WHEN the idea of forming a team to travel the length and breadth of Sarawak was first mooted, little did the four members of Borneo Post Adventure Team (BAT) imagine the tremendous amount of interest that it would generate among Borneo Post readers.
WHEREVER, WHENEVER: Filing stories while on the road means taking whatever opportunity you can get to make sure the job gets done on time. Here, the team work on their laptops from a coffeeshop in Lachau.
Team leader Peter Sibon recalled: “The idea for BAT was conceived during a period of lull in the newsroom. Even though there’s so much excitement about the state election, nothing concrete was materialising as most people were adopting a wait-and-see attitude. So we decided to take the opportunity to create our own niche and (Borneo Post) management was kind enough to let us go.”
The people’s paper
In addition to the positive verbal feedback from the public, the team also received numerous SMSes and online messages – including a few from individuals they did not know previously – letting them know how much they (the readers) enjoyed reading about the places BAT visited or how they looked forward to reading the following installment the next day.
Reader Irene Wang from Baram emailed: “I have been following your adventures since you guys started. Your stories have been very informative to me personally because I have not travelled to some of the places in your travel. I would like to suggest the BAT make another trip to the interior of Baram and try the D-Max 2.5L on the Lapok road.”
Reader Wilfred Sedau also expressed similar sentiments: “Bravo! For the mission accomplished. I have observed two interesting parts during your trip. First was the exposure of great niche on each place in Sarawak where some of us do not know about. Examples: Jakar being well-known for its mee udang and Bintulu (Kampung Jepak) for its home made belacan. Secondly, The Borneo Post coverage in various parts of Sarawak was good. Noted that The Borneo Post was the main resource of news for the people of Sarawak. Kindly consider to adapt this mission-adventure as yearly event.”
The BAT stories also managed to attract the attention of the state’s politicians and leaders.
Peter revealed: “We even received feedback from Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg’s office following our return, congratulating the team on our excellent coverage and also successful accomplishment of our mission.”
Journey of discovery
It wasn’t just Borneo Post readers who gained insight into Sarawak as a result of this expedition – so did the BAT who experienced their own journey of discovery.
A week after arriving back in Kuching, the team shared with thesundaypost stories about what went on behind-the-scenes in the race to file in stories daily as they battled against the challenges posed by dodgy budget hotels, intermittent mobile internet connections, physical and mental fatigue from travelling,
Team leader Peter said: “One of the more memorable moments for me occurred in Saratok when I tried to use the towel provided by the budget hotel we were staying at. It was so stiff it felt like I was trying to clean myself with a dried keropok rather than the normal cloth people use.
“However, one of the biggest highlights for me was our trip to SK Ulu Lubai, Limbang and the successful use of the Isuzu D-Max 2.5L to get over the obstacle – which following logic should not have been possible – but with my gut feeling, the vehicle was able to pass through the mud and get us through to our destination.”
Peter had to leave the team mid-way of the expedition for a few days to return to Kuching to cover the state BN convention.
“As the leader of expedition, it did cross my mind that perhaps I shouldn’t have done that,” he acknowledged.
“But looking at the bigger picture, it was good for us so we could access the ground better after we listened to the mandate from the Chief Minister, so that we knew what to do.”
For BAT logistics and finance coordinator Wilfred Pilo, four things in particular stood out for him during the trip.
“The first is the nation’s top-performing rural school SK Ulu Lubai in Limbang,” he said.
“Despite the odds against them, the school children there are fluent in English and use the language regularly as part of their daily life.
“Another thing I found interesting is that in the northern part of Sarawak, we had to rely on the nationalised version of Bahasa Malaysia (BM) to communicate and ask for directions. People there speak a different type of BM as compared to Bahasa Sarawak, probably influenced by their close proximity to Brunei.”
Wilfred continued: “Next was our visit to Miri where I got to try crocodile meat for the first time and also had my picture taken with a live python draped around my neck! The fourth was the sayur bungar – a wild vegetable sold at the wet market in Kampung Sundar, Lawas – it’s the first time I have seen it.”
For feature writer Joanna Yap and the youngest member of the team, the trip produced a number of ‘firsts’ for her.
“By my estimation, about 70 to 80 per cent of the places we visited were places I had not been to before.
“I also ended up eating a lot because there were so many things I wanted to try which I had not tried before – like sago worms and crocodile meat,” she said.
Despite resolving not to overindulge on the road, Joanna admitted to putting on five pounds because she could not resist trying out the gastronomic specialties of each location, including deep fried roti canai (Kapit), kasam babi or preserved wild boar meat (Selangau), laksa with pig liver and congealed pig’s blood (Kapit), mee sua and Foochow noodles (Sibu).
However, she takes a little comfort from knowing that team mate Wilfred also gained three kilos in weight (Peter and photographer Chimon Upon said their weight after the trip is unchanged from before the trip).
For photographer Chimon, one of the highlights was him managing to complete the challenging 3,903 km journey within 21 days.
“As the designated driver, it’s already quite challenging if you have not had enough sleep because travelling on the road is quite tiring,” he explained.
“It’s worse if you cannot sleep at night, because you also cannot sleep while travelling. Twice, Peter and Wilfred had to take over driving duties while I totally passed out at the back,” laughed Chimon.
“The most touching moment for me took place in Song as I watched and photographed a woman with one leg missing disembarking from her boat and making her way to town,” he remembered.
“Another memorable experience was SK Ulu Lubai — even though isolated from the town area, it still can produce high quality students. The teachers are awe-inspiring as they still can smile even though living conditions there are harsh.”
Joanna added that even though it was a tough assignment, the team managed to find ways to ease the pressure.
“I think all of us are pretty adventurous people by nature so we were up to try anything, which is how we ended up playing the 50 sen toy dispenser machines in Jakar and fishing in Limbang, much to the amusement of the locals there,” she shared.
“Some people say to do this job, it helps to be a little crazy and to work with like-minded people,” picked up from a beach near Kampung Kuala Bakam in Miri.