caffeine!

Isn't it ironic I'm struggling to finish my essay with an anti-narcotics bias but I just got high from taking in glue vapours from the renovation work going on in the library and I have in front of me a can of Red Bull and Nescafe to keep me awake. I should define drug abuse in my essay now...

Blown away!

Kuching

Kuching still retains many of the buildings we have demolished over the past few decades, if you ask me.

lazy afternoon

We went to another tribal longhouse village before we returned to Singapore. Although it is another tourist trap, the longhouse still retains some authenticity and the villagers’ lives are not obviously disrupted by tourism. The Ibans charge visitors some money which will go into the community fund for maintaining the longhouse and other services for the community. (My friend Claud complains about my laconic blog, but my tiny brain’s can’t remember much about what we did in Sarawak. My poor note-taking discipline doesn’t help either. :)
So anyway, the picture’s dedicated to my animal-loving friends. The little kitten was awakened from its lazy afternoon slumber by us crowding around them and was tried to see what was happening around it. But Mother Cat wouldn't let it go and pressed the kitten down to continue its sleep.

Another rambling post..

The gardener kills the king and ascends the throne. The queen and a faction of officials pretend he is the king. Some concubines and officials disagree. Then a multi-limb statue becomes alive and kills the dissenters with its elbows. Gardener-king thinks he can remain king for a long time. Indra the deity tells a young man to go to palace to become next successor. Gardener finds out and says, ‘no one else will reign while I’m alive.’ The same statue comes alive and says, ‘you got that right!’ and kills the gardener.

This will bring a smile many years down the road. My lecturer, always peppering his lectures with colourful anecdotes, was making the point that good karma was the key for ancient Burmese kings.

Headhouses keep heads, of course!

Well the headhunting practice has stopped since the fifties or sixties, according to the Bidayu villagers. However, the villagers still hold annual rites to pay homage to the spirits in the headhouse that look over the village. I'm not sure if it's true, but they said some of the skulls belonged to the Japanese soldiers who invaded Borneo during WWII. Once considered as status symbols, the heads of enemies and rival tribes have now been replaced by Mercedes and high levels of education. Looks like we're all heading towards modernization now.

Bidayu headhouse

What is the headhouse in the Bidayu village in Sarawak used for?
a) The headman of the village lives there.
b) It houses the heads hunted by the villagers.
c) It is the village hall.
Answer to be revealed soon...