Home ATTRACTIONS City/Village Pushing the frontier of Kapuas Hulu, Kota Putussibau

Pushing the frontier of Kapuas Hulu, Kota Putussibau

September 8, 2018

Location : Kota Putussibau, Kabupaten Kapuas Hulu, Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia.

After making the last two trips to Badau & Danau Sentarum, we had yearned to visit Putussibau a place made famous by the Iban & Taman longhouses. Our opportunity came when we were invited by a Dayak Ukit friend from Sungai Asap, Belaga to visit it. Ngajang was his name. He and his Ukit friends Martin & Najo had planned to visit their ancestral village Matalunai in Kapuas Hulu. So on the 9Dec2017 we met up at Lubuk Antu before crossing the border to take the 3hr drive to Putussibau. The tar seal road was good all the way thanks to Pak Jokowi’s last visit!

adventure, authentic, backpackers, destination, Borneo, Sungai Kapuas, Obyek wisata, Tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, travel guide, Rumah Betang Bali Gundi, Suku Dayak Taman, native, transborder, — Entrance arch

Jembatan Kapuas, local market, adventure, backpackers, destination, Borneo, Kapuas river, Obyek wisata, Taman Alun, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide, Transborneo, 西加里曼丹, 旅游景点, — Putussibau town

Putussibau is a small town divided by the Kapuas river with businesses mostly run by local Chinese (Hakka & Teochew). We noticed only 2 hotels there, Aman Sentosa and Sanjaya. Interestingly, Ngajang and gang decided to stay at a floating lodge or ‘rumah lanting’ right on the Kapuas river. It cost them a mere IDR20,000 a night. We opted to stay on land with Madam Lala a relative of Martin.

rumah lanting, floating house, adventure, backpackers, bridge, Borneo, Indonesia, Obyek wisata, Taman Alun, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide, Suku Dayak Taman, transborder, 婆罗洲西加里曼丹 — Jembatan Kapuas Putussibau

Jembatan Kapuas, rumah lanting, authentic, backpackers, Borneo, Indonesia, Kapuas hulu, Sungai Kapuas, Obyek wisata, Tourism, traditional, travel guide, native, transborder, 婆罗洲旅游景点 — Floating hotel

Jembatan Kapuas, rumah lanting, floating house, authentic, fishing, Borneo, Putussibau, Kapuas hulu, Obyek wisata, Tourism, traditional, travel guide, native, crossborder, 婆罗洲西加里曼丹 — Fishing

The only spot with some night life was at the sandy river bank they called Taman Alun Putussibau just below the main bridge.

Jembatan Kapuas, rumah lanting, floating house, adventure, authentic, backpackers, destination, West Kalimantan, Kapuas hulu, Taman Alun, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide, transborder, — View of Taman Putussibau from the bridge.

Jembatan Kapuas, adventure, authentic, backpackers, destination, Borneo, Indonesia, Kapuas river, Obyek wisata, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide, Suku Dayak Taman, native, — Taman Alun

On our first evening there, local friends Jimmy and Ian drove us under heavy downpour to Rumah Betang Bali Gundi, a Taman Dayak longhouse for a quick visit.

authentic, Borneo, Indonesia, West Kalimantan, Kapuas hulu, Obyek wisata, Tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, travel guide, longhouse, native, tribe, village, 婆罗洲西加里曼丹 — Rumah Betang Bali Gundi (Dayak Taman longhouse)

Strolling along the busy traditional market was quite an experience and should not be missed for first time visitors. Generally, food was expensive, whether cooked or raw. The logistic cost being the excuse. Vegetables were shockingly expensive from a personal experience. Maybe I was another foreigner to be slaughtered. Next……Lunsara Malay village.