Annah Rais Longhouse - Bidayuh Homestay

For the first time in my 4 years of stay in Sarawak, I've finally lay my first step on the famous traditional Bidayuh Longhouse. Its not really traditional actually. They have those not so modern, basic aluminium basins with basic plumbing system as well as basic electricity and basic 17" televisions.

Located about 60km away from Kuching city, this Bidayuh tribe's longhouse consists of more than 80 families and is said to have history of more than 8 generations.

Upon entering this village, we were greeted with traffic jams and fully occupied car park (=.="").

I've always thought that human skulls were hung at the entrance door to the longhouses. (All because of the rumours and stories that brainwashed me when I was a kid). I was wrong! Maybe its true in the past but not in this modern age! 

The revolutionized longhouse welcomed us not with the skulls, but with the SUGAR CANE CRUSHER!!

The sugar cane CRUSHER!!

Entrance to the longhouse

Wooden bridge

The passage along the longhouse with houses at the left and right sides that sheltered many families.

=)

Family gathering

The flooring were made of bamboo sticks.

A collections of bamboo sticks stored for emergency replacements.

Gong Gong Gong~

BBQ

We toured around the longhouse and watched some tourists trying the traditional blowpipe. With a small fees, they have three tries to blow the pipe with the aim of landing the darts on the targeted area. Each region of the targeted area have its own rewards in the form of monetary and soft drinks.

One of the resident setting up the blowpipe and darts.

The target!

The blowing rule - take a deep breath, aim and release all the air in your lung in an instance!

We ended the visit by entering the house of the head tribe.

What's the thing beside the cage on the left side of this picture and guess what's in the cage??

Its a real human skulls.....

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Aerial View of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

Aerial view of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (photo by ZZYick)

A view of west part of UNIMAS campus. Green green roofs....

Can you spot how many roundabouts and water towers in this part of the campus? ^^

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Ending my 2010

Leaving 2010, entering 2011.
For the month of December 2010 I've traveled from the East Malaysia to the West Malaysia and from the south peninsular to the north peninsular.

Kuching-Sematan-Miri-Brunei-Kuala Lumpur-Taiping-Port Weld-Penang

Here are some of the pics:

Sematan Palm Beach Resort

Magnificent

Bluish view of the ocean

Soft sandy beach

The Beach

Sunset at Sematan beach

Thanks to my Miri friend, I've visited almost every attractive places in Miri. Taman Selera Miri, Taman Awam Miri, San Ching Tian Taoist Temple, Miri City Fan, Pustaka Miri, Canada Hill and Luak Bay Esplanade are some of them.

The Grand Old Lady - Canada Hill - Malaysia's first oil well

Make it move! - Taman Awam Miri

Miri City Fan - a 10.4 hectare park at the center of the city

At one of the statues at San Ching Tian Taoist Temple - Largest Taoist temple in South East Asia (notice anything?)

Excapade Sushi @ Brunei

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Famous Kueh Chap in Kuching

Unbeknownst to many....Even to some of the locals. Its location was so sacred that many were lost during their hunt. Many gives up after giving their best. But, that does not deter our spirit to hunt for it! We were forced to use our secret 'weapon' - the GPS! Hunting for it in the middle of the night. With only a quarter tank full of oil in our SLK (small little kancil).Went from town to villages, through the shores and across the forest...

Behold, I hereby present, the famous kueh chap in Kuching!

This place was legendary. Located at the corner of a long stretch of terrace houses. With lots of cars parked along side of the roads. Waiting impatiently for the Kueh Chap to be served.

The place was small, but full of aroma that will naturally make your mouth watery by just being 100 metres radius around this area.

Here comes the famous Kueh Chap. RM4 for a small bowl, RM5 for a medium bowl and RM6 for a large bowl. Looks simple and normal but do not underestimate it!

Prior to the Kueh entering my mouth, its herbs' fragrance already opened up all my taste buds. As the Kueh touches my lips, my tongue was trembling. Eager to savour every last bit of this Kueh Chap. Unfortunately, the Kueh was so slippery and tender that it slipped through my tongue and enters the throat down through the esophagus into the stomach. My tongue was upset! But it makes my tongue crave for more. More! As the pork touches my tongue, somehow my throat reacts to it. The taste stimulated all the nerves in my mouth. Stomach began to growl as it was jealous of the mouth. Fortunately, when I drank the soup, it satisfied all. The mouth, throat and stomach, all working together to enjoy this gastronomic experience.

The location of this Kueh Chap can be found at Taman Riverview Timur, Bintawa, Kuching. Its house number is 1599 and its coordinate is 01° 34.363 N 110° 22.722 E. It opens from 6.30pm-10.30pm. Only 4 hours!

Map and Street View by Map Channels - Free Mapping Tools

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Batang Ai Hydroelectric Dam

Last week, I went for a field trip to Batang Ai Dam. It is located at Batang Ai National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia (coordinate 01°08′50″N 111°52′26″E) and is operated by Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation (SESCO). The 24 km² dam could power up to 100MW (MegaWatt) with its 4 massive turbine!

The journey there started at about 8am and reached the destination at about 2.30pm with some stops along the journey (Serian, Lachau, Sri Aman, Lubok Antu). A normal journey without stops will be about 3-4 hours.

Every places there is a special landmark. In Sarawak, statue of Cats (Kuching), Durian (Serian), Pigeon Bird (Sri Aman) and Fish (Batang Ai).