Sungai Kunjang is the main passenger port for the Mahakam River, the departure point for all long-distance river journeys into the interior of East Kalimantan. From here, boats leave for Tenggarong, Kota Bangun, Melak, Tering, Long Iram, and the far upper reaches of the Mahakam near the border with Kalimantan Utara.
The port is a working place rather than a tourist attraction, but arriving here with a bag and a ticket for an upriver boat is one of the genuine adventure-travel experiences still available in Indonesia. The boats themselves range from small, fast speedboats that cover the lower river quickly, to the large, slow kapal motor passenger ferries that take a day or more to reach Melak, with meals cooked on board and passengers sleeping in reclining chairs or on mats on the deck. Watching Samarinda's skyline recede as the city gives way to palm oil plantations and then to primary forest is a fine way to begin a journey into Borneo.