my Kambatik World

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2009-07-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

Announcement

My friends and countrymen! Please click to a continuation of this blog here for the time being. My storage with Picasa is to the max ( 1 gig) and I cannot upload anymore pictures or videos here. Any further changes will be informed accordingly. Regret for any inconvenience. Your visits from all over the globe has been a constant inspiration and boost.

Sarawak Ethnic Designs

2009-07-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have received a lot of inquiries regarding Sarawak design in my blogs. Therefore in this blog post I would like to generally touch on this topic. I say' generally' because Sarawak has about 27 ethnic groups and it would be impossible to talk in specifics. Sarawak design motifs are derived from their immediate surroundings especially the rich and diverse eco-sysyems that the natives have over many generations and ages being able to live in co-existence or harmony with. Inspirations can be taken directly from nature's rich flora and fauna - curls of ferns,flow of rivers, shapes of lizards and crocodiles, fruits and flowers, insects, and many other various wildlife and plant species.

In many instances the art has been transferred from many generations ago till today, though recently there has been an upsurge in cottage industries that produce items for the tourism market based on local ethnic designs taught by experts not necessarily of blood lineage. Much of the designs have passed the test of time though new elements are introduced as expected.

Sarawak ethnic designs can be applied on many materials or surfaces. Chiefly among them are wood, ceramic, stones, rattan, textile, beads, human skin (tattoo) and the more modern paper.

In modern designs where motifs are stylised, the images become symbolical. However in more traditional designs details of legendary figures or mythical beings, give much aura of spirituality and when embodied into the designs are believed to arouse the magic or spiritual into the cultural objects.

I guess Sarawak's ethnic designs will become more popular in future due to awareness in tourism and the quest for a cultural presence and identity in an increasingly globalised world.

I hope the collection of Sarawak designs as they are implanted, embedded, painted, carved or woven as shown below will indicate the vigour and uniqueness of these designs.

Examples of Sarawak Ethnic Designs

Burial Pole

Hornbill Mast Head

Headress and Hand Bags

Wooden Shield

Traditional Music instrument - Sapeh

Batik Painting on Cloth

Tradtional Painting

Book Design

Tiled Pavement

Concrete Walls

Beaded Table Mat

Modern Textiles

How to Skin a Frog

2009-07-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

Among the native peoples of Sarawak, frogs are a delicacy. Thus frogs are gathered and sold at many a jungle produce market in the small as well as big towns throughout Sarawak. A few months ago I saw one lady who skinned frogs expertly at the Bintulu Tamu. The video below may be repugnant to some. So its fair for me to give a warning. This video is not for the faint hearted. Please click to play the video.

Ready Camera, 3-2-1, Roll Camera!

2009-07-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

Today I thought of trying something different. To give a better feel of Sarawak I'm inserting a short video recording which I took this afternoon at the Kuching Waterfront. There I stumbled upon a filming crew in action. The floor director was a lady and they had rehearsed the movements of the singer, the different shots using boom,trucking and dolly techniques many times before this clip was done. With the assistance of a sound man, music was played on minus-one and the singer lip-synced the song.

It's an Iban song. The Ibans comprise about 30 % of Sarawak's population. Since this recording was done using my camera hand phone N93i some shots are not that very clear, due to no fault of the device but more than anything my shaky and experimental hands. Please click to play the video.

Video Filming in Action. On Location: Kuching Waterfront,Sarawak.

Curry Crabs

2009-07-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

At Santubong's estuaries and coastal mudflats there can be found many types of crabs, clams, cockles, mussels, and many other varieties of fish. Back from Santubong the other day we brought home about a kilo of crabs costing RM 16. I had not taken crabs for a quite a while now and thought why not give it a go. I'm really the worst cook in the world. Therefore when it comes to cooking I respectfully leave it to my dear wife. Below is how she would prepare it:

Curry Crab Cooking Instructions:

1) Heat 3 table spoons of cooking oil in a wok

2) Saute ( stir fry) the mixed cinnamon, sliced onions,sliced garlic and curry leaves until fragrant and the colour turns golden

3) Add in fish curry paste for 10 minutes on low heat until the paste and oil separates

4) Add 3 cups of water, tamarind juice, Crabs and pineapple slices

5) Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat

6) Reduce the heat, add in thick coconut milk and salt to taste.

7) Add 2 spoons of sugar

8) Cook for another 10 minutes and the dish is ready to serve.

Yummy! the Curry Crabs dish is ready to serve.

View of Mount Santubong with mangrove trees in the foreground

Legendary Village of Sarawak

2009-07-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we drove about 45 minutes out of Kuching City to Sarawak's legendary village. The village of Santubong that nestles at the foothills of Mount Santubong is associated with the legend of Mount Santubong and its surrounding mountains and islands. I have written briefly about the legend earlier as in here. On this visit I took the opportunity to drive the narrow village roads and parked close to a mangrove forested area . What fascinated me were the strong colours of the houses, the system of boardwalk that are built way above the high tide level and the mangrove trees with roots and trunks partly and sometimes fully submerged in water especially during high tide.

The main occupation of the villagers here is fishing. They fish along the coastal areas not far from the village and in the rivers that meander close to the village. All the houses that are built on the muddy banks and mudflat areas are raised on stilts made from the 'belian' timber - easily the hardest wood in Sarawak.
To access the river bank where the fishermen boats are parked, a system of boardwalks are constructed to enable the villagers bring in their catch or for sightseeing. At the far background in the above picture is a view of Mount Santubong.

One typical mangrove tree that can seen everywhere around the riverbanks is the Mangrove Apple tree or sometimes referred locally as the 'Pedada tree'. Above is a picture of the young 'Pedada' fruit ( Sonneratia caseolaris). Pedada trees grow wild. The fruits when ripe can be eaten raw .

One interesting inter-tidal wildlife that I managed to capture with my digital camera handphone was the Horshoe Crab ( Limulus moluccanus). Locally it is referred to as the "Belangkas".

Here the Horshoe Crab is eaten minus the hard armour-like cover. I didn't opt to buy the crab however and instead settled for some sea prawns.

Waterfront Colours

2009-07-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I visited the Kuching Waterfront after missing it for quite a while since my arrival here early this month. I have taken a number of photos of the Kuching Waterfront in this blog and some of the shop houses too. The strong and varied colours of some of them can be seen here. This morning I had the itch to render two of the shop houses I took pictures of yesterday. I had it done in mixed media as a trial sketch finished in just about 40 minutes.

Kuching Waterfront Shop house, 18 x 14 cm, mixed media.

The Kuching Waterfront is my regular haunt now and I guess many paintings in future will feature the scenes around the area. The above is a start as I need to do lots more for my coming 2nd solo exhibition . Anyway, more pictures of colourful sampans are shown below. These sampans too will be target for my future paintings and sketches. Soon the Kuching Waterfront will be very busy with a regatta which I am looking forward too. I guess I'll not miss it this time because I'm in Kuching till the end of the month. The regatta is to be held towards end of this month.

Sampans or small river ferry boats are receiving a coat of colours at the Kuching Waterfront,in time for the Kuching Regatta.

Funky Bug

2009-07-08T05:53:00.000-07:00

I have not put up any post recently for the main reason that I was very focused on completing my assignment. Well, I'm through with it this afternoon and have submitted it. Thus with my mind freed I took time this afternoon to catch up with the garden. While busy photographing the hibiscus flower I saw a few tiny bugs that moved about the leaves and petals of the hibiscus plant. You can see one tiny bug at the top right hand corner of the picture on the left. Mu curiosity paid off. On closer examination it was not an ordinary bug. One of them had the look of an alien. I call it the ET Bug. Next, came one that looked very familiar. He looked very punky with blue Indian Sioux hairstyle. His two round eyes and nose came with a matching set of mouth full of white teeth. Seconds later I saw two punky bugs coming out from below the cream petals of the hibiscus flower. My camera phone kept tracking their movements. In the wink of an eye both bugs got stucked to each other. Ooops, caught them in the act. Or shall I say--Two Heads is better than One.

ET Bug

Blue Punk Bug ( Sorry couldn't name it better)

Ooopsy Daisy !! Caught in the Act!!

( Or shall I say..Two Heads is Better Than One)

Battered chicken or "Ayam Penyek"

2009-07-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

I know of buttered prawns. What about battered chicken? Secrets out. I just discovered a new dish in town but was told that it has been introduced just a few months ago. The menu's specialty is deep fried chicken breast that is battered or in the local lingo 'Penyek" in Malay to mean hit hard and flattened. It is served with rice and a small bowl of soup. A selection of fresh vegetables and leaves ( long beans, young tapioca leaves, white cabbage) are added as salad. Now the last and most important thing ( to me) was the red sauce of which the formula is not disclosed due to trade secrets . Anyway I bet that there were tomatoes, chillies, onions and shrimp paste ( Belacan) that made part of the magical formula. As is customary here the best way to eat the dish is with your right hand and fingers. Its just finger-licking good. A lunch set above costs RM 6.00 , drinks aside.

P.S. Have a nice weekend everyone!

Uniquely Kuching

2009-07-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

On the 29th of June, a Monday we took to the road again to Kuching after spending nearly a month at Bintulu. Inul, the narrator of her travels through the jungles, countryside and small towns of Sarawak was doing better this time around. Less screaming and less messing around. Daisy, her mother was at her queenly best. The ten hours journey was met with heavy downcast and scattered rains for three quarters of the journey. Thus there was little photography work done . With this trip my cat's journey hit the 18,000 km mark. BTW, cats are easily identified with the city of Kuching because the city derived its name from guess what - Cat or 'kuching' in Malay.

I always look forward to coming over to this city. It is a city of convenience. A moderately sized city with a hinterland or urban sprawl that is relatively flat all around encircling the city for miles and miles on all directions. Kuching is a melting pot of all the indigenous cultures of Sarawak. A truly Sarawakian town. With the first available opportunity to drive downtown, just a few days ago I was met with something uniquely Kuching. It's no wonder they call it a city. Here you find the queer and the quest for uniqueness.

A scooter made in Kuching for local and export market, called " Demak"

It's indeed a unique 'Beetle" - yes, they build engines at the tail part.

Bloom Watching

2009-06-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

Sunday - and feeling light and easy, I decided to take to the wheels and spin around Bintulu town to do some bloom watching. Luckily I spotted a line of Angsana Trees in full bloom at Kidurong township. Kidurong township faces the sea and is an ideal location for Angsana Trees ( Pterocarpus indicus) which grow naturally by the sea through out Malaysia. Bintulu's distinct dry spell now have induced many Angsana trees in town displaying their best blooms.

Angsana or sometimes referred briefly as 'Sena' is native to Malaysia. It has small yellow and highly fragrant flowers. I was amazed by the carpet of yellow flowers that gather below the trees I saw this afternoon ( See pictures at inset and below)

Angsana trees are huge trees with a shady crown and are normally planted on broad roads. When full grown it can reach a height of 30 meters.

Recently I have been very busy bloom watching and that hobby made me put up a new blog specifically to compile all the pictures I took of the plants since I started blogging about them. The blog is really a photo blog with very little data on the plants except their names. All the plants can be accessed here. It is my fervent hope that the compilation becomes a useful resource on tropical plants .

Swinging Monkey Strikes with a Vengeance!

2009-06-25T04:51:00.000-07:00

Once it was the Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon. Today the 'Swinging Monkey' strikes back with a vengeance on Bintulu's trees. Imagine for a moment the swinging monkey is fitted with a critter cam on its lofty head and ran lose among Bintulu's trees and shrubs. Here are some of the snapshots taken as the swinging monkey swings from trees to trees and leaps from shrubs to shrubs. All images are taken within the last 2 weeks in Bintulu. Feast your eyes for a moment and not to forget that the Swinging Monkey is available when his services are required in future.

( Note: Click here for more pictures of plants in Bintulu and Kuching ).

Hibiscus mutabilis ( Rose of Sharon)

Delonix regia ( Flame of the Forest)

Dillenia suffruticosa ( Simpoh Air)

Tabebuia rosea ( Trumpet Flower)

Bignonia magnifica ( Bignonia)

Lagerstroemia indica ( Crepe myrtle)

Lagerstroemia indica ( Crepe Mrytle)

Gardenia jasminoides ( Common Gardenia)

Roupellia grata ( Creamfruit)

Plumeria rubra var.acutifolia ( Frangipani)

White and sweet Terap fruit

2009-06-21T22:08:00.000-07:00

I don't have to climb this Terap tree ( Artocarpus odoratissimus Blanco) this morning to harvest its ripe fruits. This tree is still small and planted just about three years ago. With the aid of a bamboo pole I managed to harvest two ripe fruits. Sometimes the Terap fruit (Malay) is also called 'Ong Lumok' among the Melanaus here. The fruits are very sweet tasting. Often times the seeds that are enclosed by the white pulp or flesh are dried and then fried as afternoon snacks. However I just love to eat them fresh and ripe from the tree. After each season I would normally germinate the seeds for propagation purpose and now there are at least 50 Terap trees that I planted in the farm the last few years. This tree is the first batch of newly planted Terap trees at the farm besides the ones that were here long before I came on the scene , some towering as high as 30 meters above my head.

Remove the skin carefully and you'll find the fleshy pulp soft to touch and would easily separate from the seed by applying a little pressure with the tongue. Eat the flesh but not the seed.

Ais Kacang Cendol

2009-06-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

There is unique place in Kuching called the 'Open Air Market' situated across the Electra House . Here you can savour the best of Kuching's iced drinks especially the ones called 'Ais Kacang Cendol'. A bowl of 'Ais Kacang Cendol' consists of green pandan jelly, red beans, palm sugar, milk and cold squashed ice. At the cost of RM1.50 per bowl, it's one bowl I'll never miss whenever I drop by at Kuching downtown market.

Seasonal Fruits at the farm

2009-06-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

After spending the month of May in Kuching, I'm back in Bintulu for the month of June. Unfortunately or fortunately I felt ill for about a week now. But today I'm feeling better. The stress of working on the assignments, reading and preparation for exam must have taken a toll on me. Well June is semester break and I'm thinking of making full use of it from now onwards.

Thus I decided to walk around the farm this morning to make up for all the good things nature provides here. It looks like the seasonal fruits are coming into fashion. Here's a peek at a few that are showing at the farm today.

The 'Cempedak' or Artocarpus integer. Unripe ones like these can be served as vegetables.

'Ong Lumok' is what the Melanaus in Bintulu refer to this fruit which can also be prepared as vegetables when young.

I sliced into half this very young 'Ong Balem' fruit ( Mangifera pajang). Take it raw as salad with shrimp paste ( Belacan).

