SARAWAK REGATTA

The Sarawak Regatta is an annual rowing event held on the Sarawak River in Kuching organized by Kuching Resident Office. The event is the showcase of boat race with participation from various government agencies, private sectors and also participants from overseas such as Indonesia and Brunei. Other activities include displays of crafts and exhibitions by local entrepreneurs.





The day programme include races for traditional longboats, dragon boats and other activities, like the running of totolizers, climbing greasing poles, catching ducks and pillow fights. Racing boats from outstations made it a grand affair and also a great occasion for families from outside the State Capital to visit Kuching town.

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, 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.


A variety of food stalls throughout the site feature a variety of local and regional Malaysian cuisine and other Asian cuisine. Although alcohol was available for many years in a number of venues, the festival is taking steps to control its availability due to some official complaints. This has been met with mixed reviews from the public.

JAVANESE

The present generation are descended from the original ethnic Javanese people, the majority from the province of Central Java, who arrived in Sarawak as "kuli kontrak", who were brought in by the Dutch via Batavia (modern-day Jakarta) during the late 1800s to the 1940s & transferred to a British company to work in the rubber plantations. After the end of their contracts, some of them had decided to settle down & work on land no longer producing rubber. Over the years, these labourers were prosperous & were later given the right of ownership to several hectares of land.




The friendly Javanese are traditionally Muslims, so they have a strong affinity with the Malays, with many of them intermarrying & living within Malay-majority areas & also other communities. They useSarawak Malay or English as a common to communicate with the other ethnic groups.

Javanese Costume

Javanese House

MELANAU

The Melanaus have been thought to be amongst the original settlers of Sarawak. They make up 6% of the population in Sarawak.


Originally from Mukah (the 10th Administrative Division as launched in March 2002), the Melanaus traditionally lived in tall houses. Nowadays, they have adopted a Malay lifestyle, living in kampong-type settlements. Traditionally, Melanaus were fishermen and still today, they are reputed as some of the finest boat-builders and craftsmen.


While the Melanaus are ethnically different from the Malays, their lifestyles and practices are quite similar. This is especially the case in the larger towns and cities where most Melanau have adopted the Islamic faith.

Melanau House

Melanau Costume

LINUT OR AMBUYAT

Ambuyat is a dish derived from the interior trunk of the sago palm. It is a starchy bland substance, similar to tapioca starch. Ambuyat is a local delicacy in Brunei, as well as the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak where it is sometimes known as linut

Ambuyat is eaten with a bamboo fork called a chandas, by rolling the starch around the prongs and then dipping it into a sauce, of which there are many varieties.

There is a similar dish in eastern Indonesia called papeda.

KUCHING LAYER CAKES

Kuching Layer Cakes

One of the first things that people notice while walking along the Main Bazaar in Chinatown are the tables of colourful cakes sold in plastic boxes. Known locally as kek lapis, the layer cakes are edible art and come in a huge variety of flavours including coffee, sweet-and-sour, cheese, and assorted bizarre flavours you would not normally associate with a dessert.


If a whole cake – usually sold for about $3.50 – seems daunting, try buying just a piece for 50 cents in either the Sunday Market or from a bakery, the vendors selling cakes from tables will not cut them.


During the festive season in Malaysia, Layer cakes are the most wanted food or one of the cakes will be present during the day celebration. So, when visit Sarawak layer cakes can be the souvenir for related family and friends, they must love it!

LAKSA SARAWAK

LAKSA SARAWAK


One of the famous food in Sarawak is the local Sarawak laksa is a creamy, spicy, local variation of Malaysia’s ubiquitous soup-noodle bowl. Jumbo prawns, fresh lime, and coriander lend a unique flavor to the broth which is thicker than that found in most noodle bowls heavy but delicious. The noodles are usually made from thin vermicelli. Here a little bit Introduction for One of Southeast Asia’s Favorite Noodle Dishes


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. The taste of sour, spicy, slightly sweet with a hint of fish – laksa is a mouth-watering noodle soup dish found all over Southeast Asia. Though the epicentre may be Malaysia,laksa’s fame has spread throughout Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the West.


Laksa typically consists of rice noodles in a thick, gritty gravy made from either coconut milk and curry paste or tamarind fruit and fish, depending on the locale. Lemongrass, garlic, shallots, chili, fish or shrimp, and a long list of other seasonings blend flawlessly for a complex taste. Optional lime helps to counter. The fishy taste and adds a citrus zing. Laksa also known as the quintessential fusion of Chinese and Malay cuisine.

THE OLDEST MUSEUM IN BORNEO

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.

Today, with carefully planned renovation and proper maintenance, this old building is used as the centre to exhibit collections on the natural history of Sarawak.

SARAWAK CULTURAL VILLAGE

Known as the 'Living Museum', the Cultural Village was set up to preserve and showcase Sarawak's cultural heritage. Located at Pantai Damai, Santubong, just 32km from the state capital, Kuching, it is the perfect place to get introduced to local culture and lifestyle.

Sprawled across 17 acres, there are about 150 people living in the village, demonstrating traditional daily activities from Sarawak's diverse tribes like the processing of sago and the making of handicrafts. They wear traditional costumes and also put on dances for visitors.

KUCHING WATERFRONT

Another place where our guests and tourists can mingle with the local folks and have a glimpse of Sarawak's rich culture is at The Kuching Waterfront. Native culture is celebrated throughout the waterfront; found in building's architecture, craft stores, local cuisine in restaurants and hawker carts, slated murals and sculptures, even on the bows of small malay boats (sampans) which ferry people across the historic Sarawak river.