A dozen jasmine: Salvation Army Xmas Run 2013 ~ <b>Kuching</b> :) |
- A dozen jasmine: Salvation Army Xmas Run 2013 ~ <b>Kuching</b> :)
- Kudat to <b>Kuching</b>: A Rainy End to a Spellbound Voyage III « The <b>...</b>
- <b>Kuching</b>, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo: Sights & Suggestions |
- Kudat to <b>Kuching</b>: A Rainy End to a Spellbound Voyage II « The <b>...</b>
| A dozen jasmine: Salvation Army Xmas Run 2013 ~ <b>Kuching</b> :) Posted: 29 Dec 2013 12:09 AM PST Back in November, three Sarawakian best friends, Fiona A Keith, Fiona Edward and Tracy Beatrice, invited friends over their FB to bring some Christmas cheer for the Salvation Army kids in Kuching, Sarawak. A few mutual friends and I decided to join in the fun. We managed to get some of our family members involved in the planning too. Tracy's mom baked the cake and we got hold of plenty of pre loved stuff including books to be shared. As there were about 39 boys aged 8-18 and 54 girls from infant till 18 years old, we were pretty excited as well as daunted by the task at hand. After brainstorming for quite a bit, finding out what these kids need or want most ( toiletries, eg: shavers and shaving creams were the biggest wish on the boys side and hairbands on the girls side ) and getting the logistics sorted out, we had to as we are all based in KL, we quietly went our separate ways and started to slowly get the gifts ready and transported to Kuching in time for Xmas. When either one of us were to get a Kuching nightstop, we would drop the items by the concierge and a girlfriend from there will then come over and pick it up from the hotel. I remember how ridiculous I looked being the only one, lugging my huge check in bag all over the airport ( more than 30 kg full of goodies ) on a domestic sector, question marks written all over my colleagues faces, especially since I wasn't interested in explaining anything, wondering whether I have gone bonkers. It is after all a few days trip around Malaysia and Kuching was only going to be the last night stop before I head home. At one stage, I had to leave my bag at the Lost & Found Department until it was time for me to come and pick it up. Where there is a will, there is definitely a way. My girlfriends and I have proven that. It was indeed a huge relief when we got to deliver the goodies on time..waiting to be received by its new owners. Unfortunately, not all of us could be there to celebrate the occasion with the children neither did we get to see who received what. The important thing is, they got what they needed. It is the least we could do and being able to be a part of this, was good enough reward for me :)      The lovely couple ~ Michelle Vanessa Lee & Zac Zakir. While the wife sponsored toiletries for the boys, Zac the pilot, chipped in by providing sanitary pads for the girls. Awesome twosome! They had not forgotten my son this Xmas either. They took the time to drop by and pass their gift to Ryan personally a few days before Christmas.You can check her instagram @Vanezzaleecollections. Loads of gorgeous stuff for sale :)   ** By the way, there is another Santarina that I have yet to mention. Her name is Seema. Michelle shared the idea with her and she was more than happy to be in the game. Unfortunately, I do not have her picture and neither of them knew that I was going to blog about this earlier :) Happy New Year Everyone! I had a wonderful Christmas. I hope you did too ...  |
| Kudat to <b>Kuching</b>: A Rainy End to a Spellbound Voyage III « The <b>...</b> Posted: 29 Dec 2013 05:57 PM PST Last night we spent on anchor in Labuan, we skyped with our parents and wished them Merry Christmas just in case we didn't arrived to Johor Bahru in time to talk to them on Christmas Eve – Christmas in Czech Republic happen on the 24th. Originally our plan was to sail to Brunei first, but we decided to skip Brunei this time, in order to improve our chances to meet with our very good friends, who were flying to Langkawi for New Year. The odds that we would actually make it were not high, but we thought we would give it a try…  In the end it took us 7 days to get into a port. Only not to Danga Bay as expected but only to Kuching instead. Hadn't I known better I would have to believe that we must have left Labuan on a Friday. Or, were I more superstitious, I might as well start believing that leaving on a Tuesday is equally inauspicious… For the first two days after leaving Labuan, we had either no winds or westerlies on the nose, plus again some weird countercurrent, so even when we were motoring, which we did most of the way (unless we ran into a squall and thus some wind), we were barely making 3 knots. To make matters even more interesting, on the 2nd day just after it got dark, we ran into a huge patch of floating tree trunks, logs and other flotsam. Miraculously we only hit two bigger logs since there were literally dozens of them all around us… On the 3rd day we finally encountered some NE winds, but after couple of hours we were back to motoring and hand steering again. The only sign of the NE monsoon that we experienced the whole way was a huge NE swell, which combined with waves blown up by the westerly winds produced confused seas that made our little boat sway like a cork in a whirlpool. Steering required one hand on the tiller and the other one desperately clinging to whatever in the cockpit so as to stay aboard. 
