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

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.

Waterfront Colours

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.

View of Kuching Waterfront

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.)

Waterfront Scenes

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.

Photographing Kuching

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.

A Complex Story

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.

How's the Sky?

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.

Spinning Tops and Songkok Boys

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

Ethnic By Design

Kuching Waterfront Ethnic Pavement Design

Today I took an afternoon off to pay another visit to the Kuching Waterfront area, prompted by a relatively cloudy day and a weather condition that has improved greatly since two days ago by the absence of rain. To my mind this is an indication that the rainy monsoon season is at its tail end.

What fascinated me today was the design at the waterfront pavement. It's indeed uniquely Sarawak in style which reminded me of a sprouting fern I took a picture in Bintulu last month.

Sarawak is a land of diverse ethnic identities. There are 27 ethnic groups in Sarawak, besides the Malays, Melanaus, Chinese and a very small minority of Indians. Among the ethnic groups it is the Ibans, Kayans, Kenyahs and Kelabits that have a very rich and developed art in design work which are applied on fabric, handicraft items, totem poles, shields, doors, arches and weaponry.

The motifs are inspired from many sources that are deeply interwined in their 'world view' of the natural phenomena as well as that of the supernatural kind.

Motifs can be inspired from animal life ranging from the small lizard to the big crocodile. In between them , designs could well feature the squirrels, tree shrews, deer, bird's legs or birds in flight. From plant life are created in very stylised techniques images of bamboo shoots, leaves, flowers, lianas, creepers and various flowers. From the human form to the supernatural world are figures depicting mythical fore fathers, warriors, medicine men, chiefs or just plain mortals.

Juvenile Crocodiles at Jong's Crocodile Farm .( pix)
The crocodile being a living ancient relic of the carnivorous dinosaur family has an important place in the lives of the natives because there are creatures that are to be avoided and not killed for fear that once killed more will return. Whether there are of the saltwater or freshwater types they don't follow specifically their territorial boundaries. Therefore you may find the biggest of the reptilian crocs i.e. the salt water crocodile(Crocodylus porous) trapped in your fishing net somewhere upriver. There are hundreds of stories in Sarawak referring to the terror days ( some years) when some huge ones prey on humans along the many river systems of Sarawak. And while Sarawak is known as ' The Land of Rivers' it is also the playground of fearsome crocs, the most well known being named ' Bujang Senang' which loosely translated means ' The Easy Going Bachelor'.

Designs on 'Sape'- a local musical instrument having only four strings.

The above designs on the 'Sape' are symmetrical, repetitive and intricate and thus traditional.

They are unlike the design on the Kuching waterfront pavement which twirls and turns in a flowing and asymmetrical fashion and therefore more modern or contemporary in outlook. It is interesting to point out that the full length of the waterfront( about half a km) is tiled using this 'flowing pattern' resembling a long river that meanders, bends and joins other tributaries on its destined journey towards the open sea , crocodiles apart.

High and Thrifty

While having a rest at this summer house 0n the Kuching waterfront area, I looked up and saw this rain tree ( Samanea saman) being clustered by ferns on its main branches. It reminded me of a picture I took sometime ago of an epiphytic orchid that bloomed on a rain tree in Bintulu as shown below.

The pigeon orchid ( Dendrobium cruminatum) has a peculiar habit of flowering after sudden thunderstorms which is believed to create a rapid fall in the temperature and thus stimulate the orchid plant to produce flowers. The tiny flowers look like white doves in flight, hence the name pigeon orchids.

This rain tree does have character. It looks ancient and inviting to many epiphytes. Sometimes called 'air plants' they survive on trees having chosen a location that is indeed fine living, though not that affluent. Because though there is less competition with other species on the ground below, they need to be very thrifty to survive at the 'penthouse' level. Some have developed abilities to reduce the evaporation of water thus making economy a way of survival.

A closer view of the ferns blanketing the rain tree branches

Epiphytes can come in the form of aroids like the broad -leaved scindapsus aureus or epipremium pinnatum 'Aureum' plant above. This plant has adhesive aerial roots that trail up the trees to great heights. Thus if I were to plant them in pots as an indoor plant I would have to hold the plant to a wooden stick to keep it upright. The epipremium has a wonderful foliage that is often variegated . The longer leaves fern above is that of the bird's nest fern ( Asplenium nidus)

In Bintulu I have this stag horn fern ( Platycerium superbum) atop a lengthy small tree vying for filtered light and great humidity of the environment upstairs. They grow to extra length of about 2 m and often the sheer weight makes it fall off the tree which makes it easy to collect.

