WEDDING

First I want to congratulate Deday and Martha for their wedding. They had their wedding reception on the 13^th of December and I was invited to this ceremonious occasion. I would like to thank them for their invitation and wish them many happy years together and hope that hey can be together soon. This is because one of them is working in Kajang and the other is working in Sibu.

I was a little late to arrive and didn’t get to see them exchanging vows but I did manage to get there in time for the photo shoot and lunch reception. It was almost 200km of driving and 2km of off-roading thru the Ladang Sungai Tangit Palm Oil Estate in Miri. Best to say the trip took roughly 2½ hours. These are the photos from that I manage to take from the event.

The wedding took place at the Sidang Injil Borneo Church of Ladang Sungai Tangit. I would estimate about 150 guest or more were present at the church. This includes the kins of both families. It was really a simple church. What you are seeing in the photo is the main mass area. Connected to this via a walkway is the pastor’s house.

This is the car the bride and groom were transported with. A Miri registered Toyota Hilux Pickup. A very sensible choice for the kind of roads around this area. Further more it has a really comfortable ride on rough roads if compared to the Ford Ranger Pickup. Fuel economy is also very good for a truck of this size. It is powered by a 2.4 liter turbocharged diesel engine (2.4l D4D). A proven engine as it also power the new Toyota Fortuner and Toyota Hiace.

This is the bride and groom. A sweet couple. As I said before, the bride is working in Sibu and the groom is working in Kajang. Both of them are Civil Servants in the Federal Government of Malaysia.

This is the pastor that was the head of the ceremony. I forgotten his name but I had a chat with him and he was surprise that I actually came all this way for the wedding. By the way the tie that he is wearing is not made out of fabric as a normal tie but it is actually made out of beads. Beading is an art that is practices by the Kelabit people and it sub groups the Kayan, Kedayan, and Kenyah. They are also known for their elongated ear lobes cause by wearing heavy earrings. They are collectively recognize as the Orang Ulu in Sarawak. History tells us that long ago the Orang Ulu were at war with the Dayak. Bloody battles were wage and many lost their lives in this war. A peace treaty was forge saying that the Orang Ulu would occupy the northern parts of Sarawak while the Dayak will occupy the south.

 

I found this 2 siblings having the Tun Jugah hair cut or as it is commonly known on the peninsular as the penan hair cut. Some of you may remember a celebrity from the 1990′s have spotted the same hair cut. And he was Abu Bakar Elah. A participant in the reality talent show Sinaran Passport Kegemilangan which was aired by Sistem Telivisyen Malaysia Berhad or commonly known as TV3 in Malaysia. Abu Bakar Elah was famous not only for his hair cut (which I think as a statement that he is proud for who he is) but also for his songs which were mostly theme for the conservation of the eco system. He is currently living in Sabah.

Photo session with both families of the bride and groom. The man with the stripe tie is the bride’s father Mr. Laing.

Photo Session with the flower girls and page boy. They really look like they are having fun don’t they.

Photo session with friends.(I’m not in any of the shoots 30 plus shots because I was the one who was taking pictures).

Wedding procession out of the church which is the end of the ceremony in the church and time to eat.

 

This is a close up of the wedding bouquet. Made with fresh roses pick on the morning of the wedding. The florist who did this did a fabulous job.

 

We were ushered to the pastor’s house for the lunch reception. Apparently they have readied halal food for the muslim friends that might come. I didn’t take any pictures of what we ate for I fear I would offend the host. Basicly what we had was white rice, beef cook in soy sauce(daging masak kicap), vegetables cook with coconut milk and turmeric powder(sayur masak lemak kunyit) and one other dish that I couldn’t remember. I look around the walls seing the various pictures and decoration when my attention was caught by this:

Being a person who collects knifes and daggers, these machetes which were decorated with beads and feathers in traditional motifs just simply was beautiful. I didn’t see the blades but from the intricate design of the beads I would say who ever decorated them had a lot a patience and talent.

Thus this ends my trip to Bintulu and Miri. I drove back to Bintulu and had a couple hours of rest before I continued on back to Sibu. I had dinner at my usual spot and arrive back home at 9.30pm.

What I learned from this trip is:

1. The journey is always more exciting then the destination.
2. There is always things to still be discovered in places where you often frequent. Just keep an eye and an ear open. You will never know what you might discover.
3. People are not what you may think. You may think that Sarawak is the land of headhunters but that are the old days before the colonial days even. Now the tribes live in peace and holds position in the state government. They are modern yet they still retains their traditional ways. Unlike in the Peninsular, especially in Kuala Lumpur and other big cities we have become more modern but we also lost our culture. We have become less friendlier to our neighbours, we bicker at petty things, we always complain yet we do nothing to help rectify or ease the matter that we complain, and a lot of other stuff. Does being modern means that we have to forgo our heritage?
4. For those of you who are buying a car, this is a small advice. Don’t buy a Toyota Avanza. Especially if you are thinking of doing a lot of travelling using rural roads. Highway is not a problem but rural roads that are not smooth or have pockmarked the back end would bounce around like a rabbits bottom. It is a good car with great fuel economy but that loose rear end is really a big put off. Just my 2 cents.

Until next time, stay safe, drive safe, have a nice day.