Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Rainforest World Music Festival - 10 Year Commemorative Book on Sale

More news on the upcoming Rainforest World Music Festival. Sarawak Tourism Board has recently announced that they are releasing a coffee-table book to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the RWMF. The book's a 206-page retrospective of the event from its infancy stage to writings by renowned Sarawak author Heidi Munan on whether the festival should continue into the future. It's entitled "Music Without Borders", and Sarawak Tourism Board will only ever print 5,000 copies of it, no second print, folks. You can get the book now online at http://www.rainforestmusic-borneo.com, at Ringgit Malaysia (RM) 125 each. I read Amazon.com has also put 500 copies up for sale in their portal. By the way, tickets for the RWMF is priced at RM80 for a single-day pass and RM200 for a 3-day pass, available online at http://www.ticketcharge.com.my. It's on 13-15 July, folks, 20 groups confirmed to perform this year, so get your tickets now!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Seafood's Good If You Know Where To Find a Good Restaurant

Talking about seafood, almost everyone I know love crabs. It's hard to find someone who wouldn't want to get their hands into a good crab dish. I for one love it, and whenever I get the opportunity, I'd go and feast on a good order. The most recent crab meal I had was on the 1st day of Gawai, where my family and I had dinner at a seafood restaurant called Teo Seafood at Kg. Buntal at Santubong, about 20 km from Kuching City. Crabs of an assortment of size and weight, you can choose them in a big orange plastic basin as they scrambled along with their two free hind legs, the rest of their limbs all tied up including their most voracious pinchers. Tell the cook how you'd want them to be prepared, e.g. crab in black pepper sauce, crab fried with eggs, steamed crab, crab in sweet and sour sauce. Whatever the flavour, I love their natural taste and that sea-like smell as their fresh flesh breaks out of their red-brick cooked shell, or exo-skeleton.
Other than crabs, Teo Seafood offers fish, prawn, sea cucumber, oyster, mussels and other seafood dishes at very affordable prices. The food is very fresh, I've never been disappointed ther. Have a trip there one of these days.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Rainforest Music Festival is just round the corner, folks!

Yes, folks! The annual Rainforest Music Festival showcased exclusively in Kuching, Sarawak is coming up soon, in August that is. Tickets are on sale already I believe, please visit the official site. I managed to go in 2005 only, last year I was tied up with some other things. It's a 3-day event of musical extravaganza, people from all over the world would congregate to this place called the Sarawak Cultural Village in the masses just to experience it.
Be one of them, come over to Sarawak!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Gawai Celebration: Part II









The first photo is my son (yellow shirt far right) and his new-found friends. This was taken during 3rd day of Gawai at my Auntie's house in Kampung Ampungan. The second is a photo of mums, dads, wife & kid and other family members having a rather late lunch on the same day.
Good food, lots of drinks and pretty nice cool weather, the day ended well for all of us.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Gawai Celebration for the Dayak Community of Sarawak

svajtcoIt has been 6 months since I last wrote. Man, so much has happened.
Ok I'll start with the recent Gawai Dayak celebration that's just passed. Gawai festival is celebrated by the dayak community of Sarawak every 1st of June. It's done to acknowledge the end of the harvesting season (harvesting of paddy that is) and is the most celebrated event of the dayak community of Sarawak Traditionally in tle old days, you'd have lots of events going on, such as cultural shows, longboat races, telematch competitions (for some dayak communities), and of course the inevitable "drinking of rice wine and merry-making". Rice wine has now become a bit scarce due to the considerable effort needed to produce it in time for the celebration, so the dayaks (including myself) have resorted to more convenient sources of intoxication, i.e. white man's brew in the likes of beer or the more formidable whisky. Yes, folks, Gawai is a great way to meet new friends and see / visit new communities especially in the rural areas. Don't just focus on the drinking, lads. Gawai is more of a time to get families and friends together as well as inviting new friends over for a cuppa to share joy and happiness and foster lasting friendship.
I'll post some of my Gawai pics in my next entry.
Selamat Ari Gawai ngagai bala-bala ti ngelala aku.