Urban-Rural : Take Two Part 3 - Rest-Stop

In this series of posts, we show you a contrast of stuff we use in our urban lives against what the locals used and have across our journey. We hope this gives you a better picture of life in rural areas or rural Sarawak.

Rest-stops

Anyone travelling during the festive season, would make a rest-stop along the North-South Highway to grab a drink/bite or maybe a toilet break or two.

Need a break after a long drive on a Highway?

No fear, for the reststop's here! (Pic: Pagoh Reststop)

For the villagers, in between the long treks, they too have reststops!

Villagers put down their Bagans and take the opportunity to exchange stories and news. (Reststop between Kpg Semban and Kpg Bujong)

Another shady rest-stop to catch our breath.

(reststop to Kpg Taba Sait)

Our guide Simou offered us some of his salted fish and rice as we trekked to his village, Kpg. Rejoi from Kpg. Taba Sait at a reststop build with bamboo and covered with a zinc roof.

Not the rest-stop we are used to on our journey north and south the peninsular and certainly a far cry from the offerings we can enjoy along those journeys. Simple, rural reststops just require some creativity with bamboo which they can acquire easily from the surrounding forests. Simply a case of putting to good use what mother nature gives you.

Look out as we make more comparisons between urban-rural (Sarawak - Bengoh).

Past Parts:

Part 1 - Carrying Supplies

Part 2 - Highways

Urban-Rural : Take Two Part 2 - Highways

In this series of posts, we show you a contrast of stuff we use in our urban lives against what the locals used and have across our journey. We hope this gives you a better picture of life in rural areas or rural Sarawak.

Highways

Indispendable Highways (Photo Credit : LDP by Azreey)

In KL, we have all the well acronym-ed highways - LDP, KESAS, KARAK - in fact, enough to make a fun quiz! Imagine a quiz where for RM???, if you can name what these highways stand for...

I digress.

Yet, we do take for granted the level of development which is enjoyed over here. It takes 2 hours + to make a journey to Ipoh from KL or to Malacca for distances around about 200km. Compare this to single lane "highways" such as the Borneo Highway which we travelled on to reach Bengoh from Kuching. In other places in Sarawak, waiting for ferries to cross and journeys of even 100km take times of 2 hours or more!

Here's some video of footage on the Borneo Highway from Kuching to Bengoh our film crew took:

The view of the paved road of from the Bengoh Village to the Bengoh Dam (a few KM from the JKR checkpoint)

Begs the question - Why do Sarawakians (or even Sabahans for that matter) do not enjoy the same level of development as our Western brethren? Surely this is not a question of these states' income as they are states that are rich with natural resources and plantations. Then, the question should turn towards the Federal Allocation or the way these states are spending their allocations?

A frequent reply to this(lack of rural development) is that the cost-benefit analysis does not warrant such development.?Why spend millions for the benefit of the few? (Think Japan and their highways to no where in their zeal to spend more to encourage government spending)

Or even that private enterprises do not want to spend on such areas as they do not get any returns - does the responsibility of providing amenities and roads to these villagers fall back to the government?

Which government - federal or state level?

Yet, can't help but think if there was less wastage in general, could there be more allocation to go around for rural areas?

Look out as we make more comparisons between urban-rural (Sarawak - Bengoh). Part 3 will be related to this - Reststops. Come back to find out more.

Past Parts:

Part 1 - Carrying Supplies

Urban-Rural : Take Two Part 1 - Carrying Supplies

In this series of posts, we show you a contrast of stuff we use in our urban lives against what the locals used and have across our journey. We hope this gives you a better picture of life in rural areas or rural Sarawak.

Todays, let take a look at modern backpacks vs. a commonly used apparatus by villagers to lug objects from where the road in to the footpath to the villages or between villages.

The 'Backpack' any backpackers knows and love...

Even yours truly used one of these...

But the villagers? What do they use?

A Bagan.* Innovative, no?

We came across more as we met other villagers...

Interestingly, these villagers have been using such a contraption for ages and the modern backpack has such a frame between the user's back and the contents to provide a similar structure as the villagers' Bagan. Begs the question, maybe, there is more we can learn from the rural areas and we give them less credit than they deserve. Amazing isn't it?

Look out as we make more comparisons between urban-rural (Sarawak - Bengoh).

*Edit: Thanks, Ong for the heads-up.