Nuts in the River - leaving the Lassa

Using the outgoing tide most of the time we made or way down the river system to the mouth of the Lassa some 65 miles further north of where we entered the Rajang. Having a little bit of time on our hands waiting for the tide we decided to try some Betel Nut purchased from the market in Sibu for 3RM ($1).

The idea as far as we could tell was to combine the 3 ingredients into the green leaf and roll it up like a cigar. The Beer was in case everything went pear shaped.

The white paste was very bitter, numbed the tongue and tasted something like chalk with a generous splash of paint thinner. Don’t ask how I know what thinners taste like. We pushed on hoping that the combination of all the items would produce some magical flavor… it didn’t.

After 3 bites and the urge to vomit it went in the bin and the only euphoric sensation we got was the one associated with knowing we didn’t have to eat any more. An Internet search later revealed the mouldy leaf was probably tobacco. The green leaf from the betel nut or correctly named Areca Palm and the white paste is a mystery. Its often lime powder but not so in this case. The whole concoction is known to remove intestinal parasites and cause cancer. Maybe that’s what kills the parasites?
Next stop Bintulu.