Stella, Eric, Bajik Sundal And Lachau

Subject : The spoils from yesterday's road trip

Location : Balairingin

Beer Count : 6 cans per pax...because of Stella

I ventured away from the office environment yesterday to embark on a long road trip - Gedong, Simanggang, Betong, Nanga Geraji and Balairingin. Mostly work related. I took my kanid Kelvin with me and on trips such as these, there is always something new to discover. For instance, we now know where Eric and Bajik Sundal lives. Eric lives in a village not far from Simanggang while Bajik Sundal hails from the district of Betong. And both persons had their names proudly spray painted on bus stop sheds for all and sundry to see. Their names has been there for the longest time that I can remember. I have on a few occasions drove the Kuching - Betong stretch since four years ago and the names are still at these two bus stop sheds to this day. Eric and Bajik must really want people to know where they live. We did not stop to unravel this mystery and find out if these two actually exist but I hope they live good lives and have many children if they do.

And who doesn't know this quaint little bazaar just before Bukit Bangunan if one travels the Kuching - Simanggang road. I'm talking about Lachau bazaar. Lacahu serves as the best place to do a pit stop before continuing the long journey towards Simanggang and beyond. Lachau, if you didn't know yet, is a predominantly Iban area. Kelvin informed me that the word Lachau is in fact derived from the name of a lizard common to the place. You won't miss the concrete carving of the same as you enter the junction into the bazaar.

But consider this :-

1. One Iban boy to another on their lizards catch. "Apuuuuu....amat besai lanchau nuan tu. Panjai agik nyak".

2. Heard at the dinner table in Lachau not so very long ago. "Hmmmm, nyamai endar lanchau tuk neh".

3. Kid daughter to his dad as they drive into Lachau bazaar- "Daddy. Look. LANCHAU!!!".

But really, please be courteous and ensure that when in Lachau you pronounce the name correctly. And if not for its famous lizards, Lachau bazaar is probably best known for its 'mee basah'. Arguably the best on this side of the island.

On our journey back, we stopped at a roadhouse cum petrol kiosk cum injin padi operator in Balairingin still pondering on Eric and Bajik Sundal existence while accompanied by a few Stella's. A few Iban boys, shirtless and tattooed smiled and left us to our own. They revved their old motorcycles after filling up at the makeshift petrol kiosk, ocassionally stealing glances at our direction perhaps wondering what we were doing in their backyard. The roadhouse Chinese lady boss was busy. She was noisily cooking in the kitchen and the fragrance of strong sweet smell of belachan made me hungry. While drinking to the sound of tut-tutting of the injin padi in the back ground, a man driving an old beat up Landrover crashed into a concrete telephone pole near us, breaking it and no one made much of a fuss. The driver was fine.

We continued our drinking.

Is very nice.