Balikpapan. We had our wonderful seafood dinner at Balikpapan famous "" Ocean restaurant". The " Coconut crabs or Thief crabs " that we took weighs 2.7kg. Something different but it would have been nicer if the crabs are smaller ones. The crabs , as their names suggest, would climb coconut trees, pluck and crack the coconuts with their large claws and eat the coconuts.
The next day we were busy trying to get to Sulawesi and then to Florets or one of the islands. However we were not successful as no one was able to give us accurate information from Makasa to Florets. Time being a constraint, we then decided that we take the next best option - stay around for another 3 to 4 days and catch a " Cruise Ship ", with " Roll On and Roll Off " facilities from Balikpapan to Surabaya. Pic above show our final arrangement at the shipping office , which we paid rp3,950,000 for our car and a VIP room for 2.
SAMARINDA . The drive from Balikpapan to Samarinda took us about 2 hours . With very heavy traffic and winding roads, we travelled cautiously. Samarinda was a eye opener. As we roll in from the countryside into this plain, the mighty Sungai Mahakam was extremely scenic. The population of some 600,000 + , according to the tourism center, seems to be living around this river. The river itself was full of activities with large container boats, fishing vessels, boat logging timbers and tug boats pulling coals which can be sighted.
Checked into Mesra Resort which is large and paid rp 500,000 for a night with breadfast
Tenggarong. Just 40km from Samarinda, this new town is the most beautiful town in Kalimantan. We were welcomed by a large suspension bridge . This town, once the capital of the Kutai Sultanate gave a sense of pride to the people living in this small community of some 75,000 people. The town was orderly with new building development, iconic statue and a large heritage center. One of the interesting data as I managed to capture while visiting the museuem was the head dress of some 27 tribal groups. Too many to put on blogs though.
The Dayak Village the town created a very special area to showcase modern living for the Dayak community. Visiting it will give you the sense that the Dayaks have came out from the jungles and are part of the overall community. Not forgetting that the Governor of Pontianak is a Dayak. Pic below shows our final venture in Kalimantan. The effective and polite police team were eager and curious to find us going around this small town. With detailed preparations which Neo Chian did back home in Singapore, what a send off party from the Police Force.
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