Kembara Media 1M Trip; Day 3

After Day 1 and Day 2 (click to read if you haven't), here's the long awaited Day 3 post that I was supposed to blog during the weekend. I've been pretty occupied ever since I've returned to KL on Saturday, outings and errands to run. So I finally had some time today to settle down and finish this post today.

Back to the Kembara Media 1M Trip, shall we? So Day 3 is all about Mukah's tourism which equals to fun fun fun and more fun cause I get to visit a few different interesting places in Mukah. YAY gone are the day where I need to attend long and boring media briefings, oooops! HEHE The schedule was less packed on that day too, our first agenda started only at 9.30am (:

Rise and shine ☀  Time for breakfast! 
I had congee instead of cereal that day and those mushroom with ham on the plate is super yummmm and irresistible, I had to have another plate of it after I finished everything :D The one thing about this hotel breakfast is that they never serve sunny side up eggs or scramble eggs,WHY? T_T

After breakfast, we headed to this place in  Kampung Judan where they make kuih sepit. Kuih sepit (or known as love letters/egg rolls) is a traditional crispy kuih that comes in different shapes and sizes in Sarawak that you can easily find it served during festive season. Of course, it is also one of Mukah's local famous production besides Tebaloi and sago.

We were warmly welcomed by the friendly people of Kpg. Judan (: 

This Kuih Sepit Factory started operating since 1993 and it is fully funded by Jabatan Pertanian Sarawak. 

All of us gathered around and watched their staff giving us a demonstration on how to make kuih sepit. 

The 'tongs'-lookalike utensil that is  used to make kuih sepit, I can't find the right english word that can be used to translate sepit. According to Google Translate, sepit means tongs. It looks like those waffle maker but a flat one, no? These utensils are made from metal and it's really heavy, I was impressed when I saw an old lady lifting it up by just using one hand O_O

Kuih sepit in the making. 

First, you put the batter on the flat surface. Close it up, flip the pan over and wait for a minute. 

When it's done, use the chopsticks that this split ends to 'sepit' the kuih and roll it up. Then you cut it into small pieces. 

A staff preparing the batter, santan is one of the important ingredients and it had to be FRESH. The rest of the ingredients would be flour, sugar and eggs. 

Thanks to the technology, they can have this automatic kuih sepit maker! How cool :O It surely saves a lot of time and energy of the staff since they have only a total of 7 staff, imagine if they have to do it manually everyday for years. 

Of course I didn't miss the chance to try making kuih sepit myself! :D 

Rolling my kuih sepit #successkid.jpg and thanks to Effa for these photos :D 

Freshly baked kuih sepit! YUMS :D 

Besides that, we were spoiled with other traditional kuih as well like kuih jala, kuih bahulu etc Not sure what is the one on the lower right is called :S 

Journalist from RTM interviewing  Kampung Judan 1Malaysia Community Leader, Mr Jara-ee.  

Kuih sepit are sold in the form of biscuit tins, smaller containers and even packets. I didn't missed a chance to buy a container back as souvenir (: 

Commercial break; meet my new pet! :P 

We arrived at our second destination; Tebaloi Processing Center located at Kampung Tutus Hilir, Mukah. It is built in 1998 and operated in 1999 under WEDA and it was taken over by Farmer's Organization in 2000.

I bet most of you have no idea what Tebaloi is. Tebaloi is a traditional Sarawak snack and also a delicacy of  Melanau. The unique taste of Tebaloi is so special that it has become a very popular snack for all race in Sarawak. The main producing areas of Tebaloi are in the Mukah and Dalat Districts along the coastal region of the Mukah Division, so sometimes it's hard to get it elsewhere beside Mukah. These areas favour large plantations of sago palms which produce sago powder, the main ingredient used in the processing of Tebaloi.

Nicely packed Tebaloi in boxes for sale, RM2.50 each. It is consider really cheap cause back in my hometown, it was sold for RM15 per box! 

These that are packed in packet costs RM1.50 each and they come in various flavours, original, pandan, chocolate and even strawberry (out of stock).  

Tebaloi in the making; The paste is equally spread on a banana leave before being baked for the first time.  

Off to the oven for 3 minutes. 

Then, it is peeled out from the banana leave and let it aside to cool. 

After that, it will cut it into smaller pieces before being baked for another half and hour. 

The ingredients that are used to make Tebaloi are sago flour, coconut, sugar, egg and permitted colouring. As for the yellow coloured Tebaloi, they use ginger flour (tepung kunyit) and milo for chocolate flavour. This amount of ingredients is enough to make 10-12 kgs of Tebaloi. 

In case you're wondering, fyi Tebaloi is certified HALAL.

Again, we were served with freshly baked Tebaloi! These gracious people even gave us two boxes of Tebaloi each to be brought home (:

Om nom nom, it's cripy and it tasted like coconut cookies. Best served with cold icecreammmmmm!

Fluffy clouds; t'was such a beautiful day  ☁

Can you guess where are we heading next? 

Spotted sago palmed being transported by a boat. 

Here we are, at the third destination of the day; Lamin Dana! 

