Sarikei Time Capsule®

Disappearing Sarikei: Sarikei Architecture - The grand dame - Part 3

2012-01-18T00:01:00.006+08:00

Sarikei District Office, 1940s-1950s.Completed 1937. Physical appearance: The roof on this one-storey building was made from belian (iron wood) tiles. There was a protruding section at the centre of the roof for flag raising. Influence:How will you explain the influence? St Anthony's School's original blocks also had a similar look. The tale:Before this 1937 building at Nyelong Road, the

History: Sarikei 2011 in review - Top 10 news

2012-01-06T00:01:00.008+08:00

Another year had gone by. This means another year of review is overdue. Here are the Top 10 newsworthy items in 2011 (of no particular order). The links are embedded if you need details. 1. Tourism finally takes flight? Request for development of Pala Munsoh parkSource: Sin Chew News, 11 Jan 2011 The authorities brought Deputy Tourism Minister, Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit, to visit the Rumah

News: Pandaw Borneo cruise to end in March 2012 - Last call

2011-12-21T00:01:00.005+08:00

When Pandaw started its trail blazing cruise on the Rejang River on 1st July 2009, it made it easy for tourists to connect the ecotourism dots on this majestic river. It was with much anticipation because if Pandaw can do it for the luxury segment, the ripple effect can motivate the smaller players targeting a different market segment. Pandaw cruise: Nov'11 newsletterSource: Pandaw The

Disappearing Sarikei: Sarikei Architecture - Tale behind the facades. Part 2

2011-12-16T07:08:00.003+08:00

Sarikei Wharf Road Block 4, late 1940sT-junction of Market Road (L) and Wharf Road (R) Physical appearance: The oldest block in Sarikei (next to the police station) was completed in the early 1930s. It had galvanised corrugated sheets for roofing then and the structure was not as solid as the other Wharf Road blocks. Below the roof is the third level attic. The family quarters on the second

Disappearing Sarikei: Sarikei Architecture - Tale behind the facades

2011-12-06T07:00:00.011+08:00

Why were Sarikei's buildings built the way they were? What tales lie beneath the facades? Siriki village at Sarikei River. 1840 Physical appearance: Wooden house with 40-foot high stilts and ladders and nipah palm (attap) thatched roof. Influence:The house was influenced by the Melanau tall house from the lower Rejang basin to protect against rampant pirates. The tale:The Rejang River was a

Disappearing Sarikei: Repok Road Block 4 Left - Mishmash of trades

2011-11-27T06:55:00.004+08:00

Sarikei Block 4L, 2007.L-R: No. 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33 Searching for a tailor for your festive clothes? Looking for a family photo session? Doing your weekly marketing of groceries? Buying your herbal fix? Look no further than this block which was completed circa 1953. The facade of this block had been altered significantly. The wooden windows of level 2 and the open air balcony of level 3 had

Food: Sarikei Ah Suah noodles - Cantonese delight

2011-11-20T01:17:00.005+08:00

Below the relatively new hotel, Lodge 808, is a corner coffeshop, Lai Lai, that's always filled to the brim with patrons. Most come here for the stall at the back that serves out flying dishes of Cantonese delight. Where exactly is this shop? Pray tell. Lai Lai Coffeeshop, January 2011 Lai Lai coffeeshop is at Jalan Masjid Lama opposite Ngiu Kee supermarket. The consumers come here for the

Scenes - Sarikei Peking Studio - 1, 2, 3 smile

2011-11-07T17:34:00.006+08:00

So you think you can snap decent photos with your compact digital camera and delete undesirable shots from the memory card? Photography before the 1950s was only for the elite who could afford it as a hobby. The capital needed for buying an analogue camera and for setting up a home lab for processing of negatives was a big deterrent. Sarikei Peking Studio. Tel: 109 (three digits only).Early

