Mama was terrified!

Mama looking frightened. What's above the roof?
We're now safe and sound in Kuching. On the 17th of February, we left Bintulu at around 9.30 am and after the usual 10 hours journey through the only road that connects Bintulu to the capital city Kuching ( Pan Borneo Highway), we stepped into our home around 7.45 pm. that evening. At the start of the journey, Mama Daisy was panicky, nervous and looking terrified. She never showed those signs before. What was amiss? About 10 minutes of the journey fospa parked the car by the road shoulder and gave time for Mama to relax and cool down. Theories about why she behaved strangely were discussed. At about the same time I did my 'business'! Oh, the air smelt shit!. Then fospa's head lamp lighted. He got an idea. My 'shit' was placed close to Mama's nose. Sure enough the foul smell neutralised her senses of smell. That trick worked and immediately she stopped being terrified or nervous. Now comes the explanation. Apparently just before we left Bintulu, fospa had asked Ati ( our nursery hand) to vacuum the car. The "fumes'' and smell of the vacuuming process must have produced some unpleasant and fearful odour to her, thus her fear and eagerness to jump out of the car and looking fearful as if something's happening above the car. With Mama feeling safe and sound, fospa continued on with the journey. Below are the memorable journey in pictures. With this 20th trip back Kuching, we garnered a total record of 23,400 km thus far in our record breaking journey as the most travelled cats in Malaysia.

20th trip back Kuching (17-2-10; 23,400 km achieved)











In safe hands. Thanks for the thighs.
Thighs that bind!









Inul sharing the jump seat with Mama

A bend on the Pan Borneo Highway.


















Mama looking curious as we entered the town of Sibu.

Early harvest. Many paddy fields around Sri Aman town were ready to be harvested.













CU of a paddy stalk. Rice is the staple food for all Sarawakians.















The last quarter of the journey i.e. from Sri Aman to Kuching we met with heavy tropical storm.

For the love of orchids

I am always fascinated by orchids. When in Kuching a perfect place to start admiring orchids is the flower market at Satok that runs from Saturday till Sunday. At the flower market one can be easily overwhelmed by the many varieties of orchids sold by the commercial nursery owners when they gather weekly to display their latest collections. Below are a sampling of the hundreds of varieties available.

Orchids at Satok Sunday Market

Sarawak is still largely covered by tropical rainforests and by some account have about 300 species of wild orchids. They come from many habitats like limestone forest, kerangas forest, mangrove forest, sub-montane/mossy forest, roadside open spaces, lowland forest, secondary forest or gardens and peat swamp forests. The orchids that are of special interest in Sarawak are many. The Phalaenopsis violacea is an epiphytic orchid that can only be found on Borneo island after having been discovered in 1859. It combines beauty with fragrance. Yet another highly regarded rarity is the slipper orchid called Paphiopedium sanderianum which can only be found in the limestone hills of Gunung Mulu National Park, a world heritage site. Its flowers have two wavy drooping petals that reach more than three feet in length. One of my favourite native species is the Pigeon Orchid that can be found on many old trees along Sarawak town roads especially on rain trees ( Samanea saman) or the tall and shady Angsana trees ( Pterocarpus indicus) ( see inset above)

A common terrestrial orchid native to Sarawak - Spathoglottis plicata, thrives in open sun.

Being a lover of orchids but not in any way a grower, I find that those who excel in cultivating orchids are naturally gifted in the art and science of tendering these very demanding plants. As for me the many trips that I've done on the Pan Borneo Highway has always been an orchid journey of sort. This is because all along the highway, on both sides of the road one can see endless rows of bamboo orchids ( Arundina graminifolia) growing in clusters with slender stems and forever producing a succession of rosy mauve flowers opening one or two at a time. They are so prevalent that they appear as natural landscaping for miles on end.

The Bamboo Orchid ( Arundina graminifolia) growing wild along Pan Borneo Highway

Can one be hooked on orchids? Said one commercial orchid grower, Joe Kunisch; "You can get off alcohol, drugs, women, food, and cars, but once you're hooked on orchids, you're finished. You never get off orchids....never".

A thing of beauty is a joy forever;

Its loveliness increases; it will never

Pass into nothingness; but still will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep

Full of sweet dreams, and health and quiet breathing.

(John Keats)

Chill out @ Asajaya

Country road at Asajaya.

Today is special. After about a full week of research work I felt stressed and decided to take a break. So we are on the road and this time it's Asajaya, a one hour drive from Kuching. Asajaya is known for its ruralness. There are paddy fields, acres of pineapple plantations, , coconut plantations and slowly creeping in are the oil palm plantations too. I guess after having sat infront of the computer for an average of 12 hours a day during the past week, the pain in my eyes are now cured by the greeness and expanse of the countryside. ( Note: The brightly coloured building on the left is a public toilet. To enter one is charged 20 cents. The cleanliness and gushing clean tap water inside was worth the charge.)

To reach Asajaya one has to take a ferry ride and the charge is a token RM1.00 only. We saw two ferries operating concurrently and the service apparently depended on the tide. Luckily we didn't have to wait too long upon our arrival at the ferry point. Today the tide was in around 11.30 am and we were told to be back at the ferry point before 5.00 pm by which time the tide will ebb. On the way back to the ferry we had to queue up for an hour before we could board the ferry. Such a waste of time I thought. But then again today is supposed to be a chill out. I did not mind for once.

On all roads that link the various villages in rural Asajaya, a common sight would be the ubiquitous paddy fields. Yet despite its vast arable land resources and a tiny population of about 3 million people , Sarawak fails desperately to produce enough for its own population. For umpteen years now Sarawak has to import 70% rice from Thailand, China, Vietnam and even India for its own rice consumption. I am always perturbed on all my travels these three years on the total absence of any mechanical devices used by the paddy farmers on their farms throughout the length and breath of the Sarawak's Borneo Highway from Kuching to Miri. I think the moment I see any mechanical device on the Borneo Highway the next time, I'm gonna take a rest by the roadside and pray. Pray and thanks the Almighty for showing the light to our State leaders.

CU of a paddy stalk.

A romantic scenery I would love to paint.