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What you need to know about Sarawakians favourite vegetable, midin

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If the Malaysian state of Sarawak had to pick a national vegetable, that veg would definitely be midin. Although cassava leaves give a tight competition, this wild fern certainly takes the title.

In Sarawak, midin (Stenochlaena palustris) is that one vegetable you can find at a five-star hotel, a seafood restaurant in Kuching or a Kayan longhouse in rural Belaga.

As much as Sarawakians love to eat midin, we have not named any place after the fern.

However in the Philippines, there is a district called Diliman which is the Tagalog word for Stenochlaena palustris. It is located at the center of southern Quezon city.

In 2018, a wild rumour spread that Sarawak had one of the highest rates of stomach cancer due to eating midin or paku-pakis.

Thankfully, experts have debunked the rumour so Sarawakians can continue to enjoy this vegetable dish.

Here are 10 things you need to know about this wild vegetable, midin:

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1. You can find midin outside of Sarawak too!

While midin or lemidin grows wildly in Sarawak, it is also distributed naturally in South India through Southeast Asia up to Northern Australia and Polynesia.

In Sarawak, it grows in lowland areas at about 1,000m above sea level.

2. It is usually picked from the wild, not grown

You can find it thriving in forest, rubber estates, oil palm plantations and river banks.

Although it spreads across the ground, you can also find this fern up in the trees.

So far, there are no reports of cultivating the vegetable yet.

 

3. Shrimp paste and midin are a match made in heaven

Sarawakians’ favourite way to cook it is with belacan or shrimp paste. In India and Indonesia, the locals enjoy it with garlic.

One odd ingredient that goes well with this vegetable is a can of sardines in tomato sauce.

4. The nutritional value of lemidin

This fibrous vegetable is rich in antioxidants. It also contains potassium, phosphorus, iron as well as calcium, manganese, copper and zinc.

5. It is the original organic vegetable

Forget all the expensive ‘organic vegetables’ you find in one of those fancy supermarkets. Midin is the MVP of organic vegetables.

This is because this wild fern appears to be resistant to pests and disease. That is why you can see it grow with wild abandon even at the roadside without any proper care.

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Learn more about felines at Kuching Cat Museum

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If quirky is your taste and the cat is your animal spirit, then you must visit Kuching Cat Museum. If there was a group of cat lovers out there combining together their cats memorabilia of cats, the place would look exactly like this museum.

Founded in 1993, Kuching Cat Museum run by Kuching North City Hall (DBKU) was an idea mooted by current Sarawak governor Abdul Taib Mahmud and his late wife Laila Taib who thought of having a museum dedicated to nothing but cats.

The museum is located in Petra Jaya on the bottom floor of the DBKU building which is about 20 minutes from Kuching city. Standing tall at 60 meters above sea level, the building also offers great view of Petra Jaya and Kuching city.

The Kuching Cat Museum is divided into four galleries; Gallery A, B, C, and D.

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There are many things to see and read at Kuching Cat Museum.
Gallery A of Kuching Cat Museum

Cats play significant role in many communities around the world including the Malay, Chinese as well as the Iban in Sarawak.

In the olden days, some Malays believed that one of the most effective way to call for rain was to soak a cat in a pan of water… It is certainly not something we would encourage people to do nowadays, but this is one of the many cat-related superstitions one can learn at Kuching Cat Museum.

Here at Gallery A of the museum, visitors can also learn about the famous Japanese lucky cat, maneki-neko.

It is a common figurine depicting a calico Japanese bobtail which is often believed to bring good luck to the owner.

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Some cat plates that could have been from Harry Potter’s Professor Umbridge private collection.
Gallery B of Kuching Cat Museum
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Cats in contemporary arts.

In this part of the museum, visitors can know about interesting cat facts in oriental arts, medieval age and ancient Egypt.

Do you know that in China, cats are usually portrayed as a child’s gentle playmate? Meanwhile, the Japanese prefer to associate cats with women.

Additionally, this museum is one of the few places in the world which featured the works of Malaysian artist Jane Yap Jian Yi.

Graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Japanese Painting from Takasaki Art Center College, cats have been the only subject that she has featured in her work since 2000.

Apart from Kuching Cat Museum, her works are also displayed in Club Med Kabira, Japan and many private collections in China, Malaysia, Tahiti and the US.

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Some of the paintings by Jane Yap.
Gallery C of Kuching Cat Museum
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Cats in posters.

