Water-sports

Thursday 23 September 1999 – Tuesday 28 September 1999

On our return to Samarinda, Rustam suggested we take a day or two to visit a local festival taking place over the course of the next five days in the district capital of Tenggarong.  The Erau (meaning "water") Festival is an extravaganza of dancing, food, boat races and festivity, bringing together Dayaks from across East Kalimantan to perform traditional dances and ritual displays.  But most of all, it's an elaborate excuse for a gigantic water-fight.

It was indeed a colourful and festive occasion. On the first day, events were kicked off by a series of speeches and addresses by high-ranking officials followed by a huge parade with a marching band.  Eric, never one to miss out on a photo opportunity was up there with the TV cameras taking full advantage of the fact that we appeared to be the only tourists in sight, therefore apparently being granted VIP status.  The ceremonies and costumes were elaborate to say the least and tribes from all over wore their own unique traditional outfits as they carried out the rituals.

On the last day, a ceremony involving two eight metre long dragons made out of rattan and colourful cloths signaled the start of the free-for-all water fight.  Water was being hurled in every direction long before the ceremony took place and as foreigners, we were the ideal targets.  Things got a little out of hand, however: on our way to the VIP area we were mobbed with buckets of filthy ditch water by a band of young hooligans that started to turn ugly, and we made a quick exit through a back route before the ceremony had ended.  Even as we drove out of the town, people were still pelting the car with water in every kind of receptacle; it was certainly the most exuberant water fight we'd ever seen.

Between the first and last days of the Erau festival, we took off for a four day trip to the island of Derawan further up the east coast of Kalimantan.  It is part of the Sangalaki Archipelago (for those divers among you), and we had heard that it was considered to be among the best dive sites in the world to view manta rays.  We were not to be disappointed; again, the hassle of getting there was worth it once we found ourselves swimming amongst these majestic and beautiful creatures.  

In between days of diving, we also hired a local fishing boat to take us out to one of the more remote islands and spent an entire day with a white sandy beach entirely  to ourselves, snorkeling both in the sea and in a fresh water lake in the centre of the island which was teeming with stingless jelly-fish.  We swam with every kind of fish imaginable, as well as several turtles.  One of our most memorable moments was watching a turtle lay her eggs at night during a full moon, although sadly, turtle eggs are considered a delicacy, and locals keep close vigil on turtles coming on shore to watch where they lay their eggs and then later dig them up.  As a result, extinction is threatening these wonderful animals, and although there are supposedly conservation projects in progress, there seems little hope of a real reversal in the situation while both demand and prices for turtle eggs remain high.  

And so, our month-long stay in Indonesia came to a close.  We were sad to say goodbye to our wonderful guide, Rustam, who had become a true friend in the course of time we had known him and who had given us a real insight into the customs and cultures of his country.  There wasn’t anything that was too much trouble for him and it is thanks to his efforts that we have such wonderful memories to share.