Somah - Ploiarium alternifolium

Somah or Plaoiarium alternifolium (family Bonnetiaceae)is a species of the swamp though it can also grow on drier land. Due to its ability to grow on swampyland, it has stilt roots. Its natural distribution includes Indo-China, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra and Borneo.





Flower and flower buds of somah



Fruits of somah

Somah are used as sticks or poles e.g. for drying clothes. I have seen someone selling somah sticks on bicycle years ago in Kuching. You can find somah growing in Kuching and Sri Aman Divisions, especially on slope along the Kuching Sibu Road. They are plentiful in places where you can find it. Somah is seldom cultivated but the following photos are cultivated somah along Kuching-Bau Road.






I have seen creative use of somah for interior decoration at Oregano Restaurant in Kuching. The restaurant uses somah sticks as decking laid between joists and the light that passes through the numerous gaps between the sticks create a unique and special ambience for the diners.



Source: My Privilege Book: Photo taken from the exterior of the restaurant. Note the decking (somah sticks) inside the restaurant.

The Old and the New

Kuching is a city of contrast. Not many cities in Borneo have as interesting a history as Kuching. old colonial buildings dating back to the Rajah Brooke reign stand juxtaposed next to new ones.

A Tale of Two Cities

Kuching and Kota Kinabalu are two Bornean cities and both are the state capitals of the two Borneo states of Malaysia - Sabah (formerly North Borneo) and Sarawak.

Both Sabah and Sarawak have separate histories before the formation of the Federation of Malaysia and therefore their capitals are also uniquely different.

I stayed in Kuching and have been to Kota Kinabalu countless times.

It is always nice to make comparison between the two cities as both are state capitals and are more or less the same size in terms of population. It is natural that both cities have these one uppance attitude.

Below are some differences between the two cities:

* Kota Kinabalu is a coastal city while Kuching is very much an inland city but trying to bring the city closer to the sea (by moving development towards the sea).

* Kota Kinabalu has excellent mountains and islands nearby while mountains and islands in Kuching play a second fiddle to other attractions.

* Kuching has old colonial buildings but such buildings are rare in Kota Kinabalu(as it was boomed flat at the end of the Second World War).

* Kota Kinabalu has better air connection to the Far East (Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan ) while Kuching lags behind.

* Kota Kinabalu has One Borneo Shopping Mall which Kuching has The Spring (not to be outdone)

*Kota Kinabalu has the Oceanarium and Discovery Centre (yet to be completed) while Kuching has only the freshwater aquarium (annex to the Sarawak Museum)

*Kuching has the famed Sarawak Museum while Kota Kinabalu has the Sabah Museum.

* Kuching has the Satok Market while Kota Kinabalu has the Filipino Market.

* Kota Kinabalu has railway link but Kuching has only Jalan Keretapi (a reminder of the remnants of old railway).

Kuching Cityscape