We cannot talk about cats without mentioning them in popular culture. Felines have inspired humankind in many artistic ways from poems to songs, and even Broadway musicals.

Visitors can find the poem “Lost Words to a Dumb Friend” by Thomas Hardy at this museum.

Large portions of the artifacts displayed at the museum were donated by cat lovers from around the world. One of them is Dr Betty Jamie Chung from Hong Kong.

She visited Kuching Cat Museum in the 90s and was left impressed by the collection. Later after her death in October 2013, Dr Chung donated 539 cat artifacts to the museum.

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The late Dr Betty Jamie Chung’s private cat merchandise collection.
Gallery D of Kuching Cat Museum
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The museum also features some celebrity cats.

Speaking of popular culture, Gallery D of the museum featured more famous felines around the world such as Garfield and Hello Kitty.

Visitors can also browse through comic strips featuring cats for their own amusement at this part of the museum.

There is also an exhibition of local and wild cats of Borneo if you want to learn more about these animals.

For example, some of the interesting observations of Sarawak cats are that 15% of them have short tail, 50% kinked tail, 25% bobbed tail while 10% or less have long tails.

Another fun fact about this museum is that it houses the only complete Bay Cat (Pardofelis badia) skeleton in the world.

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The only complete Bay Cat (Pardofelis badia) skeleton in the world.

Found in Borneo, it is one of the rarest cat species in the world.

On top of wide collection of cats artifacts, Kuching Cat Museum also paid tribute to famous cat lovers around the world including French poet Charles Pierre Baudelaire, Sir Isaac Newton and Anne Frank.

For cat lovers with great appreciation for arts and patience for reading fun facts and cat-related general knowledge, Kuching Cat Museum is definitely worth the trip.

 

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How Catholicism influenced the Kayan in Tubau to honour their dead

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Under a temporary hut made of wooden sticks and canvas, some 80 people gathered together at Sungai Pesu cemetery, near Tubau to attend All Souls’ Day mass.

Celebrated annually on Nov 2, it is a day to commemorate the souls of all Christians who have died.

The small congregation came not only from the nearby longhouses but also all around Sarawak who came home purposely to observe All Souls’ Day at the cemetery.

Preceding the mass on muddy ground without any chairs, the priest Rev Fr John Chia reminded the congregation that it was their duty to pray for the dead.

He also pointed out the Catholic Church teaches that the purification of the souls in Purgatory can be hastened by the prayers of the faithful on earth.

After the mass ended, the congregation spread out to their respective loved one’s tombs to pray and clean the grave sites.

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Some 80 Catholic faithfuls attended the All Souls’ Day mass in Sungai Pesu, Tubau.

Kayan’s burial ground of different faiths

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The faithfuls coming together to pray under the temporary shelter.

Located about an hour and half from Bintulu, the Sungai (river) Pesu cemetery was one of the earliest final resting places for the Kayan settlers near Tubau river who migrated from Balui river.

They were believed to have moved to Tubau basin at the beginning of the 19th century in search of better farmland.

Reportedly, the first two longhouses who buried their loved ones at Sungai Pesu cemetery were from Uma Pako and Uma Awai.

After more than 150 years since the Kayan settled in Tubau, the cemetery now laid rest those who were practicing Adat Bungan (old Kayan religion), Borneo Evangelical Mission and Catholicism.

However, it was hard to know whose tomb was the oldest there because there was no such things tombstones back then.

The earliest Christian graves there date back to the 1970s while most are marked by old rotting crosses.

How Catholicism influenced the Kayan in Tubau to honour their dead
Some of the old ‘salong’.

Before Catholicism came

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Hawing Igang

Before the Kayan communities embraced Christianity, the practice of honouring the dead was almost unheard of.

This was why most old burial grounds were not maintained or taken care of. They were not allowed to cut any trees or clear the grave site.

Even at Sungai Pesu cemetery, some old salong (burial hut) were in various states of dilapidation.

According to one of the nearby residents Hawing Igang, there were so many dos and the don’ts back in those days.

“If somebody died, they were not allowed to carry the body across the longhouse passing other amin (family’s home) as it was considered bringing bad luck to other residents.

“Back then, they purposely designed the longhouse to have loose flooring. So that if someone died, the family would open up the floor and carefully pass the body to people below to carry to the cemetery.”

During the recent All Souls’ day, a group of children were seen playing while their parents and grandparents reciting the Rosary prayers.

This scene was never seen before as children back in the days were to hide away in a room both during the wake and funeral.

