Giant trees stretch low over the water and shade it with mazes of vines, orchids, and rattan. When the monsoons, or landas, come in December, traveling can become dangerous. The rocks lurk unseen beneath a 20-foot flood of water, and the maze that was a jungle overhead becomes an obstacle course swishing on the river's surface. Furious paddling averts a dunking. Price and his companions fight to keep their prau from wallowing broad side as the boat teeters across a cataract on the Ngemah River.
Travel means adventure in Sarawak, where the highways are rivers and streams.
In the rainy season, floods can smash boats to kindling. In low water, praus must be unloaded and portaged. Matted vegetation nourished by 150 inches of rain a year blocks traffic on foot. After a long day of traveling, the longhouse affords little rest for weary bones. The evening of arrival grows long with talk of rubber planting, fishponds, fruit trees, and gardens.