The Idyllic Astana of Sarawak

The Astana

Across the Kuching waterfront stands this majestic colonial building called the 'Astana'. I took this picture yesterday while having a walk along the waterfront area. What captivated me was this group of deep sea fishing trawlers that were berthed nearby, unable to carry out their activities due to the dangerously strong north easterly winds that bashed yearly the coastal areas of Sarawak during this time of the monsoon season( November to February).

Historically, the 'Astana' was home to all the rulers of Sarawak. Today it is the official residence of the Sarawak's Head of State who is also referred to as the Governor or more appropriately in the Malay word as 'Yang Di Pertua Negeri'. In those days, without the benefit of today's concrete technology, the pillars are made of square bricks like most pillars or columns of colonial buildings found in vast numbers around Kuching city. The 'Astana' as it was and is called was first home to the second Rajah of Sarawak ( Sir Charles Brooke) when it was completed in 1890.

Subsequently it was used by British Governors after Sarawak was handed over to the British Colonial government by the Brooke's ruling family since 1946 . When Sarawak formed Malaysia in 1963, it became iconic of Sarawak's state sovereignty within the federation of Malaysia. It still stands pretty to me at a distance from the Kuching waterfront. The still waters of the Sarawak River that meanders by it gives a classic post card view in idylic setting.

The roofing material of the Astana is made of the hardest timber species of Sarawak called the 'Belian' ( Eusideroxylon zwageri ) similar to the roofing shingles of this colonial building which is still standing and situated roughly opposite of the Astana, at the Kuching waterfront area.

Kuching Sights

After lunch we decided to have a quick tour of Kuching city. Our faithful blue 4x4 Ford Ranger brought us to Petrajaya which is a very modern township to the north of Kuching city. Here the highways are big and mostly dual carriageways and well planted with huge trees and flowering shrubs.

Within the compound of the State Library where I borrowed 6 books ( maximum) I came across a flock of Chinese egrets.  Before these birds were migratory and used to visit Sarawak when winter approaches in China.  However for the last two decades they decided to call Sarawak home.

Next we stopped by at the Kuching waterfront area, a popular destination for foreign tourists and local visitors alike. The scale of the about to be completed new State Legislative Assembly Building is immense compared to its surroundings. It looks like a building taken out from the pages of a fairy tale book.

There was a light shower when we were at the waterfront and decided to stay longer by having our afternoon tea by the river.  Here we had tea with fritters made of bananas,vegetables and taufu.

Then went shopping for handicrafts at the handicrafts bazaar that ran parallel to the Kuching waterfront area. This bazaar is within walking distance from all the major hotels in the Kuching city tourist belt.

Finally we stopped over at a bonsai show and sale fair on our way back home. Hundreds of bonsai were displayed. I am not really keen on keeping bonsai but I do like to see them for the fact that I love plants.

I understand that bonsais are good for your eyes.  This is especially so when you do the pruning everyday in the early morning hours.   The cool colours of the leaves and your eyes focussed on the greenery are soothing for both eyes.  Do this everyday and I was told your eyesight will improve.

On a more interesting note I recalled why the Japanese like bonsai. It is that their desire to simply and understand the world in a condense form thus making it a lot easier to 'control 'or articulate the world. Like the bonsai the universe is shaped in a form that is compact and tangible , for example- compact cars, smaller notebooks, small handphones, tiny walkman sets or MP3 players etc..They do say 'Small is Beautiful'.

Bonsai, anyone?

Sarawak River boat cruise

Today is the 7th day of the Hari Raya in Kuching. I took a few hours this afternoon to check out any interesting happenings at the water front area. Closeby the water edge I saw groups of tourists boarding a river cruise boat to enjoy a two hours journey looking at the sunset, the river scenes, local food and drinks served together with cultural performances for the tourists on board the double-decker boat. I was informed that the cost per pax for the enchanting experience is RM 48. The boat leaves around 5.00 pm to enable the tourists catch the setting sun normally seen around 6.30 pm onwards around the Kuching vicinity.

Conical shapes at Kuching water front

I am attracted at the use of conical shape for both the bronze sculpture in the foreground and a mammoth building under construction in the background.

Close up view of the bronze sculpture. The bird silhouette resembles that of the 'kenyalang bird' otherwise called the rhinocerous hornbill. Sarawak is also officially known as ' The Land of the Hornbills'.

Handicrafts Show at Kuching Waterfront

Today the Handicrafts Show and Sale at the Kuching Waterfront comes to a close. I went to check out the place this morning and here's some pictures I took at the exhibition booths.

An interesting display of containers using rattan as the chief material for weaving.

Seconday school students take part in the batik painting demonstration.