Our Horne Family Flag

I've been spending some serious time of late producing our family flag. I'm from England while my other half hails from Sarawak, Malaysia. So I wanted to make something that blends our two backgrounds in a simple way.

The Horne Family Flag incorporates elements of the English, British, Sarawakian and Malaysian flags

On the left hand side is half of the St. George's cross with one quadrant of the British flag, representing me. On the right is the star and crescent of Malaysia, along with the red and black diagonal stripes of the Sarawak flag, representing my wife. The St. George's cross and the crescent combine to make the letter 'H' for Horne.

The British part of the Horne Family Flag

The Malaysian section of the Horne Family Flag

The Horne Family Flag is taking pride of place in our home and is a reminder of who we are, where we're from and how two different cultures have combined harmoniously.

Making a family flag is a lot of fun - why don't you give it a try?!

Damai Beach Resort, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

While we were over at Borneo last month we spent a night at Damai Beach Resort in Kuching in connection with Florianna's engagement.

We stayed in a beautiful wooden chalet beside the beach front.

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The sago worm delicacy . . .

Somewhere on the island of Borneo, one can find the sago worm. Most Sarawakians love sago worms as a traditional delicacy. They are found on sago trees.

Sago worms, when they are alive, look just like what you would expect a worm to look like - fat, wrinkly, moving their bodies in a worm-like way, and so on. Basically, you wouldn't give a second thought at popping one into your mouth, of all places.

But yes, into the mouth the sago worm goes in Sarawak. Sometimes it is placed into the mouth and eaten - ALIVE!!! You hold it by the head and bite, then chew, then swallow. But you'll never get me trying that!

But I did, however, try a COOKED sago worm the other day! If it wasn't for the fact that I was video recording the entire cooking and eating process, I don't know whether I would have so eagerly put a sago worm in my mouth.

And I must admit, after some frying, a little salt and black pepper, the sago worm tasted not too bad, a bit like potato wedges. Following is the video of how we prepared the sago worms and ate them. Hope it will be a fascinating watch for you!

Images of Kuching

This is the final installment of images of Kuching. It's been great sharing our experiences in Kuching, my wife's hometown. Today is a collection of pictures that don't really fall into any specific category, but which I want to share with you to finish up Kuching's recent dominance of my blog!

Kuching International Airport

A man takes a break from work under a shady tree

A beautiful flower outside Twinny Two bridal place in Kuching

A stall at the aquarium in Kuching

Totem-pole sculpture at Sarawak Museum in Kuching

Two museums in Kuching linked by a bridge

A variety of savoury foods on offer in Kuching

Scene of nature by a set of traffic lights in Kuching

Buying 'Kolo Mee' at a stall in MJC, Kuching

View of Kuching skyline from car park at Wisma Saberkas. The tall building in the distance is Chong Lin Plaza, where I lived between 2003-2004

Roadside scene at RPR Batu Kawa Phase II, Kuching. Taken from Fidelia's childhood home!

Kuching skyline from Penview Hotel

The Spring shopping mall, Kuching

Fidelia and Leah inside The Spring shopping mall, Kuching

Farewell from Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia! Hope you enjoyed the tour!

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Taman Sahabat, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Taman Sahabat is a beautiful garden area in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. It literally translates as "friendly garden" and was created to highlight the partnership between Malaysia and China.

The park shows a relationship between Kuching city and China's Kunming city. We went there at night time and it looked very inviting and was warmly illuminated. Here are some pictures:

These stone tablets depicting each of the states that make up Malaysia were very interesting and beautifully done:

This is a statue of Zheng He who lived in the 14th-15th centuries. Apparently he made many voyages, including to Malaysia.

Chinese-inspired structure

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Damai Beach Resort, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

The Damai Beach Resort lies on the coast about a half hour's drive from Kuching. Above is a portion of the scenic road which took us there.

