Location : Bakun Dam, Belaga, Kapit Division, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Our one night stay at Mr Luhat’s Mebong Cove Villa was very much needed for our achy muscles. The lodge was brand new as his old floating house called Belanun deteriorated after several good years. The beds and mattresses were new. The lounge which overlooked the Bakun reservoir gave us a stunning view. The tranquility was mind calming. 
There may not be a lot of activities to do here as yet, if you are not a fan of fishing or hunting. But if you are looking for a quiet place to unwind or meditate, then this lodge is perfect. Luhat picked the perfect spot or ‘little island’ to put up his lodge.
There must have been hundreds of such little islands here in Bakun created by the impoundment of the dam. They come in many shapes and sizes, seeing as we took the boat ride to the former location of Long Bulan for our adventure for the next 3 days.
Along the way we also noticed a lot of logging activities going on here. Further confirmation on Google Earth showed the actual intensity which was really shocking compared to the solid green images on the Indonesian side.
It made me wonder if all these dams were just a very good excuse to exploit timber. There was no doubt that as we went deeper into the interior the problem of floating debris got bigger. Our host and boatman Mr Lawing had to be on the lookout in case he ran into the bigger logs which would be disastrous for the propellers. Small time contractors were paid by the log to clear these floaters. Lots more work need to be done. The logging activities in and around the dam must have been a contributor to all these floating debris too. Logging companies should be held accountable.
Although villages have been relocated, we noticed quite a number of houses built along the fringe of the reservoir with rice fields and even pepper gardens. Perhaps, some still prefer the traditional lifestyle.
Our host Mr Lawing stopped by at one such house for a bit of shopping and just in time to watch the owner butchering away a wild boar. He had several freezers to stock up all these wild meat as well as fish. Business must have been good.
After more than two and a half hours we finally arrived at our destination. It was a house Lawing built for his fishing and hunting trips. We had to spring clean it before making it our home for the next 2 days. Next………The real Bakun adventure
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