This has been a very busy month.
First, my wife and I flew on 10th Dec to attend Cheng Kai's graduation ceremony in Melbourne scheuled on 12th Dec, then helped him and Jo to move their belongings to Shepperton on 14th Dec. We flew back to Singapore on 15th Dec; but alas, the return flight from Melbourne was delayed for over 3 hours. Instead of reaching Changi Airport ~8.30pm, we ended up arriving at ~1.30am. We flew budget with Jetstar Airlines... Only bought some sandwiches while the plane was still "stucked" on tarmac. We drove to 揾到食for late supper.
Went to work the same day (after sleeping for 3 hours of so) and the next day (Saturday, 17th Dec) (busy clinic schedules), and had to prepare for our impending self driving tour to Kuching from 18th - 25th Dec.
The weather forecast predicted ongoing showers / thunderstorm in Kuching in next 7 days. Since our trip involved a lot of hiking in National Parks, we decided to buy some raincoats, and shorts from Decathlon the night before our travel!
This is a family trip involving my wife and our two boys. They were the main drivers for the entire trip.
* I booked a rental car from a local company Transrezqey a few weeks earlier, and added my 2 boys as additional drivers for the trip. It cost RM 1486*
Day 1 (18th Dec, Sunday)
Left home around 9am. Booked a grab car to Changi Airport Terminal 1. Checked in.. Took our brunch at airport lounges. Flight to Kuching departed punctually at 11.45am.
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| Gate 12, Terminal 4 |
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| Air Asia Flight to Kuching |
Touched down at Kuching International Airport at 1.15pm. Pick up rental car from Asnawi, local representative of private car rental company at arrival area. Paid the necessary fees and off we went (the car was equipped with phone holder and a stack of parking coupons).
We drove to Kuching City... Went to Cat Statue for the customary photo.
Then we drove to Waterfront nearby, enjoying the grandiose view of the bridge and nearby historic building.
Then walked around the nearby bazaar.
Went to Open Air Market to eat lunch. But many stalls were not open then (specifically the stall selling red kolo mee was not open for business). Drove to Woon Nam Cafe 199 for Kueh chap.. But the stall was closed as well. Had to settle for Chinese BBQ rice stall (烧肉饭）eventually. The food was average only.
After that, we went to the historic Tua Pek Kong Temple (大伯公庙）for sightseeing and prayer.
Then off we went to Permai Forest Resort at Santubong National Park.
They have Tree Houses, swimming pool, and beach nearby. Looks impressive from photos.
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| This is the villa we stayed in |
BUT alas, the villa which looked good on photos had faulty power sockets, and only one out of 2 air conditioning units was working. No toiletries provided in the hotel. My wife had an uneasy feeling overnight... We decided to check out from the villa the next day (we were originally booked for 2 nights stay there). It was one of the most expensive hotels that I had booked for the trip, but the villa was a disappointment!
We took our dinner at nearby Beach Seafood Restaurant.. Took 2 big crabs, steam prawns, and Kailan vegetables, with coconut drinks.. The meal cost RM 260,fairly economical and sumptuous. We were so happy with the food that we visited the restaurant thrice in our one week journey!
Day 2 (19th Dec)
Checked out from the hotel, and drove to Bako National Park in the morning. Stopped over at a Malay cafe (Mummy's Kitchen) along the way for breakfast. Take away kolo mee and nasi lemak - as lunch in Bako National Park.
We reached Bako Ferry Terminal at 10am and embarked on our chartered boat (RM 200 for return trip) after registration. The boat braved through choppy waves of South China Sea.. It was a bumpy and exciting boat ride. It took about 20 minutes to reach Bako National Park.
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| The jetty |
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| Boarding our boat |
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| Leaving the jetty ... to Bako NP |
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| At Bako NP |
The hiking trails were rather challenging for 60-year-old folks like my wife and I... We gave up after hiking for initial 15 minutes or so of negotiating up fairly challenging steps /rocks.
Our two boys continued on with their hike. My wife and I detoured back to the visitor centre and waited for them to come back at the adjacent restaurant. The boys finally came back around 1.30pm. We finally left the jetty at Bako National Park near 3pm. We didn't see any proboscis monkeys.
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| waiting for our boat for return trip |
The ride back was again very bumpy.. But our boatman was very experience indeed, guiding us safely to the shore.