Sungai Pesu cemetery back then was only accessible by the river. In the olden days whenever they passed by any cemetery, the parents would cover their children faces, forbidding them to look at the burial grounds.

All of these were done believing it would protect the children from any harm or misfortune.

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All Souls’ Day allows the communities to honour their dead loved ones.

After Catholicism came

When the Kayan in Tubau started to embrace Catholicism in the 1960s, it brought many changes to local customs, particularly when it came to funeral rites or honouring the dead.

The dead were given Catholic burials and every year on All Souls’ Day, the communities gather together at cemeteries to pray for them.

Despite this, some of the elders still believe some of the old customs. Some of them were quick to scold if they saw the younger ones straying away to the old graves buried in Adat Bungan.

According to Hawing, it is hard to locate any of these old graves anyway. Most of them are covered in bushes and even secondary forests.

The practice of remembering the dead brought by Catholicism allow the communities to clean and maintain their ancestral burial grounds.

Some of them even replaced the old wooden crosses with proper tombstones in honour of their loved ones.

If it were not for Catholicism, most of the old burial grounds such as the one in Sungai Pesu could easily be forgotten, overgrown by bush and forest.

How Catholicism influenced the Kayan in Tubau to honour their dead 5
Most of the old burial grounds such as the one in Sungai Pesu could easily be forgotten, overgrown by bush and forest if it were not for Catholicism.

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5 facts you need to know about red wine mee sua

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Mee sua (also spelled misua, mee suah or miswa) is a type of noodle made from wheat flour. Originally from Fujian, China, this noodle is can now be found in Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.

There are several ways to cook mee sua; you can fry it or cook it with sesame oil.

In the Malaysian state of Sarawak, the most popular (and iconic way) to cook it is with red wine.

Here are 5 interesting facts about red wine mee sua:

Red Wine Mee Sua
A bowl of red wine mee sua.
1.Mee sua has long been associated with longevity in Chinese culture.

Regardless of how it is cooked, the noodle itself signifies long life in Chinese culture. It is usually served on birthday, a baby’s full moon celebration, wedding or Chinese New Year.

There are mothers who take it during their confinement period as well.

Nowadays, you can find this traditional dish at some local coffeeshops or food courts though we do not guarantee it will be as tasty as the home-cooked version.

2.The Fuzhou (Foochow) people who came up with red wine mee sua

The Fuzhou (more commonly spelled as Foochow here) in Malaysia are mainly found in Sarawak central region such as Sibu, Bintulu and Sarikei as well as Sitiawan, Perak.

These are the places you can surely find red wine mee sua being sold in common eateries.

However, the West Malaysian version of red wine mee sua is more reddish in colour with a thicker broth compared to the Sarawakian version.

Apart from kampua, kompia, and dian bian hu, red wine mee sua is one of the must-try if you are in Sibu.

3.Mee sua usually contains alkaline soda which prevent the noodles from breaking

To make your own hand-rolled mee sua, first of all is to mix wheat flour, rock salt and alkaline soda.

Later when you pull and roll the noodle, the alkaline soda will prevent the mee sua from breaking.

Then, cooking oil and sago flour are added into the mixture. Make the mixture into a dough before flattened and thinly cutting it into noodles. Lastly, dry the noodles under the hot sun before making a red wine mee sua.

4.Another key ingredient of this dish is the red wine itself

Although Chinese red wine is easily available at supermarkets or grocery shops, you can also make your own red wine at home.

Of course, it is more time-consuming (the fermentation takes about a month).

The main ingredients to make Chinese red wine are glutinous rice, water, red rice bran and yeast.

Your red wine mee sua will certainly taste better with good quality Chinese red wine.

5.A bowl of red wine mee sua is incomplete without egg and chicken

Even if you are cooking one whole chicken for your red wine mee sua, your dish for longevity is still incomplete without hard boiled eggs for each person feasting on your mee sua.

While the other ingredients for your mee sua are pretty basic such as sesame oil, ginger, mushroom, garlic, water and more Chinese red wine, the key to make the taste stronger is to let the dish sit for few minutes before serving.

How about trying these few recipes here, here, here and let us know how it goes?

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The legends of how paddy came to Sarawak

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As rice is a staple food in Sarawak like any another Asian culture, paddy planting plays an important economical role in the local communities.

Though most people nowadays stock up their rice from supermarkets, there are people who still cultivate rice for self-consumption.

However, have you ever wondered how paddy came to Sarawak?

