| On progressive, upbeat, modern Brunei Darussalam, Kuala Balai is a shrinking backwater.
Just 45 minutes from Kuala Belait, or a 20-minute drive from the new Seria bypass, a visit to Kuala Balai is like stepping back in time to a lost era. At one time, Kuala Balai, which is carved out of the jungle on the banks of the Belait River, was the largest community in the west of the country. Its highway was the river and the villagers grew crops, fished and, above all, were famous for their ambulong (sago).
The longhouse at Kuala Belai which is open to visitors. Photo by Simon Billeau
Today only about 10 permanent residents remain, mostly older folks who resisted the urban drift which started after oil was discovered in Seria in 1929 and the oil industry began to develop on the coast.
Some still remmember the days when the population was large enough to support a school, a trip to the sea was six hours of hard rowing in perahu (longboat) and larger cargo-carrying boats used to sail up the Belait River.
Even in the 1970s, there were some 500 residents of Kuala Balai with about 30 families producing sago in the traditional way, stomping the scrapings on platforms over the river to extract the milk, and packing the glutinous white end-product into tampins (square sagoleaf sacks).
Since then the urban drift has accelerated as families have moved to new housing developments in Mumong to be closer to their work and to schools. Now there are just five sago factories and they have abandoned traditional methods. Simple machines are used to grate and extract the sago and the practice of trampling the scrapings died out in the mid-1980s along with the tampins which have been replaced with more versatile plastic sacks.
Visitors take a chance on seeing a sago factory in action. As water is a key ingredient in the process, the river dictates the best times to work. The tides affect Kuala Balai and work stops at high tide as the water gets saltier. Mohammed Ura, an experienced sago worker, watches the colour of the river to judge the best time to work. It is a skilled art that requires intuition and experience.
The sago palm is collected from the banks of the Belait River and its tributaries, particularly Sungai Damit, and can be seen on the boat ride to Kuala Balai. But the dominant vegetation is nipah palm (polok apong), which forms a dense blanket along both river banks.
The dry palm leaves are used for atap (thatch) roofing, while the sweet fruit is an ingredient on ice kacang, a local delicacy. The fruit grows in thick football-sized clusters and its flesh looks and tastes similar to coconut, though the kernel is no larger than a walnut.
The river is fairly busy which means that the shy crocodile is a rare sight. About 10 minutes before Kuala Balai by boat there is a reminder of less peaceful times. In a small clearing on the right bank is a wooden box on stilts with a wire mesh front. Inside are some 20 human skulls said to be the victims of headhunters long ago. They are believed to be haunted and should not be touched in deference to superstition.
The Kuala Belai skulls, photo by Simon Billeau
Text © Brunei Shell Group of Companies
Original text researched and written by Nick wood . Text updated in 1996 by Haji Hussin bin Ahmad, re-researched and updated in 2000 by Hans Dols
Getting There:
You can get there by river or by road. If driving, turn of the highway at ? The first part is not to bad but some of it is a little rough. You don't need a 4WD, plenty of saloon cars do it it might just be slow going. |
Belait