Category: Public Events

Public events reports.

Mooncake Festivals in Kuching 2023

Posted on By sweet surrender No Comments on Mooncake Festivals in Kuching 2023

It’s that time of the year again. Mid-autumn Festival is around the corner. With that, there are two Mooncake Festivals happening in Kuching now. One at Carpenter Street and the other one at Batu Kawah.

I don’t understand why they called it “Mooncake Festival” instead of “Mid-autumn Festival”. There is no such thing as “Mooncake Festival” elsewhere except in Kuching LOL!! Do not expect to see mooncake showcases in the Mooncake Festivals. There’s none. Even the festival in Chinese is called mid-autumn and not mooncake. Go figure…

I’ve visited two of them. The following are the posts I made on Instagram.

Kuching Intercultural Mooncake Festival, Carpenter Street

Date: 20th-29th September (Evening)

Batu Kawa Mooncake & Lantern Carnival

Date: 23rd September – 1st October (Evening)

Anyway, you still have a few more days to visit the festival. There’s no harm in having a look and feeling the fun of the festival. I would say to go early. As early as 5 pm if you want to avoid the crowd and to get a better parking spot. However, Kuching people seemed like no need to work haha! They will show up even by 4.30 pm ;p

Food Porn, Public Events, Uniquely Kuching

Kuching Festival 2023 (28 Jul-20 Aug)

Posted on By sweet surrender No Comments on Kuching Festival 2023 (28 Jul-20 Aug)

The annual Kuching Festival is back! As usual, it’s located at MBKS Community Hall. This year, it runs from 28 July to 20 August. I didn’t go on the first day. Instead went on the third day, a Sunday. Not even 5pm, looking for a nearby parking space was impossible on both sides of the road. People had been pouring in since 4.30pm.

Kuching Festival 2023
The main entrance…

The entrance to the festival ground is hideous! It’s like the arc used for a funeral setup. They shouldn’t put that two little roofs on top of the pillars. That’s the main issue. Why can’t just have the mascot and balloons cutouts decorating the top? It gives a more festive and cheerful mood.

Many stalls but nothing fancied us

There are over 300 stalls this year. Unfortunately, many stalls that used to be there were no more. We went there and wanted to get some of the familiar food but they were not there anymore. We spent 1 1/2 hours walking the whole festival ground and even made 1 1/2 rounds, we still couldn’t decide what to get. Too much fancy food and food prices have increased so much! It’s really not worth it to spend that much money on them.

Kuching Festival 2023
What an experience!

We ended up just buying Taiwanese sausage (RM10 for 3) for the sake of buying something. If we didn’t buy anything, that would be a record! We would go back empty-handed for the first time. Thinking that it’s the safest food to buy as it’s something we’re familiar with. Apparently, the sausage was contaminated, got worms! Only knew after eating it. That was also due to someone on my Instagram alerting me about it after I posted it on my Instagram story. Otherwise, I won’t know. Had also sent the hi-res photo to people who are familiar with such things to confirm and indeed it’s worms! It’s not skin! It’s worms! Not gonna share the photo here. If you know, you know.

I didn’t even see the dead worms when I took them out to take a photo. After taking the photo, I put it back into the bag. Maybe the “roasted” worms were shaken/rubbed off into the bag when we took it out again to eat. That’s why we didn’t see the worms when we ate it.

We had also seen the doctor and showed the photo to the medical professionals there. We were given deworming medicine. Even though the tapeworms seemed “cooked”, we’re not sure the temperature inside the sausage was high enough to kill whatever it was inside. Hence, we’re eating the medicine as a precautionary measure to kill off whatever was not “killed” by the heat in the sausage. I don’t know how many people were affected by this and how many days it’s been like this.

Update from the relevant department (2/8/2023)

A complaint was lodged on Talikidmat on 1st August. They are very efficient. I got the feedback on 2nd August with this reply:

Dear sir, the sausage casings are made of natural animal intestines, in the process of making sausage, the external fatty tissues and inner submucosa of the animal intestines are removed or break and washes. The “white strips” could be the remains of the submucosa left after the washing process. It is found on a few of the sausages shown to us. To conclude, the white strips are not the tapeworm as per reported. Case closed.

