The Plantation - Di Morrissey [101]
Julie was stunned. ‘What a contrast to being up-country with the Iban!’
‘This looks a bit like Disneyland, a kind of Lego world,’ commented Christopher. ‘But I guess the dollars here are real.’
‘There’s a zillion dollars been spent on all this. For tourists?’
‘There are a lot of wealthy Malaysians, as well as foreigners, who are making a heap of money out of this country, one way or another,’ said Christopher.
‘But it doesn’t seem to be exactly spread around evenly,’ said Julie. ‘There are people like the Iban, fighting for their land – which has always been theirs, and with very little material wealth, but then, if you have the bucks you can come and live in a place like this, where it’s conspicuous wealth overload. I don’t think it’s fair.’
‘Well, there are always rich and poor in every society, but you’re right, it’s accentuated in places like this.’
‘I wouldn’t want to live here anyway. It’s fun for an evening but I prefer our side of the island and the more traditional architecture and it’s a lot more peaceful,’ said Julie looking at the pink and peach, ochre and cream buildings.
They had drinks at Werner and Ursula Stevenson’s luxurious apartment overlooking the harbour and afterwards they all wandered down to the waterfront, looking for a place to eat.
‘This is where the action is,’ said Christopher quietly to Julie.
She glanced around, not sure if he was serious, then giggled as she realised that there were hardly any other tourists around, only a few locals.
‘It’s probably too early for everyone else,’ she said. ‘Though it’s a shame they’ll miss the sunset.’
They strolled along the waterfront, reading the blackboards and menus displayed outside each venue.
‘There’s even a Russian place,’ said Julie. ‘But I don’t think I fancy heavy Russian food. A nice fish or pasta will do me.’
‘That Russian place gets pretty boisterous as the evenings wear on,’ said Shane. ‘The customers like to sing, as well as drink.’
Eventually, they all decided on Mediterranean food and Werner ordered Italian wines. Julie looked at the prices on the menu and mentally compared them with prices in Brisbane. It seemed to be very expensive, even the ordinary Australian wines weren’t cheap.
‘I’ll stick to the local beer,’ said Julie.
Christopher leaned over and murmured. ‘My shout tonight. You can do the honours tomorrow night at Aidi’s joint.’
She smiled at him. ‘It’s a deal.’
The sky was rosy as the sun began to rise. Clouds fluffed along the horizon. Aidi led Julie and Christopher across the beach to where his boat, with its bright blue plastic roof, was pulled up to the edge of the water. As Julie and Christopher clambered into it, they were introduced to Jan, the skipper.
‘He’s a local and speaks a little English, but he really knows these waters,’ said Aidi.
The boat sped off, bumping across the water, rounding a peninsula, and heading out to sea. Over the noise of the wind and the hull slapping on the water, Julie asked Aidi how he came to be doing this job.
‘I grew up in KL. My father was a schoolteacher and historian. I asked for a book as a birthday present and received a Life Nature Library book called The Sea. This got me keen on nature but at that time studying nature was not quite as acceptable as it is now. I became a flying instructor and kept my interest alive by reading and doing aerial surveys for nature-based organisations.’
‘Christopher is a pilot, too,’ said Julie.
‘He flies jets though,’ said Aidi. ‘My experience was more modest. Anyway, while I was managing a crop- dusting operation, I noticed that the chemicals were indirectly affecting the waters offshore. I decided then to leave aviation and I studied and looked for work as an environmentalist.