Best Holiday in the Tropical Malaysia

Fort Emma of Kanowit Sarawak

2006-09-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

Fort Emma is a fort built in 1859 by Rajah James Brooke, out of timber and bamboo. It was named after Emma Brooke, sister of Rajah Charles Brooke. The fort remains impressive, despite years of neglect. It is currently closed to the public.
Fort Emma was also the site of the last serious challenge to Brooke rule in Sarawak. In 1859, a number of Malay chiefs, led by Sharif Masahor of Mukah and supported by the Sultan of Brunei planned a series of attacks to kill all the Europeans in Sarawak and Dutch Borneo. In June 1859, Brooke government officials Charles Fox and Henry Steele were murdered at Kanowit as the first step of this plan. The Tuan Muda Charles Brooke led a force of Iban from Saribas to revenge the attack and to recover the heads of the unfortunate victims. As a result, Mukah was annexed to Sarawak, Sharif Masahor fled to Johore and the "Malay Plot" was the last time the Malays and the Iban joined forces against the White Rajah.

excerpt from search.com

Clean, Safe & Affordable Hotel in Kuching (I stayed there thrice.....)

2006-09-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

Harbour View is basically a Business Class hotel, the only one of its kind in Sarawak which practices the new concept of SEAMLESS and ONE STOP SERVICE to ensure the total comfort of business travellers and local and international holidaymakers alike. In fact there are more holidaygoers staying in thishotel than the bussiness travellers.

Srategically located at the fromtier of Kuching's Golden Triangle and overlooking the famous Kuching Waterfront with a panoramic view of the Sarawak River.
Nearby you will find historical buildings such as the oldest Chinese Temple in Kuching - Tua Pek Kong Temple, Chinese History Museum and Fort Margherita.

Opposite the hotel is the Main Bazzar, a shopping paradise for antiques and handicrafts lovers.
The rooms overlooking the spectacular Kuching's Waterfront with its modern decor and latest technology, making it a perfect home for both business and holiday travellers.
Superb location, comprehensive facilities and total commitment to service will help to make your stay in Kuching a truly UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE.

Contact: Habour View Hotel, Lorong Temple, 93100 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.P.O.Box A1368, 93824 Kuching, Sarawak.Tel : +60-082-274666 Fax : +60-082-274777 E-mail: sales@harbourview.com.my or reservation@harbourview.com.my

A Honeymoon to Die For.....

2006-09-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

Whether you visit Kuala Lumpur, the Cameron Highlands Hill Station, Langkawi or the awe-inspiring Mt Kinabalu on the island of East Malaysia, you will find travelling in Malaysia a delightful hassle free experience that combines a vibrant mix of Malay, Indian, Chinese and indigenous cultures.

For a honeymoon or romantic getaway, just set out to one of the islands that surround this fascinating country, where fabulous beaches and to-die-for resorts and accommodation is a must.

Ol' Grand Fort Lily (1885) Betong

2006-09-21T00:41:00.000-07:00

The son of a civilian employee of the East India Company, Brooke was born in Secore, outside Benares, in India. After an injury in Burma ended his military career, he took to the sea with his own ship, the Royalist. He set sail for the Orient in 1838.

Five months later, after stopping off in South America and Africa, the Royalist entered Singapore in May 1839. A friend reportedly remarked that "Brooke has as much idea of business as a cow has of a clean ship." However, he learned much about commerce and colonial administration during his two month-stay in Singapore, and Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore, would prove to be a major role model for Brooke.

Like Raffles, Brooke opposed slavery, and established a system of free and fair trade rare to the region at the time. "All men, whether Malay, Chinese or Dyak, were free to trade or work as they pleased and to enjoy their gain," writes Steven Runciman in his book, "The White Rajahs."
Rajah James Brooke's rule was not without trouble. There were constant battles with pirates and rebel tribes, and an uprising by the Chinese in the 1850s. Brooke protected his realm with a series of fortifications along the river, many of which survive to this day. They include Fort Emma, built of local timber and bamboo in 1859, Fort Alice, with its distinctive turrets, built in 1862, and, the oldest, Fort Lilly, built in 1855.

The dazzling white Fort Margherita was completed in 1879. This became the home of the famed Sarawak Rangers, a police force formed in 1862 by Brooke's nephew and successor, the heralded Rajah Charles Brooke. Fittingly, the old fort is now a museum of police history and weaponry.
From the walls of Fort Margherita, sentries would shout, "All's well," and the hourly call would carry to Istana Palace, built by Rajah Charles Brooke in 1870. Even to this day the palace is the residence of Sarawak's head of state.

Walk the streets of Kuching and you will find similar historical references at every turn: gothic features here, a Victorian-style police station over there. Across the street from the frilly Pavilion is the odd Round Tower, which was built in the 1880s, but for a purpose that continues to baffle historians. Many speculate that the absence of windows on the first story, and the tower suggest it was intended to be a fort.

