Hits and Misses in Laidback Kuching

Kuching's Jalan India. This photo only courtesy of jpatokal.

Kuching, Borneo -Malaysia's wettest city, the "Cat City"; the capital city of the Sarawak State, is located in the island of Borneo. It is 1 hour and 45 minutes (by plane) from KL. I started my day rather leisurely. I wanted my last leg of travels to be relaxing, but it is hard to relax when the sun is harsh and perspiration bathes me at every block that I walk.

Kuching - for a tourist city - doesn't know exactly what to do with their tourists. There is no adequate public utility transportation. Sure they say there is a shuttle but you have to be patient to wait for one. Taxis charge astronomical fares. In this part of Malaysia, these idiots ( I refer to all taxi drivers the world over as "greedy idiots" ) never use meter. Imagine my taxi fare from the airport is 26 ringgit, then when I booked for my ride back to the airport, it has escalated to 35 ringgit! Were not even talking about a limousine car, but small cars I can probably lift with both my arms. Gosh, my cars back home are thrice their size and i'm not even being sarcastic! The point being, rates for tourists are inexplicably horrendous, I was shaking my head from dusk til dawn! LOL

Are you a budget backpacker who loves to roam around? Then this place isn't for you, honey! The city is lovely but you'd find yourself a very limited area to roam. Imagine how much they are charging me if I were to visit the Cat Museum (this is the Cat City, didn't I mention?) up Siol Hill which is just 10-15 minutes by car - 60 ringgit! We aren't talking about me visiting Paris' Louvre! Duh!

There are more than half a dozen museums in the city; the biggest and more important one - the Sarawak Museum aka Ethnology Museum - prides itself as being the "best in southeast asia" which I would beg to disagree. Let me just namedrop Jakarta's National Museum for this!

I love the riverside though, which they call Waterfront. You could see the Astana (Palace) from across Sarawak River; the State Parliament gleaming its gilded roof, and the dreamily "romantic" (read its history) Fort Margherita. I took a tambang (boat) - at 1 ringgit - to cross the river and walked to the Fort which was amazing. It is my favorite part of Kuching, to be honest.

I winded my day watching a Malaysian Film, "Evolusi: KL Drift 2" which was derivative at best, with horrible digital tech visuals. Aaron Aziz is a baddie here, I saw him in another film ("Pisau Cucur" or "Gold Diggers" where he played a James Bond-like character) just last November in KL.

Day in and day out, I was looking for local cuisine suggested by travel and tourist sites. They were always not available, especially "Midin". The ones I caught - the Kolo Mee - could very well be missed. Our Lucky Me instant noodles back home taste better. So much for gastronomic delights.

I went up the Station Mall, at the 9th floor, and saw Kuching from the top. Beautiful! Buildings rising over foliage, the Sarawak River snaking languidly all over the city. It is awe-inspiring from up above!

Kuching's Riverside. This photo only courtesy of www.ibanorum.netfirms.com.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Idiots in Sri Lankan Air Asia and Arrival in Kuching, Borneo

Kuching skyline. This photo only courtesy of henrytanck.

Kuching, Sarawak -Colombo seemed weeks away, but it was really all in a day's rumination! From Negombo, my three-wheeler (their prefered "term" for the bajaj) driver Roshan was already waiting for me in front of Hotel Silver Sands by 5:45AM. The trip to the airport took 25 minutes, and the morning air smelled fresh. By 6:30AM, I was wading through the chaos in front of Bandaranaike International Airport! Huge crowds were waiting to get in.

As I was checking in for my Air Asia flight, the counter guy asked for my Malaysian Visa! He handed me back my passport and prodded, "Show me!" The idiot needs to be taken back to Travel 101 school! How can he man a counter when he doesn't know that a Filipino like me travels visa-free all over Asia? I told him so and it took a while to register. Then he turns to a colleague who confirms this. Idiots like him shouldn't be employed by Air Asia! Besides, it was so easy to verify this - just read through my passport, in the last 2 years, I have had soooooo many Malaysian stamps, my last 4 months should have a dozen of them!
Air Asia does employ idiots!

Flight back to KL was unremarkable, except that I was sandwiched by nice Sri Lankans. The guy works in Singapore (and has been all over the US, for IBM), while the Sri Lankan girl with a Canadian passport is just visiting Malaysia for 2 weeks and Sri Lanka for 4 weeks. Three and 1/2 hours later, I was back in LCCT in Kuala Lumpur!

I was dying for chicken so i tried McDonald's 2-piece chicken (@ 12.35 ringgit). Didn't like their chicken. There was a tangy taste to it. God, I wished I had KFC instead. After my meal, it was time to check in again for my onward flight to Kuching!
Kuching is the premiere city in the state of Sarawak, which sits in the island of Borneo southeast of KL. It is far! A good 1 hour and 45 minutes plane ride from KL!

Kuching International Airport looked new and sophisticated! The night lights reflected hotel ambiance more than an airport. I was expecting my airport pickup which was running 15 minutes late! I took a prepaid taxi to Saramo Hotel along Abell Road - at 26 ringgit - then learned that my pickup eventually came. Good thing, the taxi service refunded my money minus 3 ringgit for the service. The ride to the hotel took 20 minutes, and I was treated to hair-raising music by Aegis ("Halik"), Banyuhay, et. al. They actually listened to these craps, thinking I'd be delighted to listen to them from my weary travels. Am sorry but I was just too tired to be civil, so I shut up! They were just being hospitable.

Saramo Hotel is located right in the city center, just beside Air Asia office. At half past 8, the place looked dark and remote. After my hotel check in, I wandered around and looked for an internet cafe, which was nowhere near! I belatedly realized that Internet Service in this area is limited to the one at the Riverside Shop. I went to some malls and even tried to buy a Japanese DVD -19 ringgit a piece - but after several tries with 5 - yes, FIVE - of my credit cards, nothing worked! What a bummer! I didn't want to use my cash on DVD's, so I didn't buy them!

I went to the beautiful waterfront and saw the sights along the way, including the State Parliament, the Astana ("palace") right across the river; then walked along the dark Carpenter Street, which was their Chinatown. No internet cafes here. This was an experience though - walking at 9PM in eerily dark avenues. I call it night time tourism. ;->

Then I called it a day! One restful slumber in Kuching!

Kuching mosque. This photo only courtesy of travelpod's koppers.

Kuching Post Office. It felt surreal seeing this place all deserted at night. No passersby, except for a few stray cats! This photo only courtesy of www.ibanorum.netfirms.com.

This is the Eye in the Sky!