Travelogue around Asia Pacific Part II: July 2023

Friday, July 28, 2023

Kranji War memorial

Singapore - This morning after breakfast, Edmund and I went to Kranji War Cemetery and State cemetery.

War Memorial

It was a sunny day and we were sweating under the direct sun. There were no visitors during this time except some landscapers putting flowers on the grave stones.

Located in the northwestern part of Singapore, the Kranji area became a military base in the 1930s and was a munitions depot before being converted into battalion headquarters for Australian troops after the Allied withdrawal from Singapore on 31 January 1942.

Kranji was a key battle site during the Japanese invasion. With the loss of Malaya, the retreating Allied units were redeployed in a new defence perimeter around Singapore.

rows of tombstone of fallen soldiers

Memorial register of the war dead at this war memorial. Of the 2,690 burials and inscriptions of missing Australian personnel at the cemetery, 519 have their date of death recorded as between 8 and 10 February 1942, suggesting that they fell in action during the opening battles. The location of the cemetery is thus significant considering that Kranji was where the war began and ended for many.

Kranji War Cemetery has its origins in a prisoner-of-war camp established by the Japanese in this area in 1944. Prisoners who died were buried in a cemetery on a hill behind the camp. After the war in 1946, this cemetery was chosen as the site of a permanent war cemetery for Allied soldiers. Military graves from other parts of Singapore as well as Saigon (Vietnam) were then transferred to Kranji War Cemetery, which contains more than 4,400 graves today.

Kranji State Cemetery

Kranji State Cemetery, which is located just outside Kranji War Cemetery, was established by the Singapore government in 1970 for individuals who have “made important contributions to national progress”. The cemetery contains the graves of two former presidents: Yusof Ishak, who was Singapore’s Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State) from 1959-1965 and first President from 1965-1970; and Dr Benjamin Sheares, Singapore’s second President from 1971-1981.

President Yusof Ishak

Yusof held many appointments within the Singaporean government. He served on the Film Appeal Committee from 1948 to 1950 and was also a member of both the Nature Reserves Committee and Malaysian Commission for a year. In July 1959, he was appointed Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Singapore.

He lends his name to several landmarks and buildings including Yusof Ishak Secondary School, ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, Yusof Ishak House in National University of Singapore, and mosque Masjid Yusof Ishak.

President Benjamin Sheares

Dr Benjamin Henry Sheares was the second president of the Republic of Singapore. He held this office from 2 January 1971 at the age of 63 until his death on 12 May 1981. Besides his presidency, Sheares was also known as Singapore’s “father of modern obstetrics and gynaecology”.

President Benjamin Shears also lends his name to several landmarks and buildings including the Benjamin Sheares Bridge, Singapore’s longest bridge, and the Sheares Hall, a hostel of the National University of Singapore.

somber and tranguil

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Today is Sarawak Independence Day

Kuching - What a good time to end the day to celebrate Sarawak Day. Once we cross the river, it was crowded with people walking and about. Water and fireworks with colourful buildings.

The beautiful reflection of the colourful building on the river.

Fireworks

crowds at Merdeka square

Cars were jammed on the roads and we could not take a grab back to the hotel. We walked over to Merdeka square and passed the huge crowd celebration towards St Joseph's Cathedral.

stained glass of St Joseph's Cathedral

We waited for our grab taxi for about 45mins to arrive as he was in a traffic jam.

Fireworks from my hotel room

Crossing the Sarawak river via Sampan

Kuching - After our dinner we thought we could cross the bridge but we were told that the only way across is via the sampan. It cost us RM2 each.

that's us in this small sampan

These small sampan (now motorised) can carry about 25 passengers each, bring ferry kampung folk living across the Sarawak River to the main bazaar and back. It is a cheap convenient way of transport. Though there is a good road and a bridge built to cross the river, it is still widely used by the kampong folks to come down to the town on the other side of the river bank It is a convenient means of transport that saves time and cost as compare for having to own a car and to drive a long way that may take around 20 minutes. The sampan took us across in less than 5 minutes.

My village Baruk restaurant for Dinner

Kuching - We wanted to try something tribal and unique, and this restaurant was recommended by locals at Sarawak Cultural centre. This restaurant is located at Malay village and just across the Sarawak river.

Entrance to the restaurant

Nasi Ayam Kelok

The chicken is soft and tender and it was a delicious meal.

Umai

Umai is a popular traditional native dish of the Melanau people in Sarawak, Malaysia, which is usually eaten by fishermen. Umai is a dish of sliced raw fish with a mixture of onions, chillies, vinegar, salt and lime juice.

