Kuching Malaysia.

[questa]

One of the good things about Kuching is that most of the good things to see are close together.
The Riverfront walk has much to see, especially in the evenings, when tribes people from the jungle areas gather with music and sometimes a dance.
I stayed at the Holiday Inn (thanks Malaysian Air) which is on the right of the map, where it says Riverbank suites. It was a gentle stroll west and I was in the British colonial era or the ruling Chinese era with traces of all the Malay thrown in.
The history of Sarawak is a Hollywood epic in itself. To a background of warring factions, pirates, smuggling etc. along comes James Brooke, Brit adventurer. He gathers army, quells troubles, people prosper in peace, trade resumes without pirates. Grateful people beg him to be “Rajah” which goes through 3 generations until WW2. Known as the white rajahs of Borneo…it is a great story and much of the Brooke infrastructure remains.
The Chinese shop-houses I have posted already. Their location is around the Jln Green Hill and Temple area.
Some of these pics were taken from inside a bus as it was raining.




The Sarawak Museum



The Chinese museum (in an old bond store)



Hindu Temple



All new, all weather, all sports arenas.



Fire Department pretty in pink.




Old Customs House...now a market for tourists.

[questa]

Brooke era court house







administration buildings Brooke era.



and modern era...this is the modern "city hall"



Mosque and burial ground.

[questa]

Inside the foyer of Admin centre



The Admin hall is on a hill which overlooks the city.









and like many tropical countries, there are well kept gardens.






Got the paint in a clearance sale?

[bjd]

I wouldn't want to live in a tropical climate, but am always envious of the beautiful flowers and greenery that grows with such abundance in those places.

There is a real mish-mash of architecture. Other than the Chinese shop-houses, is there much remaining of pre-colonial or even early 20th century buildings?

[tetsyd]

Nice story and pix. Looking forward to your pix of longhouses.
Holiday Inn downtown is OK but Holiday Inn Resort Damai Beach (30 minutes away by bus, less by car) is much nicer. Try it next time.

[bixaorellana]

Really interesting, Questa and as you said, a history worthy of a Hollywood epic.

I don't see anything built of wood in your pictures. Would that be because wooden buildings didn't survive time and climate, or from a lack of wood for building? Also noticed what seems to be one older place that looks like a holdout from earlier times. It's sandwiched between newer looking portions in front of the multicolored building.

You wrote: The Chinese museum (in an old bond store)
What is a bond store?

How did you happen to go to Kuching?

[Deleted]

Another window into a place I know very little about.

Thanks for sharing, questa.

[questa]

bjd...these pix are really downtown Kuching...there are the usual suburbs which contain houses and shopping areas of varying designs. WW2 saw much of the city destroyed in Japanese action, but there are still older houses of Dutch, English and other origins as well as the Malay homes.

tetsyd...I'd never stayed in a classy hotel before...usually back pack places. This was a freeby !

bixa...Plenty of timber, this island (Borneo)is being logged at a fast rate though. In the tropics timber rots quickly, is eaten by numerous different bugs and gets mouldy and splits easily. People favour brick with cement over it, then painted. Houses are still made of bamboo and thatch which is sturdy and practical. That little rose pink place you mentioned does look like it has some tales to tell.

Bond store is where goods are stored without duty being paid on them as they will be exported soon.

e.g. Bixa sails into Kuching harbor and docks at the port. She declares to Customs a cargo of barrels of rum and fine Cuban cigars she plans to sell in London. While here she hears that a valuable cargo of teak is waiting here for transport to Singapore.
If she unloads her London cargo she will go broke paying the duty due on importing it to Kuching, so she puts it into the bond store where it is locked away and considered to be not in Kuching yet. The cost of this is much smaller than importing it.
Bixa now has an empty ship, does the teak run, back to Kuching with some cotton goods from Singapore, re-loads the rum and cigars, sails to London, sells the load, makes a fortune and retires to write a book on piracy.

