Kuching, Sarawak

Rasa bersalah takde mood sangat nak taip entry pasal Kuching sebab

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The other day, saya dah terDELETE seratus lebih gambar and some videos of Kuching (KCH) Trip L happen to be, gambar2 kat tempat yang best plak tuh – Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV), Orang Utan and Longhouse. Sedeyyy! And I can say yang aku TAAKKK habis cover satu Kuching (nanti aku cherita sebab musabab nye). That’s mean… kena pergi Kuching lagi skali la nih. *wink-wink* Jom!!!

Last 10-13 Nov, aku bawak bunch of students and some teachers from Cempaka International Schools to KCH. Their program is kinda “back to basic” slash “back to nature” slash “educational trip” and slash “official visit” purpose of trip. 

ACCOMMODATION

itu Gunung Santubong

On our 1^st night, we stayed at Kg Santubong Homestay. What do you know about ‘homestay’? Yeap, stay with your foster family. So those 25 students have been divided into 4 groups and stay with their 2D1N families. While myself and the teachers were staying at the ‘operation’ house next to the Sri Santubong Hall. Surprisingly, rumah2 kat sana are concrete (not a wooden or bamboo made of houses), they are big (with at least more than 3 rooms), with big rooms (can accommodate up to 6 people in one room); and completes with bed, air-condition, bathroom and towel. Ok that’s all, don’t expect more than that ye. They said this is the BEST HOMESTAY in Kuching, managed by Pn Jamilah 019-887949. For me, this homestay consider the BEST homestay because of the people and the location : only 1-hour drive from KCH City, with the view of Santubong Mt (we can see ‘her’ nose), only 15mins away to SCV or Damai, 30mins to Bako National Park and they have Puteri Beach. Besides having home-cooked breakfast lunch and dinner; as for the activity, they are offering Cooking Demonstration (Kuih Penyaram / Laksa Sarawak – laksa pes Haji Manan murah kat sini RM3.60 jek for standard packet), Mango Tree Planting (and they’ll put your name or school name on the tree’s signage – kalau pokok tu hidup la), Games (football, beach volleyball, telematch etc), Indoor Games (congkak, sumpit, anyam ketupat) and some Gendang and local Dance performance. Bile tulis pasal Santubong ni asik nyanyi lagu dia jek… sape tau?

“Puteri Santubong Puteri Sejenjang
Penjaga gunung negeri Sarawak
Manis sik ada dapat dilawan
Anak dak dewa turun kayangan”

Then, barulah aku paham legend or myth pasal Puteri Santubong and Puteri Sejenjang ni. Ada banyak versi, tapi versi yang aku dengar dr tour guide tak jumpa plak kat google search. Boleh refer sini kot 

And then, on the 2^nd night, we stayed at Annah Rais Bidayuh LONGHOUSE Homestay in Padawan, 1½hrs from KCH City. Nama pon longhouse kan, makanya berbarislah rumah2 disitu. For those who are interested and planning to go, tolong JANGAN bawak trolley bag or beg besar2 or banyak2… cause you’ll walk on their bamboo aisle or bamboo hall – anda akan mengejutkan satu kampong! We stayed at Mecheree Homestay – owned by Mdm Mecheree and her husband; Uncle Ringin 016-8566128 yang friendly and kind-hearted person. Mostly, Bidayuh people are NON-Muslim but they must serve HALAL food especially to Muslim Guest in order to get the approval and certificate from the government. They cooked rice and chicken in bamboo – that’s the specialties and uniqueness of their food-making actually. Sedap tau! Oh ya, Uncle Ringin masak fried Fern – he said petik belakang rumah jek. Pucuk paku tu seriously fresh and crunchy. Previously, 100% of their houses made from bamboo dan dorang bina tinggi2 – nak elak banjir, musuh, wild animals etc; but nowadays bahagian bawah rumah tu dorang dah bina or tambah bilik (concrete one). Bahagian atas rumah pon dah renovated (concrete jugak). But they are still remaining the hall and some part with bamboo. That’s why dorang ada banyak bilik & always welcome visitors. And usually the owner will stay at the lower room and let their guest stay at the upper rooms. Due some ‘circumstances’, we don’t spent much time there; we only managed to enjoy the dinner and breakfast there, visit the Panggah (skull) house, see and join the local dances (jangan terkejut, nenek2 tua yang menari tau), and having some ‘bedtime’ stories. Uncle Ringin tell us the meaning and the legend synopsis of the dance movement performed by those ‘nenek’ - probably the one called Rajang Be'uh Dance. If we have more time, actually we can have the River Bathing, enjoy the bamboo rafting, jungle trekking, waterfall, hot spring, costume wearing etc. some other time… oh ya, Uncle Ringin said he knew the short cut or ‘laluan tikus’ to Pontianak, Indonesia from Annah Rais. For Muslim, honestly I’ll tell you that there are a lot of dogs *woof woof* wandering around that longhouse area – tapi tak kacau orang pon, so no worries. On the way to/fro this homestay, you can see a lot of paddy, corn, pepper field etc at the roadside. [banyak gambar yang terdelete, so banyak x dapat share story and picture sgt…] Annah Rais pon best jugak sebab rumah panjang ni dibina di kaki gunung - fresh air. 

