Every river has its legends, and the local legend which personifies the creation of the Batang Lupar benak is as imaginative as any, highlighting the conflict between the boatman and the great natural phenomenon.
It has only been as a result of the Komori report of 1979, for the Malaysia Drainage and Irrigation department, that the four Sarawak benaks have been documented. However, much earlier, in 1949, the British writer, Somerset Maugham actually experienced the benak on the Batang Lupar, and narrowly avoided drowning.
A tidal bore, locally known as “Benak”, usually occurs during the third day and eighteenth day of the Chinese Lunar calendar month and when the high tide is rushing up the Batang Lupar.
The tidal bore is created when the force of the tide water rush up the river causes the river to reverse its flow. The height of the tidal bore depends on the time of the year, wather adn phase of the moon. The tidal action is significant for the speed in which a large volume of water fills the rive channel.
The tidal bore in the Batang Lupar reaches its height at the river in front of the Sri Aman Town, which is about 28 kilometres from its mouth. The tidal bore travels further up river for another 30 kilometres to reach Engkilili, a total of 68 kilometres from the sea.
Anyway, The article im gonna post here is taken from someone’s blog about this guy surfing in this river which is well known for being infested by CROCODILE…
First Surf Attempt
Taken from http://www.nadai.name
Antony was all set to surf the Batang Lupar Tidal Bore or popularly known as Benak in Sarawak. It also goes by the name of Ben in Nadai Nama Nama. It was Antony’s first attempt on 16th October 2009. The Benak was expected to come at 3:00 pm and we were already assembled at the Sri Aman Wharf, near the Chinese Temple.
One of Antony’s worry was the presence of crocodiles which was aplenty on the banks of Batang Lupar River. He came across this one (above in the picture) during his recce along the river on 15th October 2009 at Sekera, Sri Aman. One of the questions he asked me was the statistics of fatal crocodile attacks here so that he can be more careful in identifying which areas have crocs during the recce. Yikes! I thought….here was someone who would change my perspective of crocodiles in Batang Lupar. He says if he know a certain area is populated by the creature he would just avoid surfing in the area. To me, just a sight of that creature would make me scurry a hundred miles away from the river.
Cruising along the river waiting for the Benak along the Batang Lupar River was not as simple as it seems. Reason being some areas are just knee deep and the boat tends to get stuck. The only way to fix this was to get off the boat and push…..that’s the fear factor part….where you hope to feel sand underneath and nothing else. Anything that looks like or feels different- say a log, just jump into the boat as quick as you can.
So as the Benak approached Antony waited for a good wave and quickly jumped out of the boat, shouting “YEEHAAA” into the raging waters. It was his first taste of Batang Lupar water and he never looked back as he rose and surfed making it look easy. I was watching history in the making as this is the first time that someone is attempting to surf the Benak on a surf board. Sacre Bleu…the French will say.
In deeper section of the river the Benak sinks and the force of the wave is lost, only to resurface again in shallower areas. So there was Antony, surfing and when the Benak disappear for a while, he would go back on the other boat and chase the Benak again and when it emerges again he would jump in. Our main worry at first was that when he loses the wave and momentum he would fall behind and we would have to quickly pull him out of the water. That’s the dicey part as the remnant waves of the actual Benak is risky for our boat. There were times when we almost overturned.
There was a stretch along the Batang Lupar which saw the Benak travelling quite a distance and Antony was there again to conquer that stretch. The people of Sri Aman had gathered along the Batang Lupar Tidal Bore Observation Station and Riverine Park to watch this courageous Frenchman as they clapped their hands and cheered him on.
Below are some clearer photos taken from Antony’s camera which shows him surfing the Benak wave. Yeehaa! He wants me to show this in this Blog to show that Benak surfing can be done. Its like Kacang (eating peanuts).
Couple of months back I met this girl named “A”. She was rather cute, sweet and a nice girl. Maybe it’s because I just met her. But time tells us how much people can change and be mean or rude or whatever you want to say it.
