By D’Drift Team
LIMBANG, July 4: At the planning stages even when D’Drift was not even conceived yet, DayakDaily has planned to traverse the state from south to the north.
Using the brand new Isuzu D-Max 1.9L Blue Power, we have heard so much of the new vehicle and we were eager to test drive the truck as part of our official transport that would take us to places we wanted to highlight during the trip.
Finally, we had a plan in place and D’Drift was conceived. Once the programme was finalised, Limbang was part of the itinerary in which we thought of driving all the way by road.
Firstly to highlight the places that we have planned to visit, and secondly, to test drive the prowess of the new machine.
Even though the world including Sarawak were in lockdown mode, we planned to take off our programme as soon as the restrictions were eased.
And when we have the hint that inter-state travel had been lifted, we put our plan into play and that was when we asked the relevant authorities how to get to Limbang via Brunei.
After many queries from various parties, we decided not to take the risk of driving through Brunei as the borders were still closed but instead flew from Miri.
Having reached Limbang, we came to realise that without flight connectivity and a partial lockdown imposed, Limbang basically is just an island. This was testified by a taxi driver, only known as Muga.
“Limbang was like an island during MCO (Movement Control Order) as there was no flight and the border with Brunei was closed. So, movement was restricted within this town.
“Even though we have permit to travel, we however cannot pass through Brunei as it is another country. So we are basically cut off from Sarawak,” he told D’Drift Team today.
Recently, plans were afoot to connect Limbang directly to Miri via Mulu and to Lawas via Long Luping under the proposed link road.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing had told DayakDaily that currently, the state government has no intention to implement the link road yet but it will definitely want to do so when it has the necessary funding.
The D’Drift Team has been trying to highlight major eco-tourism destinations in Sarawak with two out of three attractions that have been covered namely the Gunung Silabur Caves in Serian and the Lusong Laku Waterfall in Murum.
Something of an irony found in Lusong Laku was the fact that there were some Penans who have turned full time fishermen now but the irony was that the fish population there had dwindled over the past 20 years.
One such fisherman is Joseph Luat, 33, who has become a full time fisherman after losing his job in the local timber company last year.
“There are times when I have good catches of up to 10kg of fish of various species such as ‘Baung’, ‘Tengadak’ and ‘Semah’.
“But on many days like today (Thursday), I have been here since this morning, I have not caught anything yet.
“Of course if I can catch ‘Empurau’, it will be a big bonus. It will make my day as I have a family to feed. So the thing is, how can I be a full time fisherman if there are no fishes to catch,” he shared his irony with the D’Drift Team recently.
As such, repopulated rivers with fishes should be a top priority by the relevant authorities as eco-tourism is a holistic approach to attract visitors to these wonders of nature where sports fishing should be included and promoted.
For now, we are all geared up for the third wonder of nature that Sarawak has to offer – the Buda Caves.
Note: We would like to inform our readers who have been following D’Drift that travelogue will take a break tomorrow (July 5) as we will not be able to send stories due to lack of connectivity. Travelogue will resume on Monday (July 6).–DayakDaily
Related articles:
Travelogue, Day 1 — Discovering the green gem of Sarawak
Travelogue, Day 2 — The journey continues…
Travelogue, Day 3 — Sibu’s food never fails to impress
Travelogue, Day 4 — The road to Lusong Laku, the road less travelled
Travelogue, Day 5 — Lethargy sets in on the fifth day but journey goes on
