Breakfast is always an adventure

Breakfast has been one of the biggest meals of the day. And has always been very diverse. This morning we had Chinese breakfast of dim sum. 

My go to drink. Teh c special

And this yummy dish below us...?

Chickens feet! 

Aunt Cecilia eating the chicken foot to gross out my dad. My dad was grossed out by it. That's when you know it's gross. I personally think its not as gross as eating the fish head and eyeball.  

Day before: preparing a feast

Today was spent preparing food, like would be done in the longhouse before a wedding. first,lunch was made for all the arriving guests. Then begins preparation for the lunch after the wedding service tomorrow. Fresh meat, fruits, and veggies are all gathered and prepared. Everyone contributes. The men handle the meat prep and the women handle everything else. It's quite the production and a very cool experience. 

Everyone sitting around prepping for lunch! Peeling potatoes and cutting up pumpkin with uncle Kheng Ho and Aunt Cecilia 

 Preparing banana shoot 

 Cutting up upapku, when cooked has the same texture and kind of taste like artichoke heart

 

Peeling garlic. I think I'll be safe from vampires for a while. Got those garlic hands.

Bamboo with chicken or fish inside which is then cooked over fire

So much commotion, but Uncle Faybien is out like a light. He is aunt Judy's future husband's younger brother

Two pigs were bought for the big wedding feast and every part of it was cooked literally. This is the pig's brain

Aki's brother eating a piece of it! 

 Wayne helping out by inspecting the chicken

 Second round of prep beginning. Great time for catching up and gossip. The chatter was nonstop and all in Iban. Quite the experience to watch. Glad to be part of such a diverse and large family

 Uncle Bunyak serving up the pig's head! Wahhhh. It still has its teeth. Gross.

Dad with his mom and aunt 

 Dad, his aunt, and sister. They all look alike!

 The whole family minus aki and aunt Judy. First time they have been all together in years.

 Weaving little pouches that are filled with rice and sugar mix to make Iban version of rice pudding. Dad's cousin had amazing patience trying to teach me to make them using two strands. It took about three hours to finally be able to put one together. But I was determined to learn!

Finally starting to get the hang of it!

Aunt Cecilia trying to learn too. We were both determined to learn!

 Weaving done. Time to fill!

 Stuffed banana leaves

Finally some down time. Cousins want to play though!

Girls' day

Past two days have been mostly uneventful. Just a lot of hanging around waiting for family to arrive. Atoon, Beatrice, and I went to Bintulu's waterfront and climbed up a small hill for a silly photoshoot out of boredom. And 

And also a day of pampering. We all got mani/pedis all with glitter nails!

Cultural village of Sarawak

Visited the cultural village of Sarawak. It displayed all the types of housing and people's of Sarawak. 

Shawn, me, Beatrice, and Shane at the beginning of the cultural park. 

 Dad trying to be funny and dancing to the music  in the Malay house 

Three kitties!

Melanau houses were built up high to protect themselves from the Iban headhunters! They would pour boiling water over the edges to keep the Iban from climbing up and cutting off their heads. The Iban are known for headhunting. My aki(grandfather) was the first generation to no longer headhunt!

Waiting for someone to get me down from climbing up some very narrow stairs! Almost fell down because the log rolled to the side!

 Dad in front of Iban long house

 Long hallway where everyone sits to interact with each other. There are a bunch of little units within the long house for each family.

Traditional Iban dress for women and girls. She is making the intricate neck pieces that are very beautiful. 

All the various types of knives and machetes. Wonder if these had been used for headhunting a long time ago!? I remember seeing these 15 years ago in my grandfather's longhouse.

 The neckpieces worn. 

 Crossing the bamboo bridge towards the end of the park. Very cool place to visit and learn about the different tribes of Sarawak and where my dad grew up!

 Teh C Special: the one drinking have learned to order and my go to. Three layers, one of plum sugar, condensed milk, and tea. Yummy!