Here we take a look on the different legends of how paddy came to this Malaysian state of Borneo:

1. Singalang Burong taught the Ibans how to plant paddy
Paddy
According to an Iban legend, the God of war taught the Iban how to plant the paddy. Credits: Pixabay.

Singalang Burong is the God of War and one of the deities in Iban mythology. According to legend, he had a daughter named Endu Dara Tincin Temaga (or Endu Sudan Galigan Tincin Mas).

One day, Menggin (or Siu) who was a human found a feathered robe belonging to Tincin Temaga during a hunt.

He took the robe into his possession and Tincin Temaga made Menggin promise that he would never touch another bird.

To make a long story short, Menggin married Tincin Temaga and they had a son named Seragunting.

After the birth of their son, Menggin accidentally broke his promise to his wife.

Upset, Tincin Temaga left her husband, returning to her father’s realm. Together, Menggin and Seragunting went out to look for her. They followed Tincin Temaga’s instructions on the routes and ways to avoid the traps to Singalang Burong’s home in the celestial realm.

Eventually, they arrived at Singalang Burong’s house and remaining there for one whole year.

During this period, Seragunting learned how to read omen, catch fish, dear, and wild pig as well as how to plant paddy.

Singalang also gave Menggin and Seragunting some paddy to bring home to the mortal world.

There are many written accounts of this legend available out there. But one of the most detailed stories was written by Edwin H. Gomes.

Gomes was an English missionary who wrote the book Seventeen Years among the Sea Dyaks of Borneo: a record of intimate association with the natives of the Bornean jungles (1911).

Gome wrote Singalang Burong said this when he handed them the paddy.

“You have learned here how to plant paddy. I will give you some paddy to take away with you, and when you get back to your own country, you can teach men how to cultivate it. You will find rice a much more strengthening article of food than the yams and potatoes you used to live upon, and you will become a strong and hardy race.”

2. The plant of Pleiades or Seven Sisters
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In another legend said the paddy plant must be cultivated first under the seven stars. Credits: Pixabay.

This legend of how paddy was first brought to Borneo was recorded by the first Ranee of Sarawak, Margaret Brooke in her book My Life in Sarawak (1913). A fortman’s wife in Simanggang (Sri Aman) told the Ranee this version of the legend.

Long time ago, there was a man who lived alone in a small hut by the river. After a series of heavy downpours and thunderstorms, the man watched the driftwood and debris floating down from the upper river past his house.

Then, a huge tree with its roots still intact floated down the river. The tree got caught on a sandbank with its roots emerging above the water.

The man noticed there was a strange-looking plant entangled in its roots. So the man took his sampan and went out into the river to collect it.

But after that he thought the plant had no use so he threw it at the corner for his hut. That night, the man had a dream.

A spirit told him that “the plant was necessary to the human race, but that it must be watched and cherished, and planted when seven stars were shining together in the sky just before dawn.”

After he woke up, then man went to his neighbour and told him about the dream. His neighbour said that the Petara (deity) himself who appeared in that dream and the man should listen to him.

Later that night, the man waited for another dream to tell when he was to look for the seven stars.

The Ranee wrote:

“In due time, under Patara’s guidance, the man noticed the ‘necklace of Pleiades’ appearing in the sky. The little plant was then put in the ground, where it grew and multiplied. The people in neighbouring villages also procured roots to plant in their farms, so that the paddy now flourishes all over the country and the people of Sarawak have always enough to eat.”

3. The Chinese legend of paddy
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It has been scientifically proven that all Asian rice come from China. Credits: Pixabay.

There are plenty of Chinese legends on how paddy came to Earth. In one legend, a Chinese deity named Shennong was the one who introduced paddy planting to human race.

Shennong was credited for teaching the ancient Chinese how to use the plow and medicinal plants. From China, rice cultivation was spread to India, Southeast Asia, Korea and Japan.

Putting aside these folk stories and myths, it had been scientifically proven that all forms of Asian rice come from a single domestication that happened between 8,200 and 12,000 years ago in China.

Researchers from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States did the research using a map of rice genome variations and published their work in Nature journal back in 2012.

The research also indicated the domestication of rice occurred in the Pearl River Valley regions of China.

Even so there are no written records or proven research of how paddy planting introduced to Sarawak, only mythical legends to tell the next generations.

Do you have know any legends of how paddy came to Sarawak in your culture? Share with us in the comment box.

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An encounter with a fellow Kayan at Putussibau, Indonesia

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Putussibau
A view of Putussibau from the plane.

