River of Garbage in Asia

I don't know about you but I cannot see the river. I see photos of river full of rubbish or garbage. The mentioned rivers are Citarum River of Indonesia and Pasig River of the Philippines. The rivers are basically dead and it will takes decades to restore life into the river, if there is effort made on it. Luckily of us in Borneo, we haven't see a chronic state of our rivers.


See the bridge, you can imagine how wide the river is. Now all covered with garbage. Location: Citarum River in Indonesia [Photo source]


A squatter colony next to the river of flowing garbage, not water. Location: Citarum River in Indonesia [Photo source]


A man picking up a bottle for recycling. Make money from garbage. Location: Citarum River in Indonesia . [Photo source]


Two men going through pile of recyclable junks floating on the river. Location: Citarum River in Indonesia. [Photo source]



Free thrown-away toys. A boy standing next to river of garbage, probably eying for broken toys among the rubbish. Location: Pasig River in the Philippines. [Photo source]



A local boy posing in front of the river of garbage. Location: Pasig River in the Philippines. [Photo source]

Related posts:
* Added July 30, 2009: Sarawak Rivers Board (Lembaga Sungai-Sungai Sarawak)


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Photos of Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon

This page is reserved for a photo gallery of the Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2009, held from Mar 19 until Mar 22, 2009 at Putrajaya.




Reuters - Peacock in Putrajaya sky.


Reuters - Elephant and other hot air balloon over Cyberjaya skies.


Photo: gotravelplace.com


By zainabdullah.wordpress.com - Mug-shaped hot air balloon from New Zealand Team


By zainabdullah.wordpress.com - Clown-faced hot air balloon from Belgium at Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta


By AhmadPi - Close up photo of the clown-faced hot air balloon at Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta



By TimeOutKL - Pink elephant hot air balloon at Putrajaya


By submerryn.blogspot.com - hot air balloon with Putrajaya Precinct 2 at the background.

Video


Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2009

Links
* Zain's Pix - Hot Air Balloons in Putrajaya
* Submerryn - 1st Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2009
* Ahmad Pi - Hot Air Balloon @ Putrajaya
* TimeOutKL - Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon Fiesta




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Tropical butterfly - Series #9

A photo of tropical butterfly resting on piece of wood. The spots on the wings look like white flames.



Related posts:
* Tropical cream butterfly - Series #8 (Pieridae or Riodinidae family)
* Tropical butterfly - Ptychandra Lorquini
* Tropical Butterfly - Orange butterfly
* Black butterfly, Yellow Ixora
* Tropical Butterfly - Junonia Orithya Madagascariensis - Eyed Pansy - Blue Pansy
* Tropical Moths and Butterflies, Series #3
* Moths and Butterflies, Series #2

Python Reticulatus photo

Python Reticulatus is a species of python found in Southeast Asia, including Borneo. Adults grow to a maximum of over 28 feet (8.7 m) in length and are the world's longest snakes, but are not the most heavily built. Like all pythons, Python Reticulatus are non-venomous constrictors and normally not considered dangerous to man, even though large specimens are powerful enough to kill an adult and attacks are occasionally reported.

An excellent swimmer, Python reticulatus has even been reported far out at sea and has consequently colonized many small islands within its range. The specific name is Latin meaning net-like, or reticulated, and is a reference to the complex color pattern.



The above Python Reticulatus was caught by someone and kept in a cage. I'm very sure that the snake was reserved for a cooking pot at nearby restaurant. See also, Nabau, Borneo giant snake

The irony is that, the cage was kept at the back of the Bako National Park office located at the Boat Point, Kpg Bako. Thus, the suspect is likely to be employee or staff of the National Park and any animal at the National Park protected or otherwise, are suppose not be killed, harmed or trapped.

