Location : Desa Kuala Kurun, Kecamatan Kurun, Kabupaten Gunung Mas, Kalimantan Tengah, Indonesia.
On the way towards the town of Kurun a few kilometers to the left we headed for a popular waterfall Batu Mahasur for a well deserved dip. It looked very well kept and clean with only 3 kids playing in the pool and 2 young ladies hanging out as it was a weekday. Just what we needed, quietness and the pool to ourselves. Paid the 3 kids 5,000 rupiah each to see them jumped off the rocks.
Agus chatted with the 2 ladies and they later offered to bring us to a water catchment or reservoir for a bit of sightseeing. After 15min of riding we came to the said reservoir and the ladies were shocked to see the state it was in, a far cry from what they knew. The water was murky, eroded banks, floating debris and sand everywhere. Gold mining had destroyed it. They must have been more disappointed than us and probably embarassed too. The price of gold mining is high indeed and the extent of the damage to the environment can be evidenced in the Barito and Kahayan rivers.
We left shortly for our lunch in Kurun. The 2 ladies again led the way and showed us the short cut to town by the use of a special ferry service to cross the river. Two long boats were put together by a strong wooden platform in the middle like a catamaran. I guessed it could handle a few cars at a time. Genius.
After a hearty lunch I enquired from the café boss if massage was available in town. The answer was positive. Did the 1hr rub down and the middle age Javanese masseuse was more interested in telling me how hard her life was and asked if I could help her land a job in Malaysia. All that time I was only listening. Obviously, she did not get it. I was quite glad when it was over.
Kuala Kurun
So the journey continued along the most hilly region in Borneo. After more than 2 hours of ups and downs, twists and turns, potholes and sand, the sky slowly darkened and a rainbow far ahead indicated rain was not far away. The eventuality of riding in the rain came and added more stress in the cold and dark as visibility was poor. Made the last stop for dinner at some point and from there onwards it was just flat straight road. When we finally arrived home it was 10pm. My advice is ‘Don’t do what we did. If you must, use a good car or better still a 4WD’. A widened and concreted road urgently need to be commisioned for the safety of all road users before more lives be lost, especially the poor motorcyclists.
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