A Morning Visit to Serikin

2009-06-06T07:08:00.000-07:00

On any Saturday and Sunday you'll see as if the whole of Kuching converge on the tiny town of Serikin, an hour drive from Kuching city centre which I made today. Here local visitors and tourists from West Malaysia, Sabah and even Brunei flocked to shop for items that are produced from people across the Indonesian border. Serikin is a border town on Malaysian soil and is enjoying brisk business by allowing traders from the Indonesian border to sell their products and wares to Malaysian citizens and foreign visitors along its narrow and crowded singular street. I would estimate the total length of the street at 300 meters and on both sides are erected hundreds of makeshift stalls and tiny shops that sell anything from antiques, textiles, leather, glass wares, rattan mats, souvenirs from diverse range of materials like bamboo, rattan, wood, beads, silver etc., However the most popular item seemed to be the rattan mats that come in various sizes, colours and patterns. An average rattan mat size of say 6'x9' would fetch a prize of about RM 110- 150 depending on quality of workmanship and type of rattan used. Below are pictures of the rattan mats.

Today's weather was extremely hot and sunny. However the shopping crowd grew as the day progresses and that caused a traffic jam about a kilometer long as cars kept on coming to the only main parking space in town. Coincidentally today is a public holiday ( Malaysia's King official birthday) and double as a weekend holiday -cum-school holiday. It took me about an hour to clear the jam. To be at Serikin is to experience a totally different kind of shopping. It's not the sleek and air-conditioned shopping malls that are prevalent in cities. Here people walk the street in hot weather and bargaining is a must. Well, it's never too late to try and polish your bargaining skills here. Remember your Malaysian Ringgit (RM) is worth lots more than the Indonesian Rupiah. At today's rate RM 1 = 3600 Indonesian Rupiah. In Indonesia One Ringgit Malaysia can buy you a full meal, while One Ringgit Malaysia in Serikin or Kuching for that matter will only get you a bottle of plain water (500 ml)

This scene got me blown away. A street hawker with a push cart selling home-made fast food and snacks. He moved his eatery up and down the street, a brilliant idea I thought.

View of the narrow street and the shopping crowd.

Couldn't believe my eyes. A kilometer long traffic jam of shoppers to a tiny border town.

Kayan Burial Hut (Salong)

2009-06-05T05:22:00.000-07:00

In the not too distant past, the Kayans of Sarawak used to inter ( bury) their dead in special burial huts called " Salong". Today while visiting the Sarawak Museum grounds, I had a closer look at two tall Salongs, made from the hardest timber of Sarawak called the 'belian'. Both are at least 10 meters high and have been brought to the museum gardens from their original locations hundreds of kilometers away in the interior regions of Sarawak.

There was one that is constructed as a single pole and another as a double pole.

( Inset is painting of a Kenyah warrior with his head trophies)

Single Pole "Salong"

Double Trunk " Salong"

This double trunk "Salong" was originally erected more than 150 years ago on the banks of Long Segaham, above the town of Belaga in Sarawak. This burial hut was ordered to be built by the chief of the Kayan tribe in Belaga to inter his young daughter named Lisan. It was reported that it took five craftsmen plus many helpers and five years to complete the carvings on the solid 'belian' tree trunks. In 1973, the "Salong" were presented by the people of Belaga to the Sarawak Museum.

Close Up of the "Salong" or Burial Hut

Above is a picture of the Sarawak Museum's original building dated 1891. Over time the Museum authorities added more buildings, offices etc., to house more collections to cover archaelogical and anthropological artifacts, artworks, etc., Today the Museum is a must visit place for tourists or local visitors to Kuching.

The Drunken Sailor Drops By

2009-06-04T05:50:00.000-07:00

Right Hand Corner of Front Garden with the 'Sepenuh' plant in full bloom, a rare occurrence.

I introduced another species of heliconia to add variety to the collection, which has long, wide and green banana-like leaves as seen on the right foreground.

Lately I have been closely watching the right hand corner of the front garden in Kuching. The plants seemed to be doing very well. The variegated wild banana leaves have provided much needed shade to the plants below. On this trip I saw the 'Sepenuh' (Eurcycles amboinensis ) plant in full flower, an uncommon sight and therefore considered myself lucky. I was enthralled to see the 'Drunken Sailor' (Quisqualis indica ) droppin' by. Somehow, it has managed to creep over the banana leaves and unabashedly show off itself at a tight spot by the right hand corner of the front garden.

Sometimes referred to Red Jasmine the flowers are scented. When in bloom the petals initially appear pale pink then gradually turning red as the day develops, akin to the face of a drunken sailor. I am still undecided of what to do with the Drunken Sailor. Should I allow it to remain as a permanent feature or prune it? Well, let's see how worthy the Drunken Sailor proove itself. Then we decide. I guess for this time around I can extend some patience with the Drunken Sailor.

Bamboo boardwalks

2009-06-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

What interested me while window shopping at the Spring yesterday was a small set depicting a rural village house. It was tucked nicely at one corner of the shopping mall. The floors were made of bamboo strips and the hand rails were of bamboo culms. You can still see a lot of the rural longhouses still using these materials for their decorative as well as functional appeal. Another interesting thing I saw were the decorative poles that are made from soft wood and shaved with a sharp knife, thus producing its unique curls ( see top picture). I have seen many of these in Bintulu where the curls ( shavings?)are dipped in various coloured dyes. These decorative poles are widely used among the natives during auspicious occasions. By the way bamboo boardwalks can withstand rain and shine and thus used in the open though their life span will even be longer indoors and coated with varnish etc. where they are used as walls, ceilings or for table tops.

Feliciano Songs for the Recording

2009-06-01T22:59:00.000-07:00

I'm checking my list of songs to be recorded for my own rendition of Jose Feliciano songs for my 2nd Solo Exhibition in October. Of course there are many other singers that I'll be imitating like the Bee Gees, Beatles and other Indonesian and Malaysian singers for songs in Malay.

Since today is a holiday in Sarawak ( Ist June= Padi Harvest Holiday or Gawai Dayak), I set the whole day to practice singing on the guitar a couple of Jose's songs that I will record in Bintulu next week.

My fascination for Jose Feliciano's style of singing grew slowly over the years. In 1971 I sang for the first time "Rain" in an open air concert at the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang while as an undergraduate student there. Much later in the 1980's I sang "Loving Her Was Easier" in a big hall with the Chief Minister of Sarawak in attendance. On both occassions I sang with the guitar. Jose's voice continue to astound me with his bagful of soul in interpreting songs to his masterly style of guitar work and a voice that only great singers possess.

The list of songs that I'll record soon:

Angela

Che Sera

First of May

Gotta Get A Message to You

In My Life

Light My Fire

Loving Her Was Easier

Old Turkey Buzzard

Rain

The Air That I Breathe

The Last Thing On My Mind

Windmills of Your Mind

Anthurium Hybrids at Satok

2009-05-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

These flamingo flowers ( Anthurium ) attracted my attention when visiting the Satok weekly flower market yesterday. These beauties grow naturally in our tropical climate and are best kept in shady locations and planted en masse or in groups to achieve the desired landscaping effect. About twenty years ago, the only colours available were red and white. But now there are various hybrids exhibiting colours of pink and orange. Today I saw one that has the spathe variegated in red and green which I consider uncommon (see inset).

The good thing about anthurium is that they bloom continuously throughout the year. Its colourful spathes are glossy , thick and appeared as if they have just been varnished. One plant normally bears about 1-2 flowers at the time of flowering. I find them useful as cut flowers. Its heart-shaped spathe make it an ideal gift during special occasions like Valentine Day or weddings. You need to water these plants daily because they require high humidity to flourish and be their best. I normally propagate them by removing the rhizomes from parent plants which is a very simple operation to undertake. What happens when a person has a flaming red heart mixed with a greener heart? I wonder. Or was it just a problem with men selectively breeding red hearts into pink, orange and green? Or is variety a sign of a stronger heart? Guess will never know for sure.

Sunday fishes and rabbits

2009-05-31T05:52:00.000-07:00

The ever popular Satok Sunday market is in my hit list today. Today's target are the tiny aquarium fishes and the beautiful 'koi' fishes. You can buy tiny aquarium fishes of all colours and shapes at RM1.50 a piece. Some are sold in clear plastic bags or in small plastic containers. I've never been a decorative fish enthusiast but decorative fishes amazes me by their gorgeously beautiful colours and shapes.

On every Sunday at Satok, you'll get to see people bringing live puppies, kittens and birds for sale. Like today I took a second, third and fourth look at rabbits that were left outside the cage apparently oblivious of passers by. Rabbits are gentle creatures and even as I stroke them lightly they weren't complaining. It makes me wonder whether people use them as theraphy? It's amazing they didn't jump away when left in the open.

Finally I ended up buying half a kilo of dried anchovies . My two cats love them especially when fried. Anchovies are easy to store or keep stock of because in dried form they are very well preserved and can be cooked in various ways in short notice. Once a 'poor man' fish they are today very expensive. The highest quality sold now is at RM 34 per kilo. In comparison fresh and big river prawns can fetch only between RM 20 - 30 per kilo, while many deep sea fishes of above average quality will cost around RM 26-30 a kilo. I have a special liking for these minute dried fishes and could remember very well how my mother used to fry and pound them to be eaten with a bowl of porridge every morning or when we fall ill. That was about 40 years ago when there were about a dozen mouths to feed in our family. I still love to eat anchovies while taking snacks like groundnuts. Anyway I always believe that anythig 'fishy' is always good for the heart.

Satok ' Greens Market '

2009-05-30T04:37:00.000-07:00

Late afternoon today, I went down town Kuching city. I felt released from my self-imposed six days 'quarantine'. Well, don't get me wrong. It isn't the influenza. It's just that after the exams last Sunday I had to finish 3 case studies and one major analytical paper for my Strategic Marketing course work. Dateline: Tomorrow! After submitting the assignments this afternoon a day before due date , I felt like unwinding and decided to while away the time at the Satok 'greens market'. Feasted my eyes on the yellow and big 'Honey Dew' melons, fresh green pepper corns, leafy jungle vegetables for salads, light green cucumbers, red hot chillies, sourish young and unripe mango fruits ( for salads,too) and various species of jungle shoots. Well, I think I'll do more weekend shopping tomorrow when the Satok market will be bustling with Sunday shoppers.

( Note: The middle picture above shows a plate of freshly harvested tiny green Sarawak pepper corns which can be taken raw or in many instances are factory processed and exported the whole world over as flavouring for steak, scrambled or half-boiled eggs, or any food for that matter that needs a bit of the hot and aromatic Sarawak umphh!). Happy weekend everyone.

May Flowering Trees ( Part II )

2009-05-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took an afternoon off to visit the Sarawak State Library ( Pustaka Sarawak ) and lucky I did. I rushed to return the books I borrowed earlier albeit with a fine of 5o cents for not having returned them yesterday.Hmmm...But better things to see outside the library.
I came across two flowering trees just around the library building. At the inset is a cu view of the inflorescence of the Rain Tree ( Enterolobium saman).
A ideal tree for car parks and big open spaces. There are home to a lot of wildlife and a wonderful host to ferns and orchids. Observe how the leaves curl by late afternoon. Over here the tree is sometimes referred to as 'Pukul Lima' ( Five O'clock Tree) to depict its particular habit of folding in its leaves as evening comes and will stay asleep in that mode throughout the night till the next early morning sun when its leaves slowly opens up to a new day. The inflorescence are in clusters, forming a gossamer web of delicate pink feathery flowers. The rain tree can reach a height of 20 m and its wide canopy can have a diameter of 20 m too. ( Please click at the inset to enlarge the photo)

Long Shot view of the Rain Tree ( Enterolobium saman ) outside the Sarawak State Library.

A few yards away from the library I saw a line of Tembusu ( Fagraea fragrans) trees in full flower. What differentiates the flowers of the Tembusu to the Rain Tree are in the strong fragrance that they exude to the atmosphere all around. Walking past the trees is like walking through a long corridor of perfumes. The inflorescence's are in clusters of sweetly scented long-tubed flowers that will appear white initially and will fade to cream as they age . I find these trees very prevalent in Kuching but not in other towns of Sarawak though there are native to this region. They are splendid ornamentals and wonderful trees to grow in big parks and open spaces as they can reach a height of 30 m.

LS View of flowering Tembusu Trees around Sarawak State Library park compounds, Kuching.

Forever Learning

2009-05-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a celebration of sorts. Two days in a row I sat for the final exam on 'Strategic Marketing' and 'Organisational Leadership' subjects as a first step in my next learning adventure. I'm glad I said 'next', not final. To forever learn is to make oneself forever young. That's a principle I believe in.

Thus I finally made it this far. The Doctor of Business Administration programme (DBA) I'm taking right now will last for about 4 years and I'm just past the first semester. For those keen to know about the module and the open university, can have a glance here. I feel much relaxed now that the exams are over. Soon, I'll be driving back to Bintulu and could have some rest there before the next semester start sometime early July. I've been away from Bintulu for almost a month and miss it for its fresh fishes, jungle, farm and gardens.

I have not 're-drafted' myself into academia since 2005 when I completed my MBA with the Curtin University of Technology (Australia), Sarawak Campus in Miri. That too I did part-time over a two years period. Thus from 2006-2008 I was kept busy developing my eco-farm in Bintulu. I have decided to take up the DBA course this year because the farm 'has borne fruits' ( oil palm), literally and materially and thus could assist in financing my studies.

While the oil palm trees are my pension, my penchant for life long learning is a passion that I'll live forever.

Growing Heliconia Collection

2009-05-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

After about a year plus of actively adding to my collection of heliconias at my Bintulu and Kuching gardens, I realise that for the purpose my 2nd Solo Art Exhibition there would be enough quantities for use as displays or floral arrangement during the occasion. Of course one of the highlights of the show would be a live demonstration by me on the different styles of daily cut flowers based on heliconias among other plants.
Heliconias have a unique tropical aura and exotic look to them since they are native to the deep rainforests of Amazon and Borneo. Commonly called 'Bird of Paradise ' or 'Parrot Flower', they are indeed long lasting as cut flowers mostly about 2-3 weeks with cut tips in water. The duration speaks volumes of its economics. I grow them for their very colourful bracts ( false flowers). My latest collection is the Rainbow Heliconia (Heliconia wagneriana ) as seen below. Other ideas I have for the show are; sketches, paintings, batik and abstract, photography, binders, post cards all based on the subject of heliconias.

Rainbow Heliconia ( Heliconia wagneriana )

Heliconia latispatha

Parrot Flower (Heliconia psittacorum)

Lobster Claw ( Heliconia spp)

Heliconia psittacorum spp.

Parrot Flower ( Heliconia psittacorum)

Parrot Flower ( Heliconia psittacorum spp)

Fire Crackers ( Heliconia rostrata)

Lobster Claw ( Heliconis stricta )

Heliconia 'Sassy Pink'

Progress Towards 2nd Solo

2009-05-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

The show is scheduled 14.10.09 which is about 21 weeks from now. The adrenalin rush creeps in slowly. This last week I was busy with checking out possible venue for my 2nd Art Solo. A few organisations have expressed willingness to allow their buildings/rooms as venue. Seems that venue is not that critical now.

