Roads of Life - Bumi Kenyalang

Nakamora was in Kuching, Sarawak - Land of the Hornbill or Bumi Kenyalang in Bahasa Melayu - recently. While there he didn't hear any sound of hornbills though. The one he thought he noticed was actually an inanimate metallic sculpture. Definitely, sculptured hornbill is a mute. Except for solid cats gracing the island of a roundabout in the city center, Bandaraya Kuching (City of Cat) is devoid of cat.
An afterthought told Nakamora that expecting to see the namesake of any place or city nowadays are not reasonable. It is a legacy or a reminder of what once was there, not what it is supposed to be now.
While driving from Kuching to Kota Samarahan, via Jalan Tabuan, to take the ferry to cross Samarahan River to go to Asajaya, Nakamora didn't fail to notice the prevalence of roundabouts along that road. At least eight of them dotted that 25 km stretch, an average of one for every 3 km; and they are big. A large one has a diameter of typically more than 200 m, longer than the width of a soccer field. Those who are frequenting that area, where UNIMAS and UiTM are located, must have been familiar with each of them, Nakamora thought. Familiarity is overly important as road signs, being barely legible or even visible from a comfortable driving distance, unless traveling at bicycle speed, can easily be missed. The signs are placed low and right smack at the mouth of the road. Missing the right spoke means adding extra distance, which can be up to 700 m; and this is one mistake that Nakamora could not avoid repeating, at least once for every roundabouts.
The ferry plying the river can take on board about 18 vehicles at any one time. Two units serve this river. While one is discharging passengers and taking on board another, the other is doing the same at the terminal across the river. The operation looked nicely in sync.
The Kota Samarahan - Asajaya road from the terminal has an inherent, but effective, speed restraining system. Drive fast, like what Nakamora is very fond of doing, and the vehicle will wobble up and down, and could be sideways too. The wavy road simply humbled him, but he didn't mind as he wanted to savor the beauty of the countryside. The occasional roadside stall selling Sarawak durians, dragon fruit plantation, and pineapple plantation too. This particular road is dotted with mini bridges crossing small rivers. Nakamora passed no less than 20 of them. He released a sigh of relief and satisfaction as finally he reached his destination - Kampung Semera.