People: Sarikei Lee Chai Fong 李采霞 - 1980s pop star in the cassette era

2011-10-29T18:54:00.015+08:00

Sarikei CNY Singing Contest 1979. Lee Chai Fong (middle bottom row) Source: Sarikei Music and Drama Society magazine Before Stella Chung Siaw Yih 钟晓玉, the current pop star from Sarikei, there was Lee Chai Fong from the 1980s. Chai Fong didn't exactly just stepped out from singing in the shower to become the first national pop star from Sarikei under the stage name of 李采霞. There was a platform in

Disappearing Sarikei: Repok Road Block 5 Left - Mixed pot of trades

2011-10-23T19:35:00.008+08:00

If you followed the complex smell of kom pia, kam pua and bicycle tyres combined, you could reach this block blindfolded as you traversed old Repok Road. This block of shophouses was completed circa 1953. None of the shops has retained its original facade of an open balcony at level 3, wooden windows at level 2 and wooden foldable doors at level 1. Let's peel back the onion and find out the

Scenes: Sarikei Standard Chartered Bank - Disney magic

2011-10-02T00:01:00.005+08:00

SCB Disney mascots at Sarikei Rejang terminal 1, 1983Source: Michael Yeo (the small kid then) Can you bank on banks motivating children to save for a raining day? You bet. Kwong Lee Bank was the first bank in Sarikei. In 1937 it was not a full service "bank" at No. 5 Wharf Road in the same premise at Kwong Hup Hin 廣合興. Later it moved to No. 22 Wharf Road in 1953 to officially function as a

Disappearing Sarikei: Repok Road Block 4 Right - The Medicine Man

2011-09-18T00:01:00.014+08:00

This block is arguably best known for its medicine man but there's more than just pills and traditional herbs there. Let's peel back the onion and find the stories behind this block. Sarikei Repok Road Block 4 Right, 2006.L-R: No.32, 30, 28, 26, 24 The wooden blocks at Repok Road were slowly replaced by concrete ones in stages as can be seen in old pictures: Block 2L (1935), Block 2R (

Disappearing Sarikei: Repok Road Block 5 Right - Ashes to ashes

2011-09-12T00:01:00.075+08:00

Sarikei Block 5 Right Repok Road, circa 1953 L-R: Old Methodist church, Bai Sheng cinema and Block 5RL-R: No. 46, 44, 42, 40, 38, 36 Repok Road (under construction) This block was completed circa 1953. It was famous for delivering babies, providing school shoes for the babies when they grew up and feeding their hunger pangs in the kopitiam when they became teens. Let's roll back the curtains

History: Julau Fort Brooke at Ng. Meluan - Holding the fort

2011-09-05T00:01:00.007+08:00

Let's go on the trail of the colonial forts. Julau is a frontier town of Sarikei's 6th Division. It's 66km from Sarikei down town. At the exit from Julau, follow the Ng. Meluan direction and you will come to the sign above. Then follow the Kubu Brooke (Brooke Fort) sign. In 2011, the Meluan constituency consists of 11,487 registered voters – Ibans 92.61%, Chinese 6.40%, Malay-Melanau 0.98%

Disappearing Sarikei: Repok Road Block 6 Right - The forgone joy of cinemas

2011-08-28T00:01:00.008+08:00

Bai Sheng cinema. 1953.At current location of Oriental Hotel block. Repok Road Let's go to the movies. In the early 1950s, it means hanging out at Bai Sheng 百勝 (Hundred Victories in Mandarin) where street vendors would peddle their snacks outside the cinema - kacang putih in newspaper cones, etc. This wooden structure was at the current location of the Block 6 Right Repok Road (a.k.a The

Disappearing Sarikei: Repok Road Government Quarters - New township beckons

2011-08-22T00:01:00.187+08:00

Sarikei Government Quarters, early 1970s. Source: Ivan Ignatius One of the privileges of being a government civil employee is the allocation of a government quarter for your family for a specified period if you qualify. The higher the ranking, the better the abode. Sarikei government quarters Click to enlarge. Source: Google Maps Government quarters mushroomed in the early 1970s in the area

