Sunday fishes and rabbits

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.   

 

Orchids at Satok Flower Market

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.

Selling Memories

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.

Vintage Vespa

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!

Hardwood Garden Furniture

I found this collection of garden furniture at Satok Sunday market very interesting because they are made from Sarawak's toughest, I mean hardest timber called the 'Belian'. They are made into stools, benches, chairs, tables and side tables and interesting containers. Belian timber can last for  60 years or more and are not subjected to rot, even under water. For that reason they are used by the peoples of Sarawak as stilts for houses in kampungs or villages that are built by the riverside where the posts are constantly under water.  As garden furniture they can stand the heat and rain and will not warp or bend and rot like other timber. Besides that they are used as roofing shingles, jetties, pepper posts and compound fences.