SIMPLY (t)RAVELLING

Kuching, The City of Cats

 

9 Dec 2011.

During the recent school holidays we took the kids for a short trip to the capital of East Malaysia state of Sarawak, which cheap tickets I managed to grabbed during the AirAsia’s Visit Malaysia promotion. The flight to Kuching was scheduled at 12.30pm, and soon we were flying above the vast South China Sea.  The travel was smooth, and I spent the time shifting in between The Borneo Post left by the previous passenger and  the in-flight magazines. The kids were excited too, and occupied most of their time (and mine, definitely) asking questions on the whereabout, like every 10 minutes interval. As they were competing to sit by the window thus explain why I don’t have the obligatory bird-eye view photos of Kuching.

We safely landed at Kuching International Airport on time, despite the 10 minutes delayed during departure. Immigration was a breeze, and the officer greeted us with a welcoming smile. Unlike travelling to other part of the country, we were required to show our identification card at the immigration counter, and for kids, birth certificates are required. I don’t like to be bogged down with all the documents, so I just used the passports instead.

 

The Kuching immigration stamping that made its way in our passport.

   

We made our way to the city center via the newish Hyundai Accent 1.6, which we rented from an agent at the airport lobby. The drive to the town took about 20 minutes, and along the way we were served with a vista of a rapidly developing city. It really didn’t feel like we were actually on a distant land, separated from the peninsular by the marginal South China Sea.

 

The first thing we did upon reaching the town was looking for accomodation, which I had booked through Internet. The guest house that we were looking for is located at Abell Street, a stone throw from the waterfront and right above the AirAsia Service Centre.

 

Brookes Terrace, our budget lodging  for the next 2 nights looks nothing much from the outside but clean and comfy once stepping inside – the room is spacious with carpeted floor, free WiFi and a 32 inch LCD tv. Even recommended by TripAdvisor.  

 

I was looking from the window of our room into the back alley, and the first thing I spotted was a cat on the rooftop. What is Kuching without the cat, rite?

 

Another one spotted at the window sill. Eventhough the city name sounded like kucing, meaning cat in Malay, it was actually derived from a fruit; locally known as Mata Kucing or Longan which is plentiful in Sarawak. Nevertheless, the notion of a cat city was more easily accepted and thus everyone favourite pet became the city mascot eversince.

 

Here, kitty kitty…

 

As Kuching iconic landmark is the Sarawak River, the visit to Kuching would not complete without a visit to the famous esplanade. So, after a short rest and a late lunch at the nearby cafe,  we headed to the riverfront for an evening stroll. Above is a photo of the  perahu tambang, the water taxi synonym with the image of Kuching, while at the back is the Astana, the palace and the official residence of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak, the Governor of Sarawak.

 

A walk along the esplanade, we came across a small, white fortress facing the river, directly opposite to the Astana. It is the Square Tower, an annex to the Fort Magherita and a sentry post of the Sarawak River, Kuching main thoroughfare during the old times.

 

The only tower of the Square Tower.

 

A window, Square Tower Kuching. 

 

Across the road is the Charles Brooke memorial, in the compound of Kuching Court House. The monument was erected to commenmorate Sarawak second White Rajah. Amidst the posh five-star hotels that sprawled in the city, Kuching is also proud of its numerous beautiful colonial architectures, legacy of the Brooke family.

 

Sarawak in history belonged to the Brunei Sultanate, but in the 18th century it was rewarded to James Brooke, an Englishman who managed to put down the rebellious attack of a local tribe. James Brooke  and his descendants ruled Sarawak henceforth and was known as the White Rajah. Kuching was its center of administration until it fell to the Japanese during the World War II. Sarawak then became part of Malaysia on 16th September 1963, six years after Malaya gained its independence from the British. (Source : Wiki).

 

Bronze bas-reliefs of historical fact are paved along the walkway.

 

The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly building, silhouetted on the north bank of the river.

 

We strolled leisurely along the promenade, enjoying the serenity of sunset. The peace was suddenly broken by a noise coming from the white, luxury boat cruising the river, of which we immediately turned our head to out of reflex. I always wanted to go for a river cruise, but the RM60 fare per person (in our case to be multiplied by four) is way too much.

 

I saw one perahu tambang coming towards us, and we quickly went down to the pier. Perahu tambang would be a cheap way to explore the river, and the feel is more authentic too!

 

Inside the perahu tambang. The small wooden boat is a vital transport for the village folks that mainly lived on the north riverbanks, to ferry them across the Sarawak River to the main bazaar on the south. Though there is a bridge connecting the two sides of the river, perahu tambang is still widely used as it is fast, convenient and cheap with regular rides across the river at 50 cent per trip.

 

Our boat crossed path with this blue and green fella, while at the back majestically stand the plush Hilton, Crown Plaza and Harbour View. Modern versus the old.

  

With motorized engine it was a quick trip back and forth, less than 15 minutes. Arriving back at the pier, we dropped the fare on the boat floor like others, and help ourselves with the balance. Often enough the fare is handed to the boatman himself, which he is more than happy to accept.

 

 The view of Sarawak River at sunset.

 

We lingered a while at the waterfront until darkness quitely crept in, enjoying the sparkles and the colorful lights that adorned the Astana.

 

The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly at night.

 

It was almost 8.00pm when we left the waterfront, and headed looking for cheap, local chow. The only place I knew was the famous TopSpot, but gave it a pass as I want to save that for our last night in Kuching. Others recommended by our guest house front person were mostly the ludicruosly expensive kopitiam with Ayam Penyet as its main course. The Indonesian Ayam Penyet was such a favourite here, almost all eateries from the decent cafe to the roadside stalls have it in their menu. Unfortunately I didn’t have the appetite over some ’pressed’ chicken too (I had enough of that during my previous Indonesia trips) and was craving for something more authentic and more like Kuching. Google searches suggested a few eateries but satellite reception was so lousy we couldn’t get Garmin and Google Maps to work properly. Road signs in Kuching were unhelpful either, most of them not in place where they were mostly needed. With the lack of proper road signs and Garmin kept on triangulated us the location, we ended up going in circles.

Tired, hungry and frustrated, we nearly given up hope and thought of having instant noodles for dinner instead. We gave it one last final shot to Satok, and upon entering the town area we spotted rows of roadside eateries. “That’s more like it”, I said to myself. We parked the car at the nearby shoplot and started counting rhyme of which stall we should choose. We ended up sitting at the one adjacent to the satay seller.

 

Satay seller, Satok.

 

I ordered the ordinary Pattaya fried rice for the kids, their favourite dish everytime we have an eat out.  Eventually it turned out not so ordinary. When the food arrived, a glimpsed under a shady fluorescent lamp I saw a crumple of black ‘something’ which I thought fried Kue Teow (which I didn’t order) but the cook insisted that it was ours. On closer look it was indeed fried Pattaya, fusion style, garnished with chicken and black pepper gravy on top of it. Sarawak is well known as one of the world black pepper producer, hence it is no surprise that the spice ended up in most of the dishes including the Thai.

 

Me and DH tried out Mee Kolok and Mee Kolok Sapi (the beef version), the famous local dish for the first time. The look and taste is something similar to Chinese dried wonton noodle. And of course Kuching satay from the nearby satay seller!

 

End of Day 1.