Related posts:
* Sunset photo of Telok Assam, Bako National Park, Sarawak
* Telok Assam, Bako National Park, Sarawak
* Proboscis monkey - Nasalis larvatus at Bako National Park

Bidayuh Pesta Birumuh - Drying Padi

During padi harvesting, after the rice stalks are threshed, the padi grains are dried under the hot tropical sun. Once the padi grains are dried, it then can be send to the rice miller for processing.


Padi dried on canvas. In the old days, padi are dried on a Bidayuh mat called "kasah" which is made of slitted rattan and tree barks. The kasah is then laid on a traditional Bidayuh bamboo platform called "tanju"




Closer shot of paid grains.


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Bidayuh Pesta Birumuh - Padi harvesting - Ngutum

When most of the padi have ripen, it time for harvesting. The Bidayuh called harvesting as "Ngutum" or "Ngutuom". And this time is actually very hectic because the farmers are rushing to harvest as much as they can before the rain comes and also to beat the birds to the padi.


You sure get sun-tanned very fast during padi harvesting.


Little boy helping with the padi harvesting.


Little girl helping with the padi harvesting.


Related posts:
* Pesta Birumuh - Bidayuh Rice Growing Festival

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Bidayuh Pesta Birumuh - Padi ripen stalks

Still on ripening padi topics. This time around, the padi grains are turning more yellow.


Ripening padi stalks leaning to the left.


Ripening padi stalks leaning to the right.


Macro shot of black caterpillars with white rings attached on the padi stalks. Talk about caterpillars, see more of them at Tropical caterpillars in all shapes and sizes

Related posts:
* Pesta Birumuh - Bidayuh Rice Growing Festival

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Bidayuh Pesta Birumuh - Padi Ripening

With regards to Bidayuh padi planting cycle, padi planted in October will bear fruits sometime in late January. By late March, most padi started to ripen.


Ripening padi stalks.


Over view of padi fields before harvesting.


Before harvesting season, the sky are fine on most days. This speed up the ripening process of the padi grains.


For the Bidayuh kids, with fine weather they take opportunity to play around at padi fields. These kids will sweat it out in the next few weeks to help their parents harvesting the padi.

Related posts:
* Pesta Birumuh - Bidayuh Rice Growing Festival

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Bidayuh Pesta Birumuh - Padi bearing fruits

The padi started to produce flowers just after the rainy season. Padi flowering started between January to late February.


Flowering padi.


Green young padi.


When the padi fruits are heavy, it's stalk is bending down.


Related posts:
* Pesta Birumuh - Bidayuh Rice Growing Festival

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Bidayuh Pesta Birumuh - Young padi with waterdroplets

After planting of padi seeds during nuruk, waiting for the shootlet to grow and weeding the land, there is nothing much to do on the padi farm except to watch the padi grow bigger by the day.

In addition to that, it is also a rainy season and padi farmers during this period are quite a idling lots. Rainy season usually starts from late November to end of February.

So, if you have a camera, the most logical and rewarding activity is to snap some macro shot of the padi plants. An interesting composition is to take close up shot of morning dews on the padi leave blades.


It's real. Water marbles on padi blades.


Water marbles or waterdroplets stick to the blades when the padi leave is young as the leave have plenty of tiny "furs".


Waterdroplets sticking to the padi leave blade.


More macro shot of morning dew on padi blades.


Big water marbles, tiney water marbles.


Related posts:
* Pesta Birumuh - Bidayuh Rice Growing Festival

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Bidayuh Pesta Birumuh - Weeding - Ngebu

Within a month or two, from shootlets, the padi grow stronger and taller and produce longer leave blades. The problem is that, when padi grow, so does the weeds and foreign grasses. This is because while the padi are still short, there are much opening or space between the cluster of padi for the grass to grow.

The padi farmer need to upkeep the land to prevent the weeds and grasses from stunning the padi growth. For a few weeks, the womenfolk will do the weeding to pull out those weeds and grass.

