Niah National Park

          Niah Caves is located within the district of Miri in Sarawak, Malaysia. Part of Niah National Park, the main cave, Niah Great Cave, is located in Gunung Subis and is made up of several voluminous, high-ceilinged chambers. The Great Cave lies in a large limestone block, about a kilometre long in general north to south direction and about half a kilometre wide, that is detached from the main Gunung Subis complex, by a valley between about 150 to 200 meters wide. The main Gunung Subis complex rises to about 394^[1] meters above sea level at its highest point. The whole "Gunung Subis Limestone Complex" lies some 17 kilometres inland from the South China Sea coast and about 65 kilometres south west of the town Miri. It is roughly heart shaped measuring five kilometres from its northern tip to the south and four kilometres across. The Gunung Subis is surrounded by a low countryside with gentle hills from which the small limestone massiv and its smaller detached blocks rise rather appruptly out of the jungle, some with cliffs over 100 metres high.^[2] Though it is not an extensive cave system compared to others in Sarawak, it has been estimated to cover some 10 hectares and the roof rises to about 75 metres above the cave floor in some places.^[3] In geological terms, the limestones are part of the Subis Formation. This is dated to some 20 to 16 million years ago during the Early Miocene.^[2] The caves have been used by humans at different times ranging from the prehistory to neolithic, Chinese Sung-Era and more recent times.

Rainforest World Music Festival

   

 

The Rainforest World Music Festival is an annual three-day music festival celebrating the diversity of world music, held in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, with daytime music workshops, cultural displays, craft displays, food stalls, and main-stage evening concerts. It is now one of the largest musical events in Malaysia with a total weekend audience approaching 30,000.

The festival features a wide range of performances from traditional music, to world fusion and contemporary world music. The festival emphasizes the use of traditional acoustic world instruments, although electric accompaniment instruments are common. Invited performers come from Sarawak, other provinces of Malaysia, and countries near and far.

 

Benak Festival

                     

     Pesta Benak (Tidal Bore Carnival) in Sri Aman is one of the yearly activities in the Sarawak tourism calendar. The objective of Pesta Benak Sri Aman is to introduce Sri Aman town through tourism and encourage tourist from in and outside the country to visit Sri Aman. Apart from it, Pesta Benak is also to promote harmony among local community.

     In conjunction with this phenomenon, many events were organized such as exhibition, food fair, karaoke competition, culture and art performances and others. Tidal wave festival has made the area a popular spot in Sarawak for visitors; you can join in the fun and hitch a ride with the longboats or just watch the boatman braving the waves. You can even immerse yourself with the local culture at the food fair, good music and dance performances that are part and parcel of the festival.

Bako National Park

 It's been a while since the last visit and butterflies were beginning to flutter in my tummy. 7 years can be a long time in the tropics. lifecycles seem to be shorter and longer at the same time.

      It was a 5.30 morning call, we had to get to Bako village for an early check in at the park. Having arrived in Kuching the day before, we had not been able to get to the Visitor's Information Centre in time to make bookings for a place to stay at the park. Had our quick toast, jam and coffee at Singgahsana Lodge (breakfast included) where we stayed the night before and carrying with us only our overnighters, rushed off to catch the 7.00am bus.

                                      

Kuching Waterfront “The People Place”

      Aptly called The People Place, Kuching Waterfront was built for the people of Sarawak and visitors alike. It is their place to enjoy, to entertain and be entertained. A heritage to be proud of, and a legacy to pass on to generations to come. Stretching approximately 1 km, with a riverside walk linking the hotel precinct with downtown Kuching, the Waterfront is 'self-contained' with facilities for entertainment, refreshment, relaxation, cultural enjoyment and arts appreciation. It is also a great place for family gatherings, corporate outings and school and community projects.

The Sarawak Museum Old Building

    The Sarawak Museum Old Building was built in 1891 and was extended to its present form in 1911. The building was especially built to permanently house and display local native arts and crafts and collections of local animals as mainly encouraged by the famous naturalist, Alfred Wallace, who was then collecting specimens in the country.

