Sarawak Day 4: Last Day in Kuching

Assalamualaikum. 안녕

Finally my Cuti-Cuti Malaysia Sarawak has come to its last entry. Phew, punya bercinta mau habiskan. Took me almost a year. What an achievement I've gained. 

Previous entry (here).

1 June 2015

Since today is our last day in Kuching, we woke up a bit late than the previous days. We're not going anywhere far from the city hence bersenang lenang mengendur urat atas katil we did.  

Yesterday, I informed the receptionist we're gonna take the hotel shuttle service to the airport. Check out is at 11am & based on my calculation we have more than enough time for a last minute shopping. That's for the 3 sisters. As for me & my cousin we decided to check the Waterfront esplanade. Shopping isn't our priority so eloklah berpecah. This time the 3 sisters agreed with my suggestion. Yalah last day kan, cuba hari² sebelum tu harus aku dapat jelingan tajam. Jangan pernah kau berani utter the magic word "berpecah". 

But before acara melabur duit, kenalah breakfast dulu. Permintaan perut adalah super penting as to avoid any grumpy mood arose tengah bershoppingan sakan. 

We drove to Kopi O Corner restaurant located at Bangunan Mara, Satok. 10 minutes (plus) away from Tune Hotel. On the way to the restaurant, we had a quick stopped for some picture moment with the Empat Sekawan Cats Statue. My friend; DJ named this statue Empat Sekawan because there are 4 cats at the tugu (obviously). It's not that difficult to spot this statue just that we need to be extra careful where to stop & park our car. Fyi, the statue is built on a small roundabout in the middle of a busy & narrow road. Bertabahlah; double park pastu berlari anak... clicked...and rushed back to the car. Demi sekeping gambar bersama si Kucings or also called pusak in Bahasa Melayu Sarawak.

#1 Yours Truly before the Empat Sekawan Cats Statue; but Bunda managed to captured only 2 cats 

#2 Si Tiba²-Debab before the restaurant

#3 Super love this restaurant. The ambiance, the layout, the choice of food...selesa gila. And the restroom pun bersih. Nora bagi 4 bintang

#4 Rambang mata kejap mau pilih what menu to order for breakfast

#5 More menu to choose from

#6 My cousin ordered this because she said the picture in the menu seduced her. Walhal makanan diet sangat.

#7 Roti kalu, mesti Aunty punya

#8 Angah & Bunda share this Mee Kolok

#9 My breakfast. Memang almost everyday balun Laksa Sarawak + Teh Ais masa di sana. 

Aku lupa harga makanan kami pagi tu. Jadinya memang tidak akan ada pembentangan budget for this trip. Next time update lah lepas 10 tahun kan Bie. Grr!

After breakfast, we drove back to the hotel. Wakil from the rental company datang kutip kereta & refund our deposit not long after. Settled urusan kereta, kami pun bawa haluan masing².

My cousin & I decided to explore the esplanade once more. Didn't get to view the Waterfront during the day, selalu pi melepak waktu malam jak. Lagipun shopping-mhopping isn't our thing (boring!).

#10 Cat Teacher with her Cat Students. Or Cat Leader with her Cat Comrades

#12 Artsy partsy work along the esplanade

#13 Dan² ingat kampong upon seeing this. Poyo lah kan!

#14 View of the New Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building from across the esplanade

Enough with the view across the Sarawak River, we turned to the road behind us. Cuci mata tengok bangunan lama pula. 

#15 Some of the budget accommodations near Waterfront Kuching. Kalau aku turun with other than the family, harus stay sini. Jimat cermat katanye

#16 Because it's pink. And it says planet Sambal. Too bad wrong timing else boleh compare with SS Indonesia.

Tengah siok jalan² cuci mata, suddenly dapat message from the 3 sisters. Due to time constraint (-lah sangat kan), they commanded me to head to the Bazaar. I forgot what they told me to buy but harapan ke laut bila si Err reply their message along with the picture below. Al-tutup Bazaar nye. Signboard says it is open at 9am, tapi suda half past 10am pun masih tiada tanda Bazaar ni akan buka. Tiada rezeki jadinya redha lah. Ntah ler apa dicari. 

#17 Next time insha Allah boleh singgah although sendiri pun ndak tau bila akan menjejak Kuching lagi

As I've said earlier, we booked the shuttle bus from the airport to the hotel. Cost us RM 10.60 per person. The service is FOC for children below 3 years old; while it is half the price for 4-12 years old. And sadly, none of us apply to both category. Semua bayar full fare. 

