Riding The Tidal Bore At Batang Lupar River

Only now that I realized that the the tidal bore at Batang Lupar River is unique and stands at number 4 in the world after Brazil's Araguari Pororoca, China's Qiantang Dragon, Haining Province and Indonesia's Kampar Bono. As teenagers we used to ride the tidal bore by small boat when the tides came. Those days, the river was frequented not just as our main transportation route but for recreational purposes as well. Swimming, fishing, washing, playing and stuff. After school I would just sit by the river bank to fish or read books or anything a boy would do just for fun. Back then, the river was clean and safe. Crocs was very rare although you know very well that they are there somewhere. At that time Sri Aman Town was what you can see in the picture above. A sleepy town but this is where I grew up and I love my hometown. Erosion caused siltation and than caused the tidal wave to be more intense or bigger. The chain reaction continues. During high tide or king tide the wave could reach up to 4-5 m and it was never been that big before. That is what people wants to see. Although the wave would battered and smash the river bank and cause bad erosion but this is a natural phenomenon and it had made this town as it is now. It can be a good thing because that attracts people from elsewhere to come and see. Come middle of April every year people will gather in this small town and enjoy themselves during a community festival called tidal wave festival or pesta benak. There will be lots of stuffs - traditional boat regatta, racing boat, tidal surfing,

beauty pageant in traditional costumes, sometime body building competition, stage show, foods of various kind and many more. Just come and see but before coming ensure that you book your hotel room well in advance because the Government will block book them during the festival. The secret is to book them through internet or have some local friend to pay in advance.