The progress so far:

# Checking world art sites, artist blogger sites, photographer's sites - 70%

#List of songs to be recorded/rehearsed - 10%

#Framing of paintings - 10%

#Conceptual layout of exhibition space - 20%

# Marketing Plan for Exhibition - 20%

# Updating of my relevant blogs for the show - cats (current), floral arrangement (catching up), photography-Bintulu and Kuching (current), landscaping ( catching up), history (behind schedule), poetry (current), eco-farming ( behind schedule)

( Note: Next Review Date : 1 June - 1 July - 1 August - 1 September - 1 October )

Over the many trips to Kuching, I have managed to transport about 14 big paintings from Bintulu, with more to be transported in near future. The above are some of the collections already in Kuching and framed.

Above is CU of my painting in mixed media entitled 'Door of Life' which is inspired from a short poem I wrote in 1974 called - 'Doors of Life '.

Doors of Life

The doors of life are always open

But it is to open our mind and heart

To be self-concious of Life and Existence

That remains a task.

If a bird must be, she must be

2009-05-17T03:39:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to have plenty of rest. I've been very busy the whole week that made me feel stressed but all for a good reason of which I'll speak about in later postings. Since we came to Kuching last week the front garden has given us much delight unceasingly greeting us with its colourful blooms . It has now become a popular spot for birds to perch and sing. Today Inul, our cat caught a chick from the garden and brought it in the house to show me. Before letting it free I took a close up view of it and reminded of a poem I wrote a long time ago. If a bird must be, she must be.

Windswept Lawn

Like a bird one day

I was out in the open air

rested on a tall casuarina branch

and looked onto the ground

It was a small garden

recently mown

the grasses were dense

dry and brown

The place was quiet

a little breeze blew

moved the silent leaves

and branches too

The house looked firm

friendly and warm

so I flew

to a lazy rattan chair

sat relaxed and heartily thought;

Here's indeed a place to rest

to seek a peaceful mind

a mind that will

remember and recall

this windswept lawn

the trees and house

I wish to be my own.

MOOD

May Flowering Trees ( Part I )

2009-05-11T03:43:00.000-07:00

I have been chasing after colours of the rainbow recently. I guess today would be a good time to show the results. About two days ago while shopping at Mile 7, I was lucky to come close to a drooping branch ( see inset) of the Golden Shower tree in the town's small park which was surrounded by rows of car parking lots. The Golden Shower tree ( Cassia fistula) is sometimes called the Indian Laburnum. It is deciduous to semi-evergreen in habit. During flowering the bright yellow flowers will drop or get blown by the wind forming a thin spread of golden droplets on the tree below which is most pleasant to see. If you walk past the tree you'll certainly be alerted by the drooping clusters of fragrant yellow flowers. A beauty to behold.

Golden Shower trees at Mile 7, Kuching.

Medium Shot of the Goa Tree in early flowering stage with beautiful lavender to light purple colours.

A full grown Goa Tree ( Andira surinamensis ) along a dual carriageway at Petrajaya, Kuching.

Goa Trees grow to a maximum height of about 20 m and are excellent roadside trees for the shade they offer. The flowers change colours to a darker purple when past their full blooming stage.

As a matter of fact, this morning news over the TV mentioned that the hot season in West Malaysia was reportedly hitting 36.5 degrees centigrade. For the life of me this is indeed very extreme. The temperature in Kuching ( East Malaysia) today is just around 33.5-34 degrees at its hottest. Indeed this steamy and dry month of May has induced flowering to many of the roadside trees here. This phenomena hopefully keep me busy for a few more weeks chasing after more colourful bursts of flowering trees throughout Sarawak's towns and countrysides.

The above picture was taken last week in Bintulu, showing the wide crown of the Yellow Flame tree ( Peltophorum pterocarpum) in flames of yellow.

I will not miss to plant this tree for our parks or bigger gardens here. The clusters of yellow flowers have crinkled petals. Like the Goa Trees they can stand tall to about 20 m high and provide much shade and beauty too. After each flowering season the Yellow Flame tree produces a multitude of rust-red and flat seed pods.

The Apple Blossom Tree

2009-05-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

We arrived safely in Kuching this late afternoon ( 6.30 p.m.) after a 10 hours journey by road from Bintulu. The weather was hot and sunny throughout except for a brief shower lasting for about 10 minutes before we reached the town of Sri Aman. With this trip Inul & Daisy ( see inset) would have chalked up another 600 km in their cumulative record to be the most travelled cats in Malaysia.

Along the Roban stretch of the Pan-Borneo Highway, I purposely made a pit stop at a primary school compound that has this beautiful Apple Blossom Tree or Javanese Cassia ( Cassia javanica) in early stages of flowering. Time flies. The last time that I wrote about this tree was here.,18th June,2008. With this observation, I can safely say that this tree flowers once in a year because I've been watching this tree ever since I had a picture of it taken approximately a year ago. Today I was keenly interested to have close-ups of the blossoms which I didn't managed to capture before.

Despite being native to South East Asia ( especially Malaysia and Indonesia) this tree is seldom planted in urban parks , roads or open spaces. I wish that more of these trees could be planted in future for its extremely lovely pink to red flowers that are heavily clustered. Propagation is through seeds that are borne in long pods after the flowering season. Note the ferny pinnate leaves and the prominent yellow stamens.

Another breathtaking view of the blossoms.

Daisy is alerted. She's got another 30 minutes to reach home. In the background slightly above her head are two 'durian' fruits in cement-ferro sculpture as icons for the town of Serian. Durian is known in Malaysia as the' King of Fruits'.

Things Bintulu # Tamu

2009-05-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

Sunday is a great day to do shopping at Bintulu's 'tamu'. At the 'tamu' ( local jungle produce market) one can get very exotic about things. Try eating 'sago worms', tiny fresh water turtles, frogs, rare jungle herbs and ferns, shoots of rattan climbers, bananas of all sizes and varieties, mangrove crabs, wild pigeons, ripe and unripe wild fruits...the list is endless depending on the seasons, geographical location and accessibility to the rural countryside.
Thus on every Sunday the sellers' repertoire is forever wondrously changing. This Sunday was no exception.

You need to skin off the frogs before consuming them in styles of your liking. Grilled, curry or deep fry.

The thick skin of rattan shoots are peeled off exposing a soft core that are best served roasted or sliced into smaller pieces as cooked vegetables in curry, boiled or salad. Most popular rattan species harvested for its shoots are what the local Ibans here call 'Upa Lalis' ( Plectocomiopsis geminiflora)

These huge bananas ( Musa sapientum L.,)called 'Pisang Tanduk' literally meaning ' Banana Horn' in Malay, are not eaten raw but are normally sliced and done as banana fritters

(Note:In front of the jungle produce seller are yams.)

Banana fritters from 'pisang tanduk' are my favourites for afternoon tea.

Creativity

2009-05-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Today I thought of just putting in words what I have been thinking (quietly) for the last two weeks. Its about creativity.

Why is creativity important for an organisation or any person for that matter?

The market place is fiercely competitive, you need to think of new products or services, new production methods and new procedures to ride the competition and stay ahead of the pack. It is in the interest of everyone to be creative. New ideas generation is possible at all levels of an organisation.

At the top level, existing competing ideas that are being re-modelled or re-packaged requires imagination. It's hardly that you need to re-invent the wheel every time you are faced with problems and finding solutions to them. That should clear off your mind from the insurmountable demands of being creative.

In many instances the manager or entrepreneur will need to juggle many types of thinking and leadership styles to suit different needs and situations at work. Though they appear eclectic or pragmatic in nature, it is creative at the same time because it is divergent thinking in action- where you look at different scenarios and many possible solutions.

Most of us are scared stiff to be an 'original 'thinker, to think outside the box ( who will pay for our 'craziness'?) because we are not adept at combining analytical thinking with creative thinking. Really its just a state of mind and more a question of the lack of creative thinking skills.

The science and art of creative thinking.

Very often we leave creative thinking to artists. As artists they excel in their ability to express our emotional, aesthetic , collective or our world view needs. It is for this main reason that we need art and artists. But should this mode of thinking be confined to artists? Like artists, scientists are also engrossed in their ideas till the moment of eureka. In hindsight, there is much logic required before the seemingly eureka fit. De Bono proposed that through lateral thinking we can indeed learn to recognise patterns of thought. Every valuable creative idea must always be logical to start with. Scientific papers are good examples of this. There are written in wonderfully logical fashion, but the progress of real science that precedes the papers depend on hunches, ruminations, accidents, imagination and luck. It just shows that scientists may need the heart of an artist to come out with new discoveries. Remember the falling apple.

Learning organisation

For many managers these days, the first rule is to break the rules. This is akin to Schumpeter's ' gale of creative destruction' philosophy. The goal is to imagine what you can make happen. We need to create the future. How do you embed this type of thinking into an organisation?

Organisations need to be a 'learning organisation' to survive the future. The competencies and skills involved are the ones we are already familiar with - empowerment, team leadership, continuous improvement, but should also include spiritual growth i.e. opening oneself to a progressively deeper reality and living life from a creative rather than a reactive view point.

This thinking discipline requires one to see current reality more clearly and ensuring the gap between vision and reality produces the creative tension from which learning arises.

The kind of leadership style suitable for this is transformational because it requires big changes in the mind to stay ahead in your business or industry. When called upon we should be able as individuals to excercise the free will to juxtapose the many intelligences we possess ( EQ- emotional and ecological ,IQ, SQ- social and spiritual) to solve whatever pressings needs we are faced with. This is our God given gift.

Globalisation - clash or collaborate

The only constant in life is change. I put it that conscious change can only be accelerated through creative thinking. For instance, in seeing today's globalisation it may be a good idea ( a creative one?) to see globalisation not as a clash of cultures but a collaboration of cultures. With this new paradigm we would then be able to see the world that's fast emerging from the meeting of new values, technologies, new lifestyles, new modes of communication in better ways by turning to wholly new ideas, analogies, classifications and concepts.

The future is uncertain of course and we cannot predict it perfectly. But learn to look at it from a creative angle and you'll be surprised at its novelty. Isn't it the best time for us now to come to terms with this deepest of social upheaval and a creative re-structuring of all time? Creative thinking will help us shift our existing paradigm by propelling it to creative leaps towards a more prosperous, peaceful and progressive future. It's never too late to be creative.

( Note: This abstract painting ( paint on board, 4'x8') done in 1995 will be showcased in my 2nd solo exhibition, scheduled 14.10.09 at Kuching)

Yellow Flame

2009-05-01T04:40:00.000-07:00

While driving around Bintulu town this morning I saw lines of Yellow Flame trees ( Peltophorum pterocarpum) that were emblazoned with striking yellow inflorescence's . A considerable number of major roads in Bintulu were planted with Yellow Flame since 20 years ago. Next to the newly renovated Chinese temple in town I saw one very established stand that provided much shade and beauty to the surrounding area. Yellow Flame is also referred to as 'Batai Laut' in Malay and is a native tree to coastal areas of Malaysia, Bintulu included. It has a fast growing habit and mature tress can be planted as instant trees if you wish to enjoy its beauty sooner. Bintulu's sandy, well-drained clayey soils and sunny temperatures are ideal for its growth. Its golden yellow flowers are borne on terminal branches.
The leaves are dark green and its light grey bark is used to dye 'batik' clothes producing a dark brown colour by 'batik' makers in Indonesia especially on the island of Java.
Judging from today's excellent showing I wish more roadsides will be planted with Yellow Flame in future.

Things Bintulu # Fresh Fishes

2009-04-29T22:59:00.000-07:00

Now back at Bintulu, my instincts tell me to rush for the fish market. Fresh fishes is synonymous with Bintulu among many others like natural gas, deep water port, timber country, oil palm country and hydro-power. It has a vast expanse of open sea that reaches the coasts of Cambodia and Vietnam to the north, Thailand to the west and Philippines to the east. But more importantly the local Melanaus who are natural fishermen and sailors were once known to send the last of the remaining pirates off the coast of Bintulu and never to return back. Today they go fishing farther offshore and their catches are sold at the popular fish markets in town. All sorts and sizes of deep sea fishes are obtainable at the fish market. Compare to what I get in Kuching, I'll put Bintulu fishes at the 5- star status while Kuching's on the scale of a 3 -star for freshness and varieties of fishes at the market's tables. The types of fishes easily available are pomfret, tuna, red snapper, sharks, sting rays, cuttlefish and prawns.

Fish being dried on the fish market jetty and plank walk.

Note the feather-leaved 'nipah' palms ( Nypa fruticans) that live submerged in water. The leaves are used as palm shingles ( 'atap') and sometimes as cigarette papers and fishing floats. Nypa palms also are useful plants to fight coastal erosion and tsunamis.

My favourite market is the one located at the edge of the village called Kampung Baru. The fish market is built next to the Sebiew River and close to the local fishermen houses.

The houses are very colourfully painted just like their boats due largely to the fact that in open seas, the strong colours of the boats could help indentify them from afar.
Today I decided to buy two young tuna fishes that would be smoked or grilled later at the farm.

Local fishermen's houses are exclusively of timber materials and the posts are practically of the hardest timber in Sarawak called the 'belian'. The belian wood will not rot in water and will last for a lifetime, and may be more.

Back to Bintulu

2009-04-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

After a 10 hours journey through Sarawak's green countryside we arrived at 7.00 pm yesterday evening ( 27/4) in relative darkness at our farm in Bintulu. Throughout the whole journey the skies were cloudy and we encountered light showers briefly towards the middle part of the journey. Before leaving the house in Kuching I had a short morning workout in the garden. Planted plants where necessary and applied manure heavily to some of the beds. I was very happy to see the planting results to the front garden so far. Thus after I finished the early morning workout I took this close-up image of a pink canna ( inset) and the front garden too before departure. Canna blooms will last for about a week because other buds on the flowering stalk will open up in succession.

The front garden with orange flowers of the ixora coccinea at the foreground and two pink canna blooms in the middle background.

As usual our two cats Inul and Mama Daisy joined us to make this their 14th trip to Bintulu in their record breaking attempt for the most travelled cats in Sarawak. More stories of their adventure can be gleaned here.

On this trip we visited the town of Sarikei with about half of the journey covered. I insert below a picture of Sarikei 's express boat terminal. In the days of river transportation the terminal was very busy because it was the only means of travel to and out of the town. While today the mode of travelling by road is more popular it cannot yet replace the express boats for upriver or downriver destinations .

Boats at Sarikei Express Boat Terminal

A river scene at Selangau, the last leg of the journey.

