Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
After Pontianak, Sukadana is a most welcome surprise, all the more so because few
people seem to know about it. Half the fun is just getting there, via a wonderful four-hour
river trip by longboat from Pontianak. After travelling down the Kapuas, all bets are off as
to what the route actually is, as no published map reflects it. You enter a tributary which
eventually broadens into a lake,
Warah Kubu
, full of attractive jungle-covered hills and
various islands. Along the way you stop for lunch at a scenic riverside warung serving
world-class fried chicken. Then you're back in the region known as
Teluk Air
, which
contains a vast and largely uninhabited mangrove swamp. Finally you reach a broad bay
on the South China Sea and skirt the coastline, passing
Batu Daya
, where a vertical wall
of rock soars in the distance. Sukadana is hidden in a fold of this coastline. As you round
a corner, its major landmark, the Makhota Kayong, appears suddenly, making you wonder
how a huge hotel built on pilings over the water can exist this far from anywhere. You
then enter a horseshoe-shaped bay with an attractive beach surrounded by rolling hills of
green jungle. Add nearby Gunung Palung National Park and some offshore islands to ex-
plore, and you have the makings for an excellent getaway. The new BNI ATM adds the fi-
nal essential element (accessible 8am to 3pm Monday to Friday, but knock and, re-
portedly, the 24-hour guard will let you in any time).
Sights
BEACH
Pulau Datok Beach
This is a well-kept town beach that feels far more exotic, as it is encircled by jungle hills
and looks out on some alluring islands. There are two basic restaurants and a cart that sells
fresh sugar cane (10am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday). More private beaches lie further
along the coast; ask locally.
GUNUNG PALUNG: A PARK THAT'S HARD TO
LOVE
With a large population of resident orangutans and diverse other wildlife, Gunung Palung National Park has a lot
of potential that is sadly being squandered by poor management and rampant illegal logging (you may even hear
chainsaws). The three tour companies that once provided entry have been whittled down to one,
Nasalis Tour
and Travel
( 0534 772 2701;
http://gunungpalung.net
; Jl Gajah Mada 24, Ketapang)
, which now controls
the park for its own economic benefit, including some expensive tour packages that require at least one overnight