We arrived the airport few hours before our flight. Saja datang awal sebab mau ronda Kuching airport dulu. Mencari paste Laksa Sarawak lah bagai. Masa di city ndak lah sibuk kau mencari kan Bie. Mendapatlah bayar berganda masa beli di airport. Lagak orang kayo sangat.

#18 Always a proud Borneon I am.

#19 Kuching International Airport, I'll see u when I see u.

We had lunch at the airport. And journey back to Double K City was nothing but smooth journey. Syukur.

*clap* Alhamdulillah, accomplished my mission to finish this Kuching trip by this week. Biar lambat, asal siap. Pelan² kayuh kataku. Why the suddden semangat? Adalah tu, rahasia gitu.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Sarawak Day 3 - Mom's Laksa, Pasar Serikin & Mira Cake House, Kuching

Assalamualaikum. 

So I decided to go with the flow. Will keep updating this blog & continue from where I last left it. Pelan² kayuh. Allah's willing I'll be able to catch up soon.

Previous entry (here).

31 May 2015
Mom's Laksa Kopitiam, Petra Jaya

Happy Bornday Queen of my heart. My ultimate favourite 어머니+아버지 figure. May Allah grant u a healthy & bless life. Insha Allah, amin

We didn't celebrate Bunda's birthday; no cakes nor mini celebration as she requested us to only du'a for her. Gitu bersederhana. 

This morning, we'll be going somewhere out of Kuching city. It's a place located at the Indonesia-Sarawak border. Pasar Serikin as many visitors call it. Said to be a must-go place when visiting Sarawak. So kita ikutlah kata arus. Maka bertolak awal lah kami sebab the night before masa study map direction...boleh tahan jauh juga pasar ni. This pasar better be selling varieties of good things as it wasn't that near to reach. Siaplah kami sesat barat sebab Waze menjadi bengong halfway to the pasar. Data internet on off as we approached the Sarawak-Indonesia border. 

Before aktiviti drive berjam², haruslah dulukan tuntutan perut. As suggested by a good friend of mine, we drove to Mom's Laksa Kopitiam somewhere at Ave Astana. Approximately 20 minutes driving from our hotel. Please google the direction ya because we solely depends on Waze to move around throughout our trip in Kuching. 

Had laksa sarawak for breakfast (their signature dish). And it had me at my first taste of its broth. Nora bagi berbintang². Memang ndak rugi datang bertandang. Their iced teh tarik also did not disappoint me. Alhamdulillah the 3 sisters & my cousin love the food as well. Maka tiadalah kejadian mendengar rungutan kufur nikmat makan. Ngeh

#1 The only picture of the kedai left in my phone

#2 My Laksa Sarawak + Iced Teh = Perfect Meal Combination

By now, everyone should know that

Accidentally deleted picture + Miss BibiErr = Berpisah Tiada umpama Best Friend Sign Mati

Tabahlah hati sang Pendelete.

Pasar Serikin, Bau

We arrived our destination after driving for 2 hours (or more sebab katanye sesat). Disambut dengan hujan nan lebat. And traffic congestion. Tu belum campur stress cari parking. Potholes here and there. Walau drive kereta sewa but that cannot be the excuse for us to not care for the car. Orang cari makan with that car, kalau penyewa main hentam jak guna kesian lah sama owner kan. 

Syukur akhirnya dapat parking. Ndak lama pun queue untuk parking sebenarnya. The heavy pour might be the reason we became restless I reckoned. Risau ndak dapat menikmati aktiviti shopping till u drop. Duh sangat perangai masing². Tapi memang betul tekaan sang Makcik² ku. They didn't really enjoyed their time in Serikin. Not because of the rain but because of the wet walkway.

Bila hujan tiba² lebat, jadi katak kejap berlompatan from 1 shop to another. Ahjumma tukang jual pun stress semacam juga. Mau ndak mau layan customer. Bila tanya harga, mostly pandang kau head to toe. Jawab pun acuh ndak acuh. Marah bila kita buka plastik untuk tengok jualan, sebab nanti basah. So how to choose & buy? Pastu note suara tinggi senada bila minta diskaun. Huk aloh Ahjumma pung, bakpo seteghes sangat? Tapi logik jugalah diorang stress. Customer ndak dapat pilih barang, barang jualan diorang pun boleh rosak (or basah) terkena hujan. And seribu alasan lain. 