Putussibau, the capital of the Indonesian regency Kapuas Hulu, is the last market town on the Kapuas river.

Located in the northeastern part of West Kalimantan, it is close to the Indonesia-Malaysian Sarawak border. It is the tourists’ gateway to Danau Sentarum and Betung Kerihun national parks.

From the perspective of a Malaysian Kayan, Putussibau is the gateway to Mendalam, Mahakam and other rivers where the Indonesian Kayan people mostly reside.

After I posted a photo of Putussibau Pangsuma Airport on Instagram (as most Gen Y and millennials do) during my short pit stop at Putussibau, I was bombarded with comments and personal messages from my relatives.

Beside asking me to look for Kayan inu (beads) as souvenirs, my relatives also urged me to meet and talk to as many Kayans as I could.

And I did! I had a brief meeting with Fransiska Mening, a Kayan from Mendalam who owned a handicraft shop at Putussibau called Kerawing Gallery and Art.

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One of the streets in Putussibau.

From one Kayan to another

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Some of the beaded handicrafts in Fransiska’s shop.

According to Fransiska, the Kayan of Kalimantan still hold tight to their customs and cultural practices to this day.

She herself was proud of the hand-tapped tattoos on her forearms. Fransiska shared, “There is an ongoing effort by the government to record the different kind of tattoo patterns among the Kayan women here. We are still working on it.”

Fransiska’s tattoo patterns are like nothing I have seen before on any Kayan woman in Sarawak. While most tattoo patterns fully cover their forearms, Fransiska’s tattoos were in spiral patterns like ferns.

In Sarawak, it is a pattern more often found in wood carvings and traditional dress but not as a tattoo.

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The tattoos on Fransiska’s forearm.

Kayan and blowpipe shooting

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Fransiska inherited these old beads from her late grandmother.

The Kayan, like most tribes on the island of Borneo, chose the blowpipe as their preferred weapon when it came to hunting or wartime.

According to author Peter Metcalf, 19th century ethnologists were curious as to why the Bornean people (who advanced to using iron tools) did not develop the bow and arrow like most other cultures around the world.

The reason lies in Borneo’s topography and landscape. Metcalf wrote “For hunting, they (bows) are ineffective because the dense vegetation seldom allows a clear shot.”

“For pigs or deer, a combination of dogs and spears brings the best results. In regard to small game in the lower branches of trees, such as birds and monkeys, they are easily shot with darts.”

Furthermore, he argued that it was difficult to shoot an arrow at such steep angles, and once you lose your arrows, it was impossible to recover them in the thick Bornean jungle.

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It takes strong forearms and a steady base to shoot the blowpipe with accuracy.

Blowpipe shooting as a hobby

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A traditional blowpipe like this can also work as a spear.

While the blowpipe is no longer used to hunt or shoot one’s enemies, Fransiska and her family picked It up as a hobby.

“Everyone in my family has his or her own blowpipe. It is more hygienic that way,” she said. And they take their blowpipe shooting seriously, participating in local competitions including the annual Danau Sentarum Festival.

Fransiska was quick to show some of the blowpipes in her shop as well as those from her personal collection.

There were made of different types of wood with intricate carvings. The one made from belian wood was heavier and of course, more expensive.

She also owned a more traditional blowpipe which comes with a spearhead at the end, doing double duty as a spear and a blowpipe.

It’s similar to what my family have at home. Unlike Fransiska, however, our blowpipe once used by our ancestors to hunt is now displayed as a decorative item in the living room. (Perhaps now is the right time to dust the blowpipe and shoot some darts.)

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An example of non-poisonous darts. These types of darts used to be soaked with poison for hunting in the olden days.

The differences in Kayan dialects

After coming back from Putussibau, my family bombarded us with many questions. One question that stood out was, “Do the Kayan speak closer to Belaga accent or Baram accent?”

In Sarawak, the Kayan language can be primarily divided into three dialects of these three rivers where they mostly settled; Tubau, Belaga and Baram.

From there, the dialects can be vastly different from each other, even though they’re from the same area, depending on which longhouses they are from.

The differences are in the accents, tones and certain words,  much as you would imagine English being spoken in a Scottish, Irish and British accent. Most of the time, however, all Kayans can understand each other.

So when it came to the Indonesian Kayan dialect, I found that they had accent on their own; not as fast-spoken as the Tubau accent and not as melodic as the Baram accent.

Apart from the accents, I also noticed some of their vocabulary were distinctively their own, different from any Sarawakian Kayan dialects.

