Arrived!

Greetings from Living Waters, Kalimantan!  I arrived here just before 9pm on Friday night, after a looong day of bus travel over roads that were sometimes good, but mostly bad.  When they were good we reached speeds of 80-85km/h.  When they weren't so good, we averaged 40km/h.  When they were really bad, 10km/h was enough to bounce or rock you in your seat.  But it was fun - apart from the cigarette smoke in the second bus.  The first bus, from Kuching, Malaysia to the junction in Indonesia, was a big, comfortable, air-conditioned coach; the second bus was small, crowded, carried the luggage on the roof, and travelled with windows and doors all open - with the luggage man/second driver usually leaning out the back door.  We were constantly passing people on motorbikes, which is the common form of travel in this country.  There were a few cars and utes, a number of other buses (also with the luggage man leaning out the back door), and quite a lot of small trucks, usually carrying fruit or dirt/sand/rocks, but nothing like the numbers of motorbikes.  It was rare to see one with a mere single rider.  If there wasn't a passenger, there would be some kind of load on the back, sometimes so big that the rider couldn't be seen from behind.  Motorbikes are also used to transport the whole family - Mum, Dad, and child.  I did once see three young adults on one bike, too.

At the border, my suitcase was the only one that they wanted to open, I think because of the large packet of pens, and various bottles of shampoo, etc.  They were then fascinated by my Muckboots, which they fed through the x-ray machine again because I had stuffed them with things and then slotted one inside the other. (I probably won't wear them very often, but somebody will make good use of them when I leave them behind.)  I was very glad to have Imel along (Indonesian for Email and said almost the same way - her real name is Emilia).  She goes through there so often, she knows the customs officers – and the bus drivers - really well.  Imel's job is escorting foreigners from Kuching to Living Waters and vice versa.  She renewed her passport last year, but it is well over half full already.

When the bags were reloaded into the bus, Imel’s back-pack was in the next compartment – right next to ours, but not quite with.  When we reached the junction where we changed buses, we all, including Imel, forgot about her extra bag (which she doesn’t usually have with her), and the bus left with it still on board.  She ran after the bus, trying to attract the driver’s attention, but he didn’t see her.  Thinking quickly, Imel stopped a car and got a lift with them to catch the bus.  The bus goes very quickly, and the car driver wasn’t able to catch up.  Praise God, the bus stopped for a passenger, so Imel did manage to get to it and retrieve her bag.  She paid the car driver for his trouble and he brought her back.  She was only gone for 15 minutes.  Praise the Lord!  I knew He would sort it out okay.  The next adventure was mild in comparison, but added interest and a leg-stretch to the trip.  The bus got a flat tyre – not surprising on those roads!  It was quickly replaced, more or less in the dark; I think maybe they have a lot of practice at that task…

We left Kuching, Malaysia at 7:30am, and reached Nanga Pinoh, Indonesia at 7:50pm.  That's over 13 hours, because Indonesia is an hour behind Malaysia.  I haven't figured out why, yet.  We were met, had dinner at a restaurant, then began the even rougher ride to Living Waters in a 4wd.  By the time I got out again, my head was spinning and all I wanted was sleep.  I was awake enough to appreciate the handwritten welcome sign attached to my bed, recognize the music of "Notting Hill" as the girls began a movie in the next room, and ... zzz.  =)