There’s a “bank” in town that is open for business even on Sundays, and are the busiest on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, where most of the users are depositing small amount of money starting from RM1.10 to RM11, and a handful of them would bank in RM55, and up to RM110.

Those handful of users might had gone to the temple, or a fortune teller, or had a wet dream the other night.

Lottery betting is one of the biggest and most profitable business in Malaysia, as it is the ONLY form of legal betting apart from going up the hills to Genting Casino. Any other forms of betting activities will get you prosecuted.

Have you ever been to Kuala Lumpur? The Berjaya Times Square? Ya, the place where you shop for fashion clothes, and go for a IMAX 3D movie? The place where people countdown during the new year’s eve? Yeah, that place lorrr…

Well, you have to thank yourself for being one of the contributors to the funds of the building, because of your daily deposits to the Berjaya Group’s Sports Toto. They’re one of the largest and most profitable companies in Malaysia dealing with resorts, real estate, retailing, 7-Elevens, Cosway, education, and basically whatever you can think of…

They are the peoples waiting for fortune to happen, while the “bank” thanks them for all the fortune.

They’re also the ONLY bank in town that tells everyone how much money the users had deposited into the bank. Thanks to their jackpot system.

Now that you’ve read this post, go and bank in RM1.10 tomorrow for ’9555′. I wish you good luck!

Taking the Kuching riverside boat ride is one of the must-do things for tourists visiting the city.

Many took the boat to visit the Fort Margherita opposite the river, now there’s the new Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Parliament Assembly hall) to add to the hot spots.

Mary and I took the boat ride but we didn’t go to the Fort nor the DUN, we’ve stayed on the boat and discovered something else – The life of the boatmen.

Hello Boatmen!

Cruisin’ on the Kuching river.

Overlooking the new DUN and the Kuching City riverside skyline.

Reaching the opposite river bank for dispatch of human cargo.

Curiosity kills the cat.

Muslim prayers. Offering some real sense of security for the boatmen on the river.

The source of life – Water.

The thermo flask to store hot water for his daily meals.

A biscuit tin.

A couple of kerosene lamp to light up the small boat throughout the night.

A brand new motor to power the boat.

Now that’s the kind of life you’ll come to expect if you’re a boatmen on the Kuching river.

How is your life?

Dear Stephen Then,

Thank you for your report on the Kuala Baram haze issue. But Kuala Baram is part of Miri City, Sarawak, not Sabah.

Please kindly amend your geography knowledge. Thank you.

Yours truly,
Alex Allied.

Wah Tat Bank was the oldest bank in Sibu. Founded by Chew Geok Ling and his business partner, Teo Chong Loh. The business started with Wah Tat Money Exchange and Remittances which was the forerunner of Wah Tat Bank.

In 2001, Wah Tat Bank merged with Hong Leong Bank to form the Hong Leong Bank Berhad that you see today.

The now defunct Sibu Wah Tat Bank building. Shot taken from the Sibu Tua Pek Kong temple’s pagoda. Click for larger view.

Mary and I were researching on HDR photography for quite a while now, and we finally took the initiative to have a go at it with Sibu town as the subject. It’s been pretty hot and sunny this few days, not a very good weather for photographing, but Mary brought over her dad’s infrared camera and this kind of weather is just perfect for infrared photography.

Let’s start off with some of our virgin works of HDR photos.

Sibu Old Town. The building with a green oval-shaped roof is the Sibu’s Hawker Centre, the biggest of its kind in Sarawak (or Malaysia?). Most of the shops here were built around the 1950s, surviving the World war II. Taken from the Sibu Tua Pek Kong temple’s pagoda.