Damai sits against beautiful beaches and towering tree-covered hills. The resort is well-maintained and is popular with foreign tourists from all around the world.

Fidelia's dad drove us out there one afternoon, along with my sister-in-law, Florina. Lauren came with us while Leah slept in the car with her grandad!

Entrance to Damai Resort

The beach was a beautiful scene of deep blue skies, pure green hills and light brown sands. Perfect for photographing!

Florina and Lauren looking out to the sea at Damai beach, Kuching. Such perfect conditions.

Planting the tripod in the warm sand, I took this picture on timer...such gorgeous colours

The swimming pool at Damai beach resort

To learn more about Damai beach resort, or book a room there, visit their website: Damai Beach Resort

On the way back to Kuching we passed the famous Mount Santubong. From wikipedia, which tells it better than I, is the legend of Mount Santubong: 

"A legend often associated with the mountain is of two beautiful princesses, Santubong and Sejinjang. Santubong was an expert weaver while Sejinjang was an excellent rice tresher. One day, they had a quarrel and exchanged blows. Sejinjang swung her tresher which hit Santubong's cheek. Santubong threw her weaver at Sejinjang, hitting her in the head. Putting an end to the quarrel, the King of Heaven cursed both of them into mountains. Santubong turned into Mount Santubong while Sejinjang was turned into Mount Sejinjang. It is said that Mount Santubong resembles a woman lying on her back."

The view of Mount Santubong was from the top of a bridge. Since there was nowhere to stop the car, Fie's dad drove all the way down the bridge and pulled over at the side of a smaller road. I made the dash by foot up the bridge to capture this shot:

There will be more stories from Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia tomorrow!

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Felicia and Tuah's wedding reception, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

My sister-in-law, Felicia, and her husband Tuah, enjoyed a lively wedding reception at Penview Hotel in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Here are some of the photos from that night:

The ballroom

My sis-in-law, Florina Urai ensured guests signed the guestbook prior to entering the ballroom

She likes the camera too, as you'll see in a number of pictures!

My father-in-law waits to greet guests as they arrive

My mother-in-law, left, with her two sisters, Dorothy and Evelyn

Lauren waits for things to get started, with her pre-ordered KFC mashed potato. She's rather picky when it comes to food!

At the start of the event, Lauren acted as 'flowergirl', leading the bride and groom, parents and bridesmaids by gently throwing petals on the floor. She did a great job. Unfortunately the room was pitch black so the photos didn't turn out very well :(

The father of the bride gives his opening speech

The only one of my sisters-in-law who wasn't here in person was attending via Skype! Felicity Anai is currently studying in Australia, but through the miracle of the internet via ipod, she watched on as things unfolded live!

Leah was passed around amongst family relatives throughout the night. She handled it all very well! Here Urai, right, and her best friend Janice, left, pose with Leah.

Felicia and Tuah

My mother-in-law with a friend

Father-in-law with a friend

Fidelia's grandmother, Lauren and Leah's cute great-grandma! She doesn't speak English, but I really enjoyed her company as Fidelia translated her words.

The happy couple

My gorgeous wife and Leah

Soon the karaoke started with Urai and Janice:

Following them was my sis-in-law Florianna. 

She has the most amazing voice full of tone and power which filled the entire ballroom. She sang Celine Dion's "The Power of Love" and this was not karaoke. No sir. This was pure talent. I never realised she was THIS good. No words to express how good it was. It was a shame I couldn't video it, but even then, I doubt a video recording on a camera would have done her justice!

On the left is our cousin Jenny...

I managed to get in one picture during the night, which is one more than most other photographers can manage! Here I am with my picture-perfect sis-in-law, Urai:

The family began dancing

My mother-in-law's turn at karaoke

Tuah and Felicia cut the cake

Tuah attempts to pop the cork...                   

And the cork flies! Look how excited Felicia is!

Felicia and Feona Albert, two of Leah's many cousins, give Leah a big kiss

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