I had booked a room in The Mariann Boutique Lodging House in the morning after checking out from Permai Forest Resort. We checked into the hotel, took a short break, then drove off to Beach Seafood Restaurant (the same one the night before) for dinner. This time we ordered 4 medium size crabs, steamed garlic prawns and midin sambal, and coconut drinks for 4...it cost RM 270.
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| sunset view from Beach Seafood Restaurant |
When we returned to our hotel for the night, we discovered the air conditioning unit on higher floor was leaking water.. The water sipped through the wooden deck ceiling and dripped onto the entrance corridor on ground floor. Had to call housekeeping to clean up the mess.
We were given floor towel and bathing towels to dry the wet floor/deck (because the technician /housekeeper had already knocked off from work)... SIGH.
Day 3 (20th Dec)
Breakfast in the hotel was some coffee/tea, orange juice, milk and bread with jam/butter. But the sugar ran out very fast, and not seemed to be refurnished subsequently.
We drove to Open Air Market, and finally managed to eat red kolo mee from the stall there (apparently the stall owners were off the past few days to attend wedding).
The red kolo mee was indeed very delicious!
After our breakfast, we walked to nearby sundary shops, and bought some more white pepper from an Indian shop.
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| The wall mural |
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| Open Air Market |
After that, we drove to Kubah National Park. The waterfall trail was closed for safety reason. We had a choice of short trail (estimated 1~2 hours), and a long trail {3 hours} to a lookout point. My wife and I decided to keep to the short trail {hiking through forest}. The 2 boys decided to keep us company as well.
The so called easy hike through the forest could be quite challenging in certain segments.... It was indeed a blessing that our 2 boys accompanied us on the way back to visiting center! We took 2 hours to complete the short trail.
Drove to Gunung Gading... Was pleasantly surprised that we had to cross a river using a ferry along the way (and it cost us only RM1 for the car). It was quite an experience! It's an unexpected highlight of the trip!
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| Boarding the ferry |
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| In the ferry |
On reaching Gunung Gading National Park, the guard at the entrance told us that there was no Rafflesia at this time of the year, and that we only had enough time to do 1 hour hike up to a waterfall).... We decided to give it a miss.. Took our lunch at nearby village (Happy Seafood Restaurant), then off we went to Roxy Sematan Canopy and Villa.
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| Beach behind the signboard |
It was still early after we checked into the hotel (~2.30pm). So we drove to Kampong Teluk Melano, which is located at the western end of Sarawak, to enjoy the scenic view of the beach.
After that, we drove down to Sematan, a small village near our hotel, to buy dinner... Bought chicken drumsticks, fried crispy crabs, satay, fried kway teow /noodles, rice with vegetables.
Rest early for the night... CK booked kayaking for 2 persons (CJ and himself) from Semadang kayak adventure on Thurs (2 days later). WiFi is only available in hotel lobby...
Day 4 (21st Dec)
Took our breakfast in the hotel, then walked across the road to the beach nearby. Took a few photos of the beach, then departed to our next destination, Bau.
First stop - visited Fairy Cave. It was quite an interesting nature wonder... Apart from the usual stalactite and stalagmites, the caves are decorated with mosses and some trees. The cave is impressive, and worth the trip.
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| View from entrance to the cave |
2nd stop - Tasik Biru (aka blue lake). There were quite a number of local visitors there. Apparently it is what left after mining many years back. But the scenery was pretty soothing (apart from the heat from noon sun). We took our packaged lunch there.
Since it was still too early for check in to your hotel (Borneo Tribal Village), we decided to visit Annah Rais Long House. It is a different long house from what I have in mind, but a long house nevertheless.
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| The open verandah (aka plaza) |
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| The corridor |
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| Entrance to the long house |
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| Parking lot and toilet in the background |
Then we drove to our hotel, which is located quite deep in the mountain. There was a group of school children having some team building activity in the village as well.
The hotel is rather basic and rustic. It is like staying in house of the 60s...some semblance of long house experience.
It rained heavily in the afternoon. Drove to 明明食阁 @ Bau, a 25 min drive away, for our dinner.
Retired early for the night.
Day 5 (22nd Dec)
Checked out early at 7am from Borneo Tribal Village, and drove about 45 min to Semadang Kayak Adventures. Cheng Kai had reserved 2 places for kayaking (for him and Cheng Jie) two days earlier.
While they went for their kayaking trip, my wife and I drove to Bau (石隆门）for sightseeing /walk about. Took our breakfast (noodles and prata) at an old cafe (Lina Cafe), bought two packets of nasi lemak, pisang goreng, chempedak goreng (kept for lunch),and visited the local supermarkets... Took some cold drinks at a Malay café... Then drove back to fetch the 2 boys from Kayak adventure centre ~1.30pm.
