NB. These are photos I took at a pottery factory, at 8th Mile Kuching, over the weekend where I went with my beautiful half to buy some pots for CNY. Not exactly a kayaking post but I think I managed to weave it in somehow!
Stumble It!

What do kayakers do on the weekends when they are on land and not on the waters? They drive around looking for rivers and suitable put-in places for the next weekends!

So come early Saturday morning, Joe and I headed north of Kuching in search of river nirvana but not before we had fortified ourselves with Kuching ‘kueh chap’ (all you vegans please don’t ask me what it is – trust me, you don’t wanna know!) at Foochow Road No.1. We would have about a week’s holidays during the Chinese New Year period and would like to find new places to kayaks on the days we can ‘sneak off’.

At Kg Selebat we found traditional wooden boat builders and tried to order a sampan but it’s at least a 3 months waiting period and even then; it’s only if the builder can find suitable wood from the jungle to make the boat. I like this. Like a true artist, he would not be rushed, so we’ll have to check in with him in another month’s time to confirm this before he would commit. I wished my practice was that busy.




















































We also went to Kg Senari, Kg Jernang, Kg Goebilt, Kg Muara Tebas and Kg Pasir Putih and by lunch time we managed to find three suitable put-ins; thoroughly thrilled that we would mostly likely to be the first people to dip paddles in these waters!

Now we can hardly wait for Chinese New Year! 'Tong Tong Tong Cheng!"








Here are some of the photos I took during the recee. Looked promising doesn't it? Cheers!

Stumble It!

Did anyone look up at the evening skies in Kuching yesterday during sunset? Strange, but I did and I am glad as it was the most spectacular sights I had witnessed this year. As I snapped away, I was thinking that it would need an encyclopedia to describe the sheer magic of the beauty and wonders of the colours and formations that lay in front of me. Next time remember to look up and saved yourself all that reading! And be saturated with life’s colours.



BTW for those skeptical or cynical souls, be assured that these photos are as is taken and are not 'manipulated' in Photoshop. I know well enough to never mess around with God’s work! Stumble It!

I wasn’t going to blog this or even post any photos but some of you might be a little curious how the Kuching Bloggers’s meet went. It went well (thanks to the organisers) and was an interesting experience to be amongst these YOUNG people who are all so friendly, polite and all so young, young and young! You get the idea. Yes, Edison (aka kuching's Jim Carrey wannabe) call me 'unker' one more time and I'll use Felicity's camera (reminds me of the 1st generation 'brick' hp!) on you!

Most of us were meeting each other for the first time, so apprehension and nervousness was the order of the night but eventually some of them garnered the courage to ask this senior (nicely put by the gracious ‘King Kenny’) why he is so “kay si” (loosely translated as “so in / with it”) to also blog? Being ‘cool’ is not solely the domain of the young ok. Why do I call him ‘king’? Take the number of hits in a month the rest of the bloggers put together and multiply that by 10 and we don’t even come close to the number of hits Kenny gets in a single day! Sick huh?

Except for Charmaine (pray harder! ;) ); this is the first gathering I had been to that everyone has a digital camera, so I diffidently took some quiet snapshots as well. It was really nice of the cool, calm and collected KC to offer to help me with my webpage (*sigh* of relief).

Oh, guess what happened by evening’s end as I was leaving 'Tao' where we adjoined to after 'Hornbill's Corner? All the Kuching bloggers want to try kayaking! Now I’ve got more than what I had bargained for! Bloggers Meet on the waters everyone? Stumble It!

Here’s my take on their review.

FH2O : Kuching Kayaking

Reviewed by the Apprentice Blog Critic

At first I thought that this blog is about some fanatical kayak-er in Kuching, but FH20 is a person young at heart and approaching the ripe old age of 50.

According to his profile, he graduated from UNSW, Sydney. He wanted to change the world but the world changed him instead.

Layout is the classic 2 column, simple and clean although there tends to be overuse of pictures here and there. But this blog has a problem when it is viewed with IE. That will be explained later.

FH20 writes well and his English is flawless. He uses a lot of pictures in his posts and I recommend reducing them and making them the same size so that it's easier to read the flow of words. Although some of the articles are long and loading is a little slow, FH20 has captivated me with his words and pictures.

