Sarawak from Group 2's eyes

When we arrive in Kuching International Airport, we were so excited. After we arrive at the Sarawak Cultural Village, we were instructed to go to the Iban longhouse to stay for the night. When we saw the longhouse, our impression of a longhouse changed. From the name of it, we thought a longhouse was supposed to be long. I guess this is where the phrase ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ comes in. After settling down, we went for our lunch. We then proceed to the different types of longhouses in the whole cultural village. Some of the examples are the Rumah Bidayuh, Rumah Orang Ulu and Rumah Cina Kebun. They are very different from each other. After travelling for quite some time, we had a special cultural show held by the locals. It was very entertaining as its our first time viewing a close-up kind of show. We went back to our longhouse and the headman tell us stories about the Iban tribe. We then had a free time to mingle around and know each other better while waiting for our dinner. After dinner, we went back to the longhouse to learn the Bidayuh traditional dance. It was an enjoyable and unforgettable experience for us. Despite the heat and tiredness, we had a lot of fun. After that we had stories told by the tour guide and the headman. The headman told us about different kinds of festivals that they celebrate here. One of them is the Gawai Hantu Palak. The tour guide told us a legendary story about why the Bidayuh tribe would not get eaten by the crocodiles. It was fascinating. Overall, we learn a lot of unexpected and valuable things on the first day.







Group reflection no. 2
After breakfast at the Cultural Village, we head down to ‘Kampung Telaga Air’. When we arrive, we learned how to make a Sarawak traditional kueh call Kueh Penyaram. We also learned the steps to make a fishing boat. We then went to one of the villager’s house and we can really tell the difference between the houses there and the houses in Singapore. We were shocked when we enter the house. It was amazing. We had different perspective of their houses, which made it a great experience. The houses there are big and spacious, not like the houses in Singapore. We met with the owner of the house and also find out more about them. They are very friendly and kind people. We took pictures to capture the moments we had with them. After that we went for fishing. Although we didn’t manage to catch any fish, we were amazingly patient. For the most of us, it was our first experience and realised it wasn’t that easy. It was fun, even. After that, we had our lunch. Then, we went to Museum Pusak(Cat Museum). The place was filled with statues of cats all over. It was stunning. We find majority of the cat statues adorable. There were also brochures and pictures dispalyed in the museum, giving us a lot more informations on the beautiful Kuching. Next, we went to the Kek Lapis house. We learnt that Kek Lapis is a must-have on festivals like Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. We had the chance to taste different types of Kek Lapis and we even took orders to bring them back to Singapore so that our family and friends get to enjoy the taste of the Sarawak delicacy. We then went to check-in in the Merdeka Palace Hotel to stay for the two nights. We had our scrumptious seafood dinner in a crowded hawker centre in Kuching. After that we went to the Kuching Waterfront. It looks a little bit like Clarke Quay in Singapore. After strolling for quite awhile, we went back to our hotel to get our sleep. It was a tiring yet enjoyable day.




Group reflection no. 3

After breakfast we proceed to SMK Siburan. We had thoughts about the school. We expected the school to be small but we were dumbfounded as the school was bigger than ours. We were also shocked that they have hostel in their school. Its like as if it is a boarding school. They gave us a very welcoming visit with their special dance. It was heartwarming and made our morning. The prefectorial board were exceptionally kind and friendly with us. We really like them. And amazingly, all the prefects are only in secondary 1. They surprised us with their strong sense of discipline. But their surrounding is very different from ours. Their rooms are much more smaller and compact. We then exchanged our email and contact numbers with them. They have a bookshop too. Theirs are bigger than us and the stuffs they sell are very different from us. In their bookshop, there are things like clothes, toiletries etc. We feel that they sell these things for the students who stays in the school’s hostel.
After that we proceed to Gunung Gading National Park for our trekking. The ride there was extremely long. About 1 and a half hour. We had our brief lunch and then went to the meeting area before the trail begins. Before our trekking expedition begin, we went to a small waterfall and the Rafflesia flower statue to capture the moments with our cameras. For the first quarter of the trail, we already felt the exhaustion of the trekking. Throughout the journey, the tour guide also showed and explained to us the different types of plants located there. We were also extremely honoured to have the chance to see the largest flower in the world, the Rafflesia. We then went back to our coach and were on our way back to the hotel. We had a buffet dinner at Hartz Chicken’s in Sarawak Plaza. It was delicious. We went to shop and stroll around after that. Soon after, we walk back to our hotel to get our important sleep. Haha.