Blogs from Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, Asia - page 23

If anyone from the group wants to email me a good photo of the longhouse for this bit it would be great as my camera died. Thur 25th Up and into 2 minibusses to drive most of the day to the river to get in even even thinner longboats. We stopped at a fruit market on the way and bought some weird and wonderful fruits and had a penut and butter pancake which were lovely. The river was fail flooded when we got there and we seemed to be sitting very close to the river. But we arrived uncapsised to a very tradition Iban long house. It is like 13 terrace houses all with one long wide corridor outside where they sit and weave and socialise with eachother. But all made of wood and half of ... read more

Richard and John managed to enjoy 9 holes of golf before we left for the airport yesterday; Dot and Jo walked the dog and enjoyed some refreshing rain. The sun was shining on the golf course! The one hour flight was good and the transport (mini bus) which Richard & Jo had arranged was waiting to take us the short ride to our hotel by the riverside in the city. We have lovely rooms on the 7th floor with beautiful views over the city and the river. We walked around the little streets and the market area and soaked up some of the atmosphere. We won’t bore you with the description of our meal (which of course was delicious) but we ate outside overlooking the river at a very nice local restaurant. We are about ... read more

Tue 23rd We go to the airport (one undercover walkway waiting room) to find our flight has been delayed till the afternoon so we sat waiting for it and playing cards. Then as the plane came to land it started raining so it turned around and couldn't land. It was stil planed to try again but in the end they canceled it. The airline put us up in a 5* resort which the resort only atually classed as 3* but was nicer than what we were use to. unfortunatly it was 4pm and the day had gone. We swam in the pool and then had a nice dinner with some cheesy traditional entertainment. Wed 24th We try again to fly. This time everythin is fine but I am feeling like death- my head t heavy for ... read more

Ok, THIS is the shortest email blast yet!! I haven't even thought of what I want to say, but first off wanted to say I am truely sorry for not writing sooner (except of course to reply individually to you all wonderful, caring individuals...). I will be away from internet access for about 4 days, and with the amazing amount of response and inquiries I have received, I figured I should let everyone know NOW I am heading to the Philippines in early January to aid with the relief efforts after two destructive typhoons have hit the area within the last couple of weeks. The same organization I was with in Thailand after the tsuanmi as well as after Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf States is in the Philippines as we speak. They are working out ... read more

Living in Sarawak is sometimes like having one vacation after another...that's because it being the largest state in Malaysia, not only are there more ethnic groups here (over 27..i believe)...but the fact that all races and ethnic people look forward to celebrating their own festivals especially when the latter are government-gazetted public holidays as well. Well, folks..this year,Malaysian Muslims celebrated Hari Raya ( new year ) even earlier.after the sighting of the new moon on 23rd October after a month of fasting. ( Deepavali fell the previous Saturday and Monday was declared extra public holiday ) As usual, there were many ópen-houses' where friends, visitors and strangers were most welcome to drop in for goodwill wishes, greetings and food (!!!). The first two days passed quietly for me, but on the third day, I visited Hayati ... read more