Most longhouses or 'kampungs' in Sarawak are sited along major rivers to capitalise on its water resource for drinking, bathing, washing, cooking, etc,. and for means of transport.

The farm at 7.00 pm showing a new moon on the western sky.

View of Kuching Waterfront

2009-04-26T01:03:00.000-07:00

In my earlier posts about the sights and scenes around the Kuching waterfront, I have used still images. In this post I'm inserting a video clip that I hope will give a better story about this unique spot. The video story board starts with a long shot of the newly completed Sarawak State Legislative Assembly building which stood imposing and out of scale to the surrounding landscape. Then as I pan slowly to the left you can see the still waters of the Sarawak River and the wide pedestrian walk along the waterfront. Somewhere towards the middle of the video I tilted down the camera phone lens ( N93 i) to the mosaic pavement with Sarawak ethnic design motives. Finally I pan further left to show the view of the waterfront with tall hotels and suites as backdrop. Before the video ends, I froze the shot to a pontoon where two passengers alighted from the small ferry boat called ' tambang' in the local dialect. Have a nice day and an enjoyable weekend. ( Note: The next post will be published from Bintulu as we'll be taking the 10 hours journey by road to Bintulu early tomorrow morning.)

Orchids at Satok Flower Market

2009-04-25T03:21:00.000-07:00

On every Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning when the weather is fine it's pleasant to be at the Satok flower market. The flower market exists only during the weekend when the shopping crowd gathers for the best bargain on food and other domestic essentials that are the prime appeal to the shopping experience here. And the flower market is just another delightful add- on to the shopping fiesta which originally started on Sundays but over the years has moved slightly forward due to popular demand. At the flower market new plants varieties are regularly showcased by nursery owners around Kuching. Today I was extremely impressed by the rich and spectacular collection of orchids available for sale. You can have a good idea of the many varieties by clicking the video below.( Note: The quality of the video may not be excellent. Guess it must be my nervous hands and too eager feet. Anyway , hope you'll enjoy it :))

Close up of 'Normah Orchid' above was taken at the Padawan Wild Orchids and Pitcher Plants Centre sometime ago.

Testing, testing, testing....

2009-04-24T07:16:00.000-07:00

I was borrowing books from the State Library this afternoon. The 'Pustaka Negeri Sarawak' as it is called is located at Petrajaya, the administrative hub of Sarawak. While the books collection here is still very far from ideal, the good little news is that most of the books on display are relatively new books. Being a member I'm entitled to borrow 6 books at a time and the holding period is 2 weeks. However you can renew the books by phone provided you do it at least a day before due date. I think this arrangement is marvellous considering the fact that the distance from my house to Petrajaya is about 30 minutes drive and probably an hour if caught in a traffic jam. The best part is that I too can make the renewal from Bintulu which is 600 km from Kuching. Either way the arrangement by phone is very practical and convenient. The Library's website is here.

Just outside the library a small crowd was enjoying aerobic dancing. Anyone is free to join. I was given to understand that on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday of the week aerobic exercises are held here to encourage the Kuching public adopt a healthy life style. Aerobic sessions are held from 4.30 pm - 6.00 pm when the weather is slightly cooler. Well, this is my first attempt to add a video in my blog. Friends, if you can play it wonderful! If not do tell me. Hope you enjoy the video.

Kuching Garden Progress

2009-04-22T04:44:00.000-07:00

20 April'09

Our front garden in Kuching is now about 1 year 4 months old. The planting progress photographs are shown below. Up to this point my initial design concept is more or less achieved. Just this month I added one cordyline plant, variegated yellow in colour for that golden sparkle to the garden. Now every morning I'll take a brief excercise at the front porch and then go for a bicycle ride around the neighbourhood. It's good for the health.

20 April'09

4 Dec.'08

7 June'08

30 March'08

18 Dec.'07

The Malay Apple Tree

2009-04-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

This is the Malay Apple tree ( Syzgium malaccense) in full bloom that I saw planted next to a Malay village house at Kampung Buntal, some 30 minutes drive from Kuching city. I have not seen one flowering for quite sometime now due to the fact that many of these trees have been cut down to make way for the construction of more houses in the villages. Thus the sight of this tree was a fast rewind to my childhood days when I used to hunt for birds frequenting them.
Malays like to plant them for their sweet edible fruits the size of apples. It would normally take about three months after flowering before the tree can bear fruits. They are medium sized trees ( 12-15 m) high and loves the full sun. The leaves are dark green and relatively broad. In many instances I prefer to eat the fruits semi-ripe as salad and can be dipped in soybean sauce ( ketchup) or shrimp paste (' belacan') for that extra 'umpphh'.
I always like to advocate that these trees be re-introduced into urban planting e.g. roadsides, parks and open spaces, school compounds etc because they are very attractive to birds and wildlife and have an attractive compact form. Propagation is easily done through seeds. The local name for the tree is 'Jambu Bol'.
The flowers are pink to light red and are attractive to wildlife especially starlings and wild doves.

Waterfront Scenes

2009-04-20T08:10:00.001-07:00

Today as I walked along the Kuching Waterfront area I noticed the new DUN building ( Dewan Undangan Rakyat) surroundings are slowly being tidied up and grassing works are underway to control erosion and beautify the river bank . I guess upon completion, this building will be another tourist attraction for Kuching city. The building will house the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly - a law making and local governance body that ensures that the practise of democracy is kept alive and functioning in Sarawak. However the area around the building seemed lacking in any tourism -related facilities and presently is best viewed from a distance.

The tourist buzz is much lacking these days. Is it due to the global slump? River boats are parked by the pontoons but there are very few tourists to join the boat ride. The scenes looked economically eerie for today.

Tissue Cake ( Roti Tisu)

2009-04-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

It was a surprise of sorts when I dropped by a coffee shop cum restaurant at Mile 7, Kuching- Serian Road called the 'Bombay Masala'. I ventured to attempt a unique snack called the 'Roti Tisu' loosely translated to mean ' tissue cake'. Well it was thin like tissue paper but managed to fold itself like a pyramid. A sugarly red solution was sprayed lightly from the peak and you dip the thin pancake into curry. Tasted good. On the right is the local 'Teh Tarik' which is tea plus milk, a local favourite for drinking while eating 'Roti Canai'- another popular pancake consumed by all age profiles and creeds of Malaysia. What will they think next to retain customers?

Creative Students

2009-04-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

While shopping for books at the Spring shopping complex I bumped into a group of students from Limkokwing Institute of Creative Technology. The students were busy clicking cameras as part of their 'Model Search' project. Anyone willing to be photographed and be in the limelight was welcomed. The Limkokwing University of Creative Technology is a global university with campuses in Malaysia ( Sarawak,Borneo included) , UK, China,Cambodia,Botswana and Lesotho. What's interesting is that a student of Limkokwing Borneo has the opportunity to conduct part of his/her studies in any of its campuses worldwide. A point worth noting in times of globalisation and a much flatter world where human resources should be exposed to a world of diversities and cultural exchanges early in their career training. At another corner I saw one student adept at sketching doing portraits and caricatures of willing shoppers, albeit at a small price.

Kuching Cannas

2009-04-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

Kuching is a unique. For one it has two city authorities. The Kuching City North and Kuching City South both having one City Mayor each. Today I took a drive to the Kuching City South Building which is coloured blue as in the above picture. What delighted me was this wide row of cannas that is planted at the central road median leading to the building which is the headquarters of the Kuching City South administration. This is easily the longest stretch of cannas planting in Sarawak. It is about 200 m ( two hundred) in length. In my travels throughout Sarawak this planting plot is the longest I've seen for cannas so far. Three colourful varieties are planted here -Yellow, Orange and Red.
Cannas are native to tropical regions like Malaysia and South America. Cannas live exuberantly in the really hot sun and heavy rain partly due to its having soft and succulent stems requiring lots of water to keep the stems erect throughout the day. They are planted for their bright and large coloured petalled flowers that are a wonder if planted in big masses. However it is very important to remove spent flowers or stems as they might appear messy and not pleasing to the eyes. Being perennials they don't last too long probably 1-3 years with intensive care. Thus planting beds need to be refurbished with new manure and retilled to achieve best results.

The above shows two views of the central median with cannas as the center of attraction. Seen above are two other species that provide shirting to the canna beds. Firstly the golden leaves of the Golden Dewdrop ( Duranta repens) and the red coloured leaves of the Bloodleaf ( Iresine herbstii) both of which are low maintenance plants and suitable for open sunny locations and a survivor to heavy pruning.

A China Story

2009-04-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

Entrance to the Carpenter Street with a unique 'Room on top of the Stairs'

We went around the 'China Town' area of Kuching yesterday to window shop for book shelves in particular the well known Carpenter Street - resident to the very early commercial carpenters of Kuching. Well, nearly the whole of downtown Kuching is a big 'China Town'. It was and is still now.

The Chinese has a strong grasp of all trades in the Malaysian economy ( 80%)and Sarawak is no exception. Thus 'China Town' enclaves are everywhere in Malaysia.
Traditionally when the Chinese set up shop in Sarawak, they lived, work and play within the close quarters of their shop. Walking around any China town one sees a microcosm of China - a nation of shopkeepers. Business is so intertwined in Chinese culture that this entrepreneurial spirit was what the British admired about them and the main reason why they imported them from as far away places like China to Sarawak in the nascent days of populating and developing the state. But that's all history. Now the Chinese form a distinct component in the racial makeup of Malaysia. There is however an interesting twist to this preoccupation with business. For many reasons the Chinese in Malaysia do not like to have big families and their reproductive ratio is low compared with other races. Thus we see in Malaysia the trend that by 2030 the population projection is 80% Malays( plus other native races) and 20% Chinese. On another level, I read often that due to the same low reproductive ratio, Singapore( having Chinese as the dominant ethnic group) soon will be having more foreigners than local staying within the tiny island state to the ratio of 1:2.

A colourful side lane to the Carpenter Street. Here old shop houses are increasingly modified to capture the growing tourism business. While furniture shop are still around newer business establishments include bed and breakfast lodgings or inns, handicraft or souvenir shops, travel agencies, gold and jewellery shops.

The old quarters of Carpenter Street. Narrow lane like above is typical of Carpenter Street and is reminiscent of the days of 3-in-1 concept of work, stay and play . This off shot lane is called 'Upper China Street'

Chewy Narcotic

2009-04-13T04:52:00.000-07:00

A row of 'Pinang 'Trees ( Areca Catechu) with bunches of orange oval fruits.

In rural villages of Sarawak the sight of tall palms over topping the village landscape is a common if not typical scenery. Rural folks plant coconut and betel palms for their fruits. The betel nut palm is locally known as 'Pinang' and there is even a state in Malaysia that derived its name from the betel palm i.e. the island of Pulau Pinang ( 'Penang' in colloquial English), sometimes also known as 'The Pearl of the Orient' among tourism circles.

The betel palm ( Arecha catechu) is native to this part of the world including Indonesia. The palm is single-trunked and topped with a cluster of terminal fronds. Below the bases of the fronds are branches of the ripe fruits in colours of yellow, orange or red. To collect the fruits requires the skill of an experienced climber because the trees can reach a height of 12-20 meters high.

The fruits are sold ( see inset) as jungle produce items at many a local jungle produce markets throughout Sarawak. For landscaping purposes I feel that more betel nut palms should be grown in urban parks or open spaces in Sarawak. Presently they are being sidelined in favour of expensive imported palms, which I think is most unwise. Its narrow crown and slim trunk demand very little space and therefore suitable to be planted in small urban residential gardens. Furthermore its roots aren't too adventurous and yet withstand extreme wind velocities. I prefer to plant them in a small group of threes or fives forming a 'groove-like' composition.

CU of the betel fruit exposing the white-fleshed nut in the center, which is edible.

The Malays or native ladies of Sarawak ( my mother included) love to chew the nuts as a mild narcotic. The oval fruits is cut into half and the nut sliced thinly before it is chewed together with lime and betel pepper leaves ( Piper betel). There is a rich cultural tradition of consuming the betel nuts and betel leaves that survive to this day. The practise of consuming them is prevalent in marriage ceremonies, traditional healing rituals and many casual social gatherings.

From ripe seeds Pinang trees are easily propagated and the palms bear fruits throughout the year.

Selling Memories

2009-04-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

A selection of old memories of Kuching from colonial buildings to personalities and places are sold here at Satok Sunday market.

If you go the the Satok Sunday market don't forget to drop by at a stall that sell memories. The stall owner sells old photographs of Kuching especially the romantic and adventurous early history of Kuching . The focus of the photographs are places in and around Kuching during the early days of Brooke rule, the Brooke's personalities or figures, events and historical buildings of the colonial period. Most of the photographs are laminated and a few are framed. Customers are local residents, visitors and tourists. I noticed his repertoire of photographs quite sizable . The first Rajah ( monarch) of Sarawak is James Brooke a British ex-soldier-cum-adventurer who was given the region around today's Kuching after he managed to quell a local rebellion there in 1841. Those were the romantic days. His picture is shown above at the bottom left row. There are accounts that because of this successful military adventure he was given the region around Kuching as reward. In the Malay language " Serah Kepada Awak" means "hand over to you", in short "Serawak" from which originated the state's present name "SARAWAK". That's history if you are willing to buy.

The above photograph shows the Ranee Margaret of Sarawak with aristocratic Malay ladies in Malay costume, circa early 20th century.

Charles Brooke was the nephew of the first Rajah who became the second Rajah of Sarawak after the death of Sir James Brooke. Charles Brooke married his 19 year old cousin Margaret de Windt hoping to have a heir to the Brooke monarchy. The Ranee Margaret became a popular and loved figure in Sarawak. She spent 17 years in Sarawak and gave birth to three sons. One of them , Vyner was to become the third Rajah of Sarawak in 1917, a week after the death of his father. The Brookes handed over Sarawak to the British crown ( colonial government) in 1946, a year after the Japanese were defeated from their short military occupation of Sarawak from 1941-1945. The colonial government ruled Sarawak from 1946-1963. In 1963 Sarawak, Sabah, Singapore and Malaya formed Malaysia and thereby achieved Independence from the British.

"Uptown Cat" Exhibition

2009-04-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

The paintings displayed at the Lobby of the Kuching Cat Museum.

This afternoon I visited an exhibition of paintings by four Kuching artists on the subject of cats. The painting exhibition was held at the Kuching Cat Museum, located at the Kuching North City Building at Petrajaya. The word 'Kuching' in Malay means cat. Kuching is therefore very much a cat city. On display were various paintings executed in different media. It seems to me that this painting exhibition is the most contemporary on cats.

The above acrylic painting is done by Ramsay Ong on tree bark cloth of the 'Tekalong' tree or wild breadfruit tree. Tree barks are traditionally used as garments but here Ramsay uses it as a visual painting media rich in texture.

Stephanie Eng's work on acrylic depicting two cats.

