Water Pump Powered Boat.

Water-pump-powered boat races are now a craze at many rural kampong along Sarawak River and also at longhouse along Rajang River attracting not only the young but also people in their 60s.

Local water pump power boat rider.

 The boat costs RM300, the water pump costs another RM300 and the propeller RM10. Together with other fittings and accessories such as a steering wheel, helmet, life jacket and decorations, the boat will cost between RM800 to RM1,000,” Rider said.

 Boats were made of plywood and other woods such as gerunggang, medang or engkabang obtained from the nearby jungleThe kampung folk say the dry weight (minus water-pump engine) of a single boat in the water pump engine category is about 13kg to 14kg.

Local rider say handling a water pump racing boat in a proper competition is ‘so much safer’ than taking part especially in illegal motorbike racing.
“This is because getting ditched into the water is less dangerous than landing on a hard surface —like a road, for instance, during a motorcycle race. Besides, it is not illegal to race a boat in the river.”
BUT during the recent" Kuching City Local Council water festival " this powerboat competition was cancelled  by the organizer because they say It's dangerous .

Integrated Recreational Centre in Kuching.

The Kuching Integrated Recreational Centre (KIRC) located at the car park of the Civic Centre in Kuching City was officially opened on March 12th ,2011.KIRC  as an alternative to Central Padang catering for medium scale occasions, tourist attraction and for the people to meet up and conduct various community activities.The place will incorporate the backdrop of the nearby historical Sarawak Club and the Civic Centre Tower which will provide an interesting touristic landmark.

Among the facilities included into the centre are three modified futsal courts, two sepak takraw courts, two basketball courts, one badminton court, two volleyball courts and an area for tai chi or wushu demonstration.

The public in Kuching can now enjoy proper sport and recreational facilities near their neighbourhood, so as to keep an active and healthy lifestyle.
# all above photos taken with my Panasonic Lumix LX3.

My Adventure Video.

The Ultimate Tropical Jungle Shoe.

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Technorati Tags: Adventure,Jungle Trekking

 

 

The Adidas kampung is a popular shoe when it comes to choosing the right shoe for tropical jungle of Malaysia. This cheap yet practical piece of footwear has decorated the feet of Malaysians for generations, especially among rubber tapers and estate workers for as long as the independent of Malaysia perhaps. Its light, fully water resistant and simple design makes it even more attractive among those venturing into a jungle that is constantly wet and humid.

 

Adidas Kampung is up for anything. They are shoes for jungle trekking. Great footwear for tropical water paddling and they make excellent tropical shoes for river crossing and general camp wear.Why is this shoe called Adidas Kampung? Well, there is one particular model that comes with studded soles. The entire shoe is still made of rubber and the sides are painted with 3 yellow stripes.

There are a number of reasons why this rubber shoe is the preferred choice by many locals for the tropical jungle. Its construction of being 100% rubber makes it fully water repellent, easy to drain out water and easy to dry. These rubber shoes, is probably one of the most talked about footwear for use especially when trekking or walking in jungles like in Sarawak. These (really) cheap shoes can cost anything between RM5 to RM10 and is actually very easily available in Malaysia.

Adidas Kampung rubber shoes has a reputation that makes it a popular choice among many outdoor adventure goers in Sarawak. They can be seen worn by mountain climbers, river paddlers and even among outdoor educators at established organization. While their price may be an important factor, the popularity of these shoes we reckon boils down to its practicality and functionality.

Good Bye...Semban.

Good bye Semban time to leave...Selamat Jalan Kampong Semban...

Some view of the village

 

I miss this little boy name Aeron..Bye! Aeron.if i ever come back to Semban  I will bring you a colour pencil a drawing book and some sweet..that's my promise.

I miss the awesome view if sunrise

 

 

I will tell the world that you are still exist ,your beautiful culture is still exist....that's my promise.

 

About 4 hours later, we reached our starting point at Kampung Bengoh. A villager told us that there is a tallest waterfall in northern side of Bungo range....and there is no trail to go there, need to hire very experience old folk from the village & hack through the dense rainforest to reach there. And the trip is tougher than the trail to Semban.After listening to this..I'm asking myself."Should I come back here again?"A dam is under construction in the region, to be completed this year. Then the traditional access route will get flooded.. so how am I to come  and visit little child "Aeron" .

Me(uncle),Linda & Deckson.

Awesome  Semban is one of the 4 villages that have been compelled to move due to the construction of Bengoh Dam, the other 3 being Bojorn, Rejoi and Sait. This trek to Semban is the first or the last for 3 of us  once the dam gets flooded with water, maybe this year. Why did I say we are the last outsider to visit Kampong Semban. Read source from the star below....

Tight checks: The security guardhouse at the Bengoh dam site.

TIGHT security has been enforced at the site of the RM310mil Bengoh Dam project in Borneo Highlands over the past month.

