Friday, May 27, 2011

sarawak part III: a slice of sarawak culture

Tomorrow I will be leaving Taiwan...my first time going there. Hoping everything will run smoothly ;)

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I am going to fast forward one day to the day we visited Sarawak Cultural Village in Kuching. We took a lot of photos here especially since the 3 of us have never been here before. If you don't have transport getting here, you can take a shuttle at Grand Margherita Hotel that costs RM10 per way. The entrance fee to the village is also cheaper if you have student cards.

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At the entrance

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Replica of the entire village
The whole place kind of reminds me of Mini Malaysia in Melaka as well as the Chinese Folklore Village at Shenzhen, China. There were 7 types of village houses scattered over the area, each belonging to a different tribe in Sarawak.

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The Bidayuh bamboo bridge
Really scary bridge, well at least for me because I keep imagining that I will fall down since I am such a clumsy person:( It leads to the Bidayuh village house.

It was really fun as you can visit each house individually and take photos with the interior. There are also people selling souvenirs and snacks inside each house.


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Rumah Melayu and Rumah Ulu Penan

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Rumah Melanau and Chinese Farmhouse

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Playing around with farming tools
Please don't ask me what those tools are and their functions. I grew up in the city and I hardly ever go to villages or other rural areas. Yes, I am ignorant I know:(

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Inside Iban house
Although she was smiling in this photo, Clara was actually terrified because there were two skulls in front of her. Ancient rituals play a huge part in Sarawak tribal traditions.

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Musical instrument
Sorry the photo turned out blurry. It was fine before >.<

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Monkeying around with the swing

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Like the tribal design at the doors

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A traditional pastime game that I don't know how to play haha

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This was the traditional kind of stairs which was so steep and difficult to walk in

The houses are not so far apart from one another so it is possible to finish walking in the span of one hour but if you want to take photos, will take longer time. I would totally recommend one to go in the morning because in the afternoon, the sun is burning so hot it really tires you out easily.

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Cultural show
Cultural show is really one of the highlights of the village. It portrays the dance and acting from each different tribe. And one can also admire at the beautiful traditional costumes and accessories that are essentially, the pride of each Sarawak tribe. They have shows twice a day I think. One at 9.30am and the other at 4.00pm (please google for clarification I am lazy). But is a definitely must-watch. Try to adjust your schedule so you will be able to watch it. 

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The sad widow waiting for her husband to return
We walked and took photos around after the show while waiting for our shuttle to arrive. The Damai beach is nearby the Cultural Village. If you have time, can also visit the beach. We did not have time but I have went there before the last time I went to Sarawak;)

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Last stamp on our passport
At the entrance, they give you this small booklet which is essentially your passport. At every house you go to, there is a station where you can stamp on your passport. It is really interesting and fun. The booklet also contains basic information about the place, short description of each tribe and their dances, etc. Just a little souvenir you can bring home:)

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