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A decoration with Kayan motif and Catholic influence.

Sharing the same roots from Apo Kayan

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It is hard to choose from all these different variety of woven bracelets.

Whether you are a Kayan from West Kalimantan or Sarawak, we all have the same understanding that our ancestors come from Apo Kayan.

It is located at the Kayan river, Bulungan Regency at East Kalimantan. Their migration from the ancestral land in Apo Kayan began in the 18th and 19th centuries.

From there, they settled in Sarawak of Baram and Rajang rivers as well as upper Kapuas and Mahakam rivers.

Even though the Kayans now have been divided by political boundaries of Malaysia-Indonesia, it does not stop them from visiting each other.

Many trips have been organised by different Kayan longhouses communities, mostly from Sarawak to Kalimantan.

According to Fransiska, the Kayan from Kalimantan are planning to return the favour next year.

“There will be a group from Putussibau driving through the Badau-Lubok Antu border maybe sometime in April and May next year. We are planning to visit Belaga and see how is it like there.”

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Fransiska Mening.

Saying goodbye to Putussibau

The Kayan people, particularly the women, have a unique way of air-kissing each other when they greet or say goodbye.

They touch each other cheek-to-cheek twice but instead of being accompanied by the ‘mwah’ sound with their lips, they give a small sniff.

It is commonly practiced among family members and usually those whom you are affectionate with.

Growing up, I distinctly remember hearing those sniffing sounds every time I kissed my grandparents goodbye. To this day, it is still the way my family shows their affection.

When I bid my farewells to Fransiska, the soft sniffing sound from her air-kiss reminds me it is undeniable that the Kayans still share the same strong roots despite our differences in nationality.

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5 things to do at Buntal Esplanade, Kuching

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Located about 30km from Kuching city, Buntal Esplanade is a hidden gem waiting to be explored more by the locals and tourists alike.

Buntal Esplanade
The road into Kampung Buntal, a local fishing village located between Kuching city and Santubong.

The esplanade is inside Kampung Buntal, a traditional Malay fishing village situated at the mouth of Sarawak river leading to South China Sea.

The village is named after ikan buntal or the puffer fish which commonly found near the area.

If you are looking for fresh air on a Saturday afternoon, here are five things to do at Buntal Esplanade:

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Welcome to Buntal Esplanade!
1.Enjoy the beach view

First of all, just enjoy the view of South China Sea at Buntal Esplanade. Do you know that Buntal beach offers a mesmerising scenic view of the sunrise? (Just make sure you’re there before 6 am).

Plus, the best part is that the walkway of Buntal Esplanade is wheelchair-friendly.

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The esplanade was designed to be wheelchair-friendly.
2.Buy some seafood

Being a fishing village right next to the ocean, it is no surprise that Buntal provides a variety of fresh marine resources at its market.

Some of their seafood on offer are seasonal catch, so you only get to buy them during certain periods of the year.

These include jelly fish (March-April), swimmer crab (July-August), eng-ngoyang (October-February), sea anemone (December-January) and ambal (December-January).

Additionally, the non-seasonal catches are hard clams, mangrove clams, cockles, mud crabs and obtuse horn shell.

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Support the local communities by buying their products.
3. Do some bird-watching activities
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The observation point of Buntal Esplanade.

Did you know that Bako Buntal Bay is the wandering site for 27 migratory bird species in their annual migration between Southeast Asia and Australasia?

Completed on March 2015, Buntal Esplanade was designed as a walkaway with an observation point for bird-watching activities.

According to the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership, the Bako Buntal Bay area welcomes more 25,000 migratory birds between October and April every year.

Most of them are threatened species such as Nordmann’s Greenshank, Asian Dowitcher and Far Eastern Curlew.

Meanwhile in 2009, two rare birds – the Pied Avocet and Eurasian Oystercatcher were caught  on sight near the bay.

The habitat in the coastal area is mud and mangrove forest, making it attractive for migratory birds in search of food.

If you notice unique wooden structure near the beach while bird-watching, it could be an engian. It is a traditional trapping method used by the local fishermen to catch anchovies and small shrimps.

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Take an evening walk at the esplanade to escape the hustle and bustle of Kuching city.
4.Taste the local food
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Try some of these local delicacies such as pais.

Visitors should not miss the chance to buy local delicacies. These include kuih keria (fried dough similar to doughnuts but covered in palm sugar or gula apong), pais ikan (grilled smashed fish) and bahulu.

