Borneotip's Exclusive Rejang River Cruise

Been reading in the newspaper about the upcoming Rejang River Cruise by the Pandaw Cruise somewhere July this year. It will be an 8 day trip and excursion, click this link to some idea of the itinerary

Anyway, why wait until July whereas Borneotip can give the viewers some glimpse of what to expect for the cruise. The Pandaw's cruise ship concept was based on the colonial style cruising, thus the cruise ship's design replicated colonial river streamer.

The cruise will start and end at Sibu town. Since ships are now not allowed to be anchored at the Rejang River by the Lembaga Sungai Sarawak (Sarawak River Board), the obvious choice to embark the cruise ship is from the Rejang Port Authority.

The cruise is expected to travel a stretch of 250km along the Rejang River from Sibu to up river. Some of the places the ship be stopping are Kapit, Kanowit, Song, Pelangus Rapids, Sarikei and Tanjung Manis.

Sibu town should be a sight to behold after the cruise ship departs for its journey

Just oppsite the Rejang Port Authority, in way of the Rejang River, one should notice a mass of "land" which is a result of years of siltation and testament that the Rejang River is getting shallower. This mass "land" was not even here many years ago.

Going up the Igan River also give another look of Sibu town from another angle

Malay villages and mosque can also be seen along Igan River

Saw mills are almost everywhere along the Rejang River

Shipyards are also can be found along the river. Most of the shipyards here are building tugboats, which they are famous for.

Another interesting findings are some shop houses which had been modified to attract and rear swiftlets for commercial purpose as the bird's nest can be harvested to make soup (Chinese cuisine). The bird house can be easily recognizable as it gives out artificial swiftlets noise to attract them here.

Occasionally, school and church can be spotted

Tug boat with its barge can be seen cruising the river with its cargo

The site for marine training centre. The one here is the ground to train cadet in lowering and operating the lifeboat.

The prominent landmark for Sibu town, the Wisma Sanyan can still be seen from a distance away

Longhouses should be the highlight for the river cruise here and can be spotted rather easily of one venture deeper into the river (not shown here)

I expect a few problems for the Pandaw Cruise Ship as there are many logs flowing at the river due to the logging activities up river and this might pose some danger to the cruise ship

Rejang River is full of silt and this might pose some challenge for the cruise ship's engine department as it means the strainers and filters need to be cleaned regularly.

Navigating around Rejang River could be a challenging task as only the locals know the location of the shallow bed of the river as well as the time for high and low tide. Hence, I expect the cruise ship to employ someone who knows the river well to navigate the ship to avoid grounding

Well, I am excited to see the outcome of the first ever commercial cruise ship along the Rejang River and I hope it will be a success