This is also the reason why I don’t post the photo on this blog or do a full post on it on my Instagram or Facebook. I wanted to make sure that it is really not worms. If the specific post was done, I’m 100% sure it would get out of control.

With the response given, for those of you who were lucky to see it in my story, are you convinced? if you are not, there’s nothing much that can be done. I don’t have the sample for them to test, just a photo. They went to check and that’s what they found. All I can say is just be extra alert with what you put into your mouth at festivals like this. Do spend and eat at your own risk. If you really encounter any issues, do report them.

Kuching Festival 2023
No plastic bags

Do take note there are no plastic bags given. Therefore, you have to bring your own bags so that you can carry your food around. Some stalls even charge you for paper bags! Like… Excuse me? You don’t charge for plastic bags last time when plastic bags were allowed but you are charging for paper bags now. What’s the logic?

Kuching Festival 2023
Roadblocks

Tomorrow, the 1st of August, there will be a roadblock at the Kuching Waterfront area starting at 6am until the end of the event. This is in conjunction with the commemoration of the 35th anniversary of Kuching achieving its city status. It will happen at 10am at the compound of Square Tower at the Kuching Waterfront.

Next, there will be a Kuching Street Parade in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of Sarawak Independence this coming Saturday evening (5 August, 7pm). There will be roadblocks this coming Thursday and Friday for rehearsal. Then, another roadblock will be Saturday morning till the end of the event. So do avoid Padungan until Padang Merdeka area these three days unless you wanna join in the fun.

A Special Tent
Kuching Festival 2023
Kuching Festival 2023

There’s a special tent this year. Many creative fusion food here. There’s pansuh siobee some more. It’s cooler to sit here but the place is limited. If people decided to smoke or vape in here, you are pretty much trapped inside inhaling all of those.

Garden Show & The Stage
Kuching Festival 2023

How can one miss the Garden Show and the series of performances on the stage on the lake?

Kuching Festival 2023

The Garden Show these few years had been scaled down a lot. Not many surprises there. It’s pretty much what you get every single day.

Kuching Festival 2023

There are two wishing wells here. One is a well, one is a cat. So, wish at your own risk *LOL* You believe your wish will come true by throwing money inside?

Trade Show
Kuching Festival 2023

The indoor trade show is in the hall every year. Back then, there were outdoor ones too but now no more. Its space was taken by food stalls. It’s no longer as exciting as it used to be. Even many booths were empty. Not rented.

Conclusion
Kuching Festival 2023

Be prepared to brace for the crowds and the heat. It’s hazy these days too. Be sure to stay hydrated. Also, make sure you check your food before putting it into your mouth. Don’t expect to find your usual Kuching food there. Aside from that, there isn’t halal and non-halal segregation. That’s the beauty of the festival.

Feel free to go and join the fun. As for spending money on food, spend it at your own risk.

On a Side Note

By the way, Sarawak is hosting the national-level International Museum Day at Sarawak Cultures Musuem from 31 July to 5 Aug. There are a series of activities there. Do note that the parking there is closed. So you have to park somewhere and walk there to join the activities. You can check out further details on their official FB Page.

Food Porn, From My Angle, Public Events, Uniquely Kuching

Sarawak Museum Special Tour 2023 (Limited Time Only)

Posted on By sweet surrender No Comments on Sarawak Museum Special Tour 2023 (Limited Time Only)

The Sarawak Museum closed its door to visitors in 2017 for renovation and restoration works. This year, they have this special tour for those interested in having a sneak peek of the old museum. You can do pre-booking. You have to walk in to secure a spot.

Just head over to the Borneo Cultures Museum and book a slot. There are two slots, 10.30am and 2.30pm. Each slot only has 15 spots. Hence, it is on a first-come-first-serve basis. You’ll have a better chance in the morning, on a working day, and not school holiday. We were fortunate to be the first to register for the morning slot. This is actually my second attempt ;p

Meanwhile, the tour is free of charge. The museum staff will conduct the tour in English. They will use Malay if everyone knows the language (it depends on the staff’s discretion). However, English is still the main language.

