A story on how did I spent my 2006 Christmas..........PART 2

Macau is located on China's Southeast coast bordering the Guangdong Province in China. It is about 60 kilometres from Hong Kong. The region is only 28 square kilometres in size and is comprised of the Macau Peninsula and the islands of Taipa and Coloane.






Entering one of the many magnificent bridges of Macau.



As you enter Macau , this would be the first sight of the city.



Located on the Outer Harbour, this statue, dedicated to Goddess of Kun Iam (Goddess of Mercy) is 20 meters tall and made of special bronze. The dome shape base like a lotus flower, is an ecumenical centre where information is available on Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.



One of the many Casinos under construction by the waterfront.



Macau Tower , soaring 338 metres above the city, the Macau Tower is the 10th highest freestanding tower in the world and the 8th tallest in Asia.



Crossing point at Senado Square.

St. Dominic's Church



The location of St.Dominic's Church which has been proclaimed as one of the World Heritage List in 2005.



Standing on the site of a chapel and convent built by the Dominicans in the 1590's St. Dominic's dates from the early 17th century.



It has an imposing facade of cream-coloured stone with white stucco mouldings and green-shuttered windows. Inside, white pillars support a flat ceiling and apron balconies trim the walls.


The great baroque altar contains a cream and white statue of the Virgin and Child



and numerous paintings painting of Christ.



The church has a fine collection of exquisitively-carved ivory and wood saints.
To enter the church visitors should ring the bell on the green gate at the side door.

Lou Kou Mansion

The Lou Kao Mansion was one of the residences of the wealthy Lou Wa Sio family and, according to the date written on a poem on the eaves of the courtyard to the left of the entrance, it was built in the 15th year of the reign of Qing Dynasty emperor Guang Xu (1889).







Visiting Hours..........



Constructed in grey brick, the two-storey xiguan-style building is on of the best-preserved traditional Chinese house in Macao.





Like many other xiguan houses, Lou Kao Mansion has detailed decorations such as brick relief, plaster ornamentation, decorative lattice carvings......










and mother-of-pearl windows, perforated ceilings to facilitate ventilation, iron railings, reflecting a combination of Chinese and Western architecture.







Cathedral Square






The footway that leads to The Cathedral lies a beautiful fountain which shows the magnificient craftmanship that had caught my attention.





The Cathedral
Location : Largo de Se

Cited as one of the World Heritage List.

The present building stands on the site of several previous cathedrals.

Main entrance that says SS.M.V. Mari'ae Nascenti

The original cathedral was the church of Our Lady of hope of St. Lazarus,declared the mother church of the Macau Diocese which included the religious provinces of China, Japan,Korea and other islands adjacent to China. The first stone Cathedral, consecrated in 1850, was almost destroyed in a typhoon 24 years later and had to be extensively repaired.The Cathedral was completely rebuilt in 1937. It has two solid towers and massive doors.

Inside, its chief beauty lies in its fine stained-glass windows.Many of the major events of the church calendar focus on the Cathedral,

especially at Easter when, in addition to the procession of Our Lord of thePassion, there is a solemn parade on Good Friday and special masses on Easter Sunday.

Altar of St.Jude .

A plague on the Prayers of St.Jude. For those who doesn't know St.Jude......he is the holy patron of hopless and desperate cases.

Believe it or not, St.Jude is the powerful revelation of answering prayers............

Senado Square



Location : Largo de Senado




Senado Square a popular tourists spot where boutiques and food outlets are located.



Grand Christmas Tree at the Senado Square , located at the main center square were popular events and celebrations are being held. Behind is the House Of Holy Mercy , established by the first bishop of Macau in 1569.






Casinos


Location : Macau Peninsula



The infamous Lisboa Casino............



The new Lisboa Casino(far left) under construction scheduled for completion March 2007.





Wynn Casino...latest casino in town.



Wynn Casino entrance.




On the way to Airport from mainland Macau.........




Macau International Airport ....Departure and Arrival Hall at Ground Level.



At the Cafeteria after my breakfast cum lunch cum dinner...........



Notice the center picture portuguese's famous eggtart with rasberry....HK$16





Im leavng on a Jetplane, don't know when I be back again..........

Bau (Gold Town) and the Great Lake of Tasik Biru (Old and New)

Introduction

Bau Town, about 35 kilometers from Kuching, is the administrative and trading center of the district. Being an interior district in Kuching Division, its geographical features are composed of rugged terrain and dotted with sporadic limestone hills- It has an area of 884.40 square kilometers and shares a common boundary with Kalimantan Indonesia.

