with the rest. The room was clean enough and was fine for a night, but that's it. Food options were small but we managed to find a cluster of stalls selling Malaysian fare for cheap. That night, Kapit was looking like a ghost town but in the morning, it was a lively place on the main strip with several shops and restaurants buzzing with people. We didn't stay long as we had to catch the boat to the next leg of our journey – Belaga.

We boarded another flying coffin at 9am that would take 5 hours and cost us RM30 to get from Kapit to Belaga. It was a fine day so rather than sitting below, we sat on the slightly rounded surface of the roof and could actually see where we were going this time! The boat sped along the river past numerous longhouses where entire families would live under one common roof and quite isolated from the rest of the world. It was interesting to see, and some longhouses were looking pretty ramshackle while some were made of cement, had satellite dishes and looked brand new. We went through the Pelagus Rapids that for some reason are highlighted in our Lonely Planet but other than a few wobbles our boat motored through just fine and it wasn't all that exciting (though there were some capsized boats on the banks).

That sauce… those noodles… yyuuummmm

We arrived in Belaga and instantly someone was there at the boat dock wanting to show us accommodation and hold our hands while trying to order lunch (annoying). Eventually we got him off our backs and went for a wander through the small town to find somewhere to sleep for the night. All of them lacked character and were pretty average, but the prices were so much better than in Kapit. We settled for Hotel Sing Soon Hing for MYR$30/night and it had decent wifi, air conditioning but no breakfast. It wasn't the cleanest place I'd ever seen but we just needed a place to shower and rest our heads for the night. We did find a wonderful little family restaurant – I don't think it had a name but from Hotel Sing Soon Hing you walk towards the hills to the first crossroad, turn right then left and it is on the corner on the right hand side. Some of the best noodle dishes I've ever had! The prices were cheap, the lady running the place was lovely and the food was delicious.

There isn't much to do in Belaga and the town is known as a jump off point for stays in longhouses (tours). We got chatted up pretty hard by a guy named John who appeared drunk and tried to sell us a longhouse visit for MYR$150/person. We definitely didn't want to take a tour to a longhouse but kept putting on the hard sell until we started ignoring him and he went away. We went online later and found out that other people have gotten mixed up with this man and to avoid him at all costs as he gets drunk, tries to fight people and sexually harasses women! We had met a man on our boat ride to Belaga who invited us to visit his village and longhouse up the river and gave us his phone number if we wanted to come, so we decided to pursue this.

Learning about longhouse livin'

We had to get a boat from Belaga to his village about a 15 minute boat ride away and the quest of finding a boat to take us took over two hours! We eventually found one and were dropped off in the late afternoon to stay the night and leave early the next morning. You can read about my experience visiting the longhouse here, but to describe it in one word: awkward.

Joan smoking one of grandma's home made ciggys

We had to leave the longhouse commune early the next morning in order to catch transport that left at 7:30am in the direction of Bintulu, where we would get off at the junction and catch a bus to Miri instead of having to go all the way to Bintulu then all the way back the same way towards Miri. The journey takes about three hours to the junction and follows a bumpy path alongside depressing palm plantations. Ask anywhere in Belaga about transport to Bintulu and they'll find someone for you. We went with Ah Kian (086-461-392) and one of his comrades since Glen and I and our two new Spanish friends were split into two vehicles for the ride. Our vehicle was fine but our friends told us that their driver was taking it "slow" because his brakes weren't working very well! They ended up arriving at the junction 40 minutes after we had arrived, so make sure your driver's brakes work – especially on that treacherous road! The ride has a expensive fixed price of MYR$50/person, adding more dollar signs to this journey that was more expensive than it was eye-opening. From the junction, buses drove by regularly picking up people heading to Miri for MYR10. There are also many food stalls at the junction where you can sit back and watch massive palm oil trucks speed by spewing black smoke.

I'd skip this route entirely and instead catch a bus from Kuching to Miri or Kota Kinabalu. It ended up being more expensive than we had intended and wasn't a highlight to our trip to the Malaysian Borneo in any way. We did meet some friendly people along the way but if you're travelling on a budget or with time constraints – skip it and take the bus. Even if you're not travelling on a budget or with time constraints I think you'll find everything else in the Malaysian Borneo much more interesting than the epic transport adventure along the Batang Rejang River.

Hi, I'm Kilee! I love traveling, snowboarding, drinking tea and watching cat videos.

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Kuching - ComeSarawak

Kuching - ComeSarawak

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