Sarawak Day 2 - Sarawak Cultural Village, Kuching

Assalamualaikum.

Still embraced by the R hormone. Alhamdulillah masih rajin albeit taking nearly two weeks to resume scribbling *sigh* Previous post here. Let's continue with my 2015 Kuching trip. 

30 May 2015

Kuching

We arrived at Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) half past 2pm. Only Bunda & I decided to enter; while the rest opted to spend their super-blazing-hot afternoon at Damai Resort located just opposite the SCV. Apparently, Bunda & I share the same interest in our places-to-go list. But; winter doesn't fascinate her as much as I do. Anakonda kan budget Elsa. Suddenly cakap pasal season kau! Rindu kampong to the max *sobs*

One-day entrance Fee: RM 50.00 (adult)

Opening Hours: 9am-5pm daily

#1 SCV Map (source: here)

#2 This green passport was given to visitor at the ticket booth

#3 Of course we did cross over to the longhouse via this bamboo bridge. 

At that time, whether the bridge could support me or not wasn't a concern to me. But if I were to go there now, I'd prefer to walk on the ground to reach the longhouse instead. Like seriously; kenaikan berat badan adalah di luar kawalan di kala ini. Fuh. Tiba-tiba masuk topik lain pula kan.

#4 Bidayuh Longhouse (Rumah Bidayuh)

It's all about the bamboo. From carvings, plumbing, instrumental equipment, bridges, flooring & walls. The cultural show hasn't started when we arrived; else we would have been greeted with gongs & war drums to welcome us. We didn't participate with their rural activities i.e paddy pounding as we didn't even enter the house. No one's in the house hence we just passed it. 

#5 The longhouse from another angle

#6 Sculpture contributed by a Javanese man; which symbolizes the Sarawak Cultural Village - Seven Rock for seven ethnic people in Sarawak.

Next is the Iban Longhouse. Nama berita (what's the news)? Is simply a gesture by the Iban to say Hello. I took a lot of photos inside the house because of the joyous atmosphere the people in the house brought. Unfortunately again, due to my brilliancy I cannot share any of them here. Gone with the wind they had. Anyway, we were greeted by the Iban's warm smiles soon as we entered the house. I saw people doing various kind of things; Pua weaving, making kuih jala to name a few. Luckily I didn't encountered any hanging skulls while wandering around the house. Or did I missed them? 

Practically, Iban longhouse is always built by the bank of a navigable river & visitors approaches it form the boat jetty. They built their house to last 15 to 20 years or until the surrounding land was exhausted. 

#7 Built of axe-hewn timber, tied with creeper fibre & roofed with leaf thatch

#8 Notched log serves as staircase which then bring visitor to the open verandah (picture #7)

Ruman Penan; where Penan warrior although being shy nomadic people of the jungle is the master of shooting with the blowpipe. And of course they manufactured the blowpipe themselves. As we entered the Penan Hut, I saw a Penan busy 'cleaning' a blowpipe previously used by visitors. For just a small fee, visitors could try their blowpipe shooting skill; which of course supervised by the pro. Silap haribulan, boleh tertelan pula ammunition dart. 

We didn't try because we ain't that adventurous enough *flip tudung*. Our first encountered with the Penan at this hut is proof enough of how shy they are. Tunduk jak bila jawab soalan kami; sehabis baik dia cuba mau avoid eye-contact. Based on my reading, ada juga Penan yang aktif bersosial. Zaman sekarang udah maju buk. 

#9 The shelter is constructed to last for a few weeks or months 

#10 My favourite house of all the Ethnic showhouses 

Although we have to climbed flight of stairs before reaching the house; my heart fell in love upon seeing it from afar. Super cantik; to my eyes that is. The lady whom greeted us at the entrance pun sangat gentle & lawa! Her smiles (and all the ladies there) made me feel as if I'm home. We spent time the longest here. Bunda siaplah posing at each areas in the house. And kali ni, kami sempat tengok their performance. Macam tau-tau jak aku sudah jatuh hati kan, dan-dan plak sempat kejar show time bagai. 

# 11 Gongs & tajau-s; things normally found in houses of Sabahan's ethnic as well

# 12 In love with the painting. I enjoyed the melodious tune of the sape played by that man

# 13 *love love love* Orang Ulu longhouse was built to last because of them practiced settled agriculture, and some have developed rice field irrigation. Making the search of a new farmland unnecessary  

They said we shall be entertained by tall tales of spirits & demons at the Melanau Tall House. Alas, I guess we missed the timingss. No tale-telling session when we entered the house. Only few craft-ladies doing something with beads & sago pearls. By the way, Melanaus consume sago in preference to rice. Hence, they cultivate these plants themselves. No wonder even it's only a showhouse; there are many high palm trees surrounded the house. I bought my favourite tebaloi snacks at a small shop located behind the tall house

#14 Traditionally the Melanaus often lived near the sea within reach of pirates; therefore they built massive house forty-feet above the ground as means of protection

#15 Bamboo dance; or what we call Mogunatip (Kadazan ethnic in Sabah)

Bunda reminiscing her zaman kegemilangan by gracefully dancing the Mogunatip. Otai masih berbisa; and obviously she forgot to didn't pass those skill to me. This dance definitely need skills, alright? Silap percaturan terkepit kaki between those bamboos...harus bakal nangis sehari semalam. Belum part pangkal ankle lebam biru-hitam. Oh yeah, speaking from experience I am.

#16 Snacks made from sago pearls

# 17 No one in the house nor near its vicinity to greet us Selamat Datang *yo'oh*. Sangat sangat sunyi gitu so we didn't enter. Ambil gambar dari laman rumah sajo (bukan bias tau)

#18 The Chinese Farmhouse; unlike local ethnics is built at ground level

The Hakka clan was the first Chinese settlers to Sarawak. Speaking of the Chinese Hakka reminded me of my late Nenek; who once married a Hakka lad. She spoke fluent Hakka although the marriage lasted only for few years. And haruslah tiada siapa among her children (apalagi cucu) speak Hakka. The cucu(s) can speak fluent Mandarin sebab diorang masuk SJKC. Haruslah si Err adalah terkecuali dia fluent Korean jak.

# 19 The only similarity with late Nenek was the kelambu

Before exiting the cultural village, we passed by the Chinese Pavilion to get to the shop which is located next to the entrance/exit gate. Was meaning to get some souvenir for myself but ended up walking out the shop empty-handed. Tiada yang menarik jiwa raga. Siapa yang rajin boleh masuk Chinese Pavilion tu; go up to the top floor & enjoy the view of the whole village.

Reunited with the Aunties & cousin at Damai Resort. Memang kena bebel lah kami dua; kononnye lama sangat dalam SCV tu. Hello, tiket adalah RM 50.00 hokey. Haruslah ndak boleh masuk lebih kurang. Lagipun datang jauh-jauh dari Sabah; it wasn't like everyday we will go to SCV pun. Tapi merajuk lebih kurang jak dorang, lapar + panas memanglah mengundang bebelan. 

We reached the city half past 4pm. Sebab semua penat level dewa tertinggi, we didn't singgah anywhere on the way back. Terus semua kebabom tidur once sampai hotel. 

#20 View of Kuching City (nampak awan hitam terus masing-masing mengharap hujan)

Ke mana si Err lepas bangun tidur petang tu? Acara solo pusing area Waterfront; layan sunset gitu. For that, aku continue next entry. Wassalam.

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