Above, Narong Daun uses fabric dye on silk textile.

Michael Lim's batik rendition of the Malay civet cat.

April Shower

2009-04-12T01:19:00.000-07:00

I just can't stop admiring the flamboyant April showers of Kuching.
The Golden Shower tree ( Cassia fistula) dripping in showers of gold and the Shower Orchid Vine ( Congea tomentosa) bursting its velvety sprays into the April air is indeed a pleasure to see. This is the kind of green investment that brings much reward as well as admiration of Kuching as a botanical or garden city. Well you can say that its ROI ( Return of Investment) is in the flow of tourists clicking their cameras and videos while touring its gardens, parks and other landscaped urban spaces.

The Golden Shower ( Cassia fistula) with drooping clusters of yellow flowers seen at a mini-park at Mile 7 town,Kuching,

While shopping at the Satok Sunday market this morning, I came across this large evergreen shrub often referred to as the Shower Orchid Vine ( Congea tomentosa) showing off its masses of lavender pink to mauve bracts from a residential house at the edge of the market. A closer look at the inflorescence's reveal sprays of small flowers in groups. Each group is made up of four velvety lavender pink bracts. The center flowers are tiny and insignificant. The Congea is a native to this part of the world i.e. Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar. However this species has been grown in many parts of tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world and happily naturalised there over time.

The Shower Orchid Vine ( Congea tomentosa) loves full sun and being a vigorous grower demands ample space.

Trailing Parasol

2009-04-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

Who's that wearing the Chinese Hat at the fence? Her face red in the hot sun? Looking chubby all day long? Are the Dragon girls in town? Like light umbrellas or a hundred beach umbrellas shielding us from the hot sun, these tiny inflorescences of the Cup and Saucer plants ( Holmekioldia sanguinea) are having a fantastic time trailing along my south fence . It was not easy for me to get them established since five months ago. But once set, they spread along the low fence fast albeit with a little help from a caring hand. Now my idea of having a fence that is glowing in orangy red inflorescence's daily is achieved. On closer look the Holmekiolda sanguinea plant has crimson trumpet-like flowers ( here looking like cups) that protrude from a base of orange-red calyxes -that resemble saucers. This Cup and Saucer plant is best grown in the open sun and needs support like the metal fence to encourage its trailing or shall I say foraging habit. I'm inclined to believe after seeing this tiny success that the Holmekioldia is an excellent tropical trailer for small urban gardens.

Colourful Hearts

2009-04-10T03:50:00.000-07:00

View of side garden with coleus planted as cover in border planting.

I am pleasantly surprised to see the coleus plants parading their best colours today. It must have been the manure that I generously applied before I left for Bintulu two weeks ago that did the magic. Coleus ( Solenostemon scutellariodes ) are known here as 'Ati- Ati ' derived from the Malay root word 'Hati- Hati' meaning hearts. I plant them for their gorgeously bright multi- coloured foliage. In our tropical evergreen environment where the green wash is an everyday occurrence, splashes of colours can be obtained by planting the coleus plants. Being herbaceous perennials ( i.e. they don't have woody stems above the ground) they are rather short-lived,maybe surviving for 1-3 years at the most. However they grow very fast and thus useful for 'instant' garden results. It is important to prune them head back after every flowering season for renewed growth and fresh new foliage thus creating showy masses of colours in the garden daily.

Collection of Coleus Plant Cultivars at my Kuching Garden presently:

Photographing Kuching

2009-04-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

I'm back in Kuching. As usual I'd pay a visit to my favourite haunt- the Kuching waterfront area. Two things stood out. First the obvious. The lettering 'ASTANA' is now replaced in bold letters. Secondly, despite having many walks around the Kuching waterfront before, I failed to notice a relief sculpture that was somewhat hidden in a corner at the crowded waterfront area. The title of the relief is 'Pak Tambang' and is dedicated to the boatmen (in Malay 'Pak Tambang') who ferried thousands of people from both sides of the Sarawak river around the Kuching waterfront daily. How often do we take things for granted in life? These unsung heroes have an awesome record of ferrying people safely for generations. Now the going rate per crossing is 40 sen which is peanuts for the thrill , safety and comfort of crossing the river.

Relief sculpture in bronze and mosaic ( approx. 2 m x 3m ) entitled 'Pak Tambang' depicting the unsung heroes of the Sarawak River.

In the far background the wordings signifying the 'ASTANA' stood out in flashy and bold stainless steel lettering. The Astana is currently home to the Governor of Sarawak. In history it was always home to the three white Rajahs of Sarawak who ruled Sarawak from 1841- 1946.
Note: All pictures taken before in this blog and now is still using my camera phone N93i.

We Breathe, We Fight

2009-04-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

Opposition billboard with their battle cry ( in the Iban language) : Agi Idup, Agi Ngelaban ( We Breathe, We Fight)

Today ( 7 April) we took the highway to Kuching. We started the journey at 9.00 am from Bintulu. As usual our two cats Daisy and Inul joined us on their separate mission to create a new Malaysian record for the most travelled cats in Malaysia. However along the way we were caught by the election fever at Lubok Antu, which is about three quarters of our journey to Kuching. An half an hour diversion from the Pan- Borneo Highway brought us to the little town of Lubok Antu. Today it was bustling with cars, buses, 4x4 wheels vehicles, trucks on the roads and longboats and speed boats on the river. The Lubok Antu town was in a fiesta mood with make- shift stalls selling goodies, souvenirs, foods and drinks to thousands of people who congregate to cast their votes and later to witness the counting of ballot papers. We arrived at the town around 4.30 pm just half an hour before the casting of votes was over. I guess by the time we arrived Kuching in the evening the the results of voting would have been aired.

Opposition election banner in the river screams - 'Eliminate Our Land Robbers' ( In Malay - Hapuskan Perompak Tanah Kami)

What amazes me on this detour was the prevalence of poster war around the town. Two political parties are vying for the vacant state seat as a result of the death of its former representative. The Barisan Nasional (BN) - a coalition of ethnic or race-based political parties is challenged by the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) - a multi-racial party that accept common membership from the state's diverse races.

Walking around the town I noticed there seemed to be a even fight judging from the posters and people who wear T-shirts and uniforms displaying their political identities. The majority of the electorate here consisted of the Ibans (90%) and the balance a sprinkle of Malay, Chinese and other minority registered voters.

The main political issue raised by the opposition party is the up scaling of land grab by the government on the traditional lands of the Ibans which they claimed rights since generations ago but are frustratingly unrecognised by the government of the day. Increasingly huge tracts of Iban lands which they cleared manually for shifting agriculture are being taken from their hands for conversion into oil palm estates reserved for corporate bodies or outside companies. Their dire struggle against the State land laws becomes the main thrust of opposition agenda in Sarawak currently. The above inset of the rattan baskets sold abundantly along the town's 5-foot way epitomises the principal form of livelihood of the Ibans here. The rattan carrying baskets are used to carry ripe paddy stalks, jungle produce items and are borne by the men as well as women folks here. It is indeed a practical aid for rural farmers.

Police presence was everywhere and gave much confidence for the people to come to town. Inset shows a video filmer in action.
Location: Just outside the vote casting centre.

Addendum: We arrived Kuching at around 8.30 pm and by 9.00 pm the by-election results has been announced over the national TV ( RTM1). In the by-election, Malcolm Mussem of Barisan Nasional (BN) ( an Iban engineer) won with a majority of 1,854 votes after polling 3,907 votes, against the opposition candidate Jawah Gerang 's poll of 2,053 votes. Best man win. And democracy is alive and kicking.

I'm Blogged

2009-04-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

I was lost for words when I read Deb Peterson's comments on my post "Art Through the Years' published in this blog earlier . Deb is a Guide to Continuing Education at About.com, part of the New York Times company. In her blog she highlighted on my idea of showcasing my various interests in my coming 2nd solo art exhibition. Her blog is here. I felt deeply honoured,touched and overwhelmed with joy upon reading her write up. I'm encouraged more than ever to make a real success of the exhibition especially now that it has attracted interest from across the Pacific.

Life-long learning is a growing passion for me. I remember a few years ago when I was doing a garden for a Japanese lady in Bintulu. She casually mentioned in very simple words how important is learning to an individual. She said knowledge is kept in our head. It will always be with you wherever you go. How can you not benefit from learning? On a more philosophical level, I believe that we humans are honey gatherers of the mind. We fly back and forth to treasure up the beehives of our knowledge - where our true heart lies. In the best of human spirit whatever knowledge we have should be used to prosper mankind. Through the Internet and Blogging we are empowered to share knowledge on a scale unimagined of a generation earlier - borderless, online and with the minutest of cost. So, Deb the pleasure is mine.

We Were Once Kids

2009-04-05T05:58:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I saw these joyful kids playing at an open space by the village of Kampung Jepak where my worker lives. I took a moment to take a picture of them. I was thinking of the nostalgic days when I was a kid like them spending endless hours playing with my brothers or sisters and friends. What did I do after school hours when I was like them say at the age of 4- 12 years old?

Under the category of 'Helping Out Parents' I did the following:

1) Collect firewood from a nearby sawmill that was located on the opposite side of the river. It required me and my brothers to paddle a small boat . A frightening experience when the boat was loaded and had to navigate the waves from passing ships . Never did our boat collide or sank. Thanks to the Almighty.

2) Sell cakes & ice cream which entailed me to walk for miles around the village or town . Over the years became knowledgeable about Who's Who in the village or town, especially those with spending power.

3) Water plants,sweep garden floor and help burn garden debris - almost on daily basis.That could be how I was indoctrinated into gardening. Green fingers are created young. Did Confucius say that??

4) Shopping for emergency supplies- cigarettes, sugar, milk, flour, fruits, etc

5) AOB - carry out miscellaneous errands like collect clothes from working bachelors who contracted out their laundry washing to my mother. Then send back the clothes cleaned and ironed .

'Just Having Fun ' Category list of activities:

1) Swimming in the river

2) Fishing by the stream or river

3) Bicycling around town or village

4) Play football or badminton and other traditional games e.g. kite flying and marbles,

5) Play hide and seek

6) Shoot birds and mudskippers using catapult

7) Play see-saw and swing at the only public park in town

Reflecting on my childhood days I think I had my share of the fun days as well as the 'hard' days.

More of the former than the latter. I guess -Kids just wanna have fun.

Art Through the Years

2009-04-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

My most treasured Art certificate , stenciled on blue manila card. Simple yet priceless. Year: 1966
I have been addicted to Art since my primary school days. When I was 15 years old I won a second place in our school-wide art competition. For that I was awarded a certificate which I still keep because it meant so much to me. Walking up the stage to receive the certificate was a very memorable moment in my life.

Painting plein air at the Brighton Beach, Miri,1968. ( Inset) I'm the one on right of the picture.Note: One of my senoirs at school told me later in life that I was one of those kids who joined the school small, and left the school - small. He admitted I was indeed his 'compact' friend!.I knew now that I was always a late developer. And for that reason I take it to be my duty to learn life-long.

In 1967 I continued my upper secondary schooling at Tanjong Lobang School , Miri. For four intensive years I opted for Art as one of my favourite subjects, among others like Geography, History and General Science. In Miri I was under the masterly guidance of Mr. Voong, my Art teacher who migrated to Australia after I finished my studies at the school. He was instrumental in providing the proper basic Art education in my early formative years. Thanks to him I've never stopped learning Art. In 1970 I sat for the Higher School Certificate and obtained a Principal Pass A in Art. Later in my university days ( 1971-1973) I took History as my major, but never forget to add Art-related subjects as option like - Aesthetics, Buddhist Sculpture in South East Asia, Drama in South East Asia, Puppet Theatre and Children's Theatre. Through these formal studies I learnt many philosophies, methods, techniques, concepts and appreciation of Art in a very wide context.

Friends and Artists pose at my 1 st Solo Exhibition, 14/10/1981, Kuching.

In 1981, I got a new job as an administrator in housing development with a major regional development agency having headquarters at Kuching. Being the Art capital of Sarawak, I took this opportunity to organise my 1st Solo Art Exhibition there. Held at the Sarawak Museum it was the first solo I ever did and grateful that I made it.

Me painting in 1992 at my studio, Bintulu.

It has been a long, very long time that I have not hold any solo exhibition. I have made a commitment to undertake it this year. Like the first solo, it was held to celebrate my 30th birthday and this year's will be to celebrate my 58th . I have less than 27 weeks to prepare for the big day. Anyway, like what is fashionable now, I have opened a web blog to record my thinking, preparation etc for the coming exhibition.To follow, click here. However this new exhibition will be very different because it will integrate all my diverse interests ( I picked along the way) in the show as follows: Photography, Landscaping, Gardening, Writing, Cats, Floral Art, Singing and finally Blogging. The exhibition will showcase my Life Story.

About Bintulu Port

2009-04-01T21:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I took a 25 km drive north of Bintulu town to the bustling industrial heartland of Kidurong, a satellite town of Bintulu. At the very end of the Kidurong highway was this unique building. It's not that the Titanic has landed on Bintulu's shores. Rather it an ultra-modern building belonging to the Bintulu Port Authority, a Federal agency under the Minister of Transport that was set up about 30 years ago to develop the port infrastructures at Kidurong for the export of liquified natural gas. Thus it took a slow momentum to fully develop Kidurong into one of the most successful petro-chemical zone in Malaysia it is today. Within Sarawak soil there's nothing to beat it. Bintulu Port has been a major player in the gradual build-up of the immediate industrial heartland and also the outlying far reaches of Bintulu's rural hinterland.

Bintulu is naturally endowed with vast exploitable forests, minerals, deep sea, beaches and rivers. From these resources a very robust, diversified and profitable economic superstructure has been developed over the last 30 years that transformed it from a sleepy hollow to an industrial showpiece presently. Being a Bintuluian, I am witness to its evolution and at different times a participant to its progress, physical or otherwise. To me 30 years is just like yesterday when there was not even a road link from Bintulu town to Kidurong. But many more things can happen here because Bintulu seems never to sleep from the long slumber it was subjected to before the opening up of Kidurong.

Kidurong Heavy Industrial zone, showing LNG complex -biggest in the world in a single location.

Outside the gazetted Bintulu Port area is a rim of heavy industrial undertakings. From the foreground to the back of the picture is the largest installation of liquified natural gas(LNG) in one locality in the world which is constituted of three huge LNG plants and 6 storage tanks,maze of pipelines and process buildings and tall flares that can be seen from as far as 30 kilometers at night. The inset below shows 6 huge tanks that store the LNG temporarily before they are piped to waiting LNG ships that berth at the Bintulu Port's three LNG jetties. Bintulu Port grew rich due to income from the LNG export terminals where it provides berthing, stevedoring and towage facilities to the many LNG ships. Don't be surprised that the jetty terminals can load two LNG ships per day with each loading taking an average of 12 hours. This being the current trend. Since is operation, the LNG cargoes form close to 60% of the total tonnage handled yearly.