I had made a few flights with Malaysian Airlines...good guys compared to some. One day my flight arrived late to connect with a forward flight to Delhi. The staff were so nice, seat on the next available flight, contacted the company meeting me to delay pick-up etc. I had 6 hour wait and chatted happily to ground staff re travels etc. Just before I flew out a boss came and gave me choice of 4 nights in Kuching or Penang side trip on my way back to Oz. I'd been to Penang (Fast ferry from Sumatra, Indonesia)so on my return from Karakorum trip, I had some R & R before I got home.

[questa]

Day trip from Kuching...past the Rajah Brooke hospital and on a terrific road. Saw where some of the tribes people still use the slash-and-burn method of farming.







Arrived at the orang-hutan place where they retrieve injured, orphaned and ill treated orangs and get them back to living in the wild.
I apologise for the poor focus...It was raining, I was wet through and shivering, while standing on a wobbly branch to see.
The keepers put fruit out on a platform and the orangs eat it without any contact with the men.









The rain forest is old and dense here.











Had a look at the interesting things in the little museum there. When orang-hutan get old they are given the respect that a human elder would get in his community. Even the staff do this to the old orangs.

Then off again through the beautiful mountain scenery to one of the long houses of the Iban people.

[bjd]

How lucky you are, questa, to have seen these orangutans in their own habitat. It's so unfortunate that they are being pushed out by logging and humans.

How big are they as adults? The one sitting on the branch doesn't look all that big, but I have no reference point. I assume the other one is young.

[bixaorellana]

Questa, thanks for your answers to me and others. You always have such a wealthy of background on the places you visit and I love the ad hoc adventure story of your getting to Kuching.

I found the pictures of the orangutans so exciting that those of you viewing them in real life must have been beyond thrilled, even with the bad weather. Do you know if the ropes had any relationship to the feeding platform, access for the orangs for instance? They have dreadful table manners.

Lovely picture of the mossy tree. The pictures of the terrain you traveled on the day trip really illustrate why tropical areas relied on slash & burn.

[questa]

The pic above the old tree shows the feeding table through the trees. We didn't see these 2 at the table, they had fed already. We were guided to the play area with ropes about 100m away from the table. Even this was not really close for photos, all mine are zoomed which added to poor focus. IRL we could see them well...3 cheers for the human eye!

The sizes are about 1.5m for big males to about 1m for females. They are so human in their manner that my Balinese friends tell me "they are our cousins" and respect them. The big male here would be +/- 50kg, the young female...?pre-school child. I am hopeless at estimating things! Google orang-utan for some lovely pics...such eyes.

[questa]

The "long houses" of Borneo are an excellent way of housing a village in such an environment. The indigenous people are mostly Iban tribes but Penan, Land Dayaks and Sea Dayaks and Bugis Live in the forests and rivers.

This is an Iban long house. It is built over a small river for easy access to water and is 3-4 meters above the ground at its highest. It is like a jetty or pier with the private houses and community rooms along each side. Under and around are gardens, washing and clothes drying areas. Some jobs are done on the 'pier' like snack foods and noodle meals, preparing rubber for sale and organising produce for market.











Security and stranger detection guard



Rodent reduction officer #15





One of the industries...making palm leaf panels for lining buildings for insulation.



used for processing peppers for market.




Rubber processed to string form.



Looking back to the land section.



Gardens and entrance.



Rubber that has been cooked and set in trays. Once set, it is hung to harden, then sold.



Sugar cane crusher.



Village Council room





The Iban were the most famous as head hunters. They continued this practice until 1930
These trophies are from important foes of years ago.

(Didn't see that coming, did you?)

[fumobici]

This is fantastic, thank you for sharing this! Those longhouses look like a lovely way to live. I think I could settle into something like that quite comfortably.

[questa]

fumo...I lived in the nurses quarters at a hospital which was about the same!

