Sarawak Inter-Cultural Moon cake Festival.

Thousands of people from all walks of life thronged the street in true spirit of celebration and sharing as one nation.

COLOURFUL lanterns, delectable local delicacies, martial arts and cultural shows dominated one of Kuching city’s oldest streets, Carpenter Street, during the Ninth Sarawak Inter-Cultural Mooncake Festival.More than 100 stalls offered all kinds of food and drinks, products and services as well as hair cuts by professional stylists at just RM1 per person; while community-based organisations performed traditional music and cultural shows from the Chinese, Malay, Indian and Dayak communities to entertain the passing crowd.

Malaysia Day 16 September......

Malaysia Day 16th September,2010.
This year will see the first year of another National Holiday called Malaysia Day which will be celebrated on September 16 annually.This day commemorates Sabah and Sarawak joining Peninsular Malaysia as a nation of Malaysia.
The city of Kuching will host the first state level Malaysia Day celebration at Stadium Perpaduan(Indoor Stadium) on Sept 16.

 

Indoor Stadium in Kuching.

Stadium Perpaduan in Petra Jaya

Themed ‘1Malaysia: Menjana Transformasi’, hundreds of participants will turn up in traditional costumes in the spirit of unity and national integration.

Politic in Sarawak.....this opposition political party having they own version of Malaysia Day ,16 sept .

Raising of Malaysia & Sarawak flag by a small group of opposition party supporters at Padang Merdeka.

Kuching City-Photographing a Sunset.

This sunset picture taken at the new Kuching water front .Beautiful moments which goes beyond descriptive words.

 

The lure of sunset has been chosen to share with many who missed this golden moments.

I find that photography  is a lifelong learning experience. I don't yet have any of the fancier lenses or a tripod, so I try to capture the best possible image with what I do have.

I use slow shutter to most of my sunset shoot...:)

 

Many people are fascinated with the view of sunset. That is why sunset has been one of the most popular photography  scenes that we come across. For photographers, every sunset provides an opportunity to capture a unique scene, with different set of clouds or things in foreground. Photographing a sunset  view also gives you infinite variations of colours in one evening itself. However, sunset photography can be trickier than what you initially thought.

Photo taken with Olympus E-620 & Panasonic Lumix LX3.

Bertuntung or Lighting Fiesta.

Lighting fiesta or better known as 'Bertuntung' which go on through the Syawal period see villages in Kuching,lighted with decorative lamp and traditional lamps.

Children is the most joyful people during the fiesta .Here you see the children preparing to light the traditional lamps.

This fiesta bertuntung  is held with aim of bringing back nostalgic feeling of how Hari Raya was  celebrated in the past.

The villagers would decorated the kampung(Village) and houses with kerosene lamps  and colourful decoration lamps.

Bertuntung  a traditional widely practised by the Malay Muslim community in Sarawak since the colonial era.

This is how the kerosene lamp look like,,,,Selamat Hari Raya.

The Night of Tujuh Likor...

 

The last 10 nights of Ramadan is said to be the most auspicious nights for the month. It is mentioned in the holy Quran that angels would come down to earth on one of those night, praying together with those who pray late in the nights.

Another practice associated with the last days of Ramadan is that of putting up lights around the house. From the twenty-seventh day of the month up to the Hari Raya (Eid) festival, if you walk through any Malay village you will find the houses lighted up with oil lamps, or coloured electric lamp. The occasion is known as "Malam Tujuh Likur" but it is not of Islamic origin even though the lights are said to welcome the angels who visit earth during this period.

Nevertheless, these displays of lights are very attractive especially in the villages. It also set the mood for the Hari Raya festival which is just a few days away.

Keripik Bandung,Pisang & Keladi.

This Keripik Ubi,Pisang & Keladi is just like sweet potatoes ........

If you want to make your own Keripik Ubi,Pisang and Keladi  it's very easy ;)

First you need to peel off the  skin then rinse the Ubi,Pisang and Keladi with clean water, cut it into thin slices, deep fry it in to hot oil until it becomes golden, drain it then sprinkle with salt.

Merdeka Day in Kuching.

The beautiful sun was shining and I have to put on sun glasses to protect my eyes 'Welcome to Kuching,Sir".

Yesterday 31 of August 2010 is Merdeka Day in Malaysia and its public holiday.

I started my day by walking from Padang Merdeka .Padang merdeka in Kuching,formerly known as padang central,is rather 'QUIET' this time around as this year's Malaysia Day is not held in Kuching.It was 09:00AM ,the beautiful sun was shining so beautifully that I couldn't resist capturing some photos of Merdeka fever in some parts of Kuching City.

The admin of this building 'Medan Pelita' is in a spirit of patriotic.

Street fruits vendor trying to be a patriotism ,using the flag (Jalur Gamilang) to protect him from sunshine........

Spirit of Patriotism '1Malaysia'  creativity of St.Joseph School students...

Bapak Malaysia image should be highlighted instead of our present PM.Another creativity of St.Jo School. (Jo is for Joseph not Abg Jo our state minister).

On my way to my home 'Desa Ilmu' this is Jalan Dato Mohd Musa of Kota Samarahan.This place is 30 mins drive or about 26KM from Kuching City.See the Jalur Gamilang on a street lamp pole and it's public holiday so not many road user to-day.

All above image captured using Olympus DSLR the official camera for Kuching Daily photo .

Hari Raya Preparation..

All Malaysian Muslim are getting into a final one third stage of the holy month of Ramadan.In less then 10 days,they will celebrate Eidul Fitri or Hari Raya Puasa.

