The Boardwalks of Tarakan

Traveling from Tawau in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo) to Tarakan on the Indonesian side of the border involves a long boat trip, and a significant culture shock. In Tawau you're left alone, and most people act as if they have met westerners before and make not big fuss about it. In Tarakan on the other hand, the situation for a white foreigner is very different. As soon as you step onto the pier in the harbor, you are bombarded by cheerful and excited "Hello Mister!", and questions about nationality, name, and what not. Few speak any English beyond the standard phrases or questions, and do not understand or care to try to understand an answer.

I've been in the town for three days now, and only today did I meet the first westerner here - a French journalist writing about refugees in this border area.

There is not much to do here except waiting for a boat to Borneo proper, or destinations further away, like Sulawesi, Java, or Papua.

There are however some interesting thins to see. Forget about the "swimming beach" mentioned in a popular (and infamous) guidebook. It's a mud field on the shore, with a couple resturants. No sober and sane person would even consider going for a swim there. And calling it a good beach would be considered a bad joke.

Then there are some old oil pumps around. They look like they should be in a museum, but still pumping up that black gold day and night. Tankers are filling it up at a pier to take it to Balikpapan or further.

The best part of Tarakan is hidden behind the houses of the main street, and covers a large area all the way out to the proper waterfront. This part of town is flooded twice a day by the tide, and all houses are built on stilts in the mud. It's a poor part of town and it's all mad accessible by a maze of clunky wooden boardwalks and canals for small colorful boats. Motorbikes run up and down the narrow allies, and all the loose planks make an deafening noise. There is a whole town out here, with small shops, barbers, cell phone and outboard motor workshops, and mini wharfs. The rustic wooden houses are all covered with corrugated sheet metal. Some rustier than others. The boats are colorful, as are the lines of drying laundry and the people.