<b>Kuching</b> Travel Guide: The City You Never Want to Leave |
- <b>Kuching</b> Travel Guide: The City You Never Want to Leave
- <b>Kuching</b> win Gree table tennis c'ship - The Borneo Post Online
- <b>Kuching</b>: From cats to sex? | weehingthong
- Popular local food outlets in downtown <b>Kuching</b> | Padungan Road
| <b>Kuching</b> Travel Guide: The City You Never Want to Leave Posted: 22 Dec 2013 11:41 PM PST
$1=RM (MYR) 3.21 When we first arrived in Malaysia we had planned to stay on the peninsula without visiting Borneo Island, but when we found out that the flights were that cheap (there were flights on Air Asia starting at $10!), we didn't hesitate much. We had already been deprived of the Perhentian Islands because we were in Malaysia during the wet season (November to February) and they close everything over there. So, as it looked like Borneo was different than anything in the peninsula and maybe more preserved in terms of wildlife, we jumped on the first plane we saw!  Monument in front of the old court house Discovering the cityWe arrived in Kuching in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon and we were first located in Chinatown (again!). We started our discovering tour right away (as usual), and felt the very laid-back feel of the city. Kuching is the capital of Sarawak, but it doesn't look like a big city at all. We discovered later that Kuching is in fact a big city, but very extended so that you never feel it is busy or crowded. Here Are the Highlights of Kuching and How You Can Enjoy Your Time in the City The WaterfrontWe could spend hours sitting or walking along the waterfront. It is located near the beautiful Sarawak River, with a lot of benches where you can rest, drink your coffee or eat fresh fruits. The waterfront is a little bit crowded during weekends and evenings, but this does not take anything away from its peacefulness at all. There are small coffee booths and restaurants all along the quay, but they don't open in the morning. Instead, they open in the late afternoon so you can have dinner.  A boat to cross the river During the weekends there are more activities, such as musicians and small handicraft markets. You can take a cruise on the river for around RM 15 pp/hour. You can also go to the other side (though there is not much to see there) for RM 1. The Reservoir ParkWe went there one time only when we discovered that it was not too far from our hotel. This is quite a big park where people go jogging in the early morning. Of course, we didn't see that as we are not morning people. When we went there the park was almost empty. There is nothing much to do, but it is quiet and relaxing with some squirrels running here and there.  The Reservoir Park MuseumsSome good news: All museums in Kuching are free! We didn't visit them all, we just went to the Sarawak Ethnology Museum, which we enjoyed very much as it explains many things about Sarawak history, the natural environment and ethnicities. The Main BazarThis is what they call the shops located on the opposite side of the waterfront. They all sell handicrafts and Sarawak specialties. You will find there the very famous Sarawak layer cake that you have to taste for yourself! This is a good place to buy souvenirs. They sell very beautiful wood furniture as well. Jalan IndiaA nice pedestrian street where are many small shops sell mainly clothes. Carpenter StreetThis is one of the oldest streets in Kuching and, as its name suggests, it is the street where carpenters work. This is a very quiet street and we liked it very much. This is also the street where the popular guesthouses are located.  Carpenter street Around KuchingThere are many places to see around Kuching that only require a day or a half-day trip. We didn't do everything, but we enjoyed all the things we did. Sarawak is definitely a good place to spot wildlife, and there are near Kuching several national parks. Bako National ParkOne hour and a half from Kuching. RM 20 entrance fees. We spent two days in Bako National Park, which was well worth it. We would have stayed longer if we would have known we'd like it that much. The park is quite easy to reach and is home to a large variety of animals that you have the opportunity to see in their natural habitats. The local animals include long tailed macaque monkeys, proboscis monkeys, birds, snakes, turtles, and wild boars. Even if you don't see the animals all the time, being in the rainforest makes you really connect with nature. The park and beach landscapes are gorgeous and the staff is very friendly (Bako Travel Guide).  A lemur at Bako NP Semmengok Rehabilitation CenterOne hour from Kuching. RM 20 entrance fee. Orangutans are not totally wild there because they were rescued and fed, but they are still free and in the trees, not in cages! So this was a really good opportunity to see them because it is (as they told us) very difficult to spot totally wild orangutans. It takes half a day to do this visit. We arrived too late (at 10:20 am), as they close the park from 11 am to 2 pm. People were bitten by the monkeys in years past, and they don't let anyone inside anymore without the monitoring of the park rangers. So we spent three and a half hours in a small town near to the park, where we found a refreshing shopping mall that we really appreciated because of the hot weather outside! We came back at 2 pm and saw the orangutans. Depending on your luck, you could see any number of orangutans, but I suppose you'll see at least one. You have to be there during feeding time for your best chance.  