-excerpt from gluckman.com/kuching.htm

Penan Encounter by Eric Hansen (Natural History 1998)

2006-09-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

Nearly 10,000 Penan inhabit the remote interior of Borneo's Sarawak rainforest. Their oral tradition describes how, in the beginning, the first Penan man and woman stood in the forest while two large trees blew about in a windstorm. As the trees swayed back and forth, a large branch of one entered a hole in the crotch of the other. The man and woman were ignorant of sex and procreation, but the motion of the trees gave them an idea, and the end result was the birth of a child. The Penan say they have been in the forest ever since, living a nomadic existence as hunters and gatherers.

Catching a glimpse of the Penan elders, with their feathered headdresses, distended pierced earlobes, tattoos, loincloths, and blow guns, one imagines them to be members of a mysterious lost tribe clinging to an ancient way of life. Some people believe that the Penan (or Punan, as they are variously called) are the aboriginal inhabitants of Borneo. But a more plausible theory of their origins was first put forth by British anthropologist Tom Harrisson, curator of the Sarawak Museum from 1947 to 1966. Harrisson proposed that the Penan are principally descendants of overwhelmed villagers who reverted to nomadism during the nineteenth century, when the Kayan and Iban tribes carried out their great headhunting expeditions. In a 1986 study, anthropologist Carl Hoffman concluded that the groups called Penan were linguistically diverse, but that their languages appeared to be related to those of sedentary peoples. He reported that in two dialects spoken in East Kalimantan (in Indonesian Borneo), "punan has the meaning 'to gather,"to collect,' or 'to assemble' things or goods." This habit of purposeful wandering to collect jungle products is what distinguishes the Penan from the settled tribes of Sarawak.

Deer Cave Adventure by Simmon D. Pollard (Natural History 1998)

2006-09-21T00:27:00.000-07:00

I sat on a rock outcrop in northern Sarawak, the principal Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, looking east across the Melinau River. The rainforest spread out before me and gently rose like a rumpled quilt over a small range of mountains three miles away. As dusk descended and rain clouds gathered, black streaks rose from the base of the mountains like floating scarves. The scarves were millions of bats pouring out of Deer Cave and beginning their almost daily foraging commute to distant sites, including the coast fifty miles away. They would return to their roosts before daylight, after not only feeding themselves but also securing a source of energy for other inhabitants of the cave. Just as life on earth depends on the sun continuing to shine, a host of invertebrates depend, directly and indirectly, on the three tons of bat guano that fall to the cave floor each day.

Deer Cave owes its existence to the region's very thick limestone deposits and heavy rainfall - about 200 inches a year. Rapid weathering of the limestone by water flowing through it has created a massive cave complex. A travel brochure boasts that Deer Cave, more than a mile long and ranging up to 600 feet wide and 700 feet high, could hold five cathedrals the size of Saint Paul's in London. Long known to the local inhabitants, Deer Cave got its name because people used to hunt deer that came to drink water flowing out the west entrance. Not far from Deer Cave is the Sarawak Chamber, the world's largest natural chamber, not discovered until 1984. It is nearly 2,000 feet long, 1,500 feet wide, and more than 300 feet high.

A Brief Introduction : SELAMAT DATANG

2006-09-19T23:50:00.000-07:00

What You Can do in Malaysia?

TOP DESTINATIONS

Pulau Tioman - poster pretty beaches to die for and virgin jungle, this is a popular travellers' destination.

Melaka - A hot mix of Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese and colonial British flavours. Go back in time as you watch junks sailing past.

Gunung Mulu - go caving in the 51km long Clearwater Cave, one of the longest in the world.

Kuala Lumpur - shop and party till you drop in the capital of Malaysia

CULTURE

Malaysia is a truly melting pot of cultures, religions and experiences. It has numerous cultural influences that are woven into the daily lives of the locals. Many religious and cultural customs are ritually observed. A unique feature of an all Malaysian celebrations are open houses where friends of other ethincs and communities mix with much merry making and festivities.

OUTDOOR ADVENTURE

Taman Negara National Park - Experience this land of adventure opportunities such as jungle trekking, mountain climbing, caving, whitewater rafting and diving. All set to the perfect backdrop of ancient rainforests.

Borneo - Put on your trekking boots and explore the panorama of the National Parks and peaks of Sarawak & Sabah. Tremendous tropical delights.

Kalimantan Traverse - Take an exiting trek deep into the jungles of Borneo and feel the eyes of bizarre life forms peeking out at you. You are the hunted.

Mount Kinabalu Climb - get your head up into the clouds and climb the highest peak in Borneo and South East Asia.

TOP BEACHES

Tioman Island - Off the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia, a poster perfect picture of beautiful beaches with abundant coral and sea life.

Mabul Island - The Jewel of the East. Truly the last frontier in marine extravaganza.