Merry Christmas to one and all

Pandaw Rajang River Luxury Cruise

Old residential houses of Sibu

Concrete and wooden houses in Sibu. I believe the wooden ones were built before the 2nd World War while the concrete ones were built around 1960's (correct me if I am wrong). Some of the wooden houses soon made way for the concrete houses though some remain as "leftovers" from another era. Such houses were found in Tiong Hua Rd, Tong Sang Rd, Bukit Assek Rd, Huo Ping Rd, Emplam Lane, etc. I wonder who or which architect designs the concrete houses. It was simple and tasteless but somehow practical for that time. Each unit is divided into ground floor and upper floor (two families -one upstair and one downstair but occasionally rooms were rented out and there could be more than one family at any one time).Of course, today houses are with better designs.

Perhaps the authority should redevelop the Tong Sang Rd-Tiong Hua Rd-Emplam Lane-Huo Ping Lane-Bukit Assek-Moi Huong Rd as part of urban renewal project to regenerate and rejuvenate the area from turning into an inner city.



Wooden Houses at Tong Sang Road



Wooden Houses at Tong Sang Road



Residential Houses along Bukit Assek Road



Residential Houses along Bukit Assek Road



Concrete residential houses along Tiong Hua Road



Concrete residential houses along Huo Ping Road



Concrete Residential Houses at Huo Peng Road

Postcards from Maswings

Panchor Hotspring, Kuching

There are a few hotsprings in and around Kuching. The nearest is probably along the Kuching-Serian Road (29th Mile near to Dragon School- Look out for the sign board - "Panchor hotspring" or "Air panas Panchor"). It is located near to Kampung Panchor. The hotspring is around 42 degree Celsius but not hot enough to boil eggs. Hot springs are believed to be good for skin diseases (due to high sulphur content) and for blood circulation. The Panchor hotspring is looked after by a Mr Tapok anak Rayun, the Ketua Kampung. Entrance fee is RM3 per person.

A Borneo Flavour - Mayang Tea

Mayang Tea is Sarawak's very own tea grown in the lowland rather than the highland (eg. Boh Tea and Sabah Tea). It is marketed as Mayang Tea domestically and Sarawak Tea overseas.


Mayang Tea Sdn Bhd, Serian


Plague showing that the tea plantation was officiated by the Honourable Chief Minister of Sarawak in the 1980's.



Some of the products of the tea plantation


Sarawak Pepper Tea (for export to European market)


Office and mini shop of Mayang Tea Sdn Bhd


A View of Mayang Tea Plantation




Closeup of the tea plant.






Leguminous trees planted to give shade and nutrient to the soil (nitrogen fixation)










Grinding of tea leaves using machinery.


Grinded Tea leaves ready for filtering.


Filtering of grinded tea leaves. The finer leaf fragments are used in tea bags.

Sarawak Pepper Flavours the World

Sarawak was once the largest producer of pepper and today she is still one of the largest producers of pepper in the world (Vietnam is now the largest producer of pepper). Most of the pepper vines are grown with belian support. Nowadays, due to the scarcity and exorbitant price of belian and the low price of pepper, I have seen farmers in Sarawak using living simpoh trees as support for pepper vines. Aren't our farmers ingenious?

Destinations on the way to another destination: Bau and Lundu

If you are heading for the coastal town of Sematan, you will be passing two towns: Bau and Lundu. There are attractions which you can visit in these two lovely towns.

BAU

Besides the Fairy and Wind Caves, on the way along the Kuching-Bau road, you can also visit the Paku hotspring. Look out for the Paku Quarry not far from Bau town. Opposite the quarry is the Paku hot spring.



Paku Quarry



Paku Hotspring

You can also visit Tasik Biru, site of a former gold mine.
















LUNDU

Another town you will pass by is Lundu. At Lundu, you can visit the Gunung Gading National Park to see the Rafflesia. There are beaches nearby to Lundu such as Pandan and Siar Beaches.










Siar Beach (Sarawak bank Employees Union - SBEU) Resort







Pandan Beach