Far-flung Chinese outpost

My travel (pronounced truffle) picked me up at 1300 for the 3 hour (USD7) journey north to Singkawang. With a lunch stop and traffic, it took 4 hours. The scenery comprised forests, rice paddies, coconut groves, Kerala-like canals, homes surrounded by black water canals with people swimming and washing in them, and the brown sea as we neared Singkawang.

I was my first pleasant travel experience on this mode of transport, as very often, the Toyota Kijang would be packed to the brim making it less comfortable than a bus despite costing more. Today I had the front seat and there was only one other passenger.

I got dropped off in the centre of town and found a cheap USD11 hotel with air-con, squat toilet and a tank-and-scoop bathroom. Immediately, the receptionist offered me girls. Seeing no success, he offered me gems (with a big sample on his finger).

Even though Singkawang is more Chinese (Hakka) than Pontianak (Teochew), I wasn’t offered pork or dogs this time; only girls and gems. There was enough daylight for me to wander around town briefly.  I grabbed dinner in a restaurant; the stove was in the middle of the dining hall and was fuelled by charcoal. Takeaways were wrapped in big oval leaves, the ones that preceded plastic-and-newspaper in Malaysia before being replaced by styrofoam boxes.

The owner was rather chatty. We got talking and he said that his feel was that Indonesians were more patriotic than Malaysians. I agreed with him only to discover that he was referring to Indonesian Chinese’s patriotism to mainland China. Ooops!

Dinner was cheap at USD2 for a mixed vege with meat and seafood. A big beer was expensive at USD3.I retired early again. There wasn’t much to do for nightlife here, because I wasn’t into the offerings provided by the hotel receptionist.

Actually, Singkawang wasn’t so much of a destination in itself. It was an insight into a far-flung Chinese outpost, a glimpse of what Kuching was 40 years ago (or could still be if Sukarno had won the war). Plus the ride through the countryside was nice.