BAHAU RIVER, NORTH KALIMANTAN
Cascading at the Forest Edge
By the Bahau River, life stands still, untouched by loggers, miners or oil palm planters. As we rested by the banks of the river, grilling freshly caught fish, butterflies perched on our arms, our headsunafraid. When the breeze blew our way, the leaves on the trees whispered its lament, some fell on the ground, like confetti at a celebration.
November 19, 2013
The scorching afternoon gradually eased as we entered Berau, a 20-meter-wide tributary canopied by the large trees of the Kayan Mentarang forest. Its water flowed peacefully, almost without ripples. When the boat's outboard engine was turned off, we could hear the leaves rubbing one another just like the whispers of fairies in a storybook.
More than one place in Kalimantan goes by the name of Berau, but the one we visited last month was a tributary
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