Destination: Kuching.
Accommodation: Harbour View
[Meow... posing with the bronze cats of Kuching]
Almost as soon as we arrived at the hotel, we booked ourselves on a trip to visit the Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) situated in Santubong, a 45-minute drive from Kuching. On arrival, we are given a 'passport'. We visited the longhouses of the various natives of Sarawak - Iban, Melanau, Bidayuh, Penan, Orang Ulu - and traditional houses of the Chinese and Malays. At each house, we get our passport stamped. It's actually something fun for visitors to do instead of just walking and looking at the houses. We also tried 'shooting' with the blowpipe, and we watched a cultural performance.
[Sarawak Cultural Village: Some longhouses with Mount Santubong in the background]
[Having a go at the Penan Blowpipe: With a huff and a puff...]
After the SCV, we walked to Damai Beach to see the scenery and take some photos. Then we headed back to Kuching. Dinner was Sarawak Laksa and Kolo Mee (Sarawak version of the wantan mee here). We were so hungry that we dug in immediately and totally forgot to take our customary food photo! However, for the record, both were tasty.
Saturday: We did a city tour. Kuching has a 'city tram' (a bus that is made to look like a tram - not those that run on tracks) which takes tourists around the city for free. You can get on and off the tram at the various stops. We visited the museum which we found interesting.
[Sarawak Museum]
Lunch was at Hartz Chicken Buffet. Not bad, but we were actually expecting more varieties of chicken preparation...
After lunch we took the river taxi (bot tambang) to visit Fort Margherita and the Astana. In the evening we went to Church at St Joseph's Cathedral. The music was fabulous and the church was beautiful.
[Bot tambang]
[St Joseph's Cathdral, Kuching]
After Mass we proceeded to Satok to visit the Weekend market. Unfortunately it rained earlier and so some of the stalls were not open. It's something like the Pasar Malam with most stalls selling fresh produce.
Sunday: Our last morning in Kuching was spent shopping for souvenirs. In the afternoon, we began our journey back home.
[Sarawak souvenirs: Take your pick...]
Due to the lack of time, we did not manage to visit places on the outskirts of Kuching which required a full day trip or overnight stay. Those are on our list of future holidays...
10 comments:
Wow, the church looks like Sydney opera house! I had been to Kuching too. Very nice place. Big sidewalk with lots of benches everywhere.
We're glad both of you like Kuching and I think you got in all the key sections - hope that you tasted some sambal fried midin? It's a kind of paku found in the forest that you can't find in any other state in Malaysia. It's delicious!
Raph and I were married at St. Joseph's cathedral he he! Interesting structure huh?
KittyCat: Aiyah... wish we had known about the midin... we had some paku for lunch on our last day, but I don't know if it's midin...was good, though...
hehe, wow thats a lot of place you guys go for your vacation, Langkawi, Singapore and Sarawak. am glad you guys enjoy it .. cheers .. and see you on this caming thursday :-)
Angie: that must be it - was it very curly, fern green, shiny and crunchy? Never mind, we're always there for Chinese New Year so you can come by next round if you missed it!
Hi guys,
U were in Kuching!!! Did you get to try the soft shell crab burger by the waterfront? only reared in Kuching....
Oh...and did you check out the electric bell tower at St' Joseph's ? cool eh?
anyway...Kuching's a nice place hoh?
When are you coming to visit me? hehehe...
i was there too!!!! :D
st jo's choir is SUPERB!! felt like i was in some live recording studio. VERY nice. :)
ps. just wanted to inform u that i'll b including this link in my kuching post too. hope u dont mind n thanks in advence.
Soft shell crab burger is still available at The Waterfront Cafe & Restaurant, Kuching Waterfront opens daily from 8am - 11pm also available is Sarawak Laksa, Mee Kolok, Umai Ikan and many others.
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