BAT V team taking the route less travelled

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The strong old lady catching a breath under the scorching sun.

The strong old lady catching a breath under the scorching sun.

The retro-styled shops in Durin bazaar.

The retro-styled shops in Durin bazaar.

Antique jars still used to store trinkets in Durin bazaar.

Antique jars still used to store trinkets in Durin bazaar.

The mighty Durin Bridge.

The mighty Durin Bridge.

Found this cutie during teabreak in Durin.

Found this cutie during teabreak in Durin.

Anthony and Sudin’s current wooden longhouse.

Anthony and Sudin’s current wooden longhouse.

A United People’s Party office in Durin bazaar.

A United People’s Party office in Durin bazaar.

BAT-V-LOGO2AFTER saying our goodbyes to beautiful Bintangor, the BAT team moves on! This time, we continue our journey to Sibu to explore the unknown wonders of places in its vicinity.

There are basically two routes heading to Sibu from Bintangor – one using Lanang Bridge, the other using Durin Bridge.

People usually travel to Sibu using the Lanang Bridge since it is only a 30 minute’s journey, but adventurers like us chose to travel using the Durin Bridge, which takes thrice the amount of time to reach Sibu.

We made this decision because we wanted to see more of what the central region has to offer.

Just a few minutes away from Bintangor along Meradong River, a particular worn out Iban longhouse caught our eyes. Kampung Sungai Pilit may be old and rustic, but it is surrounded by beautiful and colourful flora.

There, we met a shy old lady who looked like she was in her 70’s or 80’s. She was not talkative and barely communicated with us. Despite her age, she was still strong and active. Under the scorching sun, she slowly walked along the poorly made bridge leading to the river just to wash a bucket.

We left her to her chores. Sometimes, no words is a polite way of parting ways.

Before reaching Sibu, we made a detour to Durin Bazaar, located on the outskirts of Sibu Town. It is a small old Chinese settlement with many Ibans living nearby. According to locals, there are six Iban longhouses near Durin Bazaar.

Durin’s mini bazaar consists of 10 small shops and the Chinese community here speaks mainly Hakka – a vast difference from Sibu, which is known as the new Fuzhou Province.

All the shops here look ancient and most of them still display large antique jars to store all kinds of trinkets.

As the saying goes, ‘Do not judge a book by its cover’ as Durin Bazaar has proven us wrong.
The perception of a small settlement might make one think the area is inactive, but we were quickly proven wrong by Wong Kim Chui, the owner of a coffee shop where we made a pit stop.

“The Ibans here are actually very hard working and have been planting oil palms and rubber, making a living from selling their products,” Wong revealed.

After exploring the mini bazaar, we headed straight to Sibu to fill up our tummies.

Just before calling it a day, we decided to venture to Pasai Siong in the vicinity of Sibu. We were tipped that the vast area of NCR land belonging to Ibans have been earmarked for oil palm plantations.

Swiflet houses are not a rare sight in the central region.

Swiflet houses are not a rare sight in the central region.

We were like fish out of water when we couldn’t find our way to Pasai Siong. Our trusty American-accented GPS only took us halfway but lady luck was on our side.

We were about to give up and turn back when we met Anthony Agam and Sudin Asin – two friendly Ibans from Pasai Siong who kindly led us to their longhouse. It would seem the vast NCR land along the newly tar-sealed road is suited for oil palms as some farmers there have been cultivating them.

We were brought to Anthony and Sidin’s longhouse which was still under construction. They planned to move from their current longhouse to the new one just a stone’s throw away.

The longhouse constructed by Anthony and Sudin’s families and relatives looked impressive despite their lack of a construction background. The Ibans of Pasai Siong are friendly, gentle and kind. They even invited us should they have a longhouse warming in the near future.

“But we hope and pray that we will have both water and electricity supplies soon, otherwise we will not be able to entertain you,” quipped a retired PWD staff Thomas Chabu Geramong.

The day’s task was achieved when we headed back to Sibu Town to to file our experiences for the day. We thank and take off our hats to our editors who have waited patiently for our stories to reach them for the last few days!

The so called ‘red bridge’ – the only mark of Meradong!

The so called ‘red bridge’ – the only mark of Meradong!