Anyway, she and I had a whole lot of things that we like and dislike. But, unfortunately one day, something bad happen. Real bad (REAL BAD), in her “dictionary”. And hey, I’m Innocent! There was nothing special between us yet! She described herself as open minded, happy-go-lucky type of person. But instead she is the type that likes to pined point fingers, say nasty things and claim things that are not right.
I was really surprise when on one of our conversation turn out to be really nasty. Never in my life have I talked to someone without a single word of swearing, but she was like a machine gun. Shooting all the things that was not inappropriate. Maybe she thinks she’s an Australian (sorry to my Australian friends, but I realize that u guys swear a lot but in a good way…).
The best part was she mention something that makes others think that she’s a BITCH. She was comparing herself as a better one then the others. HEY! LOOK AT UR SELF IN THE MIRROR BEFORE JUDGING OTHERS!!!!!
Well, in this life, no one is perfect! If you want to find a full perfection in someone, hmmm… hehehe… THERE IS NONE EXCEPT GOD!!!!
All I can say to you is, Grow Up!!! Open your eyes wide!!! You are just like a little bird that just hatched out of its shell. You have much to learn. Don’t destroy your own life. And all the best for your own future…
Guys… Dun trust them that much yet till you really know that SHE is the ONE!!!!
Last night i really had a great time having spend my time in a place called Secret Sanctuary. Located in Stutong Indah. It’s been a long time since I have relax with a beer and hear a Sape Player plays the nice tune of the Ethnic group from Borneo.
Jerry Kamit is a sape player from the Iban community of Sarawak, Borneo. This is the largest province of Malaysia and is known for a remarkable rainforest that is fast disappearance as a result of logging activities. He began playing the complex string instrument in 1996 and has become a member of the Tuku Kame world musical band at the Sarawak Cultural Village. Kamit was one of dozens of musicians to participate in the tenth edition of the Rainforest World Music Festival in July 2007.
Last weekend I went out and met a friend, a good friend of mine, Fahree. Also a photographer, a sony user. Yeah we had a couple of drinks but at the end of it, we went makan at Lok-Lok. we had “liang-teh” and some boiled stuff. What happen was, Was fahree asleep while eating or drunk? he dipped to food in his drink instead of the chilli…
It’s been a while since I’ve blog about anything… Have been busy lately, not even doing my photography much. Darn….
Anyway, last weekend I went out with two other Nikon users to do street photography, and it ended up a lil’ success… here are some of the pics.
More pics are posted at my photo page or click here to go to the link (http://sethphotography.blogspot.com )
Anyway, thanks and there’s more to come….
Defining a remedy that was clearly the best
as the warm fluid coated our irritated throats
Mom’s cup of hot lemon tea
sang a silent lullaby for a good night’s rest.
This ritual could not be rushed
for the cup of hot lemon tea
would not permit that to be.
Cradled in her floral tapestry rocking chair
she savored the hot fluid in a fine, gold rim bone china teacup
often falling asleep engulfed in tranquility
like a butcher’s scale
balancing the cup on her lap
never once spilling a single drop.
Touching her gently
not to abruptly startle her
I whispered, “Mom wake up.”
Opening her eyes
smiling and resuming her metrical rocking
with a pacifying look
and a calm demure reply
she stated, “I wasn’t asleep, only resting my eyes.”
Picking up the same habit
whether my throat was irritated or not
slowly drifting to an enticing nap
tranquilized and unable to finish that nice hot brew
on my lap I balance a cup and saucer
hearing the whisper of a yet familiar voice saying
“Wake up before you burn yourself!”
This year’s Word Rainforesr Music Festival was a lil’ bit disappointing. The concept was not there like the pass 11 years… I don’t really know what change, what went wrong, or was it because of the H1N1 thinggy going on. Even so, still i see a lot of “mat salleh’s” came.
But no mater what, I still had fun with friends whom I kind of meet once a year, for example, Jeff… Yo, Bro, Thanks for comming. Anyway, here are some of the shots I took when i was there. More at http://sethphotography.blogspot.com
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