#3 Berpayung, berbaju hujan. Tapi ada juga yang gamble hati kayu redah hujan macam tu (tunjuk diri sendiri sebab perasan macho)

#4 Nangis tengok seluar al-basah kalau jalan atas ni

#8 Alhamdulillah despite meeting few Ahjumma yang ''berangin", we encountered lots yang friendly & murah hati juga. Rezeki Allah for them kind hearted Ahjumma, makcik² ku sempat buat investment at few gerai-s. 

Apart from baju bajan; ada gerai jual kitchen appliances, home decorations, food etc. Macam² ada. But we didn't buy any deco items nor appliances sebab memikirkan kejadian mengangkut pi airport bagai. Leceh. 

Aunty sempat beli few jubah & T-shirts. I bought Bunda a denim skirt because I saw her eyeing it few times. Kejap² return pi the same gerai & belek the same skirt. She was so happy upon seeing the skirt inside the plastic bag I gave her. Repeatedly thanking me. Sehelai skirt cuma, harga pun bukan mahal mana tapi dia punya happy tu habis meter.

Ndak lama pun di Serikin. We had lunch at one of the restaurant there before returning back to Kuching. I had mee kolok & its sup daging is to die for. Sampai sekarang masih ingat lagi sedap dia. Eh gambar sudah ke laut, jangan ditanya. Ulangan statement.

On the way to Kuching, semua melabuh tirai. Except Bunda & I the driver. Semua pakat bangun when we're approaching the city. Pastu remind aku banyak kali untuk singgah kedai kuih lapis. So ke Mira Cake House lah kami. Thanks DJ for ur entry of this place. Aku sebenarnya malas mau buat research pasal kek lapis bagai ni, therefore blog si DJ jadi main reference. Bukan kek lapis jak, all the eateries I went are the places she mentioned in her blog. Senang kerja si Err, copy past sajo.

Walau copy paste, tetaplah sesat kejap. Sebab si Err bijak melantun (as usual) mau derhaka with the direction given. Sebenarnya mau menyinggah pi Fort Margherita before shopping kek lapis. Tapi ntah ler Waze masih bingai it brought us to some places yang ala hutan. Panik lah the 3 sisters. Kami semua wanita jelita so takutlah if anything terpelanting happened. Ciskek kan, haritu sungguh² semua bangga mengaku owner black belt Taekwondo. 

Mira Cake House is located opposite the Waterfront Kuching. Terpisah by the Sarawak River. One can get here by riding the sampan (or known as Tambang among the locals) from the Waterfront and walk a bit to this cake house. Or drive; like us. Alang² dari Serikin berkereta kan. 

#9 Production & packaging happening in this one place.

Aku macam biasa; more interested watching the staffs do their job rather than choosing which kuih lapis to bring home. And sibuk jadi photographer tidak berupah for them Makcik as well. 

#10 Always love seeing people running a successful business like this. Mesti ada pahit behind its success but for me, itulah motivator paling mantap for a business to prosper. 

Segala nama retis, spouse retis, and drama top jadi nama kuih lapis. Ntah ler siapa tumpang glamour siapa kan. Yang pasti, drama Mr Arrogant tu memang bukti kukuh bahawasanya entry ni sudah kepam berabad lama. 

#14 Kakak cashier super laju buat kerja, super pantas packing kek juga. 

Dalam berkira² berat luggage, masing² keluar kedai with box in hand. I immediately gave my cousin that signal look. Telling her to be prepared. Those boxes are gonna be the things we'll have to carry at the airport.  Pasrah maknae-s.

After Mira Cake House, we went straight to Swee Kang Ais Kacang. An ABC haven for Kuchingites. Perlu basahkan tekak lepas seharian memandang aliran duit keluar. Apart from having the signature ABC, we had the super yummy sotong kangkung & banana fritters. And again, cuma mampu bercerita. Semua gambar sudah ke laut. None of the ahli jemaahs had pictures taken with their camera. All pictures are 100% taken with mine. Double triple pasrah lah masing². Confident semua yang aku bakal share dalam group. 

#15 Seen here is the Ahjussi; expert mixologist. He has been mixing the ABC for more than a decade already

#16 Yummylicious ABC. Forgot to let the waitress know that I don't want jagung in my ABC. Makanya before I indulge, kerja keras keluarkan segala biji jagung.

Sudah basah tekak, we went back to the hotel. Time to refresh & rejuvenate. Rimas lah sudah seharian berjalan mengukur tanah Kuching. Dari hujan then bertukar panas lit². 

