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Left Narita airport at the crack of dawn. Airport security was unbelievable. A line-up of over a thousand people waiting to get their luggage x-rayed.
The staff at Malaysian Airlines was wonderful. They kept us constantly plied with all the wine we could drink while we regaled them of tales of tattoos by headhunters in Borneo.
Our flight stopped in four places and we cleared customs three times. Sarawak is like a sovereign republic within Malaysia. Another very long day. Getting off the plane we were nearly felled by the heat and humidity. Immediate solution... Cold beer and lots of it.
Made it to Kuching. Trying to find our contacts from Borneo Ink. We are staying at the Kuching Hotel, only 23 ringats a night, about seven bucks.
We spend a few hours trying to find Ed and Simon. No luck but we run into some Aussies covered in tattoos. We of course must drink more cold beer. A lot of cold beer.
Until tomorrow folks!!!
November 10th, 2000 -- Vince Hemingson
First order of business, we must find Ed and Simon David of Borneo Ink, the brothers who our guides upriver. We've never actually met them, but they started an e-mail correspondence with Thomas when they heard about The Vanishing Tattoo. The work of theirs we've seen over the Internet is impressive.
Actually, I lie like a dog. The first order of business is breakfast. And if you travel with Tom that means beer for breakfast. Thomas insists that this is the secret to his success, beer for breakfast... and lunch... and dinner... and just before bed... which explains why he is so smart and good-looking. Like a wimp, I chase my Tiger beer with bottled water. Tom figures water will kill you, and besides, everyone knows what the fish do in it...
The temperature jumps into the mid 30's today with near 90% humidity. This is my opportunity for a shameless promotional plug. I absolutely love my Columbia Sports Wear gear. I'm wearing it head to toe and I can't imagine living without it... (and I'm not even getting paid to say this!!!) The gear gets soaked and is dry again in ten minutes. At night I just wear it in the shower and it's completely dry and clean the next morning. You cannot underestimate the importance of that...
Thomas and I look for a Cyber cafe and lo and behold we come across a place called...'Cyber Cafe'. Truth in advertising, I guess. When all else fails, be obvious. Best of all we meet Jerome. A young Chinese guy in his twenties.
He is quite shy at first but helps us tremendously as we try to download files from the digital camera. Jerome is a self-taught computer whiz. We tell him about the film and his attitude undergoes a transformation. Later he asks if we're "Bikers" as well as filmmakers! - which explains his earlier trepidation.
This is one of the best parts of traveling. In almost every city we find people going to great lengths to help us. We try and repay their kindnesses as best we can. Note to God, we'd like to buy a round for the rest of the human race.
Tattoos are very popular in Kuching and no one is shy about asking about them. When Tom peels off his shirt from the heat I feel like I am in the entourage of a rock star. Ok, maybe a minor rock star. Say from the seventies.
Countless people approach us, children and teenage boys come up to touch Tom's tattoos, teenage girls point, cover their mouths and giggle in unison, older men come over with cans of beer. Tom insists on sharing the lime-light and shames me into taking my shirt off as well. Next to Tom's full Japanese kimono I feel naked, but as most of my ink is Celtic, the Malaysians are intrigued by the intricate knot work and zoomorphic animals which is quite similar to some of their traditional designs, particularly in wood-carving.
People honk their horns at us as we cross the street and everywhere we go we get a thumbs up. I LOVE THIS COUNTRY! For the moment, in this remote little part of the world, we are celebrities.
We visit every tattoo shop in Kuching. Everyone knows Ed and Simon, they just don't know where they are. Tom drops off gifts of flash, particularly West Coast native art. It's always appreciated and everyone offers something in return. But where are the David brothers. We follow a dozen fruitless leads. Thomas and I leave messages all over town. Like elusive game on a safari Ed and Simon continue to elude us.
Exercising initiative and ingenuity in the field like any good officers, Tom and I make the decision to go up river on our own. Hey, we should be able to get by on our good looks and charm alone.
Thomas and I go shopping for gifts to take with us up river. We also try to find Heritage beads for Lars Krutak, but no luck. The shops are definitely charging tourist prices. Sorry, Lars, but we're still looking.
At lunch we kill time by making home movies of rats in the Central market. They have no fear and come right up to us, with an audacity bordering on foolhardiness, given the presence of lots of cats. But funnily enough, the rats look a lot better fed than the cats.
We spend the afternoon at the Kuching Museum and Library. You really should visit the museum, it's well worth the
effort and because it's free, you can't beat the price. The longhouse exhibit is wonderful. The tattooing display is
spectacular. Don't miss it. The stuffed animals in their glass case exude an aura of gentle decay. Tom and I apply for
Researcher Passes from the Curator. As usual the Staff are very courteous and helpful.
Next stop, DE TAVERN, Kuching's version of an English Pub. Thomas and I have left word all over creation that we will
be firmly ensconced here in the hopes that the Davids will have heard word and find us. Surprise, surprise, we order more beer.
It turns out our waitress, Liza (sp?) who is a Bedang, spent some time in Canada. When she hears of our plight she takes over. She speaks perfect English, Malay, Bedang, Iban and four dialects of Chinese. She powers up her cell phone and sends out the word.
Hours pass and still no trace of the David brothers. Tom and I are resigning ourselves to going up river on our own, when a slim tattooed Malaysian walks straight up to us and inquires "Tom?"
I now know how Stanley felt when he encountered Livingston in Africa. Ed and Simon are great guys. Pretty soon the whole bar knows what we are up to. The rest of the night is a blur of talk about tattoos, beer, the journey up
river, beer, more tattoos, and more beers.
We are going upriver. We are headed for the longhouses and the headwaters of the headhunters...
Stay tuned...
Vince Hemingson signing off in Kuching
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