[tetsyd]

Well done questa. Might challenge a few ideas about western "civilization".

[questa]

I think western style head hunters are not as lethal as Iban ones though.

[bixaorellana]

Amazing condominium housing, Questa. I am really happy to see and study these pictures, as I've never had a clear idea of how long houses looked and functioned. The variety & use of materials is fascinating, with some of the upgrades being quite surprising.

I would have guessed forever & not identified the palm leaf panels. The sheets of rubber are really something, but the thing that intrigues me the most is the sugar cane crusher. I'm assuming the short logs are there to provide weight. Is the cane laid on the notched areas and the big cross piece rocked back & forth?

Do you suppose they ordered the cage for the heads out of a catalog? I'd love to have read the copy on it.

[mossie]

Thanks Questa for a most informative thread, again a place totally foreign to me. The processed rubber and skulls are really striking, but it is all fascinating.

[Deleted]

Sarawak was already a magical name in my childhood stamp collecting days, and it is delightful to put an image on the location. No matter how many Southeast Asian countries I have visited, I have always been attracted to the simple houses in the lush vegetation in all of these areas. I am not naïve enough to think that I could actually live permanently in such a place, but I am pretty sure that I could be happy for several months.

[questa]

Feb 11, 2014 14:24:59 GMT bixaorellana said:

Do you suppose they ordered the cage for the heads out of a catalog? I'd love to have read the copy on it.

No Bixa, no catalogues here. The head of the village and 2 committee members hopped on a single motorbike and puttered to Kuching city. They found a chap with a welder and the usual pair of cheap sunglasses for eye protection.

Chief: "Think you can makes us a...ummm..sort of wire cage with bits in the middle to put things on?"

Welder: "How heavy are the things ?"

Ch: "OH...err...not heavy now, they're sort of empty.

Committee man 1: "And some of them don't have jaws!"

W: "what did you say?"

Ch: Oh...umm...our wives don't have enough chores. Ignore him, he has water in his head

W: So a wire cage with cross-wire rods, eh?

C'man 2: and a handle to hang it from the roof of our meeting room

W: it sounds like a very strong birdcage

C/man 1: that's it...but these birds have flown long ago.

Ch: when will it be ready?

W: "I can make a head start today. Come back next week."

CH: How much for the work?

W If it was a birdcage it would cost 5000 Rupiah, but it looks like a skull storage basket
and I do that for free so my skull doesn't join the others...Sir.



ps' water in his head 'is the common way of saying someone is stupid in Asia.

[Deleted]

I love it.

[bixaorellana]

Perfect, Questa, & perfectly plausible!

[questa]

The life in Sarawak is centred on rivers. Inland, the waterways are the only roads for many villages and here in Kuching the river is the heart of the city's activities. This is the scene from my room, looking up and down river.





Life on the river













The Palace and Fort Margharita on the other bank and houses





Practising for dragon boat races







Kuching night life to follow...

[bjd]

Wonderful pictures, questa. I really like pictures with water and boats.

[questa]

bjd...you're on. One day I will post a "boats for bjd" thread. I love them too.

Meanwhile, in Kuching...from inside the hotel the main road skirts the river walk.





Cats and their statues are well regarded, Kuching is Malay/Indonesian word for cat. This family was outside the hotel.







Across the river from the Palace and fort is this watch tower



And the former Harbour master's office.



Part of the old Chinese museum



Another, more artistic, cat group. The heads and some other parts are particularly shiny. There is a tradition in Asia that some statues have healing powers if you rub the corresponding place on the statue that is troubling you. Here it seems headaches and joint aches lead the list.







At night the sweep of the river walk is clear





The Palace and Fort Margherita are lit up



There is also a new Parliament Building being built...at night it like crystal



A Chinese celebration is on and this display truck trundles off to join the others



And the "wild man from Borneo" is busking in the park.

[tod2]

Absolutely Fab Questa! I can see Kerouac's tongue hanging out a mile...