No one is allowed to enter except for construction workers and those employed at the site office. Outsiders are barred.

The company responsible for the construction has also barred outsiders from visiting villagers in Kampung Taba Sait, Kampung Pain, Kampung Rejoi/Bojong and Kampung Semban who have been affected by the project and being forced to be resettled in a new area.

A guard manning the security post said he was merely following instructions.

Asked why visitors were not allowed, the guard said: “I don’t know. We are merely following instructions. Only workers are allowed in.”

StarMetro has also learnt that outsiders who want to visit the four affected villages are prohibited from using a route that passes through the dam site.

Visitors, whether locals or foreigners, are allowed only if they are accompanied by the village people.

It is learnt that the instruction came after visits by some media representatives to the villages about a month ago and the publication of reports highlighting the plight of the villagers.

StarMetro was the first to highlight issues concerning their unhappiness over the quantum of compensation paid to them.

The villagers were ordered to vacate their respective homes and move to the resettlement area when the houses and other facilities were completed.

The people, however, are to pay for the cost of the new houses in the resettlement area, which they refused.

Work on the Bengoh Dam commenced in Aug 2007 and is expected to be completed in December this year.

That me..start walk from Kampong Semban about 09:00am and reach Bengoh point at 13:37 PM....(photo by Linda).

Jawlinda is one of the blogger that join the team you can read her trip experience from her blog

MYonlineDiary and anyone interested to visit or plan a trip to Semban Village I suggest you cantact DECKSON of Visitor Information Centre ,Sarawak Tourism Board Kuching at this contact number +6 082 410944, +6 082 256301 .

Thank You....Thanks also to

Sarawak Bloggers Community

Thank You very much to Sarawak Tourism Board for inviting me for the awesome trip.....Good bye and Selamat Jalan Kampong Semban.

The Bidayuh Ring Ladies in Semban, Sarawak

Technorati Tags: Tribe,Culture

 

Get close to the people here who are from the Bidayuh Rasong ethnic and you can feel their warm hospitality towards you. Don’t forget to meet the Ladies of The Ring and the bamboo musician in the village. Take picture with them. There are only a few of them left because some were already get off the brass rings because of the rings sometimes hurting them and it needs a lot job to clean the brass everyday.I was here last week, hosted by Sarawak Tourism Board and the trip was fun indeed, I went together with Jawlinda and Deckson.We stay with Sagen family (Semban Village stay 014-8808123).Sarawak Bloggers Community are happy to play their role to promote Sarawak as Tourist Destination.

Group photo with Bidayuh Ring Ladies

 

Seems that there are only 5 Bidayuh elder women left in Semban village who are still wearing the copper rings. Many years ago, according to Sagen, many women would still be wearing them but slowly things changed and many of the younger generations prefer bracelets and anklets. Things didn’t look promising for the tradition of wearing the rings when even school teachers begin to ban students from wearing them.

 

I didn’t know that Bidayuh women wore copper rings on their arms and legs as a sign or beauty and status until I saw it for myself in Semban. Our guide Sagen did mention it but I never thought much of the rings back then. Now that I have seen them myself, I have to agree that they are most beautiful and in its own way very majestic. The sad thing is that there are only 5 of the women left who are still wearing the rings.

The bamboo musician

I am not all that sure if the rings are made of copper or brass. But an old newspaper cutting in Sagen’s house stated that the rings were actually made of yellow copper. Called Rasung and Ruyang where believed to be obtained from foreign traders 100 years ago and wearers back then are considered to be ‘somebody’. Wearing the rings is more of a personal choice. While they signify beauty and status, the wearer is subjected to physical pain, often having to grow up with atrophied limbs The Bidayuh women came to meet us in their finest. They seem very proud of the rings they are wearing and their clothes have been beautifully decorated with beads of all kind. One thing I also notice is that they go everywhere with their chewing kit, known as ’Lonok’.

  

For someone to wear those rings since the age of 12, and still did everything anyone else did (they still work on their farms even with the rings on!), I would say that these women are really a respectable lot. As the lure of big cities and the prospect of an easier life vacuums away the younger generation from the village, the practice of wearing copper Rasung and Ruyang will soon be a thing of the past. A sad end to such beauty and charm of the Bidayuh’s in Semban.

Trip to Semban Village-The Sun Rising..

Technorati Tags: Adventure,Jungle Trekking

For those who have been to a remote part Sarawak, experienced culture much different and diverse to their own, and felt the joys of the simple life, I think you will all agree that no matter how intriguing the destination, the journey there was the highlight. Nothing less than amazing was the journey to Semban Village,the village above the cloud. That night we were informed that those who wished to see the sun rise would need to wake up at 5’oclock in the morning and take 1750 steps to the top of a nearby hill.

Sunset view from the village of Semban

At 5am,we woke up and ascending to the summit of a hill to see the sunrise.I personally had to do battle with the forces  to haul myself up that morning. I dragged myself up and reached for my head torch, It was still dark  outside.

