Sorry to disillusion you but they "didn't move to Indonesia -- those
guys had been there since the Portuguese, or before.

Bruce, Merely a "tongue in cheek" remark. They have been there long
before the Portugese as the Molluccans have been using these boats to
trade with the Aborigines of northern Australia since before Europeans
ventured near these waters. They bought beche de la mare or sea dried
cucumbers and pearls in a peaceful annual trade. Don't know what they
exchanged for them though. I presume that there was no merchant bank
system in the area at the time, possibly because there were no
computers. I know that there is reference to these boats and trade
with South East Asia from Tang and Sung dynasty times.

Eng Hok was a Chinese anyway. And if it was traditional teak it
certainly was a millionaire he was building it for. I've seen some of
that stuff 24 X 24 inches by, say, 30 feet in the fishing boat yards.
Of course, it is smuggled Burmese wood but can you imagine what legal
duty paid teak timbers that size would cost. For a fishing boat?

No it wasn't teak - some Indonesian timber species.

I have been on a lot of these traditionally lined Indonesian barter
trade cargo boats. at Butterworth wharf along from our Customs base I
spent about 2 hours one day carting bags of rice on my shoulders off a
truck and down a very narrow bouncy plank into the hold. I just wanted
to see what it felt like - damn hard work, especially in the heat and
humidity. Indonesia has high duties on the import of rice and thus
rice - low grade quality - is imported into Malaysia from India and
then transhipped into the kargo kapals to be smuggled into Sumatera.

The crews are very friendly and are always happy to show you around. I
guess that i have the advantage of being Matsalleh and also of my
surname (anglicised from the Greek) which is a common Indonesian first
name - always a conversation point

At sea on patrol Customs stops many of these barter trade boats and
examine their cargo which is bound for Malaysia - fresh fish in ice,
vegetables, water melons etc. - great for the patrol boat crew as they
can buy fresh food. The bottoms of the ice water chests have to be
probed as are all hideable spaces on board. The engines are dry
exhaust Chinese diesels and the heads are an open enclosed to waist
height squat board over the stern. You must be familiar with these.

I admire the way that they manouvre. They may be four or five abreast
in port. The inner one against the wharf wants to get out. By the user
of lines and sheer prop power they manage to swing the outer boats
upstream and move out.

Butterworth has a host of old black wooden lighters that I though were
derelict and unused until I saw them unloading bulk Indian sugar from
a freighter moored in the stream. A tug towed them upriver past our
yacht.

Enough. Where are you now. Back in N.Z. as, "Honey can you take out
the garbage?" Or swanking around Central America as Captain Peter?

Yep! it's "Honey, take out the garbage", but in Sydney. I also go back
home to Penang via KL. every three or four weeks I plan to head back
to Curacao possibly in January.

It's a damned lie!! I have never swanked in my life. I don't own spats
for my shoes and don't have a gold tipped cane - at least that is my
image of swanking.

cheers
Peter


Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeATgmailDOTcom)