21-May-2025
I've always liked Sibu. It's not a particularly pedestrian-friendly place, but there's always plenty to photograph.
We started the day at the truly enormous market:
Here you can get a nice little breakfast for two (sticky rice roasted in banana leaves; karipap; roti jala pandan; plus tea) for just over GBP 1 all in. And, of course, you can also take the measure of all manner of (to us) unidentifiable produce.
After that, we moved on to the Tua Pek Kong temple. It's over 100 years old, and survived the big fire of 1928 and the Japanese occupation. Allied bombardment in 1945 caused considerable damage, but the deity was unharmed, and eventually the repairs and renovations were completed:
On previous visits, we'd never climbed the impressive pagoda (built in the late 1980s), but it's definitely a worthwhile thing to do. (Just ask for the key at the counter in the temple.) Not only do you get great views from the top, but you also see some interesting objects on the way up:
Aside from these big draw cards, there's plenty more to see as you trot around:
All in all, I'd call that a good day.