Orang utans at Semmengok The downside to the park is the caged alligators, but we will assume that they were caged as part of the rescue mission. Kayaking day tourLocated one hour from Kuching, this tour is around six hours and 11 KM long with RM 188 pp tour fees. We didn't know what to do next, and it was difficult to pick an activity as they all looked great. Because we like nature, we decided to take the kayaking day tour. This was a great choice. Kayaking in the river they take you to is very easy, even for beginners and children. Despite that, we found our way (I don't know how) to the trees on the side of the river and flipped the boat, spreading all our stuff in the water (thank God we had a drybag for the camera). It wasn't very deep, and we were rescued easily. Despite this incident (which we laughed at a lot!), this day remains one of our bests in Kuching. Gunung Gading National ParkTwo hours from Kuching. RM 20 pp entrance fee. This is where you can find the flower that everyone comes to see in Sarawak, as it's the largest flower in the world. The Rafflesia is actually closer to a big mushroom than a flower, but is still beautiful and very amazing to see. However, it really smells stinky. We went there by ourselves without taking a tour and it was not too complicated: a taxi to the "Sentral Station" then a bus for two hours to Lundu town, then another five-minute taxi ride to the national park and we were in front of the famous flower, taking photos of the park's celebrity!  The Rafflesia flower We took a guide, as the employee at the tourism desk in Kuching advised us to "not step on the flower." At that moment I was thinking, "Could I be that blind to step on the biggest flower in the world?!" but it turned out that we would have met some difficulties in finding the only two blooming flowers in the whole forest. Our guide was very nice, and gave us loads of information. After she showed us the flower, she left and we continued trekking up to waterfall number 7. The waterfall was very nice and very crowded because of a school being there. The trekking was also very tiring (for us, but for normal people this is a piece of cake!). Finally the 30 or so young people left and we had the whole waterfall to ourselves. We refreshed ourselves in the water and returned back. When we arrived at the headquarters we discovered that there was a very nice natural pool where we could have stayed the whole time instead of playing Indiana Jones in the jungle (which we really did!). LonghousesThere are many other activities that you can do in Kuching. The one I regret missing the most is visiting the longhouses. We just saw a replica of a longhouse in the museum and I liked it very much. We'd been told that the best longhouse stays are in the Iban community, and that it would require quite a long trip, but this was beyond our budget. Where to Eat in KuchingThere are plenty of options in Kuching for eating. Malaysian food is a mix of different cuisines such as Chinese, Indian, Singaporean, and Filipino. Shopping Malls Food CourtsWe appreciate shopping mall food courts because they are a good place to taste different things at the same time. They also offer a larger choice of drinks than normal restaurants. Waterfront RestaurantsOn the waterfront there are several restaurants and coffee shops ranging from the very cheap to the more expensive and fancy restaurants. The place is very pleasant and the food very tasty. They offer many kinds of rice and noodles (mee, nasi… ). Another local specialty that is very cheap and delicious: fried vegetables dumplings. There is also a booth that offers local hamburgers. We loved to have fresh fruit, which they sell on the waterfront, but we usually bought them at the Riverside Majestic shopping mall where they have more choices and where they also sell pretzels and waffles to complete the snack.  Delicious Sarawak Laksa International ChainsKFC, McDonald's, and Pizza Hut are all in Kuching but they are not very cheap. There are local chains of restaurants as well, such as Secret Recipe (that we don't recommend by the way for being expensive compared to what they offer) and SCR Xpress, where they offer local food. Le Pau Malay and Bidayu CuisineThis is our favorite option, not only because it was just down from our hotel, Grand Supreme Hotel (we are so lazy), but also because they have really good Malay and Bidayu (one of the numerous ethnicities of Sarawak) food cooked in a traditional way. The place is built in the traditional Bidayu style and plays Bidayu music. We were there almost every day and had the opportunity to taste several dishes that were all delicious.  Le Pau restaurant The staff even played traditional music and performed Bidayu dance for us on several occasions. Where to Stay in KuchingTraveler HomestayAround RM 75 for a double aircon room. As usual, before we arrived we had booked online for two days in order to check the other options later on. We first stayed at the new "Traveler Home stay" guest house, which was the best option for this type of hostel: very clean, very stylish, and the owner was very nice and helpful. We checked the other guesthouses in town, but none of them was of the same quality. We were often offered rooms without windows (which is ok for one night but definitely not for one month). However, we wanted a room with a private bathroom, which wasn't available at Traveler Home stay.  Traveler Homestay guesthouse Grand Supreme HotelAround RM 80 for a double room. So we continued our research and ended up at the best hotel ever! When we first saw the Grand Supreme Hotel from the street, it seemed to me not very nice and expensive, and I thought, "We shouldn't even bother to ask." We were trying to find a good deal, as we planned to stay one month in Kuching. When we came in, our first impression was washed away by the staff's professionalism. They took our email and told us they would ask if there could be a discount for us in case of a long stay. We received an answer a few hours later and moved in the day after. We definitely recommend this hotel. The rooms are big, the hotel is clean, Wi-Fi is included (although the Wi-Fi performance is average and appropriate only for common use, we had a 3G modem for our work), all the staff is very helpful, and the "icing on the cake"–as we would say in France–was that the owner Mr. Wong is an amazingly nice person. He definitely made our stay in Kuching one of the best in all of our travels. Shopping MallsThere are several decent shopping malls in Kuching. Malaysia is a very good place to shop. To list a few malls:
