CULTURES

A full belly is often equated with happiness and contentment. In most Asian cultures, many hosts would take it quite personally if a guest were to leave with an empty stomach …

Among the most outstanding buildings which have been made in Sarawak, the burial poles have no direct parallels elsewhere in Borneo. Their importance is such that…

IF A MALACCAN MALAY BRIDE is famous for her Sanggul Lintang, a Kazakhstan’s bride for her Saukele, a Mongolian bride for her Fillets, and a Palembang bride for her Aesan Gede – no less it is with the bride from the Sarawak Malay community with her exquisite Gajah Olen.

MENTION “DAYAK” TO ANYONE OUTSIDE SARAWAK, and inevitably the subject of headhunting will emerge like a bad penny. A cursory keyword search on the internet will quickly affirm that Dayaks are known worldwide for their history as fierce headhunters.

MUARA TEBAS, AKA 青山 (ché sua in Hokkien dialect) is frequented by seafood lovers for their mouth-watering “laksa crab”, “curry bamboo clams” and steamed prawns. However, with closer inspection you’ll soon uncover that the most astonishing treasure in the village isn’t the auspicious empurau fish in the restaurant tank,

MALAYSIA CURRENTLY LIKES TO BUILD TALL, sending the Twin Towers skywards to claim the spot of world’s tallest building from 1998 to 2004, and Kuching is catching the trend, constructing condominiums and giant office towers of ever increasing height across its urban landscape.

“TO MAKE A GOOD STORY GREAT, YOU MUST TELL IT”. I saw the phrase online sometime ago and couldn’t agree with it more. However, I had no story to tell, let alone a good one – just yet. But as I watched the simple, yet beautiful and meaningful ‘Majlis Aqiqah dan Bercukur’ of my two precious grandnieces

BEHIND THE CANVAS Born in Singai, Bau District, Sarawak in 1939, Raphael Scott Ahbeng was educated in Bath Academy of …

FIRECRACKER HOT! Introduced to Asia by the Portuguese in the early 16th Century, the humble chilli has become a staple …

INTERCULTURAL FESTIVITIES Malaysia… Truly Asia! How many times have we heard this phrase blaring from the ubiquitous tourism promotional billboard? …