On the 4th day we were still only 130 miles northeast of Kuching and we began to worry that if the weather continues like this we won't have enough diesel to make it round Singapore. Thus we decided to head for Kuching to top up on diesel and water. All looked good, for once no rain, until about 9pm when we spotted a huge black veil covering the whole horizon. There was just no way of dodging this one… We braced ourselves in the cockpit, put on our wet weather gear and taking turns on watches slowly approached the awe-inspiring black mass. At that point little did we know, that what looked like a nasty squall in fact developed into a low pressure system that swept over us from west eastwards and forced us to stay hove to for more than 24 hours. The huge waves and strong winds blew us about 40 miles eastwards so once the gale quieted down, we decided to run for a small town called Mukah (approx. 150 miles NE of Kuching following the coastline) instead of Kuching. Finally we had the following seas and winds, except now we were actually going backwards from where we came…   In hindsight we can't but marvel at our own stupidity, can't even call it lack of experience, because anyone with a little bit of common sense would have guessed that the huge waves that were pushing our little boat over 6 knots surely must brake somewhere in the end… And where else than in front of Mukah, where the depths are 1 to 2 meters and it's necessary to wait for a rising tide to actually get in… Soon enough we saw the powerful surf that even from over 10 miles away looked like a boiling cauldron covering the whole horizon with a white mist. There was just no way we could have got in and so tired as we were, we headed back to sea and in the direction of Kuching. Took us 2 more days of fighting headwinds, countercurrents, squalls and dense rain but at Christmas Eve we finally made it into Kuching's Jabatan Laut Marina some 20 miles up the Sarawak river – quite a picturesque journey itself only as a part of our spellbound voyage, when we entered the river it was blowing some 30 knots against us, plus the tide was of course ebbing! Motoring at 2000 RPMs assisted by double reefed mainsail and partially furled genoa we were slowly tacking up river at enormous speed of almost 2 knots! Originally we wanted to anchor in Santubong river on the other side of town, but in the huge swell we feared that this anchorage might be cut off same as Mukah. But the marina here, though quite remote from town, is not bad and we even got to enjoy a "high pressure" shower before we went to an Indian restaurant for our Christmas dinner. And then we slept for more than 12 hours. So much for this year's Christmas celebrations.   Yet the biggest blow we suffered actually came only after we got to Kuching. Our Kiwi neighbors (currently there are only 4 boats in the marina) told us, that there's no way we can get across to Singapore for another 2 months because of the seasonal westerly winds that just started to blow. Surely that would explain the headwinds and countercurrent we experienced on our way here, but we still have to research about that… Can it be really possible that we came all this way and for nothing? We even started talking about returning back and going to Brunei after all… Who knows, maybe we might even haul out in Kudat… How absurd! But I guess even this is part of the life aboard, not every day you get the sunny days and in the end experience such as these are soon forgotten in favor of those nice ones! Plus right now it seems there might be a good weather window at the end of next week, so provided the predictions don't change (which they now do every day), we may be leaving in attempt to cross the South China Sea and round Singapore to get to the marina in Danga Bay, Johor Bahru after all. Or we retrace our wake and head for Brunei instead. Let the weather gods and Neptun decide!  |
| <b>Kuching</b>, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo: Sights & Suggestions | Posted: 18 Oct 2013 10:00 AM PDT
There are no buses at the airport, only taxis that cost MYR$26 to take you into the city centre – a ride that only takes 10-15 minutes (though they'll say it takes half an hour – lies). We read online that there's a public bus station a few kilometers away, so to save money we decided to go find it. The tourist information booth at the airport gave us the crappiest map to get to the bus station, and we ended up walking in the wrong direction and sitting at a bus stop for over an hour with no buses driving by. A nice local man, Albert, offered us a ride into town which was so nice! He worked for the city of Kuching and gave us some good tips on places to visit while we were in town. We offered him some cash for the ride but waved it off – what a nice guy! To get to the actual bus station from the airport, you turn left as you exit the airport and walk for over 2 km to get there. It's too bad there isn't a bus stop in front of the airport as the city really isn't that far away and the taxis are overpriced.