The old name for Bau district is "Upper Sarawak" whereas the old name for Bau Town was "Mau San" or "Bukit Mau". European authors during the Brooke regime pronounced "Bau" as "Bow".



Bau has a historical connection with the destruction of the first Bau Bazaar at "Mau San" (Bau Lama) in 1857. It was estimated that at least a few hundred women and children were burned or died of suffocation inside the Ghost Cave and about 2,000 people including the followers of Liu Shanbang were killed in and around "Mau San" by the White Rajah Sir James Brooke's force.

There were already a few hundred Chinese miners and their families who had established themselves at Mau Sail (Bau Lama) under the leadership of Liu Shanbang. The Chinese settlement at Mau San (Bau Lama) started between 1820-1830 when the antimony and gold discovery was made known to the Chinese in Sambas, Indonesia, The Chinese miners came over to Mau San through Pangkalan Tebang. They started to exploit the antimony at Paku and Jambusan areas and gold in and around Mau San area. Some of them planted padi, corns and potatoes around the mining areas in addition to their mining activities.




Rows of shop houses made of Atap, Kajang and timber were constructed on both sides of Jalan Bau Lama and residential houses were also put up by the miners in and around the vicinity of Mau San. In early 1850, Bau Kongsi enjoyed a period of prosperity. There were at least 4,000 Chinese in Mau San, By then, gold and antimony mining were not only operating at Man San area, but they had this activity extended to Paku, Bidi, Takon and Jambusan areas. Besides the sundry shops, traditional teashops and lodging houses were also operated at Mau San for the convenience of travelers from Kuching and Sambas. After the Opium War and signing of die Treaty of Nanking in 1842, the sale of opium to the Chinese was no longer under control. Rajah James Brooke allowed free import of opium in order to earn extra revenue. Opium smoking was therefore legal at that time. Opium smoking shops were common within the commercial area.

Bau is one of the oldest and, perhaps, the richest (in term of mineral resources) districts in Sarawak. In the olden days, Bau was not only a well-known mining district in Sarawak, but also of great political importance. Since its establishment in about 1820, major events had occurred.




Tasik Biru in the olden days.......

Many Chinese came to work for gold and many went back to China with me wealth they acquired. In 1850, Mau San was quite a sizeable bazaar with over 100 shop houses and many residential houses.


Tasik Biru Gold Mine .


Chinese Miners in 1823.

The Chinese worked on the alluvium at the foot of the hills; much harder work but probably more rewarding. The Malays and the Land Dayaks preferred to work in the crevices of the limestone hills or from the beds of the rivers by panning. Both were relatively simple but less rewarding.



Bidayuh (local tribe) barter trading in 1823....duit?, apa duit kamek tak terima duit!!!


Looking at the 2 pictures reminds me that a few of my colleagues was born in Bau and could this be their forefathers ?................



THE BIG FIRE 1978

In spite of the steady development and improvement made by the Government in and around Ban Town, the town again faced another fire tragedy. On 24.9.1978 at about 3.30 a.m., Bau Town was on fire again. This was the fourth time in the history of Bau that the bazaar was razed to the ground. The Fire Brigade rushed to the scene within 10 minutes; by then fire was seen on the roofs of 3 shop-houses .








There was a strong wind and in view of the fact that all the shop-houses which were made of wooden materials in 1950, the conflagration spread very fast to both ends of the row of shop-houses. Due to the explosions of gas, kerosene, ammunitions and falling debris, the fire grew more violent and within minutes, the opposite row of shop-houses was also on fire. 1, Three fire engines and 14 men from Kuching, Municipal Council (KMC) only arrived at the scene at 5.00 a.m. By that time, most of the 69 wooden shops at Jalan Datuk Salau had been destroyed beyond recognition. The water pressure from the gravity feed supply was not powerful enough to put off the fire effectively. Fortunately, there was a sudden change of the direction of wind after 5.00 a.m. With the additional manpower (from KMC Fire Brigade) and tile use of the water from the nearby pools, the ESSO Petrol Station and a row of the remaining 6 wooden shop-houses at Jalan Ong Guan Cheng were saved. At about 5.30 a.m. all the 69 shop-houses became ashes. There was no casualty except about 900 people were made homeless.