Malam terakhir, barulah merasa hotel kat Bandar Kuching. We stayed at The Regency Rajah Court. I’m not going to recommend this hotel – not because of the bad service, not clean or whatsoever. But because of the hotel looks old and the location is quite far from the city centre (20mins drive), tapi consider murah.. for standard room is only RM100 per room per night. My room is located nearby lobby but facing the parking space. As for the rest, their rooms are pool-facing. The coffeehouse is next to the swimming pool. Kalau nak best, stay kat Golden Triangle area, nearby Cat Monument, UTC, Waterfront – such as Riverside Majestic / Grand Margherita / Harbour View. My close friends recommended Merdeka Palace – location ok, next to Sarawak Museum but consider as an old hotel too. The reason why we all stayed at this particular hotel sebab student2 ni dapat free accommodation. Cause M. Faiz Matshah is actually son of the hotel’s owner. untunglaaaaa

ATTRACTIONS

Similar like Mari2 Cultural Village in KK, Kuching pon ada Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) or Kampung Budaya Sarawak. The entrance fee is RM60/adult. Ada 5 tribes: Bidayuh, Iban, Penan, Orang Ulu and Melanau. Every tribe has their own uniqueness – different languages, cultures, house design, lifestyle, costumes, music, weapon, food, ‘pantang’, belief etc. Please watch your language here, cause most of the staff (even the old staff) can speak and understand English very well.

1) Bidayuh Longhouse. At first, ‘wajib’ experience the bamboo bridge yang agak panjang. Don’t worry, takde la thrill sangat – it’s quite fun actually. Before to the longhouse, stopby the ‘war-strategy’ house [since I’ve lost the photo, so I don’t remember the actual name of that hut] and the rice-storage & sugar-making place. As mentioned earlier, Bidayuh has its Panggah (skull) house – they placed it in front of the longhouse. We’ve been introduced with their own music and dances (Rajang Be'uh, Langgi Julang & Tolak Bala Dances). And some staff shows us their wood-carving (inspired by dream) and cloth-making from tree bark.

2) Iban Longhouse. My colleague is Ibanese, I learnt so much about Iban from him (tapi rumah panjang dia in Limbang skrg dah modern – concrete). At SCV, they performed a traditional dance (Ngajat Lesong & Ngajat Pahlawan Dances), Pua Kumbu (women’s cloth) weaving (the motive also inspired by dream, amateur weave fern motive only), accessories making, the variety of Sword (including the one used for head-cutter), ada demonstration asingkan beras dari padi and some cooking demonstration as well.

3) Penan Hut. Pondok orang Penan ni kecik comel jek. Ada ‘sumpit’ game, RM1 for 3x blow-pipe. Sape sumpit tepat, dapat hadiah – kata pakcik penjaga rumah Penan kat situ lah. Hadiah ape, aku tak tau. Mungkin pakej penginapan 1 malam di rumah Penan.

4) Orang Ulu Longhouse. Rumah Orang Ulu ni tinggi yang amat, kat lereng bukit lagi. Ada dance performance (Datun Julud & Kanjet Ngeleput Dances) and music instrument-making. Haaa Orang Ulu ni la yang pakai heavy earring – telinga panjang tu. Tapi, baruku tahu yang heavy earring ni hanya boleh dipakai oleh golongan Bangsawan sahaja ye, kalau orang biasa saja2 nak pakai…. Silakan kalau nak kena curse.

5) Melanau Tall House. Masyarakat Melanau ni, trademark dorang is Tall House – rumah bertingkek-tingkek and the bamboo dancing. they are also have Menyak and Alu-Alu Dances.