But Bintulu Port is more than LNG export terminals. With the further utilisation of oil and gas resources Bintulu became the centre of crude oil storage and exporting point, the off shore gas that has been processed by Sarawak SHELL are piped to other industrial users. Principally among them are the Asean Bintulu Fertiliser Plant ( that use it to manufacture urea, granular fertiliser etc.,) Sarawak SHELL MDS( Middle Distillate Synthesis) Plant - that process the gas synthetically to manufature downstream products like paraffin wax, diesel fuel, kerosene, aviation fuel etc., using gas-to-liquid(GTL) technology, Petronas Gas Berhad ( that process and bottle the gas for domestic and industrial consumption as burning fuel) and many other smaller refining facilites that uses the natural gas for heating ( e.g. oil palm boilers for the production of cooking oil) and Sarawak Electricity Corporation ( that uses the gas for generating electricity by gas turbines) .

The three LNG jetties that are owned by the Bintulu Port, providing berthing and towage facilities to LNG ships before leaving the port to Taiwan, Tokyo and Korea.

To me there's no stopping the role that Bintulu Port will play in the future growth and development of Bintulu. Besides the petro-chemical industries Bintulu Port also handle bulk cargo and containerisation. The list of bulk cargoes it handles are : crude oil, crude palm oil, plywood, timber mouldings, sawn timber, veneer, medium density fibreboards, raw silica sand for export and a whole list of consumer goods both for export and import. The internationalisation of trade it promotes has currently made Bintulu into a well-known destination for cruise ships that bring visitors from far away destinations like Singapore, Hong Kong and many more other places in future.

The future of Bintulu Port lies very much in the forward thinking of its major shareholders as well as its other stake holders to stimulate and step up the further utilisation and operational infrastrucures it can offer.

Jungle Green

2009-04-01T04:22:00.000-07:00

I miss the coolness of forest cover whenever I'm in Kuching. Here at my eco-farm in Bintulu, I would take the first opportunity to walk under its dense canopy to observe in greater details its plant life or wildlife which I missed or fail to observe before. Since the forest cover is literally a teeming arena of life, an hour spent is like marvelling at the wonders of Mother Nature waiting to be discovered . The above picture is taken at a vegetation island about 100 meters from my chalet.

A solitary clump of 'Palas' or Licuala spinosa, over topping a meter high above me.

The Licuala Palm ( Licuala spinosa) grows naturally at many undisturbed vegetation islands in my farm. The locals here generally refer to the liacuala palm as 'Palas' and its leaves are thatched for mats or roofing. Often the leaves are used to wrap food. I observe that the licualas are solitary palms and are found as scattered individuals among the forest undergrowth. They grow robust under dense cover and filtered light. Here the ideal conditions of growth are almost guaranteed by high humidity, thick humus and rotten vegetative matter teeming with micro-organisms. Because of these specifics, I find that planting the licualas in pots a very tough if not an almost impossible mission. However I have increasingly found its leaves to be very useful in floral arrangement.

Back from the short jungle walk this morning I brought home a stalk of the licuala palm leaf.

The deep green licuala leaves looked very fresh and alive. To accentuate the feeling of movement to the composition, I cut the leaf blades in staggered formation. To provide fragrance to the composition I selected the frangipani or plumeria flowers ( Plumeria obtusa) . Two flowering stalks will keep my study room scented for at least three days or more when other closed buds take their time to open up to the world. While green colour is for growth, white and scented is for spirituality.

Palms Up!

2009-03-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

Traveller's Palm ( Ravenala Madagascariensis )

This is my first Sunday since been back from Kuching. I thought how nice it would be if I walked through the farm in the early morning light and hear the birds sing. Next on my agenda was to check on the status of my oil palm trees . But along the way there were other palms that attracted my attention. More of that soon. Finally being a Sunday I'll venture out to town and later to the beach. What's up Bintulu?

I've planted many Traveller's Palm at my farm. They provide character and a welcoming gesture. No wonder they call it the Traveller's Palm. The broad leaves are like the palms of our hands waving as if calling the traveller to drop by at our tavern, hut or house. Strictly speaking it is not a palm but a member of the banana family. However, it is palm-like in habit i.e. having a single trunk and a crown of leaves that is one-sided and looking like a fan. So far none of them have produced any flowers here. I was told it would be a rare occurrence. Well, this travellin' man can wait.

Next I stumbled upon the slender looking Golden Cane Palm ( Chrysalidocarpus lutescens). At the far left of the picture in brilliant scarlet colour is the Sealing Wax Palm ( Cyrtostachys renda). Both are my favourite ornamental palms and I consider them excellent for house gardens.

This month the Ubah Laut ( Eugenia polyantha) trees are flowering through out Bintulu. At my farm there are hundreds of them planted along the farm roads. When I first planted the oil palm trees ( Elaeis guineensis) in the ground about two and a half years ago, the Ubah Laut trees were also planted at the same time to add diversity to the landscape. The picture on the right shows how beautiful the eugenia trees are when they flower. The whole crown is enveloped with creamy white and puffy flowers as if its snowing. Well, to share the limelight is the handsome oil palm tree. Now even though I say handsome don't attempt to plant it in your house garden because it can grow to a large tree. Best to plant them in big open spaces or parks or farm if you like farming.

The oil palm trees are planted all over my farm. That's where my pension is. The trees have an economic life span of about 25 years.

What's interesting about the oil palm tree is that the male and female inflorescence's are borne on the same tree. The picture inset on the right shows the female flowers. The female flowers grow on a branch around a single stalk. After pollination, the fruits grow into a compact bunch.

The finger-like male inflorescence's with pollen are frequented by weevils as pollinating agents.

The male flowers form a cluster of furry single spikes resembling a hand with out-stretched fingers. Pollen appear as powdery stuff on the spikes.

Red is the colour of money . These ripe fruits can be harvested. Fresh fruit bunches are showing up at every nook and corner over at the farm here. I guess by this time next year all the trees will be producing average size fruits. A mature oil palm will produce 8-12 bunches at any time though some trees here have been able to produce 15 bunches. ( Secret: Depending on your clone). In a month you can harvest a tree at every two weeks interval and there again from one tree you are likely to pluck only 3 bunches. Each bunch can weigh 10 - 30 kg over their economic life and peak periods. Bad news: In today's economic recessionary periods the price of FFB ( Fresh Fruit Bunches ) are just below RM 400 a ton for Grade A fruits i.e. those weighing 25 kg per bunch and smaller bunches will fetch lower prices. Say for the lowest Grade C at the point of writing is about RM 250 /ton which is just break even point. While about a year ago when the prices were good, the average FFB prices were RM 800 per ton. Such is the vast difference and brings home the point how risky is the oil palm farming business. * Sigh*.

Well, forget about bad times. Think of good times at the beach. The coconut palms are so typical of tropical paradise and romantic holidays. At the Tanjung Batu beach I saw children and families, friends and colleagues, strangers and visitors having good time picnicking, jogging, swimming, playing beach football, kite flying, grilling fish and chicken wings at the BBQ sets (provided by the park authority). And not to miss the fun I wound up the day sipping coconut water direct from the coconut fruit and yes at the beach. Had a nice weekend.

Eugenia polyantha trees

2009-03-27T22:37:00.000-07:00

Roadside planting having eugenia trees on road shoulders. The central median is planted with royal palms.

Location: Tanjung Batu Coastal Road, Bintulu.

Bintulu roads that are planted with the Eugenia polyantha trees are looking beautiful today. The flowering season is back after a lapse of about 6-7 months. The locals know these trees as 'Ubah Laut'. In Sarawak the Ubah Laut trees are naturally found in peat-swamp forests. However over the last ten years they have been propagated by the thousands through seeds that are in abundance after every flowering season. It's only recently that these trees are frequently seen on urban roads, residential houses and parks throughout Sarawak.

Along this stretch of the Tanjung Batu Coastal Road, eugenia trees are also planted at the central median, where they are heavily pruned and trained as topiary plants. The Eugenia polyantha plant can be 'boxed' or 'bonsaied' because they are essentially a small tree having a slow growing habit. I was impressed by its enveloping creamy white flowers that seem to overwhelm its small compact crown. From its relatively unglamourous swampy origins, the tree is now enjoying a very versatile living in town and in private residences.

The inflorescences appear at the tip of the branches. The creamy white puffy flowers will last for about one to two weeks. The inflorescences do not have petals but instead a concentration of stamens that appear like feathery white balls. The tree will gradually be enveloped in white when it is at the peak of the flowering season. Leaves appear orangish red when young.

At my eco-farm, I have planted them along the farm roads. The main reason I chose them as roadside trees is that the tree is very attractive to birds due to its black berry-like fruits. Furthermore, its dense coverprovides fantastic nesting places for small birds.

This row of eugenia trees have been planted for more than 5 years now and this year's flowering season have produced hundreds of flowering trees at my farm.

Today I am inspired to develop ideas about the eugenia inflorescences. Below are sketches that might help illlustrate some ideas that came across my mind this morning.

I find that the tiny round buds can be graphically rendered in a stylised form. The graphic images can be used for eco-design patterns or ethnic art images that convey arboriginal, native or folklore connotations.

Graffiti, Graffiti on the Wall

2009-03-27T05:26:00.000-07:00

This is the first ever proper graffiti I've seen on Bintulu streets for many years now. This graffiti is done at the back wall of a public toilet ( 'Tandas Awam' in Malay) located at BDA-Shahida commercial shopping centre. Funny I was not perturbed by its presence. Instead I was thinking: What is the creative opportunity here?
Graffiti art is a controversial art category. Some prefer to call it urban vandalism and the person who freely ( 'illegally') spray paints on the city's or in this instance Bintulu town's street walls as guerrilla artists. Graffiti art display strong messages and slogans. Now I'm thinking that since Bintulu's public toilets are without any identity why not the local authority here adopt graffiti art as iconic of Bintulu's public toilets? Surely this would be expressive of the local authority's attempt of painting the town beautiful. If properly done Bintulu's graffiti art could be a tourism product. Well, I'm looking at all the positive angles of this playful, provocative art form though for many quarters it uncomfortably borders on mischievousness and punishable by fine, jail term or canning. Positively, what I'm suggesting here is to adopt graffiti-like art as iconic of Bintulu's public toilets. Graffiti, Graffiti on the Wall, Which is the most creative of them all?

Grilled Fish

2009-03-26T04:42:00.000-07:00

After having a full day's rest at the farm yesterday, my heart itched to see what's going on in Bintulu town. Therefore immediately after sunrise, I drove to town looking for that special thing I miss about Bintulu. I ventured to the fish market at Pasar Utama and bought the first batches of fresh fishes that were laid on the tables. Bintulu is for fresh fishes. I can't find fresh fishes that many and varied in types and sizes in Kuching. Bintulu is for fish lovers like me. I realise now that I can't live without eating fresh fishes. The fishes in Bintulu are so very fresh that we have here want you call 'umai' not unlike the Japanese 'sushi' - a dish of freshly cut fish ( mainly pomfret species) that is mixed with lime or vinegar, slices of onions, chillies and salted vegetables and taken raw after the ingredients are throughly mixed.

Today's menu was something I like to do after having missed it at Kuching. Kuching is a city and I don't have the luxury like in Bintulu where I can collect tons of firewood from the jungle closeby. Today I get to smell grilled fish cooked using jungle wood. Don't need charcoal or microwave. Grilled fresh fishes make my day today.

Sri Aman Stopover

2009-03-25T00:52:00.000-07:00

Typical skies during the journey- cloudy and sunny.

This afternoon I'm blogging from Bintulu. We arrived here last night after a 10 hours drive from Kuching. The weather throughout the journey was fine, cloudy and encountered only one short burst of afternoon rain after we left Sri Aman. Inul and Daisy were behaving extremely well this trip and took time to sleep for the most part of the journey. The air-conditioning in the car helped much to calm their nerves and kept them comfortable.

Inul by the front seat

We took a lunch break at Sri Aman. There we saw a couple of traders hawking fresh vegetables and fruits under shade of large angsana trees.

One of my favourites fruit vegetables is this local cucumber variety grown mainly by the Ibans. A small basket like the one on the left cost RM 2. I prefer most to cut them into small pieces and mix them with small slices of chicken meat and cook them as soup.

Other things we bought here were freshly harvested grains of black rice which is best prepared as porridge.

A Complex Story

2009-03-23T06:33:00.000-07:00

Public space around Court House cum Administrative complex, 1948

Old Court House Complex and surrounds, March 2009.

The time lapse between the two pictures above is about 60 years. It surprises me today how intact the buildings, monuments and spaces at the complex area are after such a long long time. My interest in this complex story started in Bintulu a few weeks ago when I was flipping through some old photo albums kept by my father. He was a young man in Kuching around 1948 when the above picture was taken.

The Court House Complex has a very long, colourful and significant story since it was developed starting in 1868 and over the years till 1924, many new additional buildings were added. During the Brooke's and then the British colonial rule, many functions of the government of the day were held here. It was the seat of government, native court, judicial court, Council Negeri meetings ( i.e. local government meetings) , public clinic and even functioned as a hospital. When Sarawak achieved independence, the complex was home to the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly meetings starting in 1963 right on till 1973.

The Clock Tower was added in 1883 to the porch at the entrance of the complex. The complex buildings are very colonial in style with massive round columns, wide verandas and balconies, brick walls and pitched roofs using 'belian' shingles. In front of the Court House Complex is a Memorial dedicated to Charles Brooke, the second white Rajah of Sarawak. The memorial was unveiled in 1924. It has a marble relief of Charles Brooke's head and above it the old crest and coat of arms of Sarawak.

Today the Old Court House Complex is being re-used as the State Tourism Complex. Tourists can easily obtain brochures,maps and many Sarawak tourism related literature here for free. Besides that it does have exhibition hall, an eating outlet and souvenir shop.

Above is a view of the Kuching waterfront area from the Complex, showing the new Sarawak State Legislative Assembly building ( with gold coloured roof) in the far background nearing completion.

Part of a building block within the complex in the background is converted into an eating outlet called 'The Little Lebanon'.

There is another interesting connection with this complex story to Bintulu. It was on the 8th of September 1867 that the first ever Council Negeri meeting ( i.e. local government meeting) was held in Bintulu and presided by Charles Brooke. Thus making Bintulu the birthplace of 'modern' democratic practice in Sarawak.
Thanks to the British, democratic principles and practises were introduced early to the peoples of Sarawak.

