About Sarawak
Sarawak is an endless store of surprises and contradictions for every traveller. The landscape and mythology appear eternal and unchanging, since time immemorial, and yet Sarawak itself is undergoing unprecedented development. It is characterized by its wildness and abundant nature and yet is in the midst of industrialization. It is proudly multi-cultural and yet each cultural group maintains its distinct traditions and practices with fierce loyalty and racial differences are obvious, defended and accepted. It boasts great bio-diversity and yet plants acres of oil palm. It preserves human connection and community while enthusiastically embracing technology. It has played almost no part in world events and yet has deeply shaped the lives of all who find their way here and the world in its own way. Visitors to Sarawak often return here year after year, describing the feeling as coming home. The complexities are endless.
READ MORE Geologically speaking, Borneo is a delta – a collection of debris and matter dragged and deposited here by surrounding currents. It is sandwiched between the Wallace line – the faunal boundary line that marks the transition between the ecozones of Australia and Asia, named for the famed naturalist who spent so much time in Sarawak – and the South China Seas – through which, even today, a third of all the world’s maritime traffic passes. It sits on the edge of the known world, standing separate from even the rest of Malaysia, yet is the centre of its own universe, comfortably embedded in its own space. Charles Darwin famously described the island of Borneo as “one great wild untidy luxuriant hothouse made by nature for herself.” Sarawak holds one of the oldest and most bio-diverse rainforests on earth yet still so much is unknown. Landmark species abound and new species are continually being discovered (52 in 2006) just as the rainforest disappears around them for development. Documentation and discovery of indigenous knowledge of the rainforest continues daily, just as these communities embrace modernity. Undiscovered and yet often visited, Sarawak has drawn in travellers, traders, botanists, explorers, settlers, adventurers, artists, anthropologists and colonists like a magnet over more than a millennium, both seeking and establishing its diverse nature, culture and civilization. From the early Austronesians and travellers to Santubong in the 7th Century, Sarawak has been hotly contested and highly sought after – successively under Srivajaya, Majapahit, Brunei, Sambas, the Brookes and Britain before finally forming modern Malaysia. This has created a state with numerous indigenous groups, each with their own culture and cosmology, a state where all religions are represented and practiced, living together, learning from each other and finding a common path. But modern Sarawak also feels like a place that is still under construction. Great heaps of sand and gravel sit on roadsides, tall trees come down and new structures spring up with alarming speed. Change is everywhere and the pace is astonishing, screaming round every corner with equal measures of joy and horror. For every traveller that seeks the old Borneo, they better get here fast before it is all gone. For everyone else, a visit to Sarawak is a chance to see a new world in the making. Unplug and unwind or tap into a new adventure in either nature or culture; Sarawak offers an endless store of surprises. CLOSE
Issue Profile
This launch issue of Cerava aims to bring you a bit of everything. For this, we want to introduce you to our kind of content and also to the way that we see Sarawak, as a contemporary and vibrant destination that blends its traditions and culture with a modern world of creativity and invention.
READ MORE Every two months, we will cycle through a series of exciting stories – feature articles, event profiles, personal profiles, travel write-ups, nature and conservation articles and blogs on culture, history and urban development. In addition, we will be updating our reviews and listings on food, entertainment, attractions and accommodation, giving you the complete picture on what Sarawak has to offer. We aim to build into the ultimate resource for long-term trip planning, occasional get-aways and even the odd night out. Follow us on social media to make sure you are constantly updated. But for now, enjoy this issue. You only get one chance to experience something for the first time! CLOSE
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Tel: 016 850 5743
Email: info@ceravasarawak.com
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About Cerava
CERAVA provides the ultimate access to Borneo for the independent traveller – either overseas visitor or homegrown tourist – seeking a unique blend of adventure, nature and culture. Based in Sarawak – an undiscovered country compared to its well-known tourism neighbour and fellow Malaysian state of Sabah – it will bring you a glimpse into an authentic Borneo experience, centred on the real lives of the real people who live here.
Through fabulous feature articles, delving into the diversity of heritage, culture, environment, history, events, festivals and lifestyles of the island, alongside up-to date reviews and recommendations created exclusively by Borneo-based researchers, Cerava is the ideal resource for the resourceful traveller to a destination off the beaten package-tour track.
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Each issue will feature Sarawak stars – experts in their field from conservation to communication – ensuring the multiplicity of voices and viewpoints that make up this distinct part of the modern Malaysian melting pot. We want to bring you the real Borneo: where ancient longhouse communities have smartphones – albeit with intermittent coverage – attempting to balance a desire for development with the preservation of their traditions; where centuries of conservation practice by the indigenous people are either being redefined, updated or increasingly rediscovered through their incredible connection to the flora and fauna; where skyscrapers and shopping centres jostle for position with old-style shophouses and Brooke-era buildings; where young Sarawakians are taking their unique Borneo-bred identity and moulding it into a brave, new world of art, culture, economy and self-expression.
Whether you are an eco-tourist or an adventure-seeker, a devotee of heritage or a modern nomad, Cerava is your jumping off point for the most exciting island on the planet. Learn from the locals what we have to offer, helping you to navigate this strange, wild, inviting place we call home. Taking you from tours to attractions to accommodation and food and entertainment, Cerava will help you immerse yourself in a place which has welcomed visitors for centuries while somehow still remaining untouched and undiscovered. Cerava welcomes you to Sarawak.
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