Kuching - Kaching

Just the name Borneo sounds jungle-y and exotic to me. Apparently Kuching doesn't have the same ring to it to some Malaysians - Sander's colleague said blankly "why are you going there? There's nothing."

So, mixed expectations...

Kick off on Saturday morning was interesting - Sander was surviving on less than 3 hours sleep and the check in line for Tiger Air was ridiculous, stretching right across the terminal, as they only had one counter open.

We finally arrived in Kuching and spent some time wandering around the town.  It didn't take long - Kuching is tiny, cute and a little bit random.  Two things which stood out immediately was how polite and friendly everyone was - lots of "hi"s, lots of smiles, no horns honking and drivers pausing to allow you to cross the road.

So different to the Peninsular Malaysia we'd experienced many times before.

While trying to hunt down a Lonely Planet-recommended place for breakfast, we came across a bustling restaurant just down the road (Nyan Shin on Jalan Carpenter).  The LP restaurant wasn’t as packed so we opted with the first (although we went and gave the second another shot for lunch on our last day).

Street food and milo

One of the things I love about travelling is the uncertainty of food. In a place where the menu is pictorial only or (in this case) where there is no menu, you find yourself eating many things you would never have ordered if left to your own devices. My breakfast of champions had pork bits, chili, spring onions and slightly oily noodles. 

Breakfast of champions

Washed down with my first kopi (coffee with condensed milk - stronger and thicker than Popeye's biceps and twice as sweet) I was ready to take on Kuching.  It's certainly not an everyday breakfast but it hit the spot.

Kopi (with condensed milk) or kopi-o (black)?

Arriving at our beach resort, the first item on the list was a three-hour nap. I find afternoon naps an incredible luxury. Somehow there is always something that needs doing in Singapore and a nap never seems to happen.  A late afternoon spent reading in the sun was followed by a dip in the bathwater-warm sea.

A first for Malaysia - a family came up and asked whether they could take a photo of their toddler with me. This happens a lot in India (tall, female, blonde, pale) so I wasn't too shocked - a bit bemused when the whole family jumped in though!

Dinner was Beach Seafood Restaurant (restaurant on stilts that's an LP 'must try'). It sits in a mangrove area just over from the beach, but it was pretty dark when we arrived so hard to see how attractive it was.  The food was good - garlic prawns, broccoli/mushrooms with oyster sauce and steamed fish on rice. A bit more expensive than I was anticipating given the surroundings were very basic - a large wall-less hangar with plastic chairs and tables, and a rat running in the rafters.

White pomfret, Hong Kong style - delicious!

Day Two - can you imagine a lazier day? Sleep in, breakfast, climb 189 steps to a quiet pool, read, sun bathe, order a beer, swim, read, swim, snooze...?

View from the top pool

In an effort to make our tramping boots worth the space in our luggage we climbed Gunung Santubong (Mount Santubong). We went straight up - hauled up by knotted ropes, climbed up with cliff-faced rope ladders, tripped up by gnarled tree roots.



One of maybe ten rope ladders?



And then we went straight back down the very same way, jelly thighs and jelly knees finally catching a break after five hours.

What goes up must come down

The first beer that afternoon tasted like heaven.

Beautiful sunsets every night

All in all a surprisingly good long weekend – very relaxing with just the right amount of activity.

I can’t wait to get back to Borneo for an attempt at Mount Kinabalu and the Via Feratta.