What else can we learn in SCV? More about the ‘pantang’, ritual and spirit, role of the respective shaman, the headhunting history, the wedding process or other ceremonies, original tattoo making and its history, the warriors, man and women’s role, the purpose of the long or tall houses, the household chores, sword making and many more. Ada jugak replica of rumah Orang Melayu and Chinese Farm House. 

Last but not least, after 2½hrs educational touring, enjoy the 1hour Grand Show at the Panggung Budaya (theatre) as for closing. Best! Oh ya, everyone has been given this cool passport like this one:-

Aku pon tak paham camne aku boleh convert 2-3 patah perkataan jadik 2-3 perenggan

nampak tak Orang Utan?

Ok, next is a-must-go-place Semenggoh Orang Utan. Selalu tengok monyet, kan? Kali ni jom pegi tengok Orang Utan pulak. Please take note that the feeding time is only at 9am and 3pm daily. Yeay, free food! feed by Ranger only, and visitors are no allowed to bring in any food. Did you know, Orang Utan prefer coconut more than bananas? Dan selain drpd pukul 9pg dan 3ptg tu, you are NOT allowed to enter this rehabilitation centre. Bagi la dorg space, Orang Utan pon nak privacy jugak. Alhamdulillah, on last 12^th Nov we are so lucky cause we were managed to see more than 10 Orang Utan! The important tip is --- Keep Silent! Jangan bising2, kalau nak cakap2 jugak – whisper pleaseee. sebab kalau bising2 (especially kalau ada a group of Chinese from China – no offense), Orang Utan tu takmo datang. More do’s and don’ts – please click here.

Seriously, this is once in a lifetime experience. My tour guide told me that there was 1 couple came all the way from US, doesn’t have the chance to see any of Orang Utan even dorg dah tunggu more than an hour there. This centre do provides free shuttle van services from the main entrance drive up to the Orang Utan area, but you’ll be needed to walk a bit in the jungle to see up-close with the Orang Utans. But not too close, cause they are wild animals. They look adorable but sometimes, they can be very aggressive, harming people as well as harming their own species. Orang Utan ni bukan jenis yang setia macam penguin (one partner for life). Last time kerana berebutkan Analisa (18yrs old), the super senior of Ritchie (33yrs old) had punched young George’s eye till blind, then George has been transferred to other wildlife centre (kat Matang, Kubah National Park kalau tak silap) for treatment. So far, none of visitors kena serang dgn Orang Utan ni, tapi ranger2 kat situ ada yang pernah kena. There was one time, Orang Utan ni slalu tengok ranger beri briefing kat visitors – Orang Utan ni ingatkan si ranger tengah ‘marah’ other people “oh, this person has power and a lot of people are scared with him”, then one day that particular ranger kena attack. Tiada kejadian bunuh membunuh ye, jangan risau. Did you know, Orang Utan lagi senang dijangkiti penyakit manusia - even though kita bersin skali jek, Orang Utan boleh kena disease tuh. The best part kat Semenggoh ni, they had never taught Orang Utan to wear diapers like the one in Bukit Merah. Every Orang Utan has their own birth certificate; you may find it at the gallery next to Crocodile Cage. Remember i told you that i need to pay RM 1.50 if i want to have the brochure of Similajau National Park in Bintulu? kat sini pon sama. Next to the gallery, you may also find the pokok periuk kera and pepper tree. Did you know that White Pepper and Black Pepper is actually come from the same tree?

The CITY

Facts that you must know : Kuching City has been divided into North & South; and Kuching name is not came from that ‘kucing’ meow-meow but actually from the Buah Mata Kucing Tree (Euphoria malaiense) that widely grow along Sarawak River.

 

Due to super-packed itinerary – we all just managed to stop at the White Cat Statue at the Chinatown; passby the Cat Monument (passby only sebab bas tak boleh stop at the roadside); jalan2 at Malay Village (one of my friends is from Kmpg Gersik) and stop at Cat Museum at DBKU (at the hill area where you can view most of Kuching City). I’ve been told that they have 9 museums in Kuching only.

myself @ Waterfront - blkg yg kecik tu adalah Astana

At Waterfront – the most favourite place in Kuching; there’s a Tua Pek Kong Temple, the Main Bazaar where you can shop some souvenirs, cheap tikar (mat), local snacks like kuih cincin (my all-time favourite), laksa Sarawak pes (mahal sket at RM4 per pack), songket Sarawak etc; and Sarawak River Cruise – only one ride per day, started at 5:30pm for 1½hrs with free orange juice and slices of Kek Lapis Sarawak. Ada narrator and short cultural performances at the ground deck. Managed by Layar Warisan Sdn Bhd.