Disappearing Sarikei: Repok Road Block 7 Right - The Mechanics

2011-08-15T00:01:00.015+08:00

Sarikei Repok Road Block 7 Right, mid-late 1970sNext to Methodist ChurchFind the Dunlop and shop signsSource: Aloysius Ling In the 1960s, when you came into town on a bumpy Borneo bus or a rickety "re-cond" (re-conditioned) car with a miniature fan swirling nosily inside, you would inevitably smell a drift of grease just after Methodist Church. You had just entered the edge of downtown where

History: Sarikei-Sibu Water Transport - Row, row your boat

2011-08-07T06:30:00.003+08:00

In the days of yore, people settled and developed towns along the Rejang River for its water transport. Before 1961, Sarikei, Bintangor and Sibu were not connected by tarred roads. Let's wind back the clock and trace the history of water transport development. In the beginning, the only way was to row your sampan and gasp in awe in the wake of an occasional colonial schooner. Express boat on

Festivals - Sarikei Pineapple Festival 2011 - Miss Pesta Nanas - Costume Play

2011-07-30T21:20:00.001+08:00

At Pesta Nanas 2010 in December, there was a Miss Sarikei contest which was more like a conventional pageant. You can leave it to the creative event organisers to change the format this year. The contest was revamped into a pageant with a traditional costume angle. There were 15 brave contestants who did the cat walk at the Central Market on the second last night (23rd July 2011). All of

Festivals - Sarikei Pineapple Festival 2011 - Did you party?

2011-07-24T21:23:00.002+08:00

Where's the party? Interestingly, social networking like facebook has been promoting Pesta Nenas 2011 and it went viral as friends told their friends. The event (20th-24th July) was scaled down compared to last year's mega event but it still garnered a respectable 400 stalls. The venue moved to the end of Central Road this year. Many Sarikieans did not know where the new Central Market

Scenes: Sarikei kam pua factory - Oodles of noodles

2011-07-17T00:46:00.005+08:00

Kam Pua at Hiek Lik cafe, 201033 Repok Road Before you gobble down your oodles of noodles, think again. Have you ever wondered where the noodle stalls source their noodles from? Blue Key 6244 wheat flour Kam Pua factory, 2010No. 10c Central Road There are only a handful of production houses in Sarikei. If you are in town, look no further than the last block at Central Road (near the

Food: Sarikei kampua shoot out - My kampua is better than yours

2011-07-10T05:36:00.014+08:00

Sarikei Chin San 青山 cafe, 2010 The gauntlet has been thrown on the Sarikeians facebook page. Which stall can toss the best kampua noodles 干盤面 in town? There were several mentioned but Chin San 青山 led the polls at press time. Chin San is in the same block as Hong Kong Studio at 15 Jalan Masjid Lama and became popular in the late 1980s and 1990s. Sarikei Chin San cafe, 2010 Kampua is a

Scenes : Sarikei Mutiara Food Court - Hanging out

2011-07-03T20:11:00.001+08:00

Mutiara Food Court, Feb 2010 One of the efforts to decentralise Sarikei downtown was to move the human traffic away from the Repok Road/Bank Road/Jalan Masjid Lama arteries. How do you change the habits of denizens who are so used to their daily routines in this small high density area? Mutiara Food Court, Feb 2010 The answer lies in mandating centres of activities that push the people

Opinion: Sarikei's job dilemma - No vacancy?

2011-06-25T21:49:00.008+08:00

Where are the jobs in Sarikei? Why are youngsters leaving town to study or to make a living? Why are they not coming back to stay? How can we reverse the labour and brain drain and move the cheese back to Sarikei? Sarikei pineapples at Wharf Road. 2011 1. Develop adjacent industries Sarikei is dubbed the food basket of Sarawak. Agriculture is a subsistence industry and is at the lowest level

Food: Sarikei's new chill out place (Iglool) - Ice, Ice Penguin

2011-06-19T19:28:00.003+08:00

The penguin has landed with a wink and struck a pose with Sarikei's pineapple icon A cold spell had descended on Sarikei on 28th May 2011. The source has been traced to a penguin that has landed next to the Nyelong River Esplanade, the hot bed where night owls converge to hang out with friends. Iglool's reception, 2011 Iglool is a new dessert shop near the Mutiara food court. It's opened