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cannon, due to a cannon presented by Rajah Sir James
Brooke which can sill be seen in the village.

Accommodaion
All addresses are 96700 Kanowit, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Telephone dialling code is +6084 from overseas and 084
within Malaysia.
Harbour View Hotel, 63 Jln Kubu, Tel: 753188. Band A-B.
can be recognised by the brass rings hanging from their Kanowit Hotel, 85 Jln Kubu, Tel: 752155. Band A-B.
extended earlobes, and from the dense black tatoos There is a homestay programme at the nearby Rumah
on their arms and legs, although the pracice is sadly Benjamin Angki longhouse. Contact the Tuai Rumah
disappearing amongst the younger generaion. (headman), Tel: 013-8823076 Email ben_8845@yahoo.
Further upriver, visitors may occasionally encounter com for further details or call Kanowit District Oice,
Tel: 752939. www.kanowitdo.sarawak.gov.my.
small groups of nomadic Penan, hunter-gatherers and
occasional farmers who live deep in the heart of the SONG
forest, moving their temporary setlements according
The small town of Song, just over 2 hours from Sibu
to the seasonal availability of food and the forest
products that they trade with the longhouse dwellers. by express boat, is the jumping of point for visiing
Iban longhouses on the Kaibas and Bangkit rivers.
The sheer variety of diferent communiies makes the The Capitol Hotel can usually arrange transport and a
Rejang a real cultural kaleidoscope. Its people take guide. Please note that many of the tradiional wooden
great pride on their arts, tradiions and culture, and are longhouses in the area are being replaced by modern
very happy to receive visitors; it is never a quesion of concrete structures, so check with the Song District
which longhouse to visit, but how many. Oice for the latest situaion, Tel: 777221.
KANOWIT Accommodaion
First stop on the Rejang, All addresses are 96850 Song, Sarawak, Malaysia.
only an hour from Sibu, Telephone dialling code is +6084 from overseas and 084
is the small riverside within Malaysia.
town of Kanowit. This is
the furthest point on the Capital Hotel, 8 Song Bazaar, Tel: 777264. Band A.
Rejang accessible by road Kaibas Inn, 7 Song Bazaar, Tel: 777323. Band A-B
(from Durin), and makes Mesra Inn, 31 Song Shoplot, Tel: 7777777. Band A.
a good alternaive jumping-of point for visitors who Sukaramai Inn , 44-45 Song New Town, Tel: 777686
want to spend an extra hour in bed before catching Email: teo_su_ing@hotmail.com. Band B.
the express boat upriver. The town centre is formed by
three streets of 1930’s Chinese shophouses near the KAPIT
waterfront. The main landmark is Fort Emma, a 19th
Century Brooke Era wooden fort with a Mini-Museum The bustling upriver town
displaying the history of Kanowit and its surroundings. of Kapit (pop. 15,000) is
Open Tue - Sat 9am - 4.30 pm. the jumping-of point for
the Middle and Upper
Kanowit is virtually untouristed, so don’t expect any Rejang and Baleh Rivers
lashy seafood restaurants; the best cooking is done in and the best place to
Chinese cofee shops, so just sick your head into the organise a visit to one of
the Iban longhouses of the Lower Rejang. Despite its
kitchen and ask what they’ve got. For adventurous
travellers, these cofee shops are also ferile ground for small size, Kapit is the commercial and administraive
making friends and geing an invitaion to one of the centre of the Kapit Division (a vast hinterland comprising
longhouses on the nearby Ngemah and Julau rivers. the Kapit, Song and Belaga Districts of almost 39,000 sq
km with a populaion of around 150,000), so there is
always plenty to see and do.
The town gets its name from theKanowit people, a
sub-group of the Melanau, who have been gradullay
absorbed by other ethnic groups. The last surviving Atracions
Kanowit community live at Kampung Bedil, 10 minutes Fort Sylvia is a 19th Century fort whose whitewashed
by boat from the jety by the Shell Staion. Bedil means walls and ironwood shingled roof are home to a mini-
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