On this tour, they will only show you the first floor. The ground floor is still not accessible as work is still in progress. You will have to remove your shoes to go in.

Do note that the museum is currently empty. All the old exhibits were moved. Some of them still can be seen in the other building, Natural History Museum, just down the road. With the empty museum, you will get to see the murals clearly. The murals have a history of its own.

Lastly, I have to remind you that the tour will end this month end. I’m not sure of the exact date but better go there before 20th July to be safe. They will close the museum again until further notice. Maybe for another 3 years.

Public Events, Uniquely Kuching

Museum of the Moon at Borneo Cultures Museum

Posted on By sweet surrender 1 Comment on Museum of the Moon at Borneo Cultures Museum

I was curious about what is Museum of the Moon at Borneo Cultures Museum was all about. Saw many people posted about it. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to visit it with a friend from West Malaysia.

Many wondered how they got such a big item into the museum and hung it so high up. It’s actually an inflatable sphere. You can imagine it as a gigantic beach ball printed with the moon’s surface. As simple as that. Hehehe…

To see it, you will have to pay like usual to visit the museum to see the moon. It’s not confined to a small place for itself. It occupies the whole museum. Since I’m a Sarawakian, I paid RM10 for it. Check out the entrance fee in the photo carousel.

The inflatable moon is hung high up there. The best photo spot would be on the 4th floor (at least for me) instead of the 5th floor. The 4th floor has excellent natural lighting albeit being a bit far from it. As for the 5th floor, it’s quite dark and everyone wanted to take their photo from the 5th floor because they didn’t know they could get good and fun photos from the 4th floor too.

Have you been there? If you are interested, better go now before it’s too late. You still have over a month to see it. It will end on 5th August 2023.

Public Events, Uniquely Kuching

Making a Difference to Beat Plastic Pollution

Posted on By sweet surrender No Comments on Making a Difference to Beat Plastic Pollution

SEOUL, 8 June 2023 — World Environment Day, held annually on June 5, puts a spotlight on the pressing environmental challenges of our times, and is a great opportunity for people all around the globe to discuss efforts to protect and restore the Earth.

Image credit: UNEP Twitter Account

Established by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 1972 and led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), World Environment Day celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2023. Over the past five decades, the internationally observed day has grown to become one of the largest global platforms for environmental outreach.

Image credit: UNEP Instagram Account

Hosted by Côte d’Ivoire in partnership with the Netherlands, this year’s World Environment Day event – #BeatPlasticPollution – focuses on solutions to the problem of plastic pollution. Côte d’Ivoire banned the use of plastic bags in 2014 and has shown its continuing leadership in reducing reliance on plastics by supporting a nationwide shift to reusable packaging. A signatory of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment and a member of the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter, the Netherlands is also adopting a variety of measures to address this key environmental issue.

To raise awareness of the event and highlight the theme of this year’s World Environment Day, UNEP has created a compelling and informative video. The video inspires hope with the message that we now have the science and solutions needed to beat plastic pollution, while also calling on governments, cities and businesses to take action.

LG is showing its support for the UNEP and World Environment Day by playing UNEP’s video on its digital billboards in New York’s iconic Time Square and London’s famed Piccadilly Circus. Located in high-traffic pedestrian areas in two of the world’s most-visited cities, the company’s billboards are expected to provide World Environment Day with significant exposure, raising public awareness and hopefully encouraging more people to do their part.

As a socially responsible corporate citizen, LG is taking active steps to help create a better life for all. To achieve this, the company is committed to practicing a circular economy by continuously expanding the use of recycled materials, which are already used in the production of select newer product models, including LG Styler, LG tiiun mini, refrigerators and dishwashers. This year, the company aims to expand the use of recycled materials to more products, such as the LG Styler ShoeCase, LG Styler ShoeCare and LG OLED evo TV, contributing to the company’s goal to use an accumulated total of 600,000 tons of recycled plastic by 2030.

As the company continues to do its part to reduce plastic pollution, LG is hopeful that increased promotion of the #BeatPlasticPollution campaign on its billboards in two of the most populous tourist attractions around the world will raise awareness and positively impact the public to do what is possible to reduce the use of plastic.

Interesting, Public Events