<b>Kuching</b> the chill capital of Sarawak | The Borneo Post SEEDS by <b>...</b> |
- <b>Kuching</b> the chill capital of Sarawak | The Borneo Post SEEDS by <b>...</b>
- Tune Hotel Waterfront <b>Kuching</b> benefits from unbeatable location <b>...</b>
- I Need To Tell : The World From My Perspective: <b>Kuching</b> Civic <b>...</b>
- I Need To Tell : The World From My Perspective: <b>Kuching</b> Botanic <b>...</b>
- <b>Kuching</b> – cat city! | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
| <b>Kuching</b> the chill capital of Sarawak | The Borneo Post SEEDS by <b>...</b> Posted: 03 Apr 2014 09:19 PM PDT Friday, 04 Apr 2014 Lifestyle, Travel 4389 By Fouad Alaa @fouad_aka_foxSOMETIME IN AUGUST 2013 I went to Kuching on an unplanned 2-week vacation, or rather a getaway trip, not expecting much since the only thing I knew about it was that it was a "big" city in Sarawak. At that point in my life it had been a long time since I wasn't home for more than a couple of days, so taking a trip from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching was a little atypical. From the first night out, I fell in love with the city. I am not really a bar-going type of person and neither am I a clubbing person, but there was a perfect blend of chill loud music and a comfy place to hang out at a place called Ruai.  Making friends first day at Ruai. The music ranged between slow and calming to get-up-and-dance by the end of the night. The crowd was so used to the mood that the people and music blended so well, I felt like a regular. The drinks were cheap, everyone is dancing and on top of it all, closing time is up to the crowd! I felt alive for the first time in ages. Sure enough I missed my flight back a couple of times and ended up staying in Kuching for 6 months. FOOD!Finding a nice breakfast place in Kuching is a piece of cake since everywhere you go has a food corner and it's always open before you even wake up. Foody Goody, a coffee shop famous for its laksa, was the first place I had Sarawak Laksa, and boy, was I in luck. The soup was amazing, hot and spicy as hell and the shrimp was really fresh. I had two and I didn't feel even a bit bad about it.  Sarawak laksa Over the next week, I bounced between one food place to another trying out all the local food and once I ran out of new dishes to have, I'd have the same order in a different place. In Kuching, you never run out of new food to try since there is always a new place that's just opened. Another one of my favourite places to hang out and have a nice dinner is Jambu. Jambu gives you the fine-dining experience with a taste of Kuching: chill and relaxing. The food is pretty good, especially the steak, and the dining area is right next to a pool table and the bar. So whether you want to have a drink after dinner or have a nice couple of games of pool, Jambu is one of the places to hang out at night. Getting aroundGeography-wise, you would feel like the whole city is a 10-minute drive, and the funny part is that I am only exaggerating a little bit. I stayed somewhere near MJC area and every time I wanted to go out, it was never more than a 15-minute drive, even with 'traffic'. The only place that takes a while to go to (around 45 minutes) are the beaches around Santubong.  Damai beach One of the essentials you need while living or visiting Kuching is your own transport, life cannot happen without a car in Kuching. If you have a car, everything is within reach and you can arrive at your destination in a short time, because in Kuching there is no obvious public transport and cabs are not extensive throughout. With minimal traffic and beautiful weather, just having a drive at night is always on the to-do list when there's nothing much to do. NightlifeWhen it comes to clubs, bars, karaoke and any night activities, always follow the crowd and they will lead you to the new thing in town. One of the most delightful qualities of Kuching is that it is big enough that not everyone literally know everyone, but small enough that they kind of do. If I met anyone in Kuala Lumpur who is from Kuching, I would not hesitate to ask them if they knew one of my friends just because they mentioned that they visited the same club. So when it comes to nightlife, the place with the crowd is always the new place happening and it won't take long before the crowds shift to the next new one. When I was in Kuching, the new to-go place was a club-bar hybrid called Utopia. It had live band over the weekends and an opened bar facing the main street. It is confusing just trying to classify the place other than the perfect hybrid for people who like both loud music and a chill place to hang out. Soon enough I got to know everyone to the point I was offered to work part-time there! God, I love Kuching. Kuching in the eyes of a foreign beholderThere were a number of funny and unique observations I made as a foreigner living in Kuching. It all comes from the same inner chill nature of the city and the people. 1- Parking spaces: in Kuala Lumpur, if you parked 2 blocks away from your destination you are in luck since you parked so near. In Kuching, unless you are parked in front of the shop and maybe even a little in, you are too damn far. 2- Language: Regardless of ethnic groups, the local Malay and Chinese dialects sound different in Kuching than in any other place in terms of slang, accent and expressions. 3- Racial and religious tension: Anywhere on the planet has racial and religious tension. Kuching is no different but the percentage varies A LOT. Are you Muslim or Christian? Nobody cares, let's have a drink. Are you Arab or Iranian? Nobody cares, let's go eat. I have been to Sabah, Penang, Johor and a couple of other places including a few kampongs, and I would always get at least one stare reminding me I am not from around here. In Kuching, I would get that stare once, not because of how I look, but only because I am someone new and after that … NOBODY CARES LAH!  Catching up with Kuching friends in KL. Kuching is imprinted in my memory because it is the place that kick-started my independence. I started my writing career there and by the time I moved back to Kuala Lumpur, I was the same person but with a completely different attitude towards my own life. Ever since I left Egypt 7 years ago, I never felt "homesick" for any other place I have been to except Kuching. And why wouldn't I?? Cheap living, easy to get around, tons of han outs and things to do and carefree chill people and lifestyle. Whenever I am sick of big city life and want to get away and just relax and be, Kuching will always be my first choice. Featured Photo credits: Sarawak Tourism Board
