Deep Sea Trawler

I saw this deep sea trawler unloading its catch this morning at the Bintulu fishing wharf on the river bank of Bintulu town center. For generations Bintulu was known as a fishing village and the local Bintulu fishermen are almost all Melanaus. However with the coming of the deep sea trawlers the ship's crew are mainly people employed from outside Bintulu because the local Melanau fishermen prefer to go out to sea in their own traditional small fishing vessels like their forefathers before them. Deep sea trawlers appeared in the Bintulu fishing scene around fifteen years ago.

The delicious Terap fruit ( artocarpus odoratissimus Blanco)

It is called 'Terap' in Malay or 'Ong Lumok' in the local Melanau dialect. The flesh or aril is succulent, very sweet and has tiny seeds the size of groundnuts which can be roasted or fried as snacks for afternoon tea. Since last month and through to December this fruit are easily seen at the local jungle produce market in Bintulu. A fruit of the above size will normaly sell for RM 3. The skin has short,blunt and soft thorn-like covering but not pricky.

The 'terap' fruit tree is indeed tall, can reach 20 m high. Therefore to collect the fruit one has to climb the tree and pluck them from their end branches being cautious not to let them drop as once dropped the soft skin will be smashed and the fruits squashed and littered. The climbers will pluck semi ripe fruits and keep them for a day or two for ripening before they bring them to market.The leaves of the terap are large, about 30 - 40 cm long and 20-25 cm wide.

There are many varieties of the terap fruit with arils in colours of red and yellow.

Here's another variety with covering looking like rough hairs so is called 'Terap Bulu' ( artocarpus sericarpus)to mean hairy 'terap'.

The terap fruit comes from the same family as the breadfruit ( artocarpus communis Forst or its synonym: A.altilis) and is considered a staple fruit among the Pacific Islanders and many areas of South East Asia.

School's Out

This week the school term ended on the 15th of November and schools throughout Malaysia are now having the long end of year holiday . Already kids are frolicking in the mud playing football . As I watched them play in the late afternoon sun I remembered my days when I was a kid just like them too.

They reminded me now - Have Fun with Life.

Wild Durians of Bintulu and the Durian Theory

People who are familiar with Borneo knows very well the cultivated variety of durians ( Durio zibethinus) or ' King of the Fruits ' as what they are fondly called in this part of the world. It is according to some theorists a very primitive fruit in the evolutionary ladder of our present fruit tree because of its strong armour, height , colour and smell it has been able to win over competition among other trees in the tropical forest environment and survived to the present day. Seriously, this theory is called the Durian Theory.

The cultivated durian fruit is notorius for its intense smell, offensive for some but a welcome fragrance to many who will part any amount of money to buy one good fruit. Meaning RM 30 for a perfect fruit!

But among hoteliers its a NO, NO fruit to be allowed into the hotel premise. Thus it is no surprise that notices like these appear on hotel lifts:

" NO Durians or Outside Guests of Opposite Sex Allowed "

Durio oxleyanus Griff.

Among the Ibans the wild durian fruit above is called 'Isu'. Slightly harder to open, it has sharp and long thick thorns. However is much priced due to its aroma and sweet ' heavenly taste' to many jungle inhabitants and dwellers of the rainforest of Borneo.

This fruit appears to come in season right now to make up for the disappearing cultivated durians species which are in its tail end of the fruiting season. It's a little hefty on the price tag because its sold now by the kilo, which is RM 15/kilo.

Durio kutejensis

The local Ibans in Sarawak call the above fruit 'Nyekak'. The Malays call them 'durian kuning '( yellow durian) on account of its yellowish colour flesh or pulp.

In this species, the thorns are short, skin and flesh yellow and are easily opened by applying a slight pressure of both hands on the fruit. It has brown seeds, much smaller than the cultivated species and in many cases have tiny or no seeds at all. Tastes sweet and does not give the hiccups if you take too many like the durians. A small size fruit like above weighs half a kilo and at present price in Bintulu is RM 5 per fruit.

Kuala Tatau Water Festival

A race in progress.

The Kuala Tatau village was a buzz today, roaring to the powerful outboard engines like the ones above as part of this year '45 Years of Sarawak's Independence Through Malaysia ' celebration.

A section of the large crowd of spectators by the river bank.

A fishing boat decorated with the Malaysian flags greet spectators as they walked up the ramp after disembarking the small boat that ferry them to reach the main village across. Rates: Adults = RM 1.50 per person. Children = Free.

Strong winds and choppy waters in Bintulu today

The first sign that a sudden change in weather was imminent was when I saw these grasses bending low at the Bintulu Waterfront Promenade.

Very quickly strong winds slammed the palm trees, sending visitors scurring for cover.  Suddenly there was not a soul taking a stroll at the promende.

Going further up to Kidurong Housing Beach area some 20 minutes drive from the mouth of the Kemena River ( where sits the promenade) I saw many small fishing crafts moored at the lagoon area seeking safety from the choppy waters offshore and  impending stormy weather. This is typical of the end of year weather at Bintulu ( Nov- Dec) when strong winds can send waves up to three or four meters high making the sea most dangerous for small fishing crafts like these.

Bintulu expecting Chinese tourists?

This is the main street when you drive into Bintulu town proper.  However the signboard seen today is not the norm.  Is Bintulu expecting Chinese tourists?  In the Parliament session yesterday, the Tourism Ministry encouraged the use of mutli-language signboards in certain locations. For example in Kuala Lumpur, where there are hundreds of thousands of Middle East tourists coming yearly, the use of Arabic in the signboards will help the tourists to find their way around KL. By the same virtue, is Bintulu expecting more Chinese tourists soon?