Later that night we had dinner at this one restaurant that serves Sarawak local dishes; My Village Barok in Kampung Gersik. This time, instead of driving we decided to ride the Tambang to cross over the Sarawak River. Angah jak tinggal sebab alkisah dia takut tenggelam dalam sungai (sebab Tambang bocor) & jadi makanan buaya. Banyak tengok drama kan, tulah imaginations melangit tinggi. Tambang fare is RM 0.30 pp one way. 

Tujuan sebenar pi Barok ni sebab manuk pansuh (manuk = ayam). But was told the dish is sold out. Gila awal! Walhal kami sampai ngam² waktu dinner. Only an hour after they opened. Then waiter tu bagitau ada 2 tourist bus came before us. And sapu licin all the manuk they serve. Nangis dalam senyum jaklah. Awal or lambat datang ain't the problem, memang sudah tertulis bukan rezeki kami. So we settled with what they have in the kitchen. Sayur midin kechentaan aku pun habis. Sobs lagi. Forgot what dishes we ordered tapi memang sedap. No one complained the food upon exiting the restaurant so I assumed semua tekak puas hati. 

We didn't spend much time there as Angah was waiting for us across the river. Kami punyalah risau dia sorang², turned out joli habis dia bershopping sendiri. Ntah apa jak dia beli from the vendors along the esplanade. We worried for nothing obviously. Malam tu tidur awal sebab esok pagi kena keluar awal. Misi 3 sisters untuk jejak pasar whilst me & the cousin; misi mengukur Waterfront. By noon kena ada di airport sebab flight petang tu. 

And cerita last day aku update next entry. Berjela², ber-paragraph² pula entry kali ni. Terover masuk hormon Rajin ka apa kau ni Bie oii.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Sarawak Day 2 - Kuching Waterfront & Top Spot Seafood

Assalamualaikum. 안녕

Previous post (here).

Quite impressed with my rajin-ness at the time being. Ndak lama kalau consistent gini, bolehlah scribble macam dulu balik. Gitu angan-angan tiada sempadan si Err. Ok jom sambung sebelum melalut dengan intro.

Balik dari Sarawak Cultural Village; semua pengsan dalam bilik. Perut lapar boleh simpan dalam peti masa ni. Yang penting kena recharged energy. Ntah apa yang penat sangat, walhal yang drive bukan kau kan Bie! 

Anyway, I woke up the earliest. Penat tidur lama-lama time travel ni. Koh!! Took my shower...got ready; and off I went exploring Kuching Waterfront alone. I did wake my cousin & asked if she wanted to join me...and I got a long sigh from her. Kiranya isyarat jangan kacau lah kan. I texted Bunda telling her that I'm going out for a while. Haruslah nan hado reply. The three sisters memang sungguh-sungguh tidur, ok?! 

30 May 2015

Kuching Waterfront

The Kuching Waterfront isn't that far from Tune Hotel. In fact, it is merely 5 minutes walking away from the hotel. Easy peasy route. I walked downwards toward the riverside. Sampai jak, nampaklah peniaga kiosk makanan semua sibuk buka gerai. Only few had began accepting orders. I didn't plan for any ngeteh session there so I just passed by. 

Main reason pi area Waterfront ni was for the sunset. I always believe the sun set beautifully near any flowing water; be it river or the ocean. Kuching Waterfront lines the south bank of Sarawak River; said to be the place to sample the city's cosmopolitan vibes.

#1 Soothing; view of the sunset from the Sarawak River

#2 Another take

#3 Mere sight of the New Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building

Tengah busy enjoying the view, I got a text from Bunda. Telling me to go back as it was almost dusk. Maghrib ni kalau masih di luar, ndak bagus. Burung pun tau balik ke sangkar, so why are u still not back yet? Katanye. Menurut perintah lah si Err. 

I took a different route to go back to the hotel; kali ni ikut jalan belakang hotel pula. And I saw the famous Cats' Monument at the roundabout just before reaching UTC. Oklah terjumpa awal, boleh bawa the rest bergambar sini lepas dinner. At least ndak bazir masa searching for it later.

#4 Kuching UTC building is located behind Tune Hotel

#5 Kuching Urban Transformation Centre (UTC)

Sampai hotel, solat & tunggu yang lain bersiap. Then off we went out for dinner. Baru tau kelaparan semua kan. Part venue dinner ni memang aku bingai ke laut. Ntah kenapa lah ndak terfikir untuk search di blog or directly tanya si DJ (she previously went to Kuching & dined there). Gigih ok bersimpang siur lintas jalan mau cari tempat tu. Siap ikut direction map di phone. 