On the top of the page is a ticker which overlaps on the sidebar. This is a big no-no in my book. I thought it was an IE fault until I realised the same thing occurs in Firefox.

Now, on to the problem I mentioned earlier. When I viewed this page with IE, I couldn't see some items on the sidebar like the chatbox and archives until I scrolled far down. I then viewed the blog using Firefox which showed the contents of the sidebar properly.

I feel that there should be a space between the Guestbook link and the Quote of the Day (and I also recommend that the font size for the latter be reduced). In fact, there needs to be better spacing between the items on the right column.

Overall rating: 7/10 Stumble It!

Going deep: Ground team member Andrew Sheppard rappels down the mythic Hidden Falls in the heart of the gorge. (Dustin Lindgren)

I've just finished reading "Hell or High Water : Surviving Tibet's Tsangpo River" by Peter Heller about the greatest and ultimate whitewater expediton of the 21st century.

The Tsangpo Gorge in southeastern Tibet, sacred to the Buddhists and the inspiration for Shangri La, has lured explorers and adventurers since its discovery. As a river-running challenge, it is more difficult than any stretch of white water ever attempted. The finest expedition paddlers on earth have tried. Several have died. All have failed. Until now.

In January 2002 a team of seven kayakers launched a meticulously planned assault of the gorge. Accompanying them was author Peter Heller, a world-class kayaker in his own right. Filled with history, white-knuckle drama, and mutiny in one of the world’s most remote locations, Hell or High Water is a grand and riveting epic.

I like this passage on page 251 of the book and would like to share it here.

Stumble It!

Joe called me on the dot at 7am to check if we are still going kayaking as planned as it had started to drizzle and then rain. Affirmative Joe; and since when had I allowed a little bit of water to get in my way of kayaking. Isn't it a watersport Joe?

Dayang and friend was late and responded to my sms, "are u ladies still putting on your makeup?!" that are already on the way.

It was still raining when the gals finally arrived and they had to hold up umbrellas while we load and tie up the kayaks on my CRV. We decided to sit out the rain in a coffee shop and Joe needs his calories to maintain his physique anyway. The rain stopped and we finally set off and arrived at the put-in surprised to find a group of men at the ferry shed. They were undertaking survey work and were sitting out the rain as well. Don't tell me that development is on the way for this piece of river sanctuary we had just discovered last week? Such is life; although I found it hard to suppress my disappointment and keeping my feelings to myself.

The tide was going down leaving silt on the timber plankway down to the river as Joe did a slip-n-slide while we carried the kayaks down to the water. Next time get an NRS shoe. We got on the way under the curious watchful eyes of the survey workers and a gray cloudy sky.

Not far off we saw some men by the riverbanks and we paddled over to have a look. They were fishermen who had set up vertical nets that would trap whatever prawns, crabs and small fishes as the tide recede; but the prized catch is "udang galah" or giant river prawns. It is a traditional and environmentally friendly effective fishing method. I stopped to watch just as the sun break through the clouds cover. We saw them pick the prawns out from the bottom of the nets and asked if they are selling them as we would like to buy some. They asked us to get them at the kampong as they are selling them to this chinese 'towkay' (boss) who buys it off them. Hmmm. We paddled further down to try out luck with the other fishermen; who unfortunately told us the same story. A story of subservience and exploitation knowing darn well that this 'towkay' buys it cheap off this hard-working fishermen and then sell it at a hefty profits at the markets and to the top seafood restaurants; and these fishermen are not 'allowed' to sell them directly to anyone else. Depending on how you may want to look at it; but to me this is depressing from my narrow perspective. But on second thought this 'towkay' has relieved these fishermen the trouble to have to store, transport and sell the prawns; task which these rural people are not so good at. They 'produce' and the towkay distribute, market and sell. This may be a win-win situation to all parties. I must refrain from being too judgemental too quickly. But there must be some people who may not be so dependent on this arrangement and fortunately we found one and I bought one kilo of the prawn lobsters off him for half the market price! Joe wanted some too but he was out; so we paddled on to look for some more but could manage only to buy about half a kilo from another independent thinking fisherman.

