By D’Drift Team
BINTULU, July 9: All of a sudden, the bumps and turns on Pan Borneo Highway’s unfinished roads seem mild.
The words “bumpy” and “bad” cannot describe the 55km road to Lusong Laku from the Murum Dam junction.
Instead of a roller coaster, imagine yourself strapped on an agitated bull for four hours at least. It was pure agony for city dwellers like us.
Starting from the Murum Dam junction, the first hour of our journey to Lusong Laku was fine, except for a few sections of broken roads with huge potholes to look out for.
An hour later, we reached a junction where we turned right to Lusong Laku. That was the end of the tar-sealed road.
Now going off-road, we started driving through similarly uneven gravel roads, with potholes everywhere. Uneasiness began to set in, making us wonder what lay ahead.
We were told it would take about five hours to reach our destination, and we were only two hours in, not even half of the journey.
In the third hour, the real nightmare began. Now we were driving on muddy, rocky timber roads whose conditions were beyond imagination.
Huge boulders were sticking out the road’s surface, and holes were all over the place. The car shook, swayed, and jumped, us along with it.
The trip only got worse. Soon, the rain started to fall. Wet from rainwater, the already awful roads were now slippery. Adrenaline and stress kicked in us for fear of the dangers ahead.
Rainwater mixed with soil and mud flowed down the slopes as we tried to fight the current by going up. At one point, we began questioning the possibility of us completing the ordeal. But we had to continue forward.
One particular stretch of road in the latter part of the journey was absolutely unforgettable. Construction works were ongoing, and the road was wet and muddy due to the rain.
While crossing it, the car started to skid. We would have gone down the river if we had driven too fast.
Alas, everybody reached Lusong Laku safely after four hours and 25 minutes of a torturous “bull ride”.
The road is so much better than last time, locals say
What we had been through was considered “better than last time” by the locals and those residing in Lusong Laku.
“It was much worse last time. Back then, it took us six hours to get to Lusong Laku but now only about four hours,” they said.
Over 100 timber crossings are being replaced with HPDE culverts by the Sarawak government through Urban Regional Development Agency (URDA), with the approved funding of RM20 million.
Murum assemblyman Kennedy Chukpai Ugon, who desperately wants to improve the road condition here, said the culvert installation is only the first phase in his planning.
The next phase would be to upgrade the road to that with cement finishing. Then, if there is any leftover funds from the project, he said they would be used to tar seal the road starting from Lusong Laku.
“You see, if the road is good, (it takes) less than one hour (to travel to Lusong Laku). Last time there was RM60 million allocated to upgrade the road under Datuk Billy (Abit Joo).
“After the government change, it was put on hold. Through URDA, I try to fight for funds. So, there is RM20 million for the first phase,” Chukpai told Dayakdaily in Lusong Laku.
Top three most expensive fish in Malaysia
From Bakun to Lusong Laku, the D’Drift Team has tasted the top three most expensive fish in Malaysia: empurau, semah and mengarang.
We were served semah and mengarang at Mebong Cove Villa in Bakun, and empurau at the Lusong Laku homestay.
They were barbecued to satisfaction with a little seasoning and some lemongrass — yums!
By today, we’ve returned to Bintulu town from Lusong Laku after handing over more than 1,000 children’s books to SK Lusong Laku witnessed by Chukpai.
Here, DayakDaily would like to express thanks to its readers for generously giving away story books that are still in top-notch condition. We are honoured to be the messenger of this blessing.
We would also like to thank Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak), Sarawak State Library and Pertubuhan Wartawan Bebas Kuching (Pewarta) for their kind donations for this same purpose.
Thank you for bringing joy and happiness to the Penan children of Lusong Laku. — DayakDaily
— DayakDaily
Related articles:
Travelogue, Day 1 – Anaconda hunt in Engkilili
Travelogue, Day 2 – Engkilili’s century-old red temple — ‘1/15 Fraction Company’
Travelogue, Day 3 – Let Sibu Street Art be world-renowned like Penang’s
Travelogue, Day 4 – Found in Tatau: Any guesses on what these trees are called?
Travelogue, Day 5 – Checking up on wild boar Robin, and testing Jendela’s WiFi Hotspot in rural areas
Travelogue, Day 7 – Traditional Sarawak-Japanese cuisine fusion: Wiggling sago worms on sushi
Travelogue, Day 8 – Japan, South Korea use manganese slag by-product to build roads, but Malaysia calls it waste
Travelogue, Day 9 – ‘Karau’ the sweet boy from Batang Ai National Park HQ
Travelogue, Day 10 – ‘Kopi o’, ‘kopi o peng’ in Tatau, Samalaju cost RM2.50, most expensive so far this trip