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| Tune Hotel Waterfront <b>Kuching</b> benefits from unbeatable location <b>...</b> Posted: 02 Apr 2014 09:10 AM PDT by Sharon Kong, sharonkong@theborneopost.com. Posted on April 3, 2014, Thursday KUCHING: Having just celebrated its fifth anniversary, Tune Hotel Waterfront Kuching is not showing any signs of slowing down as it benefits from a variety of travellers passing through Kuching and an unbeatable location in the heart of the city. Tune Hotels chief executive officer Mark Lankester in an email interview with The Borneo Post said that Kuching has a great position within Sarawak, where it benefits from not only business travel but also a significant amount of leisure travel. "Whilst into its fifth year of operation, the hotel does very well with an unbeatable location directly opposite the five-star Kuching Hilton that differentiates it from other value for money hotels within the city," he added. When queried on the performance of Tune Hotel Waterfront Kuching in comparison to other outlets in Sarawak and Malaysia overall, Lankester noted that state capitals in East Malaysia and West Malaysia have different demand drivers that state tourism organizations play a big part in. "Whilst airlines, hotels and the other tourism and travel related industry members play a big part, its essential to have a pro-active tourism promotion organisation to drive through the attractions of any destination/state," he added. While there are no future expansion plans in Sarawak as of yet, it is a different case for Tune Hotels' international expansion plans. Lankaster noted that they have 42 hotels in operation now across nine countries and highlighted that the intention is to continue with the pipeline, not only in the countries Tune Hotels is already in, but to also engineer new market entries. In terms of plans to list Tune Hotels in Bursa Malaysia, there seem to be no immediate plans for this. "Listing is another way of raising capital, but currently we are fairly self sufficient and are finding the cost of capital is manageable in the markets we favour." "A listing isn't something that my team and I focus on currently," he reaffirmed.  |
| I Need To Tell : The World From My Perspective: <b>Kuching</b> Civic <b>...</b> Posted: 03 Apr 2014 09:00 AM PDT I was eager to escape the hazy conditions here in Miri, which suffocated me literally. I was going to KL, via Kuching as it was cheaper ..... and had a few hours to spare. So my personal tour guide was kind enough to pick me up from the airport. My friend D brought me to the Kuching Civic Centre .... Well, I had not been here for a long, long time. Since I was in secondary school, really! And I do not think Kuching folks come here anymore, because the place is looking pretty rundown. It's such a pity really. Where the library used to be is now a gymnasium ... and we did see a few people heading there. D and I had intended to go up to the viewing platform .... but the lift was closed, unfortunately. Another set of rickety lifts brought us to the offices .... the lift was rather scary and I prayed that it would not break down! Planetarium Sultan Iskandar is also located at the Kuching Civic Centre. It is the only planetarium at this part of the world, and when in secondary school, we had always enjoyed having our field trips here! Aah, the good old days ..... There was a show at 12.00 p.m. .... and we thought we'd go watch it. We made a simple enquiry at the booth ... and paid RM2.00 each to enter. While the staff got the film ready, we were asked to wait outside.  Models of the solar system inside the planetarium Because there were only the two of us in the entire planetarium, we could pick where we wanted to sit. I thought we were watching a cartoon, entitled "Larry and the Cat" ... so I was surprised when we did not. We watched a short documentary about light pollution, and another on Google Lunar Xprize .... Both were informative.We thanked the staff before we left. It's nice to re-visit this place after so many years .... it did bring back fond memories of my childhood .... but I was also sad to see this place in a dilapidated condition. I do hope the authorities do something about it .... and I am sure many tourists would enjoy the 360 degrees view of the wonderful city of Kuching, my hometown. |
| I Need To Tell : The World From My Perspective: <b>Kuching</b> Botanic <b>...</b> Posted: 05 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT After lunch, D and I went to the Kuching Botanic Gardens, Aquarium and Museum. First up, I was rather impressed that the aquarium was especially well-kept. The tanks looked clean and the water creatures looked really healthy. D and I quite enjoyed looking at the fishes and taking photographs of them.    Saying hi to Orca .... he's been here for a long, long time .... On the first floor, we could sit down and watch a film of the various ethnic longhouses in Sarawak .... it was a very informative show. This section was certainly new as they didn't have it before. And finally, we went to enjoy a bowl of red bean ice at the kiosk at the Botanic Gardens ... The kiosk .... very old and brings back lots of fond memories  I remembered watching a live performance here when I was a child ....  Red bean ice What a refreshing end to a wonderful afternoon .... We went back after our sweet treat .... |
| <b>Kuching</b> – cat city! | Flickr - Photo Sharing! Posted: 29 Aug 2012 12:00 AM PDT |
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