YowCH & Grace

This is the second page of our Kuching Trip, page 1 is here.

17 Oct 2012

Mr Tan drove us on a Proton Saga from Annah Rais to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre to see the orangutans in a natural setting. Feeding time was 09:00 and we arrived just on time at about 09.15. However, it was pouring and we saw only 4 orangutans.

After that, we returned to the hotel to offload the luggage and went for lunch at Jalan Nanas. Mr Tan had beef noodles, while we ate kolomee (Kuching specialty) and Sarawak laksa. We also ordered Teh Si Special, 3 layers with attap sugar (similar to coconut sugar, but slightly different fragrance).

We visited Kraftangan Malaysia, the national handicraft training workshop. There were woodwork, batik and woven bag making.

By 14:00, we reached Damai for the Sarawak Cultural Village where we can see the various styles of houses of the various peoples of Sarawak (Chinese, Malay, Melanau, Orang-ulu, Penan, Iban and Bidayuh).




We saw some ladies making kueh in the Malay House.





We bought some sago cake at the Melanau Tall House.


This guy in the Orang-Ulu House is making “sape” (sap-pay), a local guitar instrument.




The Penan are nomadic people, they live in very simple huts.

The Iban House has music instruments, weapons and weavings.




WE are most familiar with teh Bidayuh House (our homestay was Bidayuh), there are replicas of skulls collected by the Bidayuh.



We then watched the cultural dances from 16:00 to 16:45, before leaving the village.

By 18:00 we reached the hotel and here is a view of Kuching at twilight.

We walked out along Jalan Padungan for looking for dinner, and found kolomee, laksa and curry noodle in the corner shop, nearest to the Great Cat of Kuching.



This is the Great Cat of Kuching, at the start of Jalan Padungan, facing a huge roundabout. By the way, there are many roundabouts in Kuching, and very large ones, too, which you can see on Google Maps.

18 Oct 2012

This is the last day in Kuching. We skipped hotel food and had Moslem Indian breakfast across the road instead.


Here’s a view of Ariva Gateway Hotel, and Topspot hawker centre is in the foreground (green walls).

We walked to the Waterfront and enjoyed the river views.

We bought some souvenirs at the Tourist Bazaar and kuih lapis (Sarawak Layer Cake) at some shop houses along Jalan Main Bazaar.

Then we paid the boatman RM10.00 for 5 of us from the Bazaar to Khatulistiwa Cafe (normal fare is 50sen per head to cross the river).

This map shows our city walks, click for larger map. The orange line is the Waterfront walk with boat ride, and the pink line is the walk along Jalan Padungan.

We left the hotel at 11:30 and had lunch at airport KFC while waiting to board the plane.

We landed in Singapore at 15:20, 10mins ahead of schedule and dad drove us back, reachng home at 16:30. Here are the goodies we bought, including the 1L bottle (RM50) of honey-herbal liquour brewed by Edward and matured for 20 years.

We thank God for a great holiday, powerful hiking in a real jungle, fantastic experience in the longhouse and to be able to enjoy the other side of Malaysia (East). Esther and David were great in handling the hikes and helping with cooking or packing, and Joseph, about 5 weeks shy of 4-years-old, has the strength and endurance to tackle such challenging trails and climbs. We also thank God for giving us good health, stamina and keeping us safe from injuries (nothing other than some scratches, but Esther had to endure a sty in her eye).

We recommend this trip to all interested in small city tour, village homestay experience, jungle trekking with outdoors adventures and nature-lovers. Perhaps 3 days in the jungle would be better.
References: Annah Rais site.

We learned that it is good to bring “dri-fit” or polyester clothes as they dry faster and doesn’t stick to your body after soaking in the river.

This trip costs about $2200.00 for the 5 of us, including budget-air tickets, hotel, homestay, food, entry-fees, tips and souvenirs.

Back to page 1.

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