Fort Emma (2022)

My last visit to this fort was back in 2009. By looking back at my previous photos and the current one, the fort definitely been given a huge facelift over the year.

The fort itself been refurbished with its windows and doors been replaced to reminiscent its original design. It is now serves as the town museum.

Another iconic icon nearby the fort is the mermaid statue. The colour on the statue had faded but the mermaid is still as elegant as before.

I notice some coins were placed at the based of the statue probably for good luck.

Kanowit Warriors Memorial Park

A warriors memorial park was constructed somewhere in 2018 in Kanowit to commemorate the sacrifice of the local police and army personnel who perished while defending the country during communist insurgency.

My last visit to Kanowit was in 2009 and this site used to be a basketball court just next to Fort Emma from my archive.

The name of the brave warriors are immortalized here. The monument is adorned by a hornbill statue which is synonymous to Sarawak.

SMK Sedaya Lama

SMK Sedaya Lama in Kanowit was one of the oldest government school in Sarawak. It was officiated on 26th April 1958 by Mr. D.C. White, the Sarawak Resident of the third Division.

This school has been relocated not far away from the current site and is now known as SMK Datuk Haji Abdul Rahman Yakub. With the relocation, the old school was left in disrepair.

It is sad to see how the school looks like now. Wish it could be restored to its former glory and preserved as part of the State's heritage.

This place is still a bustling place as a ferry point where people from this side of Kanowit communte across Kanowit River to the Kanowit town on the opposite bank.

Machan

Machan is a small town just about 25km away from Kanowit. Due to its close proximity with Kanowit, I decided to check out this town. Before arriving Machan, there is a oil palm statue (which also happen to be the town's symbol) at the junction leading to the town.

Before arriving the town, I came across a privately owned orchard.

There is nothing much to see at Machan except for a row of old Chinese wooden shop houses

The Pasar Tamu is located in between the shop houses which operates daily from 6-11am

Machan community hall

However, there is an unpleasant sight just across the river from the town. Logging activities seems to be active here. Illegal or not, it kind of pollute the river and its natural surrounding.

Kanowit Express Boat Terminal

River transportation still plays an important role in Sarawak and people in Kanowit areas also rely on the river in their daily routine. This what looks like a new express terminal for the town, replacing the previous one nearby the waterfront.

Inside the express boat terminal. Sarawak Rivers Board also has an office right here.

The signboard on the distance of the nearby towns (Song & Kapit) which are only accessible by boat.

The boats and express boats which are commonly found in Sarawak riverine.

Kanowit Recreational Park

Kanowit Recreation Park is probably the most prominent structure that greets visitors when they start entering the town by road.

The local council named this park as Recreational Park but it is just too small to even jog around here.

Inside the park is a dabai statue which I assume is the mascot/symbol to represent the town. At first glance, I thought it is a cocoa statue. But on second thought it just don't make any sense as cocoa is not widely grown here.

Just behind the recreational park is the town's bus station which connect Kanowit with the nearby towns of Sibu, Bintangor and Sarikei

Kanowit Market

Visiting the market and tamu in Kanowit is definitely an experience. The tamu is basically located beside the town's main market, just right below the Water Board's hill.

In the main market, there are a variety of fruits and vegetables been sold. Mostly sourced fresh from the wild. Most of the locals around this town congregate here to sell their produce.

Most of the fruits and vegetables found at the market and tamu are not widely available in the towns or cities. Some are so rare that I don't even know their names.

Rambutan is cheap and comes with thick flesh. RM3 for a bundle. I heard some of the locals here actually own the rambutan trees.

Dabai, our very own local olive. It's definitely cheaper to buy it here than Sibu. Best of all, most of them are of good quality