11-Oct-2020
Today on our riverside travels, we happened upon a little shrine that we'd previously been completely unaware of:
It's dedicated to Mazu, who protects sailors, fisherfolk, and travellers.
She is accompanied by Qianliyan and Shunfenger, demons who had previously asked to marry her, but been unable to defeat her in the martial arts combat she set as a precondition. So they vowed instead to stay faithfully by her side as her guardians.
From here you get views of the fishing fleet that are rather different from our usual ones:
We also got to see some more terns. We spot them out and about on the river from time to time, but today there was quite a flock. Unfortunately, none of them was really up for posing:
While we're on the subject of the riverside, here are some landmarks that we've passed countless times, but never really looked at in detail.
The first is the Chinese pavilion. I can't find much information about this, apart from the observation that it was at some point "dismantled from its original location in front of the old courthouse, restored and transported to its present site".
Its little figures are exquisite:
Also on the waterfront is the Celebration of Sarawak sculpture by Ramlan Abdullah:
Life would be so much duller without a river...