Other local favourite are belacan (shrimp paste), madu kelulut (stingless bee honey), jeruk buah (pickled fruits) and cencaluk (preserved shrimp).

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Kuih Keria.
5.Eat some seafood

Kampung Buntal is one of the favourite local places for Kuchingites to go to enjoy some seafood.

While visiting Buntal Esplanade, why not drop by one of the seafood restaurants like Teo Seafood?

Besides Kampung Buntal, other famous local seafood cuisine spots are at Telaga Air and Muara Tebas.

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Kampung Buntal is one of the popular places for local people to enjoy seafood cuisine.
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The view of Mount Santubong from Kampung Buntal.

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World Press Photo Exhibition shows in Kuching, Sarawak for the first time

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The exhibition showcased the winners of the annual World Press Photo Contest.

In 1955, a group of Dutch photographers organised an international contest to showcase their works to the world. They called it ‘World Press Photo’ and now it has become one of the most esteemed photography competitions in the world.

Fast forward to today, the exhibition has toured more than 100 cities in 45 countries, including Kuching.

For the first time ever, the exhibition is being held in Kuching in conjunction with What About Kuching (WAK) 2018, showcasing the winners of the annual World Press Photo Contest of which 4,548 photographers from 125 countries sent in a total 73,044 entries.

True to its name, the winning photos gave fair and compelling insights about what happening in and around the world.

Apart from the winning photos, the exhibition also showed stories from six Southeast Asia and Oceania Talents of the World Press Photo Foundation.

Installed on the ground of Padang Merdeka, the exhibition is open for the public from Sept 29 to Oct 27.

World Press Photo Exhibition: Giving glimpses to the outside world

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A series of nature-themed photos on display.

The series of photos displayed were featured various themes such as environment, nature, people, sports and world issues.

Some of the photos were explicit and powerful, showcasing serious human rights issues such as sex workers in Russia.

For those who are avid fans of National Geographic, some of the photographers might be familiar such as Ami Vitale who is widely known for her work capturing photos of wild pandas and rhinos.

This exhibition also allowed visitors who follow prominent photographers like Vitale on social media the opportunity to appreciate their images in sizes larger than cellphones’ screens.

In addition to that, there were also well-known photos which have been circulated on international news.

The most famous one displayed was the image of 28-year-old student Victor Salazar whose clothes caught on fire after a motorcycle exploded during a street protest in Venezuela against its president Nicolas Maduro.

The exhibition also managed to open up any visitors’ eyes to world issues such as the stateless case of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and the deforestation in Brazilian Amazon.

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A man vapes thoughtfully as he studies a panel of photos in a set which also features an image of Victor Salazar caught on fire during street protests in (right).
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A series of photos featuring two sisters living in a bioenergy village in Austria.
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Some of the works by Italian photographer Fausto Podavini.
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A man viewing the images by National Geographic photographer Ami Vitale.
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The exhibition is also part of an effort to reactivate spaces in Kuching such as Padang Merdeka.
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World Press Photo exhibition has toured to more than 100 cities in 45 countries and now is in Kuching.

About WAK World Press Photo exhibition

What About Kuching (WAK) city festival together with Sarawak Museum Department co-organised the exhibition sponsored by the Netherlands Embassy and Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak. The Limkokwing Institute of Creative Technology Kuching supported the event through its design and installation.

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Where to buy your beading supplies in Kuching?

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Searching for beading supplies in Kuching can be a headache especially when you do not know where to start.

When it comes to beading, there are so many things that crafters need and it is not just beads alone.

Even for its stringing, beaders need to decide to use beading thread, wire, leather or elastic cords.

Plus, there are other supplies such as headpins, split rings, clasps, earring findings and many more.

Fret not because here at KajoMag we narrowed it down for you where to stock up your beading supplies in Kuching, Sarawak.

1.Beads Story By Xing Ya Enterprise

This is the Mecca for all the beading supplies in Kuching. Located at Kota Sentosa, it is the best place in town to buy Toho and Miyuki beads. Both brands are high quality Japan-made glass seed beads.

There are other types of bead being sold there too including tube, acrylic, wooden, faux pearls and many more.
Even for other supplies such as stringing materials, pliers, beading boards and even accessories displays are readily available.

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Beads Story by Xing Ya also offers semi-precious beads such as amethyst, quartz and agate.
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This store is the best place all the beading supplies one go in Kuching.
2. F.A.H

Fabric Accessories House or commonly known as FAH is the place to be to buy fabric in Kuching.
However, the store also has a good selection of beads for sell.