Worrying that the prawns may not keep, we decided to head back but when we got there the tide had gone done considerably and we were about 4 feet down from the slipperly wooden jetty plankway. Joe decided that we should try another tributary and we followed him. Having being out with me for a couple of times now; Joe is gaining confidence as a kayaker. Unfortunately this other place was worse, so we had to paddle back up this small tributary. By the time we returned the tide has risen sufficiently enough for us to manage to climb up the plankway with the kind assistance of the survey workers.

Another saturday and another gratifying paddle this time with giant river prawns to boot! Ah! The sweet life!














"Down on the Bayor", hmmm, that sounds like a good title for a song by CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival, for the uninititated and the genXs). Now if you don't mind, I've got some 'butter-coffee udang-galah' prepared by my master chef to attend to! Anyone feeling hungry?

Stumble It!

My brother-in-law, Dr. Lincoln who is here on holidays and as a prominent cardiologist in Sydney he knows the importance of getting regular exercise; but is not too keen on water sports, so regrettably kayaking was out of the question. Remembering that they love taking walks (they stayed opposite Centennial Park which is a bit like Sydney’s equivalent of New York’s Central Park), I suggested that we go for a Sunday walk at Mount Singai near Bau about 35 minutes drive from Kuching. There is a church at Mount Singai which is a Catholic Memorial and Pilgrimage Center.














It has stopped raining when we arrived at the foothills and we followed one of the lower paths to take a look at a 60 feet high water fall. We turned back and then proceeded to take the few hundreds over steps that would lead to the church at the top. The wooden steps though steep at places make it easy to get up the mountain. Meandering along the way it follows the natural elevation and we marvel at the dedication in constructing them. The steps had now been extended all the way up to the church. This has got to be the premier and most pleasant place to go for a walk in Kuching. As we climbed higher the morning mist became denser and foggier creating a most serene and surreal atmosphere. Lincoln later remarked to my sister that it was a most spiritual walking experience. We stopped occasionally to take in the views and catch our breath but soon we reached the beautiful church at Mount Singai. Lincoln made offerings said his prayers, while I contemplate in silence amidst this natural and beautiful place.
Knowing that the area is famous for their durians we decided to trek further up from the church to see if we can find some durians to buy from the locals who actually camped underneath durian trees during the durians season to collect the fruits. After about 15 minutes of trekking through the jungle paths, Lincoln spotted a small hut up ahead. We reached the hut which has some durians outside, it was empty but an old man soon showed up after we called out if anyone was home. We bought one durian from him and devoured it on the spot! Just what the doctor ordered for good cardiovascular health on a Sunday morning! Durians for the soul!
Stumble It!

Vicky Fong, a columnist with Sarawak Tribune ‘Outlook’ ( a leading local english newspaper), was at our place a couple of weeks ago and having previously visited was fascinated with our place by the river and my kayaking; she asked if she could write an article on this to get off the ground a new series of article on the sporting lifestyles. Eager to share my love of this sport I consented and suggested that she logged onto my blog to find out more my kayaking trips and experiences. Life happens and I didn’t give too much thought on whether she is actually going to do a write-up when I received this sms from Danny – “Morning Francis. Congrats! Pl read OUTLOOK, Sarawak Tribune today.”

So here’s the full-page feature article and my 15 minutes of fame!

I am sure that Robin must be amused and/or delighted to find that they had taken a picture of him kayaking (from my site) instead of me! And those who read the article and are interested in kayaking would be sent on a wild goose chase looking for the elusive ‘Kuching Kayaking Club’! (perhaps I could start one?) Apart from these two minor gaffes, I am thankful and grateful to Vicky for writing such a nice article about our place, me and kayaking. Life is indeed sweet!

The picture's text maybe a little bit hard to read especially on a small screen; so to save your eyesight, here's the article's text:

He bought a new double-storey, corner terraced property because it overlooked the tributary of a river. His house in a cul-de-sac served its purpose but there was a large enough area in his backyard for improvement and extension.
An architect with his own company, Francis Ho from Kuching knew what he could do to improve the usual façade of a modern terrace