Around the corner from Tracks B&B is a scooter rental place where we rented a scooter for MYR$30 for the day to further explore. We got a bit lost but we finally made it to Kubah National Park to do a quick walk in the jungle.
We then drove to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre to see the orangutan feeding. It only costs MYR$10 to get in, and the viewing platform is quite far from the entrance off the road. We were able to drive our scooter and park in the parking lot next to the viewing platform, but those who take the bus get dropped at the bottom and have to walk up the road (about a half hour's walk).
They also have some cages with crocodiles in them. There are usually hiking trails in the park but they were closed due to an orangutan attack (!!). It was a great visit and I'd definitely recommend going to Semenggoh during your trip to Kuching.
We first did an easy hike to Telok Paku that goes through the jungle and spits you out at a small beach. It is only 0.8km and they say it takes an hour one way but only took us less than an hour round trip. We finished that hike quickly and went to the only food place in Bako, the canteen, for a buffet-style lunch that wasn't too bad and the prices were decent for being the only place in the park.
We then set out to hike Telok Pandan Kecil (and Besar) which was a bit longer and brought us to a cliff-top overlooking a really beautiful beach. Be sure to bring your swimmers as the ocean was clear and warm. This hike took us a couple hours round trip but left us with a good amount of time before our boatman was meeting us to take us back. The ride back took longer than the ride over since the tide was out and the boat was almost hitting the bottom during some parts. We ended up missing the bus we wanted to catch but luckily another one came half an hour later that would take us back to Kuching city centre. Overall, I really enjoyed Bako – it was so beautiful! – and I regret not staying in the accommodation in the park for at least a few nights to hike more of their trails and spend some time on the beach.
Kuching has a nice waterfront walkway on the river and if you travel left you'll eventually hit food stalls that cook up seafood and other meats plus noodles/rice and vegetables. There is no menu so you pretty much just have to tell them what you want to eat and make sure you ask for the price in advance (and have them weigh the meat). We didn't end up eating here but it looked popular with locals who had loads of different dishes on their tables. The following two tabs change content below.  Hi, I'm Kilee! I love traveling, snowboarding, drinking tea and watching cat videos. . Bookmark the . |
| Kudat to <b>Kuching</b>: A Rainy End to a Spellbound Voyage II « The <b>...</b> Posted: 28 Dec 2013 05:32 PM PST Leaving on a Friday is said to be inauspicious, but we were only sailing some 30 miles to a small island Pulau Tiga, where we planned to anchor for the night before crossing to Labuan, which lies some 40 miles SW of Tiga. That day we finally had strong enough wind to shut down the engine and sail, though of course the wind was once again against us… The weather reports predicted squalls and heavy rain, and sure enough, short after we made it to Tiga and dropped the anchor, the first squall hit us. Our hopes of sleeping in the cockpit were quickly abandoned as we hid ourselves inside the cabin from where we watched the terrifying lightings that were hitting the sea all around us. While amidst one of my melancholic broodings I tried reading a book, Petr busied himself reassembling our tiller pilot to see if the repaired circuit brings it back to life. Unfortunately the miracle didn't happen and we had to face the gruesome fact that we would have to hand steer while motoring all the way to Singapore where we could buy a new tiller pilot. Yet we were not desperate, because at that point we were still hoping to see some of those monsoon winds?!   Sad to say they didn't really materialize on Saturday and we basically motored and hand steered all the way to Labuan. Once in Victoria Harbor we first tried to anchor in front of the marina, which is now being rebuilt but you can allegedly still enter with your dinghy, get water and take shower. We tried that, came in with the dinghy but the marina gates were all closed. We also found out that according to our charts anchoring in that area is in fact prohibited. Nobody seemed to care but the prospect of tug and pilot boats driving at full speed all around us during the night wasn't exactly appealing. In the end we anchored further inside the harbor opposite the water taxi terminal and used their service to get ashore.  