On top of the beads and fabric, the choices of ribbons, laces and rhinestones would give any crafters a glimpse of heaven. It is the best place for crafters to get buy their fabric and beading supplies in one place.

The store has few outlets all over the city but perhaps the most-visited one is at Gambier Street.

Where to buy your beading supplies in Kuching
The FAH branch located at Gambier Street has two floors; the ground floor is dedicated to all the fabric while the first floor is all about beading and sewing supplies.
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The variety of laces and ribbons at FAH.
3. Jing Lee Travel Souvenier Wholesale

Located at Ewe Hai Street, it is also selling souvenirs to tourists apart from beading supplies. The best part of this store, sometimes you can find old Orang Ulu beads in its collection. You might be feeling the pinch but it is definitely worth it.

4. Satex at Kuching Sentral

Similar to F.A.H., Satex at Kuching Sentral is also selling beading supplies on top of its fabrics. But, their beading collection is limited to seed beads only.

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If you are running out seed beads, Satex is another option for you to restock your supply.
5. SL FLowers and Handicraft Shop
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Fancy anything from SL FLowers and Handicraft Shop?

Every year during Chinese New Year, Kenyalang Park Commercial Centre would come alive with people busy looking for house decoration.

The whole commercial area is known for affordable food and beauty supplies. But at SL FLowers and Handicraft Shop, crafters can also stock up their beading as well as embroidery and crochet supplies.

 

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10 ways to use your sarong when travelling

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A sarong in Asia typically refers to a fabric sewn together at both ends to to form a fabric tube, and is often used to wrap around the waist. For women, this common casual wear in Southeast Asia is a travel hack must-have.

Here are ten ways to fully utilise your sarong when travelling:

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Sarongs are also known as kain batik in Malaysia. Credits: Pixabay.
1. As beachwear

Tie it around your waist on top of your bikini and you have an instant skirt. Wrap it around your chest and you have an instant tube dress.

2. To change clothes

Do you know that you can change your clothes in public using a sarong without exposing your body? Firstly, it requires a little bit of skill and practice. If you want to change your shirt, wear the sarong and pull the fabric out from underneath your shirt. Give the sarong a small bite to make sure you don’t drop it and pull off your shirt.

You can do the same thing when you want to change your bottoms. Wear it, pull it up and hold it with your teeth. While doing that, make sure your hands are underneath the sarong and you can zip up or down and change your bottoms in a jiffy!

3.To take a shower in public

In some parts of Sarawak, it used to be common to see women taking baths by the river in their sarongs. This life skill is important if you need to take shower in the public toilet or just a dip in the river and you forget your bikini or change of clothes.

Just make sure to wrap it tightly around your chest before your bath.

4. As a blanket

A sleeping bag works way better than a sarong to keep yourself warm at night when you are outdoor camping. But if the sleeping bag is too warm for places like a  tropical country, use your sarong as a blanket instead.

5. As a lightweight towel

One of the ways to travel light is to leave your big, thick towel at home and bring a small towel and a sarong instead. Use the small towel to pat yourself dry and wrap your body with the sarong if you need to walk out from the bathroom.

6. As a beach mat

Your ultimate island essentials should include a drybag, a beach hat, a mat, sunscreen and more. Just in case you forget to bring your mat or you do not travel with one, spread the sarong like a mat.

7. As an emergency bed sheet

If you are on a budget travelling trip, you might not end up on the cleanest accommodation. When the bed feels icky or you just want to be safe, spread the sarong on your bed sheet like a mattress cover.

8. As an emergency pillow

The same thing goes when you feel uncomfortable with the pillow provided when travelling. Make use of the tube structure of the fabric to turn it into an emergency pillow. First of all, you need some cotton clothes preferably T-shirts and your sarong. Put all your T-shirts inside the tube and tie knots at both ends of the fabric. Voila! You have your pillow! This is a good travel hack especially when you are going camping.

9.To cover yourself at sacred places

When visiting sacred places like a temple, sarongs are provided to cover yourself before entering. However, it is still best to wear your own sarong.

10.To cover yourself to go to the loo

When you need to go, you really need to go, even when you are in the jungle.

For ladies, it might be tricky but with a sarong there is no need for you to worry. There are some local jungle superstitions that might to be observe when going to the loo. And when you already picked the right spot in the bush and asked for permission, used the sarong to cover yourself. Using the same trick to change your clothes; bite the fabric nicely and expand it with your hands to keep it clean while doing your business.

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