THE BIG FLOOD 1963

The year 1963 was an eventful and historical year for Bau. It was one of the districts in Sarawak with the majority of the people who supported the formation of Malaysia. When Gobold Commission visited Bau in order to determine the wishes of the people to join Malaysia, anti-Malaysia posters were seen on both sides of the road from Kuching to Ban and Bau Town itself. On 16.9.1963, Sarawak achieved independence within Malaysia and Bau people had obviously played an important role in it.

On the other hand, the year 1963 was one of the worst tragic years which Bau had experienced. The big flood which occurred at the end of January, 1963 had taken two human lives. 115 houses were completely washed away and 51 houses including the Home under the Management of Bau District Relief Committee and Public Works Department (PWD) Local Camp were badly damaged.Bau Bazaar was flooded up to 10 feet high and the Police Station was 4 feet under water. Due to the heavy rain and the rising flood water, Bau was totally cut off from other areas and even telephone contact was cut off .

A total of 815 destitute families were given financial and food assistance. National Flood Relief and Rehabilitation Committee gave $14,050.00 to Bau district to assist the flood victims and free fertilizers were given to 364 pepper farmers to assist them to replant their pepper.


Big Flood in 1963 and until till today floods still occurred at a minor scale.


There is an interesting story in connection with 1963 flood. The flood had not only hit Bau but most of the areas in the 1st Division(Kuching Division). According to an old woman who went into a trance at Lim Hua San Temple at Tabuan Road, Kuching on 10.3.1963, the Sarawak Museum which held captives of a red-headed tortoise was to be blamed. The tortoise was believed to be 'The Daughter of Sea Dragon King," If she was not released, the woman said that the flood would one day rise as high as the Museum building to enable the tortoise to escape from the wooden tub where it was kept for public exhibition. Upon the request of Tan Sri Datuk Ong Kee Hui, Mr Tom Harrison, the then Curator of Sarawak Museum released the tortoise at Muara Tebas on 14.3.1963 during a religious ceremony. True enough, after tlie release of "The Daugliter of Sea Dragon King", the flood subsided.



THE BUS TRAGEDY 1979

On 7.6.1979 at about 12.50 p.m. a tragedy again struck Bau. A bus belonging to the Bau Transport Company with 67 passengers plunged into the scenic Tasik Biru. 29 pupils and 1 trainee teacher were drowned. .Only 37 pupils, the driver and the conductor were rescued. Ban District Goodwill Committee under the chairmanship of District Officer, Encik Geoffrey Usa Baling convened an emergency meeting to organise relief assistance. The Committee received donations totaling $66,282.80 and the money was paid to the bereaved families.









BAU AND TASIK BIRU TODAY


Entering Bau Town...a 45min ride away from Kuching city.


The Limestone Hill where several caves are located namely, fairy cave,wind cave and jambusan cave . Recently , a family was strucked by lightning there...freak but sad incident!!

Tasik Biru ......Caution!!.. this lake is said to contain arsenic ,therefore no swimming or eat what you fished out here. Remember the "Daughter of the Sea Dragon King", maybe in another few years from now you might sight her as the "Mutant Ninja Turtle" heh?!!.

By the way , take a dip...who knows you might Gold and get rich , as they say ....No risks no gain right?!!



On the contrary, besides being arsenic it does have a scenic view.


Calm and Soothing .


I believe in depth it could be around or over 500 feet hell , noody knows..........


With regards to the many incidents of drownings and strange things that happened here , this lake does absorbs many misteries and tragedies.....Bad Omen!!



Old and New township of Bau.


Looking back at all the histories of Bau and Tasik Biru and despites her mystical stories we heard and the tragedies she had suffered until today , she bares no hallmarks of becoming a "Ghost Town" . My last recent trip to Bau wasn't intentional and infact , I was on a job assignment that I decided to drop by this town on the way back to Kuching .

I was fascinated by how much it has changed and still there are some traces of the past still bestowed in her. When I was young I used to swim in this very lake and not knowing much about the frequent drowning tragedies and bad taboos . I guessed fate takes its sit when and whenever it wants in this town.

I can foresee this town will continue to grow eventhough the gold is no longer being mined but its still has its caves , hot spring and great lake to mystify curious outdoor enthusiast and perhaps by ending their trip with a great dish of "sua to bak" (wild boar meat) to entice their palate.

So next time if you have the opportunity , make a visit and perhaps you might see a few mutants crawling up the lake...hehhehheh!!!