Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Project: River-Taxi Project_Part 4_ Sri Aman Town

Sri Aman is a small town, located around 194 km from Kuching. Formerly known as Sri Aman, it is the 2nd division in Sarawak. Currently, there are 90600 residents scattered all over the division, especially along the river because the river was once the main part of transportation (water transportation) and most areas are reachable by river. Source of income for Sri Aman is agricultural production: rice (along Batang Lupar), palm oil production, pepper, rubber and tourism. Tourism in Sri Aman is centered mainly on Batang Lupar.

Batang Lupar is stretch from Kelingkang Range to South China Sea and the length is around 275km. It is along this river the famous Bujang Senang (a huge crocodile) was found and later shot dead. In fact, Batang Lupar is famous for crocodiles and most crocodiles can be seen sunbathing along the riverbank. Despite the danger posed, crocodiles in Sri Aman are one of tourism attraction and there will be a sanctuary park specially made for the crocodiles in Pulau Seduku.

Other than crocodiles, other tourism attraction along Batang Lupar are Pesta Benak (regatta, benak surfing), tidal bore sighting, Gunong Lesong (for a scenic viewof Batang Lupar), eco-fish (at Batang Ai), Taman Benak and historical sites like Fort Alice and Fort Leonora.

A new attraction proposed to increase number of tourists is the River-Taxi. With the River-Taxi, tourists will be able to ride safely along the river to observe crocodiles, floras and other beautiful scenes. In addition to that, tourists will be able to experience riding the benak and able to reach rural areas to visit Iban longhouses. Other than for tourism purposes, the River Taxi might be able to once again be a source of public transportation for locals.

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