Watching Einstein Sleep

Today Einstein is seven months old. He is the best sleeper among my cats .Once he sleeps, he is totally cut off from the world. Likes long afternoon nap. Inul's puppy doll tries hard to bark him out of his slumber,but to no avail. I wonder!

Blue Dome

A newly completed building is seen at Mile 7 Town, nearby the town's Wet Market.  I understand that it will accomodate a hotel, office space and commercial shops. Nice colour. Outstanding dome structure . I took the above shot from the Wet Market area in mid afternoon sun.

Shopping at Spring,Kuching.

Sunday shopping is a most welcomed experience.  Today we had a window shopping, food shopping and book browsing experience at the Spring, located some five kilometers from downtown Kuching city.

The car parking lot infront of the shopping mall is automatically managed.  The use of periwinkle flowers in planters I find very effective.

To make place for the 'starbucks generation', a starbucks coffee joint has customers enjoying their coffee and talk in pleasant and breezy environment by the sidewalk...a springlidelicious moment.

Inside the mega mall...

A remote car race show.

Transformers toys being displayed.

Two Views of Kuching

The entrance to the Departure Area of The Kuching International Airport.

View of the Santubong Mountain in late afternoon.  This mountain is about 30 minutes drive from Kuching City. There are trails up the mountain for the adventurous and the daring..

 The above places were visited by me and family on Thursday last.

Feeding Pigeons

Seen is a tiny flock of pigeons being feed with rice grains near a car parking lot at Satok Market, Kuching, Sarawak.

Buddhist Temple in Midst of Malay Kampung

Reflective of the racial harmony in Kuching and Sarawak generally, this Buddhist temple belonging to the Chinese community sits atop a hill surrounded by Malay villages.  Historically, it has been noted that this was the mouth of the Sarawak River where the early immigrants from China after sailing the South China Sea landed. The Chinese immigrants built the temple way back in the early 1800's.  Named the ' Ching San Yen' temple, it is about a 40 minutes drive by road from Kuching City. Depending on the weather, season and now the cost of diesel, the local fishermen will go out to sea in small vessels as well as big trawlers and would land their catch at this village to be processed for export or distributed as fresh meat to other Kuching City fish markets.

Today, not many boats go out to sea due to strong winds. A view of the fishing vessels at Muara Tebas  jetty.

Shaded Footpath

I saw this interesting use of perforated concrete slabs for footpath on a residential road in Kuching.  The roadside tree gives shade to a mini car instead.

Kuching Mosque

Below are two views of the newly painted Kuching Mosque in down town Kuching City.

A Kuching Malay Wedding

I attended a Kuching Malay wedding that started on Friday afternoon with the 'akad nikah' (vow of marriage) which was accompanied with an array of wedding gifts exchange from both parties, the bride and bridegroom as well.

Wedding gifts from the bride's are displayed and accepted by the bridegroom's party.

Invited guests at the bride's family house.

The wedding couple is introduced to the crowd outside the house, accompanied by the 'kompang' drummings and songs of salutations to the Prophet Mohammed. This second ceremony was carried out the following day, Saturday 16 August.

Close up of the 'kompang' drums being held by young Malay boys  hitting the drums with bare hands following the cue of their 'kompang' group leader.

Wedding lunch is served to invited guests.

While guests enjoy their lunch, a lady hands out perfume in small packets as wedding gifts. Seen in the picture is a small boy with a basket of gifts and the lady standing is giving away the gifts.

A section of the large crowd that turned up at the wedding function on Saturday morning.

Wild Banana Fruiting

The wild banana tree that I planted a couple of months ago at my front garden in Kuching is starting to flower and bear fruits at the same time. The terminal spike is of very dark purple and so are the very tiny fruits. The spikes ( especially the inner layers of its bracts) are smoked and eaten raw as salad. In the deep jungle the fruits are diet for the wild animals especially monkeys.

Colourful Handbag

I was attracted to this beautifully coloured lady's handbag at one of the exhibition booth at the Kuching Waterfront today.  The exhibition of local handicrafts was held in conjunction with the Sarawak Regatta 2008 .

Water Feature at Sarawak Tourism Complex

Two views of a water feature at the Sarawak Tourism Complex, Kuching.