Talking about Kek Lapis Sarawak (layered cake), we went to Hamidah Outlet cause they are offering some cake demonstration. Tapi di Hamidah, takde flower motive, dorang just buat simple Kek Lapis. Free testing and the rate is RM10 only per pack except for Chocolate Chips at RM15. I bought Oreo, Choc Chips, Original flavour and ‘Gula Apung’. Besides Hamidah, the other commercial company selling Kek Lapis Sarawak are Mira and Dayang Salhah.

We had our lunch at Aroma Café, not far away from Ting & Ting Supermarket or Tua Pek Kong Temple. And I had special seafood dinner at TopSpot Food Court @ UTC. The seafood are fresh – highly recommended. My friend ordered Fried Fern, Butter + Salted Egg Crab, Fried Terubok Fish, Black Pepper Udang Kara (not lobster), Curry Bamboo Shell and some hot soup. Yummeyh Tummeyh!! Paling sedap --- Ketam masak butter & telur masin tuh. Pergh!! Terbaik! And we are so lucky, Ikan Terubok yang ktrg order tu ada telur. Did you know, that Telur Ikan Terubok is very expensive? it’s RM 300 for 1kg. I bought Terubok Fish at Medan Niaga Satok (nearby Petra Jaya) – with nice En Ibrahim 019-8484920 (UITM kiosk – free packing); ikan Terubok at RM 10 for 2, but for the eggs RM 50 for 6pcs (0.17kg). kiranya, harga sekeping telur ikan equal to 2-3 ekor ikan. Hmmmm memang mahal lah. But I can guarantee the taste is heaven!

The places we unable to visit are : Civic Centre & Sultan Iskandar Planetarium, Temurang Farm Tour (Rafflesia etc) and Serikin weekend market (border Malaysia-Indonesia).

OFFICIAL VISIT

Kalau pergi Kuching, lepak atau lalu kat Waterfront tu, perasan tak bangunan Astana and Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) yang megah nan mewah tu? Ok, I’ve been there! And… I’ve entered both buildings and having lunch there too! Woahoooo!!! Guess why? Cause one of the participants is the grandson of Sarawak Chief Minister - Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Haji Adenan bin Haji Satem. His grandson is Adam Satem Mohammed Osborne, 14yrs old.

River cruise - belakang saya adalah bangunan DUN Sarawak

During our visits to DUN a.k.a State Legislative Assembly, we’ve been invited to see in-person with the Chief Minister in his room. He’s a nice person, and he’s Melanau. During lunch, we also met Adam’s mother, Mdm Siti Rafidah; such a sweet person and she also invites us to come to their house somewhere in Santubong. Since the Chief Minister is having other conference, so beliau just gave us some short speech and gave us some of his time for photo taking. Oh ya, please take note that NO Jeans allows at DUN’s Buildings. Canggih bangunan dia, lagi cunn compare time aku kerja kat DUN Selangor.

saya di Astana - new building

At Astana (Palace), thanks to Mr Rosli for guiding us outside and inside the Astana Building. Strictly NO photo taking is allowed inside the Astana. So, the Astana people have assigned their internal professional photographer to take our photos. Thanks *tapi ntah bile la boleh dapat gambar tu*. We only allowed exploring the lobby, award giving room, discussion room and the toilet; cause other rooms has been used for other event – PNBS Award to Dato’ Seri Hishamuddin. And then, we had our dome-style lunch at Dewan Besar Astana. Mr Rosli told us, asalnya ada 1 building jek, then yang ktrg masuk tu is an extension building. And previously, bangunan asal tu agak ‘sensitive’ – tak boleh re-paint, kalau re-paint nanti ada bad omen. 

Most of my friends taking the 50cents sampan ride at the Sarawak River to view up-close both Astana as well as DUN Buildings. But nowadays, they have few bridges (one bridge with tolls) to the other side. And as in future, I heard that they will build the Golden Bridge there. Wow! Ok, since we were having these two Official Visits, that is why we have less time to explore Kuching. The end -

click here for more Kuching Pictures