Linut

This is a sago dish which the Melanau people eat instead of rice. The server taught us how to eat this dish - you use the chopsticks to pick up the gooey dish, roll it up and dipped it into belachan chilli. This is a not to my liking.

Sup Tulang

This is sheep bones soup and it tasted really good. We even order another bowl of rice to savour this delicious dish.

Borneo Cultural Museum

Kuching - We came the day before and was told to come today as it's free due to Sarawak Day celebration; otherwise it will cost us RM50 each.

spending a day at the museum

The museum was crowded today, but the museum is big enough to accommodate all visitors with ample space to move around. Four floors of display items and there were much to look at.

beautiful moon handing overhead

On display were fabric, masks, bags and pottery used by ethnic race in Sarawak.

Also on display was the proclamation of the union of Sarawak, Sabah, Singapore and Malaya into one Federation of Malaysia. We left around closing time @ 4.30pm

Walking along Jalan Padungan

Kuching - After our hearty lunch, we walked along Jalan Padungan to have a look at the shop houses. Most were closed for the Sarawak Day celebrations.

Minced pork stall

Snacks and noodle store

Different types of noodles

Kuching has many wall murals along China town and carpenter street, and this is one of them.

Makino Kochi Ramen Bar - Sarawak style Ramen for lunch

Kuching - The ramen is delicious and beef is so tender. It is a fusion ramen place and they love their sweet corn. Almost all their dishes has sweet corn.

small ramen stall

sweet chai seed drink

Refreshing apple cider

Organic apple cider with sour plum & lime - that's my drink and it was very good.

The ramen is very delicious and the braised beef is excellent - just too many sweet corn for this dish.

Bobo Cha cha

This Bobo cha cha was what I was expecting, thick gravy with sago balls. The sweet potato and yam was soft to perfection.

Red bean with delicious toppings

Total bill came up to RM70 (SGD 20.38) for both of us.

Kek Lapis Warisan

Kuching - The grab driver was willing to make a short stop at Kek Lapis Warisan - a famous Kuching cake shop.

Kek Lapis factory

At the side of the sales office, were factory workers making the kek lapis.

The kek lapis is different from Singapore Kuek Lapis as they have numerous flavours of Lapis.

Sarawak Cultural Village

Kuching - first to breakfast, just a few blocks down the road has 2 Indian restaurants. I was too hungry ate a piece of the dosa, then realise I have to take a picture of my breakfast.

Masala Dosa

Sarawak Cultural Village

Book at Grab to this location, very far at RM69 one way. The Grab lady asked whether we want her to wait to bring us back into Kuching city for RM120 - I told her we will decide and call her. After few minutes into a chatty conversation, she said RM80 back into the city - we said ok.

Entrance to the Cultural centre

This village of diverse ethnicity spans a 17-acre site. We can explore local ethnic groups via longhouse replicas, programs & cultural performances. We follow the direction sign around the lake to visit all the ethnic groups to finally bring us back to the Theatre for an 1hr cultural performance.

Rumah Cina - The Chinese home

The Chinese people were primarily farmers, bird nest processing and also pepper processor.

Tools used by the Chinese

rice flour grinder

Dragon Kiln

Rumah Melayu - Malay House

Malay house

These Malay women were preparing traditional Malay snacks - on the left is 'Sponge cake' and the right is 'love letters'.

Melanau Tall House

Melanau Tall house

The Melanau tall houses were not separated into rooms but elevated above the ground to provide defense against invading forces. The Melanau tall house may accommodate up to 50 families and is sometimes built 40 feet above the ground. The building materials were chosen for their durability and water resistance. Every resource, including the belian tree trunks (Borneo ironwood), nibong tree trunks, and sago tree trunks, is easily accessible from the environment.

The left is the shaman altar and very high stairs, not for the faint hearted and scared of heights.

climbing down the high stairs

Parang Ilang making hut

Mandau is the traditional weapon of the Dayak people of Borneo. It is also known as Parang Ilang among the Bidayuh, Iban and Penan people.

handmade range of parang

Sago Hut

Sago is a type of starch that's commonly extracted from a palm called Metroxylon sagu. It's mainly composed of carbs and is low in protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. However, sago is naturally grain- and gluten-free, making it suitable for those following restricted diets.

Orang Ulu longhouse

Some of the tools used by Orang Ulu in the village.

Rumah Penan

The Penan. The hunter-gatherer Penan live in the rainforests of the interior of Sarawak, in the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo. Traditionally nomadic, most of the 10-12,000 Penan now live in settled communities, but continue to rely on the forest for their existence.