Today I spent some time shopping at India Street where towards one end of the street is the Sarawak Tourism Complex. The above pictures show an interesting water feature by the side of the complex.  The complex is unique because of its colonial style building.

Kuching Roads

Traffic in Kuching business district returns to normal today after having been blocked or diverted at many sections due to the river reggatta held at the Kuching Waterfront for the last three days( 1 - 3 August).  Above is the view of the main road passing the central business district which is the main seat for the 5- star hotels, banks and uptrend shopping complexes.  Towards the end of the road ( to the top of the picture) is where the Kuching Waterfront is.

A section of the highway leading back to Kuching City. This particular location is at Petra Jaya which is the seat of Sarawak's state administration.  Of particular interest is the tastefully done roadside landscaping employing architectural trees and flowering shrubs as well as colourful foliage.

Geometric design

Across the road from Satok Sunday market area is the Wisma Satok which is linked by an overhead bridge. As you descend the bridge staircase you'll notice this interesting use of geometric design on the pavement floor.

Pure Muscle Power

Today (3 August) the Sarawak Regatta 2008 came to its close.  The main attraction of the river regatta is the long boats race.  The events are categorised by the type of boats and the number of paddlers rowing them. I took some shots at the finishing line albeit at a distance.  Since I am just using a camera handphone N93i, the images may not be of good quality.  However the idea is to capture the moments of truth.

Iban Design on Street Floor

Looking down at the pavement I could see that the Iban motifs are effectively used in the pavement design at the Kuching waterfront, the site of this year Sarawak Regatta held in conjunction with Sarawak's 45 years of independence through Malaysia.

Stealy Steel and Colours

Seen at the Kuching Waterfront where the Sarawak Regatta 2008 was held was this captivating stainless steel sculpture. More images of this public sculpture are shown below.

The stainless steel sculpture stole my attention for minutes and so was the building in the background. I walked to have a closer look at the building. It is in fact a multi-storey car park that is well used because it is located at the heart of the city where roadsides parking spaces are hard to get.

What captivates me was the interplay of colours that are tastefully chosen . I think this building could fit the bill as as the most colourful building in Sarawak.

Kuching Crowds Entertained

Young visitors to the Sarawak Regatta 2008 were entertained by clowns and street musicians as part of the overall festivities.

Crowds at Kuching Waterfront,Sarawak .

Today is the last day of the Sarawak Regatta 2008 and the crowds swelled to at least 35,000 strong.

The presence of the park with its huge trees and generous shade was a welcome respite for visitors and spectactors alike.  Overall the Sarawak Regatta 2008, was well received by the local populace and outside visitors to Kuching city.

Decorative mats

Seen at one of the handicraft stalls are these interesting table mats and decoratives pieces made from the dried and then dyed leaves of the local pandanus plant.

Colourful Sarawak Sampans

On normal days , these 'sampans' or small river boats are used to ferry the Kuching residents and tourists to cross the Sarawak River as it meanders at this point of its journey to the sea. A one way trip would cost only 40 cents per head.   At this strategic location are located Kuching City's big hotels, shopping complexes, banks and corporate offices. The building in the background ( under construction) is the proposed new Dewan Undangan Negeri building, equivalent to a State Assembly building.  Today these sampans join in the river regatta festival, adorned with the Sarawak state flags, the Malaysian flags and people dressed in various ethnic costumes to greet visitors, the public and the invited guests to a colourful show of culture fun and adventure.

Penan design for footpath

These intricate designs of the Penan people of Sarawak are duplicated on the Kuching Waterfront sidewalks. These design work are fabricated on site using black and yellow mosaics.

Main Bazaar Street turns Pedesterian

The Main Bazaar Street turns pedestrian for the duration of the Sarawak Regatta '08.

Food and drinks of all types and descriptions were sold at hundreds of  makeshift stalls for the convenience of the public and visitors to the regatta. They added much colour and interest to the overall festiviity of the river regatta. This long stretch of walk is parallel to the Kuching Waterfront.

'Kek Lapis ' Sarawak

Sarawak's popular multi-layered cakes were sold by many traders and makers of this local delicacy at many of the makeshift outlets by the Kuching Waterfront during the three days river regatta.