Sickening hospital stay for patients, relatives
I have found out who are my real friends, thanks to the illness and hospitals. – Chris Rea, British singer, songwriter Hospitals — they are where life begins and where…
Author Archives: Valentine Tawie Salok
Potentially fatal durian experimentations
It smelled like you’d buried somebody holding a big wheel of Stilton in his arms, then dug him up a few weeks later. – Anthony Bourdain, American celebrity chef, author,…
Prawns and fish aplenty, ‘river kings’ too
It pays to be in the best shape possible when you’re wrangling the largest reptiles on Earth! – Terri Irwin, American-Australian naturalist, conservationist and author River or stream fishing has…
Cockfighting — tips from a ‘taji’ expert
Cockfighting must be considered a barbarous diversion. – Edward Law, first Baron Ellenborough The few weeks before and after the last Gawai Dayak, cockfighting enthusiasts in Saratok enjoyed their pastime…
Hold ngiling tikai immediately after Gawai!
To celebrate a festival means: to live out, for some special occasion and in an uncommon manner, the universal assent to the world as a whole. – Josef Pieper, German…
Surely a creative, interesting Gawai do
The greatness of a culture can be found in its festivals. – Siddharth Katragadda, Indian writer, filmmaker, artist and poet Our last Gawai celebrations at the longhouse were…
Turning secondary jungles into lucrative plantations
MOST people were very skeptical upon learning that the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) was about to enter into a joint venture in commercial oil palm plantation with…
Dayak community anxiously awaits Gawai
It is that time of the year, when Sarawak’s rich diversity of culture is showcased at its best. Traditionally, the Dayak community welcomes the Gawai celebrations to give thanks to…
Overcoming a fear of the dark
Darkness does not intimidate me. I have never been really scared of darkness, thanks to my very early exposure to life at the edge of the jungle. Nyctophobia, or debilitating…
Two painful episodes of shingles
While others are still in blissful mood occupying our new and spacy office at Metrocity in Matang here in the state capital, I have been badly down with shingles for…