Batang Ai National Park

     This national park is home to the Orang Utan, one of the most endangered species in the world, as well as plenty of other fauna such as hornbills and gibbons. It is also the water catchment area to the one artificial lake in Sarawak. Upriver from the dam, though, there is an expansive rainforest overhanging clear, refreshing rivers, ready to provide a satisfying experience for visitors. There are also Iban longhouses upriver, complete with the authentic longhouse atmosphere.

Tarian Ngajat

     Ngajat for Iban people are dancing while celebrating Gawai Iban people before the war and after the harvest. In ancient times the dance danced after they return from war.

     Dancers will wear traditional costumes such as 'mesh', 'gagung' or bird shirt. Dancers also wear hats decorated with feathers. Gagung is a thick and stiff shirt made ​​from animal skin like a bear but not stitched leather left and right.

Umai

     This is one of Sarawak traditional dishes that does need little introduction to. Eventhough it used to become the Melanau's staple food, it had became so famous in Sarawak that one can find this delicacies in a five star hotel in Sarawak. But nothing can beat a homemade umai, pronounced as 'umei'. There are many variations to umai. One can use boneless/boneless sea fish e.g tenggiri, bawal (duwei in Sarawak), prawn or even salted ikan terubok. 

Laksa Sarawak

     Southeast Asia - particularly Malaysia - is a food aficionado's playground. Foodie or not, very few people can resist a second bowl of tangy laksa after sampling their first. Laksa is one of those unique dishes, possibly hard to find at home, that people crave long after their Southeast Asia suntan fades to a fond memory.

Sour, spicy, slightly sweet with a hint of fish - laksa is a mouthwatering noodle soup dish found all over Southeast Asia. Though the epicenter may be Malaysia, laksa's fame has spread throughout Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the West.

Cake Lapis Sarawak

     Modern Sarawakian layered cakes were introduced to the people of Sarawak from Indonesia officially around 1988. The Indonesian version has been known since the Dutch colonial era; its most famous varieties are the Lapis Legit, a spice-flavored multilayered cake, and Lapis Surabaya.

      In 2011, the history of Sarawak layered cakes once again change by a new generation (Sarawakian) of innovative natural layer cakes evangelist named Kek Lapis Qalas Qalas. By introducing modern design and traditional layer, coupled with new flavors which inspired from home-made inspiration,each layer is tastefully interlaced with various natural flavours in between the original recipe, modern taste and knowledge from their ancestor.

Lang Cave Mulu

     Deer Cave is reached by following a three kilometer plankwalk which passes through peat swamp, alluvial flats and limestone outcrops. There is much to see on the way to the cave, including some superb rainforest, jungle streams and an ancient Penan burial cave.

     When you reach the cave entrance you are left in no doubt that you are about to enter the largest cave passage in the world. Deer Cave is simply huge – it is just over 2 kilometers in length and never less than 90metres high and wide. The main chamber, which is partially lit by sunlight, is 174 meters wide and 122 meters high. This is the area where deer used to shelter so the local Penan and Berawan people named the Gua Payau or Gua Rusa(Deer Cave).

Astana, Kuching, Sarawak

     The Astana is a palace in Kuching, Sarawak, on the north bank of the Sarawak River, opposite the Kuching Waterfront. It is the official residence of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak, the Governor of Sarawak. The name is a variation of 'istana', meaning 'palace'. It was built in 1870 by the second White Rajah, Charles Brooke, as a wedding gift to his wife, Margaret Alice Lili de Windt. The palace is not normally open to the public, although the landscaped gardens are, which can be reach by a boat ride across the Sarawak River.The Astana, then called the Government House, was built in 1870 by the second White Rajah, Charles Brooke, as a wedding gift to his wife, Margaret Alice Lili de Windt. The couple married at Highworth, Wiltshire on 28 October 1869 and she was raised to the title of Ranee of Sarawak with the style of Her Highness upon their marriage.

    Ranee Margaret arrived in Sarawak in 1870, and the royal couple then occupied The Astana as their main home. She later reminisced about life in The Astana and colonial Borneo in her memoir My Life in Sarawak, which was published in 1913.

   Brooke is said to have cultivated betel nut in a small plantation behind the Astana, so that he could offer fresh betel nut to visiting Dayak chiefs.