We stayed in Labuan for two days. Weather reports were still predicting squally weather, but during out stay it was usually sunny during the day and only started raining in the evening. Thus we actually managed to wash and dry all the laundry that we collected since leaving Kudat and spent Sunday provisioning for the next leg of our voyage. To obtain diesel was not difficult, we just walked to the local petrol station, where they gave us 60 liters at one go without even blinking an eye (usually in Malaysia you are only allowed to take 20l of diesel per person per day unless you apply for a special permit). But where to get water? We tried to ask the water taxi drivers but they didn't seem to understand. Similar enquiries in waterfront restaurants were equally futile. Just when we started talking about trying to anchor in front of the marina after all and reattempt to get water from them, we noticed a water tap above a stainless steel counter belonging to one of the street stalls just next to a narrow alley that leads to the water taxi terminal. I went to the owner to ask if it was alright to take some water. I haven't even finished the sentence, before she replied: "Of course, go on!" Apparently, we were not the first ones to take water from them… The fried bananas still dripping oil she sold didn't exactly boost my appetite so we at least bought some cold drinks from her in return of her favor and after we deposited the jerry cans with water next to those with diesel at the water taxi terminal, we returned to town once more in order to buy some of that duty free firewater Labuan is famous for. As we sipped scotch on the rocks that evening and listened to a squall that was thundering by, we thought of our friends in Kudat and elsewhere and were wondering if we could really make it to Johor Bahru before Christmas…   |
We chose to stay at Tracks B&B in a double room with air-conditioning and a shared bathroom for MYR$60/night (CAD$20). It is run by a crazy guy named Zachary who is a bit all over the place but quite helpful and keeps the place clean. Breakfast of toast with jam and coffee/tea are provided as well, and there's cooking facilities you can use along with a fridge for storing food. Tracks is well-secured and has a big iron gate in front that you have to scan your keycard to enter, which was good. Overall, it was a good stay but remember to bring earplugs as there is a bar across the street that is really loud on some nights!
It costs MYR$20/person to enter and has a bunch of trails you can hike that take anywhere from an hour to all day. We chose to do the walk to the waterfall that took about 3 hours round trip and took us to a beautiful waterfall with clear waters to dip into. We only saw a couple other people the entire time we were there, and didn't see any animals. The area is known for their frog populations but they are more commonly seen at night. The park offers accommodation and it might be worth it to stay a night in order to hike more of the trails in the park.
The viewing platform was great and less rustic than the one in Bukit Lawang, Indonesia. The orangutans came out instantly to munch on the food they were given by staff, and we ended up seeing five orangutans during our visit. The feeding takes an hour and the platform was filled with both tourists and locals, after the hour is finished you have to leave the orangutans in peace.
Bako National Park is a must-do when you're in Kuching. It is an easy bus ride to get there – you catch the bus in the city centre and only costs MYR$3.50 for the hour-long ride to get there. The bus drops you at the entrance where you have to pay (MYR$20) plus catch a mandatory boat ride to the park (MYR$40 for the whole boat, up to five people). It's a bit of a hassle since most people aren't travelling in a big group so you either have to find other people to split the price of the boat with you or pay for the whole thing yourself. The price includes a return boat ride but if your group splits up and you leave at different times, you have to pay extra! The boat driver will give you a receipt with his boat number and cellphone number and will ask you when you want to be picked up, but if you decide to leave earlier/stay later you have to inform the boat driver in advance. I don't think they actually work for the park, they're just local guys with speedboats. Anyways, the boat ride was actually quite nice – it takes you through the river that leads to the ocean and has cool rock formations among lush green jungle. Once you arrive on land, you follow the boardwalks to the park's headquarters to check in and let them know which trails you will be hiking (in case you get lost). Right away we saw a couple proboscis monkeys in the tree next to park HQ and some bearded pigs eating seafood on the beach. Those would be the only animals we would see during our trip to Bako, but the hikes and beaches were lovely.
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