[ Tuesday, August 2, 2005 ]
Me and FI left her house in the morning and went to KLIA via KLIA Transit.. Got onboard an AirAsia flight to Kuching.. I was expecting hour-long delays but the plane took off right on time.. FI and I bought a cup of instant noodles for RM6 :P The air pressure differences were unbearable to my ears.. Even after we landed, it took me hours to get used to it..
H picked us up from the airport and brought us straight to Dewan Suarah to get a bird's eye view of the city, only to find it closed :P At night, J joined us and we went to Kuching Festival Fair.. Dinner : deer burger, camel burger, ostrich burger, buffalo burger, pandan chicken, glutinous rice, fried ice-cream, cotton candy, pearl milk bubble tea, chick peas a.k.a. 'horsies'.. All washed down by a refreshing coconut drink.. H bought us balloons with cute small 'poodles' on top, but mine flew into the sky while we were eating :(
[ Wednesday, August 3, 2005 ]
H and his parents treated us to laksa Sarawak, with huge prawns, for breakfast.. His parents and grandma are really cool.. While H was away on a dental appointment, J chaperoned us along the famed waterfront.. Well, actually we both walked the whole length of closed shophouses along Main Bazaar before J met up with us.. Apparently we were too early.. So J drove us around Southern Kuching and went to Dewan Suarah, which - you guessed it - was still closed :P
Once the Main Bazaar was opened, we bought a heck of a lot of stuff.. Well at least I did.. I blew off almost RM100 on T-shirts alone before realizing I had overshot my budget.. yikes.. We walked around town, seeing a mosque right in the middle of a shophouse cluster, plus many colonial buildings from Brooke's era.. The afternoon sun was blazing hot that towards the end, all the tourist spots passed me by in a blur.. We ate a huge lunch at Elephant Cafe, where J got himself a parking ticket :P Then we went to Dewan Suarah again and I guess 3rd time's the charm.. You could see Mount Santubong from the lookout point, plus the odd skyscrapers amongst acres of low-rises..
Later, we visited the infamous Cat Museum which showcases everything you can ever imagine about cats.. From cat breeds to cat food to cat idioms to Cat Burglar to Hello Kitty, it's mind boggling to think that even the slightest instances of anything feline in it is worth showcasing in the museum.. FI bought a cute mini dining set, complete with a mini rocking chair..
Late in the afternoon, we went onboard a sunset river cruise, but unfortunately it rained heavily as soon as the engine started :P So basically we didn't get a great sunset view as we imagined.. There were food and drinks onboard, but the canopy wasn't large enough to shield everyone from the rain, so all of us, locals and foreigners alike, scurried all over the deck, trying to keep ourselves dry.. LOL :P Towards the end of the 90-minute cruise, there was a performance of traditional dances (done by the same people who served our food) :P
Had dinner with H's family at Topspot, an open-air food court with a myriad of seafood restaurants to choose from.. We ate midin (a specialty dish of Sarawakian young fern), curry fish, butter prawns and lots of crabs.. After gorging on all the seafood, I felt my waistband contract :P
[ Thursday, August 4, 2005 ]
Had delicious mi kolok (Sarawakian beef noodles) for breakfast.. Later, we went to Damai beach which was really beautiful, before going to Sarawak Cultural Village.. All (non-Sarawakian) visitors were given mock passports to be stamped at each of the 7 ethnic houses.. We tried out the Melanau 'alu-alu' dance, in which FI successfully completed 'Level 4' of this move-slow-and-get-your-feet-stuck-in-between-bamboo-sticks dance..
The most unforgettable experiences include having a half-naked Orang Ulu 'playfully' leaning against my shoulder while we were taking pictures.. And during the 45-minute cultural performance, in one of the dances, a native was aiming his blowpipe straight at me! At first, I found it a bit funny, but when he took a couple of steps towards me, I was starting to freak out.. Yikes! Luckily he just let me off the hook and didn't ask me to go onstage.. phew..
Lunch : Ayam pansuh (chicken cooked in bamboo), kuih jala (crispy, fine brown, net-like, traditional biscuit).. H later brought us to see the State Library.. Dinner was a huge feast of steamboat, joined by our friend CY.. Apparently, he's teaching too, so it was fun exchanging stories with him :)
Oh, later that night, FI and I successfully completed our mission ;)
[ Friday, August 5, 2005 ]
Said goodbye to H's grandma and she gave us heartfelt souvenirs :) Breakfast was rojak pasembor.. After some last minute shopping at the Main Bazaar, H and J left us off at the Kuching airport.. We boarded our AirAsia flight to KLIA and surprisingly arrived 10 minutes earlier than scheduled.. How incredible is that? Oh, and the flight was still painful to my ears :P
Thanks to the wonderful people who made my Sarawak trip wonderful.. You guys are the best! :)
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NHA at 4:59 PM ::
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