Lucky enough the guard at the UTC car park approached us. Tapi tu pun lepas nearly 10 minutes looking around. Boo si Err! And dia pun macam tau-tau kami tengah cari Top Spot food court ni. He told us to take the elevator to the top level. Laaaa kenapa ndak tau pasal food court ni actually located at Level 6 of a multi-level car park next to UTC!?! Akibat bijak melantun ndak menanya orang, and ndak buat research prior going. Hambek. Nasiblah ndak kena bebel by the Three Sisters.

#6 How come signboard sebesar alam & seterang ni aku ndak nampak dari jalan besar

Didn't quite remember what we ordered for dinner because all makan-makan pictures sudah selamat hilang ditelan angin, sekian. We went to the famous Gerai #25; recommended by many. Including some close Sarawakien friends. But I guess memang bukan rezeki kami untuk makan sedap gendang gendung perut tali kecapi. Out of all the dishes we ordered; 3 didn't managed to arrived. Worst case; bila try tanya pelayan kedai semua buat muka blur ndak tau jawab apa. They didn't even try to follow up our orders. Semua pun sibuk hantar order pi meja pelanggan lain; including yang baru sampai dari kami. 

Not intending to spoil our mood albeit sudah ada kejadian tarikan muka masam among the sisters; we finished what's on the table. Alhamdulillah my sayur midin sampai; lama mengidam sayur ni. Walhal di KK pun melambak kalau kena musim midin. Habis makan semua, I went to the counter to pay for the dinner. Told the counter lady about our makanan-yang-tidak-kesampaian & much to my surprise she just went 

"Ohh ya ka? Sorry ah moi. Ok total makan RM xxx"

Memang boh-layan kaw-kaw. Apa mau hairan, pelanggan masih ramai. And still ramai yang tengah tunggu vacant table. Kecewa gila aku. But I just smile & walk away. Mau bertukar hijau pun rasanya memang ndak guna. Kami cuma pelanggan picisan. Perhaps it simply wasn't our rezeki sebab setahu aku experience orang lain makan di sini semua ok jak. By the way, don't ask me how much we were charged because I seriously couldn't remember. But it wasn't that expensive lah sebab tu aku ndak berjaya bertukar jadi hijau *penangan dua tahun kepam cerita*

#7 Midin dibungkus as flower bouquet; kerlas ko Midin

#8 The infamous Gerai No. 25

After dinner, marilah walkertapaki bakar lemak. Bawa diorang pi Cats' Monument I saw earlier that evening. Jadi tiadalah kejadian ungkitan of why aku ada gambar monument ni tapi diorang tiada.

#9 Miss BibiErr before the Cats' Monument

And we continued our evening walk to the Waterfront. The environment seems more lively compare to when I first arrived earlier. Ramai yang duduk melepak sambil layan blue; ada yang ngopi ngeteh with friends. Kami just jalan tiada hala tuju. I purposely didn't plan any activity on that night.

#10 Beautiful evening view by the river bank

#11 The DUN building looks extra lawa at night

Ikutkan banyak benda yang aku berjaya captured sepanjang berjalan menyusuri Waterfront ni; tinggal kenangan dalam hati jaklah. Tried restoring every files in the phone but to no avail. Hence I concluded; those pictures I took might not meant to be shared anywhere. Fuh ayat sedapkan hati level Jemah betul kau Bie.

#12 One of the picture I managed to save 

We walked till nearly the end, and decided to called the night off. Masing-masing udah capek. Mau lepak ngopi di bing! cafe pun terpaksa cancel. Ingatkan alang-alang mau terus celebrate birthday Bunda at 12am sharp. But because we were all exhausted *including yang tukang plan* we went  straight back to hotel. Boleh faham kalau yang Tiga Beradik tu penat; apa kes aku & cousin yang baru belasan tahun tu pun TERikut penat. Adoi lemah!

#13 History walk where history plates are embedded on the pedesterian walk 

On the way back, baru perasan those history plates on the ground we're walking upon. Had I known about it earlier, I would have spend my time reading each of them. Ni ternampak pun malam sudah, dengan street lamp al-malap haruslah nan hado yang dapat dibaca. Insha Allah, ada rezeki repeat Kuching bolehlah buat semua aktiviti yang tergendala.

Sampai hotel malam tu, after bersihkan diri teruslah terjun ke dreamland. Al-ngantuks tahap gaban. Tomorrow perlu terjah luar Kuching. And since I have finally master the usage of Waze & Kuching's many roundabouts; Bunda gave me back my designated driver role. Sobs betul. Baru tripping the best co-driver tau.

eryantierdabdulkarim

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.

eryantierdabdulkarim