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| <b>Kuching</b> win Gree table tennis c'ship - The Borneo Post Online Posted: 20 Dec 2013 08:41 AM PST SIBU: Kuching emerged overall champion in the 53rd Sarawak Gree Table Tennis Championship after the team took the titles in the men's, boys' and girls' Under-18 categories, boys' and girls' New Hope and men's Non-Chinese categories. Sibu, powered by two state women players, Crystal Tiong and Sia Hsiao Hung, secured the title in the women's. Sibu, spearheaded by veteran players like Ling Kah Nge and Lee Kong Lee, also lifted the title in the men's veteran. In the individual category, Kuching's Chai Kian Peng outplayed teammate Matteus Aloysius to win the men's singles title while Sibu's Sia Hsiao Hung beat Kuching's Kylie Teo Liyi to bag the women's singles title. Kian Peng later partnered Matteus to win the men's doubles title while the women's doubles went to the Sibu pair of Hsiao Hung/Crystal. The 13-year-old Crystal, a promising star on the rise, also took the title in the girls' Under-15, followed by teammate Hsiao Hung and Kuching's Kylie. The boys' Under-15 title went to Kuching's Clement Sim Kwong Zi, followed by Gabriel Ling and Derrick Tsai, both from Kuching. Over 200 paddlers took part in the four-day competition organized by Sibu Ping Pong Association (SPPA). A total of 16 categories were competed in the individual section which also went into the record book as the most number of events competed at any table tennis championship in the state. The other results are as follows: Boys' Under-18: Jason Siaw (Kuching); Girls' Under-18:- Alice Chang Li Sian (Kuching) Boys' Under-13: Derrick Tsai (Kuching); Girls' Under-13: Alice Chang Boys' Under-10: Goh Chun Joo (Miri); Girls' Under-10: Fion Soh (Sibu) Men's veteran 45: Ling Kah Nge (Sibu): Women's veteran 40: Chua Yeo Fong (Miri) Men's veteran 55: Ting Sieng Mee (Samarahan) Non-Chinese Men: Matteus Aloysius (Kuching)  To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names. | ||||
| <b>Kuching</b>: From cats to sex? | weehingthong Posted: 20 Dec 2013 02:11 AM PST ________________________________________________ KUCHING: SEX AND THE CITY? Why is Kuching called Kuching? That is not as interesting as the latest development, if what is reported is true.
— Malaysiakini Is Kuching becoming a sex city? Sarawak DAP is extremely worried that Kuching is fast becoming a 'sex city' with the mushrooming of reflexology centres that have been blamed for a more than 300 percent increase in sexual diseases, especially AIDS, its Stampin MP JulianTan said today. Tan's concern comes in the wake of advertisements in the Chinese press, seeking "several hundreds of women from China" for employment in these centres. "In the past few weeks, several advertisements have appeared in the Chinese newspapers, seeking young girls to work in these centres. "Each time an advertisement is made, the owners of these centres are looking for at least 500 young girls and most of these advertisements are targeting Chinese nationals," Tan (above) told a media conference. There are more than 300 reflexology centres in Kuching alone. He said that these reflexology centres were also offering "sex services" as well, and that this was the result of the increase in AIDS in the state, which has also contributed to broken families. The number of AIDS cases in Sarawak has risen in the past 10 years, from 75 in 2003 to 181 in 2013. Is Kuching becoming a sex city? — Borneo Post by Uncle DI. Posted on July 24, 2011, Sunday I DON'T know how serious the problem is – allegedly caused by the so-called China Dolls who come to the state on tourist visas but somehow or other masquerade as health workers in local spas and as experts in foot reflexology.
THE REAL DEAL?: Many centres are offering reflexology, but how many are just a front for 'extra services'? By some estimate, out of 200 of such establishments in Sarawak, 30 are in full operation in the resort city of Miri alone, for quite sometime now. The rest are presumably to be found in Kuching, Sibu and Bintulu. The men who frequent these places in order to relieve pains and aches of the body and stress after a hard day's work are the prime targets for services other than the fiddling with aching feet. They say this is a treatment good for blood circulation and the kidneys. A matter of opinion. But a lot of housewives in Miri are worried about their men being among the clients. Two years ago, many Kuching wives were complaining about a similar problem in the city; they have either given up the fight or are keeping low for now lest their city gets adverse publicity. That would be sweeping the problem under the mat, though. Cases of marriage breakups and strained relationships between spouses have been blamed on the visits by husbands to these so-called health centres. It starts with a mere suspicion and perception, perhaps. But perception is more important than reality and can cause misunderstanding leading to something worse. You know what I mean. —
Reflexology is now a trend | Goolooloo's New Inspirationswww.goolooloo.com ——————————————————————- | ||||
| Popular local food outlets in downtown <b>Kuching</b> | Padungan Road Posted: 16 Dec 2013 09:39 PM PST You will read about the 'famous' Kuching street foods as well as modern ones, all within walking distance of the inner city where most visitors would be staying. Thanis Lim, a well-known food blogger from Brunei has produced this comprehensive guide, useful for even locals who are fresh out of ideas of where to eat. And he has even inserted a location map for each outlet. Howzat for the flash-packer in you!? Very friendly!
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