 Deckson & Linda enjoy the view

The sun rising over Semban’s beautiful landscape . It is one of those moments where you would just be still and wonder how beautiful the world we live in. Clouds can be seen covering the lower reaches of the valley and as the sun rise; its colour of powdery white, almost like cotton wool stretched over the tree tops. For a moment when the sun finally made its appearance, there were just silence among us, only the sound of birds and cameras clicking away.

 

 

The view is spectacular!!!

The “Sun Rising” over Semban’s beautiful landscape it is the one of those moment where you would just be still and wonder how beautiful the world we live in. Clouds can be seen covering the lower reaches of the valley and as the sun rise its colour of powdery white, almost like cotton wool stretched over the tree tops.

 

The air was very fresh and the view was amazing although the sun was blocked out by clouds.

We spend almost 45 minutes at the summit watching sunrise while enjoying fresh hot black coffee.It was early,and having walked for nearly six hours the previous day this was not a walk in the park.  Yes, my dear friends there was more uphill hiking involved. At the summit , soon enough it started to get light and we were looking at the valley below, shrouded in a thick blanket of cloud.  In amongst those clouds was, the village in the clouds.  The early morning hike was most definitely worth the effort. How beautiful the world we live in........

After the sunrise, as we make our way back to the village, we pass by a pepper farm. The villagers of Semban do plant, harvest and process pepper as a livelihood. Both white and black pepper seeds actually comes from the same tree, the only difference is that making white pepper is more tedious and time consuming.

As we walk closer to the village, we started seeing people busy going about their businesses. Some were on their way to the farm while others were busy processing their harvest. The adults were very friendly, greeting us as we meet them.

The village of Semban, located in the upper Penrissen near Kuching is one of the few Bidayuh villages spared from the flooding of the Bengoh Dam. Dubbed ‘the village above the clouds’, Kg Semban is home to the 7 last known surviving women who still wear copper rings coiled around their arms and forearms, a practice that will cease to exist with their passing. This visit to Semban will uncover the beauty of the people, their culture and way of life while we immerse ourselves in their natural, rustic environment.

Among the highlights at Kampung Semban:-

• Crossing bamboo suspension bridges
• Cultural performances by the ladies of the rings
• Traditional parang forging demonstration
• Visit to villagers’ farms and vegetable garden plots
• Stay with local families and sample home- cooked food
• Village tour
• Sunrise watch
• Waterfall hike

Trip to Semban Village-Day Two (part 2)..

 

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Technorati Tags: adventure,Nature,Waterfall

Last Tuesday, the 22nd March 2011, I was invited by Sarawak Tourism Board for a mountain and jungle trekker to a 4-days/3-night adventure to Kampung Semban  and took up the physical challenge of relentless hours of jungle trekking into the Borneo rainforest.I join Deckson of STB and Jawlinda from Sarawak Bloggers Community.After spending a few minutes at Susukng, we made our way to the next waterfall. It’s not really far from Susukng but already the heat from the walk to the falls has started taking its toll. I personally can’t wait to get myself into the water…need to cool down the body.

 

The area of this waterfall looks like something from a theme park. The cascades look like they were formed by huge ‘strategically’ positioned concrete boulders. In the picture above, if you look closely, there is another waterfall towards the back. And that is not all to it…just a few meters downstream, a beautiful vertical drop reveals itself.

 

 

 Jawlinda calls this a curtain drop, much like the ones she seen in movies where you can go behind the ‘curtain’ into a secret entrance.

 

AQUA Massage in the forest spa.

Mr Sagen & MR Deckson...both give double thumb-up,,mean the waterfall pressure good for body massage.....I like and they shouted "The waterfall was such a blessing on this particular hot day".

It's the moisture and mist from the waterfall. You can access and get close to the waterfall but the moisture would be disastrous to my camera, that's why I couldn't get anywhere near it with our camera.

Let me tell you what will happen to this waterfall in near future:

In recent time, Kampung Semban ('kampung' translated as village in our local dialect) and its surrounding areas including its neighbouring villages have been in the limelight for the wrong reasons. The predominantly Bidayuh Semban village along with three others will eventually make way for the state of Sarawak’s controversial water reservoir project known as Bengoh Dam Project which is due to be completed in the year 2011.

Food always taste good when you are enjoying yourself,while I enjoy exploring my camera lens looking for beautiful scenery.Deckson & Linda  really enjoyed the Bidayuh’s cooking and hospitality and so do I.

Deckson show me the king of fruits...Durian.

The walks to the waterfalls at Semban weren't as tough as I expected but the heat of the day really burnt us.Ha,ha..by the time we got back to the village,we were all exhausted ,in a matter of minutes Sagen offer us barley porridge and durian.What a way to finish a beautiful visit to Semban's two most imposing waterfall.

To be continue...............

Thank You.

 

 

 

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