Chronicles of James : Murals @ SCMC

Chronicles of James : 大雄叔叔陪吃早餐

Chronicles of James : Le Tour de Langkawi

Yippie ! Rubber ducks !!!

Sandy beach @ Dayang Bay

SkyBridge

Petronas Quay

Beras Terbakar

Infinity Pool @ Dayang Bay

Dataran Lang

Wanderful Seafood @ Persiaran Mutiara

Gunung Raya

Chronicles of James : Farm Homestay @ Janda Baik

Psidium guajava @ jambu batu

Carambola averrhoa @ belimbing besi

天鹅 

raccoon

Citrus maxima @ limau bali

Artocarpus heterophyllus @ nangka

pony

BorneoPost Online : Matu – A quaint town with stories to tell

July 5, 2015, Sunday

Some of the old wooden shophouses in Matu that are still running.

TUCKED away in the Melanau heartland and hidden deep in the shadows of the forests along the narrow coastal belt of Sarawak, lies the lonely town of Matu – all but forgotten by time.

It has only two rows of shophouses at its bazaar, a primary school, the Matu-Daro District Council – the biggest building in Matu, a clinic, a temple and several abandoned government quarters.

The quaint town has very few cars plying its roads. Its residents spend much time sipping coffee and gathering at coffeeshops facing the Matu River.

A greenish blue houseboat docked at the unattended jetty, of which the wooden platform sides are covered in plant overgrowth – a vestige of this predominantly-Melanau community that once depended upon the river for its livelihood.

This town did thrive once. In the early days, a boat service plying the Matu River played a vital role in connecting people and transporting goods with nearby destinations and beyond. The narrow water route facilitated its early economy where boats docking at the wharf provided outlets for traders, farmers and fishermen to deliver their commodities to little towns along the river.

Surprisingly, it was also popular for its small prison cells that once held notorious residents of Sarikei and Bintangor.

Today, Matu is connected by branch roads linked with bridges and ferry points. Daro is the closest town at some 30km away, while Sibu is further 75km southeast. Nevertheless, the little businesses being run to sustain the population of hundreds there – the majority of whom living in villages scattered outside the town – are struggling.

Still, the small town still has a few intriguing stories waiting to be told.

One century ago, a large fire tore through the wooden shophouses at the old bazaar next to a small Tua Pek Kong temple on the other side of the Matu River.

The old bazaar was razed to the ground but quite strangely, the temple remained unscathed by the inferno.

Locals claimed of seeing a little boy standing on top of the temple, who appeared to be using a flag to redirect the flames from touching the structure.

According to former councillor Phong Ah Tee @ Kim Yong, the traders – most of whom were Chinese immigrants – then moved across the river to re-establish the commercial area, calling it the ‘New Bazaar’.

“The Chinese here worship Tua Pek Kong. The temple is also dedicated to Gee Seng Kong, in honour of the little boy who protected the temple from the big fire,” he told BAT 5.

“In the 1970s, the late Tan Sri Sim Kheng Hong gave a RM70,000 grant to Matu. Residents also raised funds to refurbish the temple and enhance its surrounding.”

At the New Bazaar, 17 units of shophouses spread out in two rows were set up. Today, however, only few units are still running such as grocery stores, a coffeeshop, a tuck shop, a furniture store as well as a fabric and clothing store.

Traditional Chinese designs can still be seen on the old wooden structures that have managed to withstand the ravages of time.

“It must have been around for 70 to 80 years now,” said Phong, referring to his rustic tuck shop, which is surrounded with wooden racks and old glass display cases shelved and stuffed with dry food, as well as medicine and fabrics wrapped in brown paper.

“I inherited this from my father.”

Phong recalled vividly of another fire that happened on June 17, 1967, which partially burned down some of the wooden shophouses down the road leading to the primary school.

“So we constructed two new shophouses next to it. Then, another fire struck in 1969. So the Chinese here gathered and held prayers as well as rituals at the Tua Pek Kong and Gee Seng Kong Temple, to seek advice and ask for divine intervention.”

In response, Phong said the faithful were told to sleep by the five-foot-way to appease the ‘God of Fire’ and in turn, seek blessings for the town.

“We slept on the road in front of our shophouses for two weeks. All the shops were fully stuck with talisman sheets. We also used to hold processions as a way to appease the deities once every three years, but the deities wanted it to be done once every two years,” he added, pointing out that things had been peaceful since.

Phong himself admitted that he was not sure when exactly or how the story began.

“One thing for sure is that the Chinese, who lived through these incidents, believe it.”

On his hometown, Phong hoped that more could be done for its only primary school, which has been existing since 1948 and is still running, despite being very run down. Currently, it houses 106 pupils.

“The old school block needs to be renovated to provide a safer and better teaching-learning place for children and teachers.

“There is a plan to build new buildings for the school, but we are lacking RM1 million in funds.”

Phong revealed that he had applied for a permit to raise funds at the Matu District’s Office two years ago, but it had yet to be approved.

The refurbished Tua Pek Kong Temple.

