Thursday, March 24, 2011

Balingian~My Home Land

I hereby officially announce that I'm gonna be extending my studies from 4 years to 5 years due to several problems which if you read several posts you might know why.

With that let's move to more fun topics!

I am not excited for the exams I'm gonna take in a few weeks time, well, only 2 papers anyway, but I'm really excited for the trip (updates in a few months!) but most of all I terribly, teribbly missing home and when everything is goes according to plan, no stranded whatever, I will be home.

I miss my family so much! And later on will have like equal time to one semester at home since new semester starts on September (lucky us!). I have plans in mind (disregard all the medications I'm on) to do with my family and my kampong people as well! Haha..

Facts about my kampong, or the district of Balingian. (If you watch TV1, my dad was on TV sometimes around december-january can't really remember, but it's something like Komuniti Bestari thingy)

1) There are prawn season where you can fish kilos and kilos of prawn! For free! Just try to fish it! And if you are not a really patient man like me, buy them for really really cheap price! They are HUGE! (I ate here in university cafe, one very little prawn cost me almost a ringgit!)

2) A bridge was constructed to connect Balingian and Kuala Balingian (refer to GooglMap if you like :D). Before any road was constructed, we need to go by boat, or sampan and that took I think nearly two hours. After the road was done, but the bridge hasn't been completed, there's this uncle (my relative) who built man-made ferry that can carry one car at a time or 10 motorcycles at a time, the fee was RM1 per motorcycle, RM10 per car. Once, an owner forgot to pull the hand break and while crossing the river, the car simply slide into the middle of the river! That was the biggest news of the year!

3) For now, Balingian has four primary schools; SK Parish (my school!), SJK Cina Balingian, SK Kuala Balingian and one more school I can't remember what name -____-". My school was supposed to be re-named to SK Orang Kaya Abang Haji Sulaiman (suppose to be our ancestral origin as Melanau Islam) but then I don't know what happened. (I was a kid back then so clearly I don't really want to know why, I'm just not as curious)

4) A new road leading to Bintulu is still under construction, if using the main road we have now, it took nearly 3 hours to go there. If the new road is complete, it might took only an hour and half. I usually fly from KL to Bintulu and vice-versa so I really hope they will complete the road sooner.

5) Core area of Balingian has 5 kampongs altogether, Kampung Baru, Kampung Lintang, Kampung Masjid (my kampong!), Kampung Pulat and Kampung Suyung. In Kuala Balingian there is only one kampung which is Kampung Kuala Balingian.

6) Although there are many different kampongs there, a lot are actually branching from the same family, a lot blood-related and connections from marriages. I have a big family tree in my house and from there I saw generations and generations of earlier villagers and form that actually we're a really really huge family!

7) Melanaus are famous for Sago, and we (of course the elders and those who learnt how) make sago beads (in Malay just sagu) as well as tebaloi. For more info on tebaloi, click here http://pejalai.blogsome.com/2006/06/26/p258/ . Sagu can be eaten as it is, my favourite would be eaten with banana. Tebaloi is sweet, it's like crackers, normally shaped in squares. You can find in different colours but mostly yellow and green.

8) Of course you'd sometimes listen to the stereotypes, like people in Sarawak live in the trees, we don't. Now, Melanau houses are quite the same with Malay houses. If you go to Sarawak Cultural House you will find a tall house and that was the traditional house. My house is not like that! Haha. So strereotypers, if you think we live on the tree, check again, if you have the internet or money to come and see for yourself. (what's wrong with living on the tree anyway? It's eco-friendly!)

9) I love my kampong, although some thing changes through time, there are so many things that can endures the challenge too. :)

These are just a few things about my kampong. Till next time!

2 comments:

  1. ive never had a real kampong experience =( ble org ckp pasal their own hometown id always feel left out..thats the reason i enjoyed my very brief trip to felda kuantan~very interesting indeed..^___^

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  2. actually this entry makes me even more homesick -____-" I want to go home as fast as I could. pegi laaa balik felda tu hahahaha

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