I Call Thee - the Rajah Brooke

2009-03-22T03:23:00.000-07:00

Sunday is a good day to visit the Sarawak Museum. Tourists and local visitors flocked to the Sarawak Museum everyday, including Sunday. A must place to check out if you are in Kuching. What caught my attention today was this over-sized replica of the Rajah Brooke Birdwing Butterfly ( Ornithoptera brookeana) on the front wall of the National History Museum building here. This gorgeous, chastely beautiful of all butterflies has deep velvety black wings that are marked by a band of spots in brilliant metallic green colour. For those familiar with the theory of 'natural selection' and 'the origin of species' might like to note that Darwin had incubated his theory for many years but did not attempt to publish it until his contemporary Alfred Wallace hatched upon the same idea. Alfred Wallace travelled to the Far East especially the Malay archipelago and Indonesian Islands area including Sarawak ( Borneo) to collect samples. It was during his travel here that he named the birdwing butterfly as Rajah Brooke, after the first white Rajah of Sarawak -Sir James Brooke.

The Natural History Museum at the Sarawak Museum garden area.

The Rajah Brooke in flight sucking honey from the Pagoda flowers.
Location: Kambatik eco-farm, Bintulu.

It is not easy to come across the birdwing butterflies. However at my eco-farm in Bintulu, they are everywhere. From my experience birdwing butterflies like upstream waters, marginal forest areas where there are plenty of food sources and bright sunlight. In Bintulu I see them frequently visiting the Pagoda Flower ( Clerondendrum japonicum/paniculatum) blooms, Hibiscus flowers and the Bleeding Heart flowers ,too.

Afternoon at the Beach

2009-03-20T05:53:00.000-07:00

The Damai Beach at Santubong

This afternoon was spent walking the beaches of Santubong, a 40 minutes drive from Kuching city. The beach is set against the Santubong mountain backdrop. While Sarawak has a very long coastline, only a very few isolated spots are developed into recreational or tourism attractions. Santubong is one location that has been intensively developed by the Sarawak State Development agency to the detriment of other potential spots throughout Sarawak. Obviously this has got to do with the fact that Santubong is closest to the capital city and the State government has far too long downplayed the role of tourism as a foreign exchange earner.

Today's hot and sunny tropical weather was ideal for swimming and sun-tanning.

I like most the view towards the hill where modern hotel apartments are given a touch of Malay high pitched traditional roof design. The greenery is everywhere and the wilderness around it makes the place authentically tropical and peaceful. Today was a fun afternoon.

How's the Sky?

2009-03-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

At around 6.30 this morning the sky glowed shortly after the sun began to rise behind the mountains at the back of our house. It indicated to me that today the weather would be very hot and sunny. I guess today would be a good time to take pictures of the sky.

At the Kuching waterfront I was delighted to see two structures against the clear blue sky. In the foreground the two white roofing structures of the godown amphitheatre framed up the golden pinnacle of the newly constructed Sarawak State Legislative building in the far background. A simple picture composition using straight lines and curves.

Before I left the Kuching waterfront area, I decided to stop by at the junction of Main Bazaar and Temple Street. Here I took a picture of the Chinese Temple which was built in 1876 according to some accounts. The Chinese worship deities. One prominent god is called the 'Tua Pek Kong' among the many pantheon of Chinese gods. The above temple houses the 'Tua Pek Kong', a genial figure normally carved with red cheeks, flowing white beard and white eyebrows and looking paternalistic on his followers. The temple is a popular tourist attraction these days since it is situated within the tourist belt and within walking distance from the major hotels. Against the blue sky a new hotel nears completion at the far background.

Fabulous Fibre

2009-03-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

Tall coconut palms bending against the sunset on a remote tropical beach makes a truly tropical vacation. Coconut juices sipped from half -opened young fruits are part of the romantic scenery of a tropical resort . Here you can stretch your legs and be one with nature. Then there was this coconut head carved out of an old ripe coconut fruit I saw the other day. It was a funny looking head of a monkey. A fine example where the coconut skin and fibre right to its hard shell are fully utilised to create a unique craft work. The cupped ears are also made from the coconut shell .

Remove the hard shell and cut the thick skin and fibre into vertical strips (as shown above) and you'll get the best hanging container for pitcher plants.

Strip off the fibres from the skin cover and thick shell. Soon you'll have yards of loose coconut fibres that are ideal for mulching .

In my gardening work I always prefer to use coconut fibres as mulch because they are locally available, retain moisture well and decompose into organic matter and in the process help break up the soil and condition it as well. In certain cases the fibres are meshed and formed into a mat and pegged to steep slopes as growing medium for grass seeds or cover plants to prevent soil erosion. In other instances, the fibres can be used as infill material for thin cushion or sleeping mats in place of cotton. I guess the only limit to its use is our imagination.

What a Toad!

2009-03-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

Last week while at my Bintulu eco-farm, I was dumbfounded to see this strange creature. I was not sure whether it was a frog or a toad. Now in Kuching I checked many of the books at the libraries here to find a similar picture. None looked similar. When I checked on Google images no similar image appeared. OK, this could be my special find.
On that day( 5th March) I was having my normal morning walk when my eyes were caught by a tiny movement on the earth road. I knelt to see this tiny toad and ran to my chalet to get my camera h/p N93i. Luckily it was still there when I returned. For one thing this stubby bodied creature could only make a distance of about 10 cm per jump probably due to its short hind legs. I read that toads have poisonous glands behind their eyes. Could it be that nature has 'created' the two big eyes on its back to scare potential predators? Throwing signals like ' See, I'm a bigger toad with loads more poison on my back. Be warned!'. Notice too how well camouflaged is the overall colour and design of its back to the colour and tiny pebbles on the dirt road. Nature truly amazes me.

Vintage Vespa

2009-03-15T02:52:00.000-07:00

While doing weekend shopping at Satok Sunday market, I met this vintage Vespa sprint scooter parked on the five-foot way . Judging from the registration plate number, this vehicle must have been on the road for about 50 years and still looking good. Today it became a travelling 'shop' catering for pickled fruits, packet drinks, sweets and sachets of coffee and tea. Shoppers passing by seemed very delighted to see the scooter and many stopped to vent their curiosity. I could very well remember in 1975 when a teaching colleague of mine bought one that was coloured red. He was the man around town. The Vespa pushed his status to that of a film star and one of the most eligible bachelor in town.
The proud owner of the Vespa is the gentleman wearing the orange cap. He told me that he is a member of the Vespa Club here who gets invited at times to ride around the city in convoys participating in public festivals or some official or semi-official functions.

He has conveniently placed a small board covered with a piece of decorative cloth on top of the scooter's seat to display his wares. The overall design of the scooter is an epitome of Italian design. It has a frame that encloses the engine and other mechanical parts. The pass-through leg area makes it easy to be used by girls or women. And yes, it has the handlebar gear change. Furthermore it has a front shield and a flat floorboard that protects the rider from mud splashes or flying objects underneath. What amazes me today was the presence of a spare tyre that fitted snugly behind the front shield. You can't carry spare tyres on other motorcycles like you do on the scooter.

Two thumbs up for today's lovely Vespa!

Golden Thoughts

2009-03-12T17:52:00.000-07:00

Thinking about the economic collapse of nations today can be very distressing. But is there a way to look at the brighter side of things? To keep me think positive and speculative about the future, I have two golden blooms to colour my thinking. First is the Kedah Gardenia ( Gardenia carinata), a rather small tree that has its origins in West Malaysia. Just before I left Bintulu for Kuching last week, I took this picture ( right inset) at the open space in front of Medan Jaya shopping area. March seems to be the flowering season of Golden Gardenia trees in Bintulu.What I find so special about this tree are the fragrant flowers it produced. The flowers are singular and the petals thick. The flowers will remain on the tree for weeks and when they fall the ground below are littered with beautiful yellow petals

CU of the fragrant Golden Gardenia Tree flowers.

Yellow blooms are symbolic of sunshine, brightness and optimism. It helps me visualise opportunity. Yellow hat thinking is opportunity seeking. When one wears a yellow hat, one tends to draw best scenarios. There is so much optimism in the air and I like the smell of opportunities. To be open requires me to think positively .

In Kuching, I came across this flowering Golden Shower tree ( Cassia fistula) located at the Main Central Padang area. Being semi-deciduous, the tree seemed to be enveloped by yellow flowers that hang in long pendulous racemes. At the same time it produced fruits that are long (30-60 cm) looking like drumsticks. When all the flowers fall the tree will be covered by these long pods which contain the seeds for propagation purposes. The golden shower tree, sometimes referred to as the Indian laburnum, is considered a medium -sized tree ( 10 -20 m high) and is suitable to be planted on small roads, gardens and open spaces.

Having its inflorescence's appearing in long golden bunches makes me think of gold dropping on my lap. It begs me answer the most important question economist ask - what's in it for me? For when one has explored positively and evaluated risks, they must arise some opportunities. There's no middle ground. Make sure that you are on the correct side of the fence when things get worse with the existing economic collapse ( slump - recession - depression). Save yourself first, before you save civilisation!

The Golden Shower Tree ( Cassia fistula)

Mellow Out

2009-03-11T01:46:00.000-07:00

Today I unpacked a box I brought from Bintulu. It contained an old but functioning phonograph and about 50 record albums. I couldn't yet play the records because there's no replacement for the old broken needle. But in today's world of the Internet, that's no real problem really because you can just type any title song in the album on You Tube and then listen to Olivia's renditions over many live performances throughout the years. To see her singing live was beyond my wildest dreams back in 1975. Now with You tube I'm catching up with her( after so many years!)
As a young man back then, I found much solace in the vocals of Olivia Newton-John, the British- born Australian singer, especially her hit song 'Have You Never Been Mellow'. I must have played the song a hundred times over from 1975 to 1976. I was a highly spirited teacher back then busy preparing lesson plans till the wee hours and working hard the following day for the routine classroom teaching, afternoon extra-curricular activities and weekend social gatherings. At times when I returned from work, I would throw up my shoes and lay back to listen her voice on the vinyl record. Her high-pitched voice seemed soulful and distant. It carried a message that bespoke of my youth. We'll face the times in our lives when in our hurried steps to achieve, we forget to turn to the person closest or next to us in terms of 'letting them be strong'. For all you know, they may be a guide or mentor 'to take your hand' so to speak.
I'll always treasure the album as a testimony to my youthful days, and the song 'Have You Never Been Mellow' as the song that has given me much happiness and comfort deep inside over the years.

Inside cover of Olivia's iconic album 'Grease' with John Travolta, written and produced by Barry Gibb in 1978.

Shapely 'Kebaya'

2009-03-10T04:43:00.000-07:00

Batik Sarawak with Orang Ulu designs printed in varying patterns and colours.

This morning we paid a visit to India Street upon the insistence of my daughter who will be going back to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow after a ten days break in Sarawak. She wanted to buy the 'kebaya' with Sarawak batik designs on it. The 'kebaya' is a tight fitting dress worn by Malaysian girls and women that to me make them look shapely and very attractive. The blouse is always long sleeved and highly embroidered. The 'sarong' ( long piece of cloth to wrap around the body from the waist) is now being given new lease of life by incorporating Sarawak native designs from the Orang Ulu and Iban ethnic groups.

The voile kebaya blouse matches well with the polyester silk sarong in intricate Orang Ulu design motifs. The Orang Ulu design motifs are derived mainly from their immediate environment like plant life ( e.g. ferns, flowers, leaves, buds, twiners, fruits,etc) and animal forms like lizards, birds, dogs, etc. The sense of movement is achieved by letting the spiral lines flow, connect and merge like Sarawak's many rivers flowing into the open sea.

The middle kebaya on the right is hand painted in contemporary batik style with abstract and free flowing motifs. I love the mixture of colours and the soft texture of the material used.

Sarawak Sights

2009-03-09T06:43:00.000-07:00

Typical of our 600 km journey from Bintulu to Kuching today were the cloudy skies, rural countryside with paddy fields glowing in colours of gold and ochre. It's harvesting time. We encountered only two spots of isolated rain after the town of Sibu and Sri Aman and there again only for very short spells. We left Bintulu at 9.30 am and arrived Kuching at 8.00 pm after two pit stops at Sibu and Sri Aman rest area.

Sibu Sights (and surprises )

We had lunch at Sibu, after a 3 hours journey from Bintulu, and parked our car at the multi-storey car park above which resembled more like a corporate building or a bank. First surprise.

Sibu is the only town where poultry are wrapped in newspapers and tied with raffia strings to enable easy weighing. And to the farthest end of the picture, ducks included. Surprise no.2.

This human powered vehicle is called a rickshaw. Yes, it's not for show. You can take a ride around Sibu town with it. Such antiques are absent from the streets of Bintulu or Kuching. Third surprise.

I think Sibu has the most express boats, pontoon wharves, speed boats and motor launches in Sarawak. There's no doubt about it. Express boats are highly powered and lenghty metal boats ( left of picture) that can carry 40-50 passengers and are used to travel upriver destinations where the engine power must be sufficient enough to go against the fast river currents. Years of experience have made Sibu express boat makers the preferred choice of river transportation operators from Brazil to China. Sibu exports express boats. Fourth surprise.

Well, there be more surprises in store. In the meantime, Kuching here we come!.

Flashy Sassy

2009-03-07T19:51:00.000-08:00

I have not done any posts since I arrived Bintulu for a good reason. There's so much to do here that blogging will have to take the back seat. The schedule seems further crammed because tomorrow we'll be on the road again to Kuching. However I was inspired to face my notebook this morning when I encountered this clump of heliconia sassy pink at the back of our chalet. The long pendulous stalk on the left has 24 bracts. At the spur of the moment I decided to make a quick compostion for the morning. However I ended making more than 10. Why not?
The rest will be posted when I'll be in Kuching in my other blog here.

I prefer to just plunge the whole inflorescence inside a round glass vase to exhibit the colours through the looking glass. Devoid of any other materials, the above can become a stand alone display. Maybe call it.... Sassy Senoritas.

However since we'll be going to Kuching tomorrow why not make more cuttings of heliconias to make a riotous crowd. In goes the other varieties of heliconias with familiar names like golden torch , parrot flower and lobster's claws. What an exuberant show of colours! I therefore would call the composition...Flashy Sassy.

Long Journey to Bintulu

2009-03-04T08:27:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday ( 3/3) we left Kuching for Bintulu by road. The journey began early in the morning ( 9.00 am) and would normally take about 10 hours inclusive of stopovers for refuelling, lunch and afternoon tea breaks. On this trip my daughter who works in Kuala Lumpur ( capital of Malaysia) joined us after a four days stay in Kuching. Our two cats Daisy and Inul will make this their 12th trip to Bintulu in their record breaking journey through Sarawak on the Pan-Borneo Highway. At the start of the journey, Daisy was not pleasantly pleased and snarled at Inul every time she approached her for comfort. However, all's well after we made the first leg of the journey.

On the first leg of the journey like the rest throughout the day, the weather was fine and hot. Luckily the car's air-conditioning worked well and we drove to Bintulu in much comfort. Not a single drop of rain fell on us and that indicated pretty well that the monsoon season is over. It does indicate too that water will be the most sought -after resource for the months ahead especially for those involved in the agricultural sector.