Lamin Dana meaning traditional house in archaic Melanau dialect is a home that accept guests and visitors. It was build in 1999 and had first opened its door in September 12, 1999. Lamin Dana is a combination visitor’s lodge and cultural centre that you get to learn more of Melanau heritage. It is hidden amongst the wooden houses of Kampung Tellian and delightfully situated beside a small river. Lamin Dana is built in the style of a traditional Melanau tall house, using only authentic materials. It also provides authentic Melanau meals, and offers activities such as boat trips, mangrove tours and bicycle rental. To date, Lamin Dana has received guests from all over the world. It provides interesting and fun-filled 3D2N packages as well, click HERE for details. 

If I'm not mistaken, it's the one and only Melanau longhouse in Sarawak. 

I love love love its peaceful and homey surroundings (: 

Not sure what flower is this but it certainly caught my attention. 

The different types of gongs being displayed as decoration.  

The whole house is fully decorated with tons of authentic and traditional goods. I wonder where did they manage to find all these stuff and I must say they totally did a very good job in preserving and conserving them. 

This is how the spacious room looks like, equipped with three beds that can fit at least 6 people per room. There are two rooms on the lower ground and another 7-8 rooms on the first floor.  

Even the floor is made from tree trunks :O How can you find a house like this anymore! 

Vintage old lamp, I like. I think I used to have one at home. 

Proudly present the owners of Lamin Dana. 

The scenery taken from the first floor. 

The living hall with TV for the guests. 

The Melanau traditional costumes. 

Caroline from BERNAMA and I, she was my roomate throughout this trip. 

Finally, a group photo of us representing the Sarawak Bloggers community at Lamin Dana (:
L-R: Yours truly, Effa, Uncle Awang Kassim, and Aliey. 

Few media getting some upclose shot of the Kubur Gantung (read: Hanging Grave), an old grave that exists for more than 100 years, spooky much. 

And oh, look what Max found! A blue crab :O 

It sure was a hot sunny day, good thing that I brought my hat along ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ 

Jerunai Sri Tellian located in the vicinity of Lamin Dana – it's not a tree trunk if you think it is. It is actually a burial pole which tell of Melanau historical past of royalty, slaves and bone chilling rituals. 

Taken from Melanau Kuching Association: [Jerunai is made from Belian tree that is mature enough as it is able to sustain in longer in open area. Normally two or three holes will be made at the tree in the pole of Jerunai. The lower and middle holes are said to place the bodies or bones of the deceased and also other valuable items as a supply in the other world. While the most upper hole are usually reserved for the slaves or those who are favoured by the deceased during his life. You can find beautiful and fine carvings with animal motifs such as dragons, tigers, snakes, rats or so according to the deceased on the pole of Jerunai. Similarly, the height of the Jerunai also represent the position and prestige of the deceased. There are also carvings with motifs of natural flora or fruit such as pineapple etc. Normally, the height of a Jerunai is  12 to 15 meters. Jerunai only can be done by those who are skillful, strong and high in spirits to be qualified to make, carve and erect the Jerunai. This work takes about 15 to 30 person and those who are involved must be a Melanau. Before Jerunai is erected, traditional songs will be sing to be heard to all, then a hole will be dug to accommodate the pole. Before the ceremony uphold Jerunai done, first they will dig a hole as deep as two meters at the determined place and hold a special ritual to bless the spirit of their efforts. A servant will be thrown into the hole where Jerunai be driven into the ground. At this point, the melancholy atmosphere surrounding the royal family and slaves as wailing and loud cry is heard in the tomb as a symbol of peace to the soul of the deceased come to another world and does not disturb those who are still alive.]

And from what I heard, those concubines and wife of the deceased are sacrificed and hang alive to death on the top of the Jerunai together with the deceased that had been buried. One shall not disturb or knock on the Jerunai, there was once when a person went amok after 'disturbing' the Jerunai.

This is actually my first time seeing and knowing the existence of Jerunei!

Even after hundreds of years, the carvings is still obvious. Can you see them? 

Little did we know that, it is also a home to a small colony of batsヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ 

After all of the eerie input and sight seeing, it's time to head back to the hotel. 

My simple lunch (:

#OOTD Cardigan, top and denim shorts from Cotton On.
After lunch, I changed into a pair of shorts before going out to accompany Effa on a top-hunt-mission :P Then, I spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping on my comfy hotel bed and missed the chance to walk around and take photos of Mukah town area with the other two bloggers, oh well.  

Not to forget, we had BBQ at night! Thanks to the Information Dept of Mukah for organizing it for us :D

BBQ-ed fish and chicken wings for dinner, awesome (Y)

An LCD was set up to for karaoke tooヽ(○´∀`)ﾉ♪ 

There were games as well, Effa represented us and joined the game of eating a corncob by using only one hand! HAHAHA at least she went home with a free hamper! 

Aliey as our representative for the karaoke session *applause* That's so brave of her!    

Before the night ends, we were given each a bag of souvenir as well, a tin of Kuih Sepit courtesy of  YB. Dato' Seri Muhammad Leo Toyad (':

Last but not least, a group photo marking the end of our 4D3N Kembara Media 1M trip. 
Photo taken by Nadim bin Bokhari. 

In case you are on a trip to Sarawak, well don't forget to stop by Mukah and visit all the places I've mentioned and see it for yourself! Guess this post is long enough that I shall keep more of my words and thoughts on the finale post. Before I forgot, thanks for reading till the very end of this post! (:

xx