Another back breaking jobs for the womenfolk. Weeding or "Ngebu" is usually done once since after that, the padi would grower taller and compacted and leave little space in between them for any grass to grow.


Padi intersperse with other short-term crops such as maize (corn), pumpkin, highland tomatoes (Terong Dayak) and Sawi Dayak. These short-term crops were planted just after the padi planting occasion. Remember the nuruk session.



Fields of padi and weeds. Notice the weeds between the padi clusters. Those weeds need to be remove by hand to prevent the weeds from absorbing the nutrients from the grow and leave little nutrient for the padi.


Related posts:
* Pesta Birumuh - Bidayuh Rice Growing Festival


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Bidayuh Pesta Birumuh - Padi Shootlets

A few days after the padi planting or nuruk session, rain will come and this bring live to the padi seeds. In a couple of weeks, the padi shootlets will grow to about 6 inches tall. See the photos below.


A cluster of paid shootlets with morning dew waterdroplets. Beautiful !


More padi shootlets. Photo shot during morning when the sun is just above the horizon.


Padi shootlets. Wider photo shot.


Related posts:
* Pesta Birumuh - Bidayuh Rice Growing Festival

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Bidayuh Pesta Birumuh - Padi Planting - Nuruk

The traditional way of hill padi planting can be both strenuous, back-breaking and fun. After the land has been cleared and burned, and more tiding up, the farm owner will determine a date for planting. No fix system is used nowadays as padi planting has become a part-time farming hobby.

The common practice now is to do planting on weekend or public holiday as the farm owner will be able to call for more free labour (akin to mutual help). This get-together-padi-planting kind of thing is called gotong-royong. Don't be surprise if you meet a total stranger who help with the planting.

Another thing about this important day, is that the padi planting for hill padi must be done within the same day. Work must be done when everyone is around. Anyway, the planting system for hill padi is device in such as way, that menfolk will lead the planting each carrying a "turuk" or heavy stick (with sharp end) to puncture a hole (called "nuruk") on the ground and the womenfolk following from behind will throw the padi seeds into the holes.


Nuruk time. Men lead the way puncturing holes into the ground with spear-like heavy stick (called "turuk"). Try it for a solid 2 hours without glove and you'll get your hand blistered.


The padi seeds inside the basket (called "tambok") are pinched and thrown into the holes, punctured earlier by the turuk. For young people, bending like that for a couple of hours would be a real torture.


Womenfolk taking a short break. Notice the lady on the left have a tele-conversion on her cell-phone. Some Bidayuh farms, due to its proximity to Kuching city are accessible to mobile telecommunication.


A Bidayuh lady digging into the tambok for padi seeds.


Messy hole. The padi seeds landed at the rim of the hole. Must be man's work.


Neat hole. Notice all the padi seeds landed inside the hole. That's the correct way to do it because you don't want the rain water to wash away the seeds. Remember, it's hill slopes and gravity rules.


Related posts:
* Pesta Birumuh - Bidayuh Rice Growing Festival

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Bidayuh Pesta Berumuh - Land Clearing - Bertabun

During padi planting season, once the land has been cleared of big trees and thick bushes, it is burned. This is call the big fire or called "ngitugan" in Bidayuh. See also Bidayuh Pesta Birumuh - Land Clearing and Burning

However, clearing continued after the big fire when the vegetation are not fully burned. Yeah, it like half-cooked thing. Blamed it on moist leaves and unpredictable rains.


Bidayuh ladies would then collect small twigs and pull out unburned plants and lumped it together and burned them separately. It's like a lot of mini bon-fires (called "tabun" or "bertabun" in Bidayuh) in the farm and it's a lot of work. Where there is smoke, there's tabun.


Bidayuh kids also help and they like to have fun, torching the dead stumps and twigs. However, kids are not allowed to be in the burning zones for too long because it is heaty and smoky and not good for their health.

Related posts:
* Pesta Birumuh - Bidayuh Rice Growing Festival

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