Southeast Asia Part II: Kuching, Malaysia

Kuching is the capital of the state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo in the country of Malaysia. Whooooaaaaa. Sounds like somebody learned some geography on this trip. (i.e. me)

Highlights/random thoughts from Kuching:
I could never ever EVER drive in Kuching--and this goes for anywhere in Malaysia.  You have to be completely aware of your surroundings at all times and there are constantly scooters weaving in and out of stopped traffic, seemingly coming out of nowhere.  Interestingly, we never saw any wrecks. If this type of driving occurred in America, no one would be able to get anywhere because the streets would be full of wrecked vehicles. 

The "gasman" welcomed us to the Threehouse Bed and Breakfast by peeing in the street and not making any effort whatsoever to conceal what he was doing. This is the man who sells tanks of propane to nearby residents/stores and from what we gathered is fairly revered in the neighborhood.

Poor Clark had to rest up the day we arrived and subsequently missed out on our Sunday Market outing. His stomach was still upset from the day before. But he didn't miss out on much because much of the market was not covered and it was very dimly lit.

Our boat ride to Bako National Park through crocodile infested waters and rough waves could have ended disastrously, but I believe the Good Lord was watching over us that day. Requests for life vests were ignored, and after being told by our driver that he couldn't make it to the park through the rough waters, he plowed through the massive waves anyway. It's amazing that none of us went overboard.

Joanne and Ivan were never prepared with enough water for our hikes (or any outings, for that matter), meaning we never were prepared with enough water for ourselves. Thanks, guys. This also meant that Joanne had to eat a starfruit for hydration after one of our hikes, because she ran out of water we had parceled out to her and Ivan. 

Two monkeys ganged up on me and nearly stole our camera bag until Joanne came to my rescue and shoo-ed them away while I ran in the other direction. I owe her my life. Clark would have been so pissed if I had lost two camera lenses.

We took pictures of  and with all 4 of the cat statues in the city. Translated in to English, Kuching actually means cat, hence the statues of cats throughout the city.

I had the best herbal iced tea of my life in the Chinatown district, and shortly thereafter Clark and I got into a big fight over some insignificant issue. It's insignificant now, anyway.

The honey and egg yolk milkshake from the Life Cafe was incredible.

We heard the Islamic call to prayer come from three different directions in the city one afternoon, and we found it to be a bit...unusual. A call to prayer heard from one direction is one thing, but  three different voices all swirling around you in a total discord is quite another thing. 

McDonald's is the equivalent of fine dining compared to the cost of hawker food stalls. 

Shoe shopping with Joanne is one of the most entertaining things ever. She'll go around to every single display model of every single sandal and try the display on regardless of size. 

That's enough thoughts for now. If Clark has anything to add, he'll add his thoughts in a different color.

Our small but tasteful room at the Threehouse Bed and Breakfast. Walls were paper thin and the bed wasn't as comfortable as it looks, BUT you can't beat $30 American dollars a night, can you?

All shoes were to be removed immediately after entering.  

Upper China Street, just in front of the hostel. Very narrow streets and you can see that the base of the columns opened into the sewer below.  If you didn't watch your step you could easily fall into one of these openings or hurt yourself badly. Also, it was in one of these conduits where the gasman actually urinated, so at least he was peeing into the sewer system rather than on the asphalt.  Did it stink? Yes, in many places it sure did.

Nearby Buddhist temple.

Governmental house of Sarawak.

Kuching is located on the Sungai Santubong river, which leads to the South China Sea and is the river upon which we took our boat ride to reach Bako National Park.

The Gasman!!

A most unsatisfactory shaved ice and soda at the Sunday Market.

On a bus headed for Bako National Park.

Since Bako cannot be reached by car or bus, we had to take a boat.  Yes, that sign says to watch out for crocodiles! It's amazing that this community lives right on the water.  I wonder how many croc sightings they have daily?

Clearly, Ivan is pretty excited.  

The ride started out smooth enough.

But once we got near the mouth of the river things took a bit of a turn.  We couldn't keep our camera out so you'll just have to imagine how big the waves were that our little boat (maybe I should refer to it as a dinghy) made it over.

Macaque monkeys were there to greet us as we safely emerged from the dinghy.

Keeping a safe distance, because they would bear their teeth at you in a menacing way if you got too close. They just look all cute and cuddly...

A boat leaving Bako.  If you enlarge the photo you might be able to make out the bigger waves in the distance.

Safety first?

Before heading off to hike we had to register at the registration center.  You know, just in case we didn't return at dusk and they had to send a search party out for us.

This might just be my favorite photo from Bako.

This guy got caught scratching his down yonders.

Apparently the trees in the water have died because of the retreading tides and inability to get enough nutrients to stay alive.  

After leaving the wooden bridge/path, we encountered a nearly straight up 400 meter ascension over tree roots and rocks until the path leveled out again.  For being in good shape, it was not an easy climb!

Clark at the diverging paths.  We decided to take what I believe was the better traveled path. 

A carnivorous pitcher plant.

We actually combined two hikes in order to see two different lookouts.  This is the first lookout, and just on the other side of the beach there is a lagoon where Joanne, Ivan and Clark all saw a crocodile.  Somehow I missed it.  I was probably taking pictures, dammit. 

Mangosteen and starfruit for a snack. 

Luckily two other hikers were there at the same time and were able to take a group shot for us!

And here is the second lookout where you can see a sea stack just off the coastline.

Clark staying hydrated. This is just before our trek back down  and just 10 minutes before Joanne ran completely out of water and some drama ensued.  I'm not sure if I'm at liberty to post it or not so I'll just play it safe and keep it between the four of us.  

All in all I think we hiked at least 6 kilometers.

Awwwww, more monkeys!  There were so many of them but it was hard to capture.  I found the baby monkeys just adorable.

Awwwwwww! It's funny, the baby macaques look older than the adults. But they're still so stinking cute.  And this was just moments before two macaques ganged up on me and tried to steal the camera bag that I had sat down on a nearby bench.  Sometimes I am a stupid girl and I just don't think.  The monkeys bared their teeth at me, which scared me, and I ran off while Joanne shoo-ed them away from the camera bag.  That Joanne, she saved the day!

Wild pigs wandering around as well.

The next day we did a self-guided city tour of Kuching.  Cat statue #1.

Cat statue #2.

Cat statue #3.

An iced herbal tea break. Oh. My. Goodness. This tea was unbelievable. 

Cat statue #4. Clark was less than enthused by this point. Also, we had just gotten into a fight and he holds grudges longer than he should. 

Angry lunch.

The next day Ivan and Joanne took off to a different national park to see the rafflesia flower, which is the biggest flower in the world.  We didn't know if we would make it back in time to catch our flight, however, so we stuck around Kuching and went to a few museums and just continued to explore the city.

Scooter parking in front of the mall.  Scooters basically rule the road in Malaysia.  

There's something about this photo I really like.  I just wish the sky wasn't so bleached out. 

One of the Islamic mosques in the city.  Look closely, there's a graveyard in front.

A monitor. This thing was huge!

Fried wontons and noodles and the honey and egg yolk milkshake.  A great way to end our stay in Kuching.

A few random shots of our hostel taken with my phone. Hence the blurriness. 

The kitchen area.

 Combined shower/toilet bathroom.

A gift from Joanne. 

Clark doing a bit of research on the balcony.

We really enjoyed our time in Kuching, and I think that our Bako experience was definitely the major highlight.  Looking back, we should have flown out of Kuching earlier on our last day (our flight was at 8 pm) to give us more time in Kuala Lumpur.