The primary school – the one and only in Matu – houses 106 pupils.

Phong's tuck shop still retains its traditional Chinese design

  

Read more:

http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/07/05/matu-a-quaint-town-with-stories-to-tell/#ixzz40VAvl7DV

BorneoPost Online : Quiet, rustic and heart-warming Julau

June 28, 2015, Sunday

The small town of Julau stretches from a couple of blocks and houses various business

Hung's daughter poses with the noodle-making machine and tools on the upper floor of the shophouse

JULAU is a pepper town that spices up over the weekend, and where fumes and dirt kicked up by cars and bikes rise with the morning sun.

Julau, although a small town, is packed with history, culture and traditions. Wandering around the town, we met 64-year-old Ingai Achot who is a retired teacher and has spent more than 40 years of his life in Julau.

Hung prepares noodles in the kitchen of the coffeeshop passed down from his father to him

Ingai, who currently gives English tuition classes in his spare time, told us Julau was once home to a mighty Iban warrior named Asun who led the Iban community in rebelling against the Brookes – the ‘White Rajahs’.

According to him, the Brooke Fort in Nanga Meluan which is located around 20km from Julau bazaar was built in 1936 and was used as an administrative centre during the Brooke era.

A hanging bridge that connects villagers living across the Kanowit river

This was where Asun, a penghulu from the Entabai area in Julau rebelled against Rajah Charles Vyner due to the taxation system introduced then.

“Asun led the Iban community and attacked the fort with just parangs, spears and shields,” shared Ingai.

The hero of the Iban community is now long gone but according to Ingai, still has many descendants living in the district. We decided to question him about the ‘miring’ ritual – an Iban ritual we learned from locals around at the bazaar.

“The ritual is where Ibans give offerings to the gods in return for their blessings,” Ingai explained.

Hung's coffeeshop offers homemade 'kampua' noodles

Believers will prepare all kinds of offerings such as bitternuts, betel leaves, tobacco, gluttonous rice and ‘rendai’ – a popcorn-like dish where gluttonous rice is heated in a wok – on a plate.

The believers would then hold up a live rooster and circle it around the offerings. “They believe that the crow of the rooster can call upon the gods,” Ingai said.

After this, the rooster is then slaughtered and its blood and feathers are then

offered to the gods. The knowledgeable ex-teacher then told us that depending on what one wants to ask for, one calls upon a specific god. For example, you call upon the God of Paddy if you want to have great harvest, he said.

The locals of this quaint town who speak a mixture of Chinese and Iban are very friendly, and many are of Iban-Chinese parentage.

They greeted us with bright smiles and were glad to share their knowledge on anything we found interesting. Coffeeshop owner Hung Siew Dee revealed that the small town would becoming a hive of activity as people from the surrounding areas and even from remote villages like Nangka Wat and Ulu Entabai came by to shop and stock up on necessities or to run errands during the weekends.

“There is an open air market in town where villagers from all over come to trade their wares over the weekend,” he said when approached yesterday.

“There are more people on Sunday,” he added. Hung, 37, runs his coffeeshop with his wife; a business which has been passed down by his father that has a history of over 40 years serving handmade ‘kampua’ noodles.

The noodle-making tools and machine are placed on the top floor of the three-storey shophouse as it cannot fit into the store that is long, but not wide enough to house the equipment.

“Yes, we make our own noodles as it is difficult and expensive to source it from outside due to distance. This is just a small town,” he said.

“My father handed down the noodle recipe to me,” he added.  At the opposite corner of the coffeeshop, volunteers of Sarawak for Sarawakians (S4S) sold various merchandise like car stickers, shirts and badges to raise awareness about demanding greater rights and autonomy for the people of Sarawak.

The town stretches for a couple blocks and houses a variety of businesses from coffee shops to grocery stores and hardware stores.

The open air market offers an array of products like clothes, bags, accessories, fresh fruits, vegetables and jungle produce.

Unfortunately, most of the traders had already packed up and cleared the market by noon when we arrived to explore.

Trader Christina Janting, 26, told us that the open air market brought a lot of life to this town.

“I trade here during most weekends, especially during the Gawai festive month,” she said, pointing out that business was slow.

Christina, who is from Sarikei, sells traditional Iban costumes like Pua Kumbu, Baju Sidan (vest), Kain Tanting (petticoat with decorative bells), head gear and accessories as well as gongs.

“Traditional Iban clothing are getting popular nowadays. Most of my customers are Dayaks but there are also people of other races who buy them as well,” she said.

The small town is rich with culture and history, and the underlying warmth of its people left the deepest of marks in our hearts.

The kind and gentle nature of the townsfolk was heart-warming, and it’s no wonder Julau is deemed the district that sports the lowest crime rates.

So it is with a heavy heart we left behind Julau and its people as we departed once more for other places in the central region.

Locals check out the various S4S merchandise on sale at the corner of the coffeeshop

The S4S merchandise on display which include car stickers, caps and posters

Read more: 
http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/06/28/quiet-rustic-and-heart-warming-julau/#ixzz40V66kXeS