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| Market and road side stalls |
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| Eating at Lina Cafe |
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| View of mountain from Bau business centre |
After taken our lunch at the adventure centre, we drove to Paku Rock Maze Garden... A pleasant surprise with natural rock formations from ancient tine, creating maze like passages... It would be an excellent place to film 武侠片。It reminded me of peach blossom formation 桃花阵。Well, we lost our way on exit, escaping through an unofficial exit.
We drove to Roxy Hotel at Serian... The hotel was quite spacious and pleasant to stay. There were many power sockets in the room - no need to fight for plugs to charge our phones.
We drove to random restaurant (螃蟹先生）for dinner... The prawns were tasteless, and the other 2 dishes (midin belacan, 宫保鸡丁) were just so so....
The weather forecast stated that it would be 90-100 % raining the next day... Looks like we would not be able to visit Silabur Caves the next day!
Day 6 (23rd Dec)
True enough, it rained cats and dogs ftom morning till afternoon... The rain only settled somewhat around 4 pm+.
Foreseeing a hike through jungle to Silabur Caves would be daunting the next day (following the heavy rain), we decided to give it a miss.
Instead, I made a last minute changes :-
1. Drove to a small dam (Bunan Gega River Dam) - very small dam indeed.
2. Visited Kampong Mongkos Longhouse - it looks more authentic than the one in Annah Rais.
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| walking down the steps |
3. In search of Orang Utan at Semenggoh Nature Reserve - we were lucky that there were two Orang Utan in the feeding ground during feeding time at 3pm. It is fruiting season now - the chances of seeing Orang Utan when there are a lot of fruits in the forest were very slim; apparently, there was no Orang Utan yesterday and in the morning.
4. Drop in at Siniawan Night Market (the place looks like a tourist trap) - we took snapshots of the place and nearby flooded river, then off we went to our next destination.
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| The river had overflowed its bank; even the lower section of the staircase is submerged under water |
5. Chanced upon a Bak Kut Teh restaurant near Siniawan night market.... Not bad at all
6. Bought 3 durians from roadside hut (pondok) - it cost RM 20+8+8. .. Very delicious... Much cheaper than in Singapore. We ate them in a random bus stop (to avoid causing undue inconvenience to hotel guess).
Finally returned to hotel at 7pm+
Day 7 (24th Dec)
It was a cloudy day, with sporadic showers around 9 am.
Had plan some short trips for the day (in lieu of Silabur Caves) -
1. RANCAN Recreation Park... Found out the park was temporarily closed for the day
2. Skuduk Paddy Field - a place to have closer look at paddy field, and enjoy the scenery.. The place was imbued with pandan leaves fragrance.
3. Drove to Panchor Hot Spring, but came across low lying segment of the road submerged by flood... Decided to give the place a miss.
4. Make a last minute decision to visit Wind Caves @Bau - but on reaching there, the place was closed!
(retrospectively, we deduced that the rising water level from torrential rain the day before probably has something to do with the closure of recreation park and Wind Caves)
5. Drove to Kuching - wanted to try our luck at Woon Lam café for lunch again - by the time we reached the cafe at 1pm, the stall owners were cleaning up and closing shop for the day. Had to go ICOM for lunch. Only kampua noodle stall was opened.. It was good. The laksa stall was not open. We ordered fried Penang Kueh Teow, which was substandard.
6. Checked into Hotin Inn.. Rested for 2 hours or so, then off we go to Damai Beach - the beach was being ravaged by choppy waves. Certainly not safe for swimming!
7. Drove to Beach Seafood Restaurant for a sumptuous seafood (4 crabs, steamed sea bass, and midin belacan) - it was heavenly and cheap RM 310.
8. Drove to Kuching waterfront to enjoy the light decor and the bustling atmosphere at night.
Finally drove back to hotel.
Day 8 (25th Dec)
Last day of the trip. Woke up early. Reached Kuching International Airport by 7.30am -> returned our rental car.
Home sweet home!
After thoughts:
Short trip with different experience. A lot of greenery, trees and beaches (with strong waves). Seafood was delicious snd cheap (provided you eat at the right restaurant, I guess).
People seems to be living in a leisurely pace. It is heartening to see people of various races mixing / eating without much segregation as that in West Malaysia.
Unexpected highlight of the trip - RM1 ferry across a river, and ride through choppy waves to Bako National Park.
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