International Dragon Boat Racing

Festival Location: Penang, Malaysia

Festival Type(s): Dragon Boat Racing Festivals, Water Sports Events, National Festivals

International Dragon Boat Racing

By: © Sarah Warwick 2009

You can hear it far before you see it. The Malaysian hip hop, that accompanies this festival, is not usually a sound you want to walk towards but in this case it makes the whole valley resound with anticipation.

You shlep it up the hill toward the reservoir. School girls, straight off the local bus, are climbing too, singing along with the tune and denying the implied piety of their headscarves by leering and whistling at the local rowing heroes. These boys in their late teens, just starting to muscle out their rowing vests, race up the hill on bikes, casually arriving to take their part in the regatta.

The setting is glorious for this, the 30th annual International Dragon Boat Racing Tournament, in Penang, Malaysia. Surrounded on three sides by bluey-green jungle covered mountains - the fourth side a breathtaking view down to the local resort - the reservoir is as still as anyone could hope for for a rowing competition.

Spectators take their marks in the shade beneath canopies dotted up the banks, while competitors keep their cool before races in a tent complex in the car park. There's a huge stage set up for prize giving, the podium waiting for the lucky team who can row to win in this heat.

The weather is insanely hot, about 45 in the shade. This may ruin the mood (and preclude the audience) of a traditional European regatta, but who cares? The ice cream is one ringgit (20 pence) and the excitement is building towards one of the many races.

This particular one pits local yacht club teens against young German and Singaporean adults. It's 20 rowers plus a cox to a boat, each decorated (as the name would suggest) with the head of a dragon. The boats are under starters orders, bellowed though a PA and they pull their damnedest just to get to the start, half a kilometre away from shore.

Lining up by the starting pier I imagine that they, in thick life jackets and helmets, must be slowly melting with the heat into the dragon headed boat. Even in nothing but a sarong and flip flops I feel hot enough to faint as I stand, breath held with the rest of the crowd, and wait for the start.

And they're off. The crowd mutter amongst themselves and bet on the outcome, many have come to support their own team, others - like me - bet on those we like the look of. My money's on a South African team who get off to a good start, paddles moving manically so the boat looks more like a frantically drowning caterpillar than anything as graceful as a dragon. My boyfriend goes for the Germans but is soon sulking as my lead lengthens.

It's gripping stuff and the crowd yell they're support but all too soon suddenly the top three are in the last couple of metres and pulling for all they're worth. The conclusion is forgone though and the Saffas take gold, closely followed by the Germans.

The winners are announced and the two top go through to the finals, to happen later that day. We, beaten down by the heat, back into town. But not before buying one of those excellent ice creams.

by Sarah Warwick