What would Hari Raya be without new clothes, new shoes, new bags and basically lots of new things?

Shoppers throng malls, bazaars and boutiques in search for the trendiest baju kurungs and kebayas (traditional Malay attire for women), latest tudung )(scarf) trends, fashionable shoes, sleekest baju melayu (traditional Malay attire for men) and so forth. There are some who opt for a family colour theme for Hari Raya each year, and will hunt for materials of the same colour. While some can make their own Hari Raya attire or send it to the tailors, others prefer to get it ready-made as it is easier and sometimes cheaper.

 

Spoilt for choices........

It’s not just about the shoes,kopiah or clothes; even Hari Raya delicacies are on sale along with the apparel.

Delicacies etc,etc.......

Children wear etc.etc.........

 

Though it’s the fasting month, many shoppers don’t seem to feel the fatigue or tiredness when hunting for the best deals. While some opt to go shopping at night, after the breaking of fast, many would rather go during the day as there are more shops open and they can get the best bargains.

My advise....spend wisely.

NGOJEK.

Ngojek,Indonesia for "to earn money by carrying passengers or cargo on the rear seat of one's motorbike"

 

Ngojek..transporting heavy load of cargo crossing Malaysia/Indonesia border in Serikin.

Every weekend he works from the town of Indonesia province in  Kalimatan Barat carrying cargo to cross the border.He has to work very hard for it.

Ngojek do good business  carrying passengers to cross the border between Malaysia/Indonesia in Serikin.Bau.

DMC Lumix LX3 by Panasonic.

How the camera look like.....size does not matter.

Wow !!! this is an amazing camera.Its a compact camera that shoots as well as a mid-range DSLR .It costs (Rm1700)a half of my entry level DSLR cost.

This camera belong to my daughter who is still pursue her Master in UKM,Bangi.Perfect choice for her field work/study and travelling.To-day(Sunday) I have a chance to review and snap a few sample photos.

Designed for easy, creative shooting, and high-performance in low-light conditions, the DMC-LX3 features a F2.0 24mm LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMICRON lens, 10.1 mega pixels and an ultra-sensitive 1/1.63-inch CCD developed specifically for this model.

By combining a high-quality lens and sensor ready for a variety of shooting conditions with a wide-range of accessories and manual controls, the DMC-LX3 is ideal for professional photographers and serious amateurs looking for a compact digital camera that furthers their creative photography.

I can switch the aspect of the camera immediately with three easy switches. These aspects determine the “square size” of your camera. If you want to have wide-screen effect, choose 16:9. Pretty much like a television.Auto Focus – Macro Mode – Manual Focus. These switches are mostly not available in compact cameras.

The round switch on the left is the manual switches. Notice there is no “Automatic” shot.

Start from SCN (clock wise) – SCENE – intelligent Aperture – Program – Aperture Priority – Shutter Speed Priority – Manual – Custom 1 – Custom 2 – Video

W and T button is zoom function. This camera only comes with 2x zoom but I am satisfied with current zoom.

Focus – this is the best function. I can set the focus point manually.. usually only DSLR has such functions.This is definitely not a camera for those still new to camera, but once mastered, this is a great and powerful compact camera, especially in low light conditions.

For flash or viewfinder purchase (optional) &  doesn't mean LX3 does not have flash?.This camera has its own build in flash.

This is one of the sample photo I shot using Lumix LX3.F2.0 24mm LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMICRON lens.

Try scene mode Pin Hole.

Manual mode...W & T button is zoom function,the lens flare is from the camera  and no editing (PP).

 

Panasonic DMC-LX3 10.1MP Digital Camera with 24mm Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

This is an amazing P&S compact camera.

Sarawak’s Traditional Boat Cruise.

On the weekend before last I went to water front and I stumbled on this 'Local Gondola" so I grab my camera and snap.

 

Now, you can still enjoy sight-seeing cruise the TRADITIONAL WAY in our ‘LOCAL GONDOLA' along the Sarawak River where the adventure,the modern history herewith began.

Read here for more info

S'wak Traditional Boat Cruise

Strictly Malaysian-Balik Kampung.

Loosely translated, "balik kampung" means to go back to one's hometown. However, it is most applicable when used to describe the annual pilgrimage of city folk to their respective hometowns during festive seasons.

It's not uncommon to find cities like Kuala Lumpur turning into ghost towns during Hari Raya Puasa and Chinese New Year due to this yearly exodus. This feeling of desolation in cities is magnified when festivals fall close together, such as Kongsi Raya (Hari Raya Puasa and Chinese New Year) although this happens only occasionally.

Ramadan-It's not about food .

The food sale at Ramadan Bazaar..

Few hours before breaking fast..a lot of people stampede the bazaar......

 

The magical moment of Ramadan in Malaysia are those market stalls selling a variety of foods and some are only available during Ramadan. Seeing people of all races and religions shopping and buying these foods are images that will forever be etched in one's mind. Ramadan is also that time of the year where family members make an effort to be home for the breaking of fast and be together as a family to enjoy and share those wonderful spread. Ramadan brings the family closer. Of course eating in moderation and eating healthy foods are key to a longer, happier and prosperous family lives.However, in Malaysia, the month itself has been tainted with the extreme gluttony during the entire month of fasting. Not sure what I’m talking about? Well, I don’t mean I am good Muslim then any other Muslim brother but the gluttony among most Muslims in Malaysia can be seen in the Ramadan Bazaar. A few hours before breaking fast, a lot of people will stampede the bazaar in order to buy loads of food for the breaking fast.