From Kuching I would drive with the barest fuel and then refuelled at Serian, a forty minutes drive from Kuching. The first refuelling would bring us half-way through the journey. The picture above shows a well landscaped roundabout as an introduction to Serian. Observe the symbol of the Durian fruit in the centre of the picture, which is done in cement ferro technique and coloured. However this time around we wouldn't be able to savour any real durians because the fruiting season has passed.

The second refuelling was done at Saratok, a small town within the Sri Aman Division and roughly situated half-way along our journey. Sarawak is divided into 11 Divisions or administrative units. The various divisions as one drive north from Kuching are Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman, Betong, Sarikei, Kapit, Sibu, Mukah, Bintulu, Miri and Limbang. I noticed that Saratok is the only town in Sarawak that plant the Wild Cinnamon tree ( Cinnamomum iners) as introduction to the town roadside landscaping. On this trip I saw the cinnamon trees were having a new coat of leaves where the young leaves appear reddish or light orange before they turn light green. The bark of one species i.e. Cinnamomum zeylancium yield the spice cinnamomum which is used for flavouring food and cakes.

This unique building houses the District Office or the local administration office of Saratok. What attracted me was the date of its construction - 1888. The building sat on top of a small hill facing the river.

Before leaving Saratok, we did the second refuelling . At today's price we can reach Bintulu from Kuching with a full capacity tank costing RM 100 - an amount that will ensure some reserve just in case. At the petrol kiosk, Inul became the centre of attraction as the pump attendants inquired about her. They all look surprised as I narrated them our cats adventure thus far.

The sight of heavy timber trucks loaded to the brim is common as we approached the end part of the journey especially from Selangau to Bintulu, the timber country of Sarawak. At the rest area near Selangau town, we came across a roadside canteen where every available car parking space was taken up by the timber trucks because the drivers were having a break at the canteen ( building with blue roof).

At the close of the journey, Daisy sensed the smell of salt sprays in the air. She became excited and big eyed knowing very well that Bintulu will be in sight in about half an hour time. By 7.30 pm we arrived at our farm in darkness and happy to have made the journey safely.

Rattan mats

2009-03-01T03:56:00.000-08:00

We took to the road this morning to a border town south of Kuching called Serikin. The town sits on Malaysian soil but Indonesian traders are allowed to trade on its narrow streets that are thriving since it was made popular less than ten years ago by Malaysian tourists who come here by the bus loads at weekends. There were at least 100 traders I saw this morning plying their wares ranging from textiles, handicrafts, agricultural produces, clothing's and personal accessories and the very popular rattan mats.
Malaysians by cultural tradition sit on rattan mat floors when they eat or entertain guests to their homes. However in modern homes the norms have changed and many adopt the western style of sitting on sofas and dining on tables. As a consequence rattan mats are instead used as decorative floor mats in modern homes. At Serikin these mats are in abundance and sold at knock down prices . A piece with a standard dimension of 7'x12' would fetch an average price of about RM 80. The size varies from a width of 2' to 10' and lengthwise can be obtained from a size of 3' till 14'.

Many interior decoration works also use rattan mats as overlay for counters, walls and ceilings. For smaller sizes having intricate design they are framed and hung on walls as decorative wall pieces. From Indonesia the mats are brought in rolls but tourists overseas and from West Malaysia who want to bring them home by air will need them folded up and packed properly as air cargo items. Rattans are versatile and don't get broken or snapped when folded .

CU of Rattan Mat Design
The prevalence of rattan mats at Serikin is due to the presence of jungles that are still intact in certain parts of the Indonesian border where the rattan plants are still available. In Sarawak where much inland forests are cut for timber and oil palm plantations, the rattans are slowly disappearing unless of course drastic steps are made to grow rattans in plantations amidst the undisturbed forest canopy.
Many rattan mats are interwoven with tree barks to add variety to the design and by a process of dyeing, darker hues of brown to black rattans are incorporated to the overall mat design. By the look of it Malaysians will continue to line up the streets of Serikin in droves in their insatiable appetite for these unique rattan mats .

Colour the Garden

2009-02-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

Living in an evergreen tropical climate one's eyes is constantly washed by the refreshing and healing colours of green. Often times when I enter a room or an office my eyes are naturally attracted to live plants that would indicate to me that there is live, growth or stability in the living or work place I am part of. Green is easy on the eye.

Still, we do need colours in our lives just as we need them to add vitality, appeal, sparkle and warmth to the garden. The green wash is considered a 'cool colour' and it is the hot or warm colours that we need to paint the garden to make it look vibrant and invigorating. After about a year since we started digging and experimenting with our garden in Kuching, some positive results are showing up. My focus today is flowers of the red hue( fully saturated). Add a little white and the redness dissolves into more pink values (tints) and here I have planted a couple of species like the heliconia 'sassy pink', pink hibiscus and pink frangipani that hopefully would tickle my senses ( see inset above).

The green wash of the small lawn, palm leaves and shrubbery at the front garden gives out much oxygen and freshness. Besides the the overall greeness, I have added darker values of red ( shades ) to the lower storey plants, thus the dark red or maroon leaves of the irisine. Even the wild banana leaves are variegated with blood red shades of colour.

Pink Hibiscus

In order to enjoy the garden early my strategy was to complete the front garden first. The side garden and the back garden would evolve later. Presently I plant all sorts of species at the back garden as 'advance nursery' which would provide me with the required quantities and heights of the plants upon transplanting . This method is cost saving because you get to propagate the plants yourself instead of purchasing them which is not cheap considering the quantities involved later.

Above, I use a lot of the highly variegated coleus species ( darker shades of red) as under storey plants for the side garden which is slowly emerging.

Having spent a good morning walk about at my garden , I was delighted to make fresh cuttings of the frangipani, hibiscus and heliconia that make their starring performances today. As a test to my kambatik garden concept, I would put it that in our rich tropical diversity, one should be able to move out of the house and within minutes make a simple composition for the table. I attempted it just now and pleased to call this composition 'My Pink Lady'. For more fast compositions of floral arrangements from the kambatik garden please browse here.

A Small Dose of Japan

2009-02-25T04:46:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about staying in Kuching is the stimulation one gets from its many unending cultural events and happenings. Being the cultural capital of Sarawak it is the centre of many international shows and exhibitions. I saw one today when I returned books which I borrowed from the State Library ( Pustaka Negeri Sarawak ) at Petra Jaya which coincidentally was the venue of an exhibition featuring Japanese pottery. The exhibition was organised by the Japan Foundation. A total of 71 exhibits were on display by living artists and contemporary potters from Japan. I was amazed by the novelty of the creations in terms of shape, colour and innovative production methods that displayed much enhancement from its traditional roots and saw many that showcased newer creative forms that surpassed the border of functionalism to pure art ( Art for Art's sake?). In the picture inset above, the light bluish vase on the left with dimension 46x48.5x23 cm i.e Height x Width x Depth , showing curvaceous linear motifs with a spattered slip decor is the work of Simizu Ichiji , 1953- ). The slightly taller piece at the centre is the work of Ichino Masahiko ( 1961 - ) and is entitled ' Sound of the Wind' ( 60x37x34cm). On the far right is a unique vessel that resembled a huge seed to me with a slit through it end to end. This is a good example of the contemporariness of the works on show. The vessel ( 29x91x35.5 cm) of linear motif is the work of Ichino Masahiko too.

The white porcelain piece to the right has a bent and angular shape, very much like origami to me. What strikes me regarding the centre piece was the unconventional texture and colour of the thin glazed vessel. To get a good idea of the relative size of the pieces above, compare them with the one on the left which is the work of Sakai Hiroshi ( 1960 - ) . The very light blue colour vase is glazed and measures 44x45x45 cm.

Overall I was impressed by these ceramic artists who managed to successfully free themselves from the fetters of tradition and in the process able to create individualistic ceramic wares that are adapted to modern lifestyles.

Forgotten Handkerchiefs

2009-02-24T04:38:00.000-08:00

From a distance they look like long handkerchiefs hanging from the tips of branches. That was what intrigued me when I drove along this stretch of road at BDC housing estate this morning . To my knowledge this is the only locality in Sarawak where this species is planted as a roadside tree. Though it is native to Malaysia one hardly find it planted in other towns of Sarawak besides Kuching. This tree is called Yellow Saraca ( Saraca thaipingensis) on account of its bunchy clusters of bright yellow flowers. The young leaves are pale purplish pink and become more white as they age and finally turn dark green upon maturing.
Have people forgotten this tree like they have forgotten the use of handkerchiefs with today's 'throw-away' culture? It would be sad if they do because this tree is most suitable for small gardens and even smaller roads. They grow very slowly and would attain their maximum height of 20 m within 20 years. Furthermore they are very attractive to birds and bees. There is a close relative of this plant called the Ashoka Tree ( Saraca asoca ) which is native to India. It was under the Ashoka tree that Buddha was born and therefore the tree is considered sacred among adherents of the Buddhist faith.

Peculiar to Saraca is the emergence of flowers on the tree's older branches. I watched a bee visiting the blooms and saw too that the branch was being shared by ferns and pigeon orchids . A tiny white flower of the pigeon orchid is seen on the upper right hand corner of the picture. The flowers of the Yellow Saraca give out a strong fragrance especially at night. We may have tissue papers in the car or our bag as substitute for handkerchiefs but if we lose the Saraca we only have our ignorance to blame.

Indoor Beauties

2009-02-23T05:08:00.000-08:00

I always love to have indoor plants in my living or dining room space. They provide much life and naturalness to the ambience. This enduring penchant of bringing nature indoors have made me want to share some good examples of proven plants. However since I am in the tropics I could only speak of a few of my favourite tropical plants species that fit the bill.

I choose indoor plants to meet these criteria. First they should look neat, anything less will have to be brought outside for major repairs or change. Plants with a lot of leaves drop should be avoided. Secondly they should be hardy like not being susceptible to fungus or insect attacks , like dim or poor light and depending on the species can withstand little watering or over watering. Thirdly they should be able to stay indoors between 1-2 weeks . There are many that can meet the criteria mentioned. A few in mind are the corn plant ( Draceana fragrans'Massangeana' ), ferns like the familiar Bird's nest fern ( Asplenium nidus) , Bamboo species like the 'Japanese bamboo', Lady Palm ( Rhapis), Yucca, Aureum ( Epipremnum pinnata), Goose foot ( Syngonium podophyllum) and the Mother-in-law's tongue ( Sansevieria trisfasciata) . However to me nothing beats the Diffenbachias for their robustness and attractive large oval leaves with occasional creamy stripes and blotches.

In the centre of the picture above is one of my favourite indoor plant called the Monstera deliciosa, which has large evergreen, glossy and perforated leaves. The arrow shaped leaves towards the left belongs to the Arum family. The handsome and striking white creamy foliage plant at the centre is Diffenbachia 'Rudolph Roehrs' which can grow to about a meter high and is distinguished by the green midrib as well as green edges on its leaves. Next to it with creamy white bands which resemble tiger stripes is called Dieffenbachia 'Amoena'.

The above selection are primarily of the Diffenbachia or Dumb cane species. Here they are taken outdoors to expose them to more light and for hardening purposes. A little bit of education is necessary to enjoy these highly decorative foliage because its sap when mistakenly swallowed can cause the tongue to swell thus rendering speech impossible. I am quite allergic to its sap especially when I transfer them into a larger pot or when I need to cut them for propagation purposes and in the process may get the sap smeared on my hands or skin . The irritation may take about three to four hours to disappear. Nevertheless they are very hardy i.e. not subjected to insect attacks, last at least a week indoors and can withstand over watering.
A little care and lots of love is just what these beauties require to do their magic indoors.

Spinning Tops and Songkok Boys

2009-02-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

There were spinning tops on display at the Kuching Waterfront amphitheatre area today. I asked one of the participants, "Why call one of them 'Gasing Pedada'?" Gasing is the Malay word for spinning top. He showed me that the gasing was in the shape of 'buah pedada' i.e. the pedada fruit, hence the name 'gasing pedada'. Hmm.never thought of that. On the table were a good collection of spinning tops created by the various ethnic groups throughout Malaysia.
Watch carefully at one that is still spinning on the chair towards the centre of the picture.
I asked him," How long can a spinning top spin? To my surprise he said that a good player of a Kelantanese spinning top can make it spin for two and a half hours. That I never knew.

Inside the amphitheatre a free variety show performed by the primary school children of SRK Buyong were watched by about four hundred members of the public and foreign tourists. The school kids were dressed in Malay traditional costume. The young Malay boys wore the typical Malay headress for men called the 'Songkok'. The songkok is worn when attending traditional functions like weddings, funeral , prayers or in certain official functions where the royalties are present. The girls on the other hand wore the 'tudung' as headress.
It was a marvellous show of talent by the young school children and was happy to have encountered them in their best costumes performing the 'zapin' dance.

A Malay 'Zapin' Dance Formation

Kuching Reservoir Park

2009-02-20T03:30:00.000-08:00

Kuching Reservoir Park today.

Today I went to visit Kuching Reservoir Park which is located at Pearse Road , a 10 minutes walking distance from Kuching City centre. There is a vivid and memorable story that I would like to share here of the park which I painted in mixed media ( water colour, felt pen and crayons) way back in 1982. This painting , now 27 years old is still in my custody and will be displayed at my 2nd solo exhibition scheduled in October this year in Kuching. As I see it today the very colourful ixora shrubs that nestled below the two trees are gone.

'Kuching Reservoir Park' in mixed media, circa 1982, 22x29 cm, Artist Collection.

Gone too is the rich collection of water lily plants that floated in abundance in the pond. The side of the ponds where the two trees stood were protected by 'belian' timber planks and posts. Today however the embankment is protected by stone pitching. After 27 years the trees have really grown up and pleased to see today that the municipal council have tagged the names of the trees on the tree trunks ( viz 'Bintagor Laut' and 'Penanga Laut'). The Japanese bridge still retain its red colour but the railing that is seen at the far background is no more there. The railings were fixed on top of the reservoir wall then to allow visitors to have a higher view of the ponds. In recent years the dam wall was demolished and thus the red railing. The dam was erected more than 100 years ago to store water and filter them for the consumption of Kuching town population. Today it merely functions as a public park.

What captivated me then was the interplay of the sun's rays against the juxtaposition of colours of the liles, water, leaves, flowers and the red railings. Despite the lack of flowering shrubs around the place now, this is being compensated by the lush greenery. When I walked through the park this morning the cheerful twittering and flight of birds were plenty and the shouts of children followed every where they ran . I felt very happy today to have recorded the park 27 years ago in a painting as testimony of me being there. "I was here".

( Click here to see more of my paintings done many, many years ago)