Blogs from Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, Asia - page 14

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Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Kuching September 17th 2009

Since I last blogged we have been back to Kuala Lumpur to catch a flight to Borneo. We landed in the city Kuching in the province of Sarawak. It was here that we were going to try and stay with a village tribe in the Borneo jungle. We had booked in to a certain hostel that had offered better and cheaper tours into the jungle and it was highly recommended by others. When we arrived they told us the guy who ran them was gone to Kuala Lumpur and didn’t know when he would be back! Great. We had a walk through the town but all the tours they offered were €50 each more expensive and as that is our daily budget we decided to try something else. We went online and the No.1 activity in ... read more
Village
Monkey cups
Small but deadly snake

Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Kuching September 7th 2009

After our longhouse adventure and good previous experience we rented the motorcycles for 3 more days. The first day we visited the wind and fairy cave. The wind cave was totally dark, moist and had lots of bats. This made it somewhat scary but and lots of fun. The fairy cave was simply amazing. So amazing that Ilse went for a panorama shot. The only other place she ever did this was high in Truind in the Indian Himalayas. So it was pretty damn amazing! Sadly, somewhere halfway through the shot the battery went dead. This frustrated Ilse so much that we decided to come back the next day. This is just what we did and we finally completed the shot. To give a small description of the pace: It’s like walking on the set of ... read more
Fairy Cave 1
Bat Poo Proof
Feeding time

Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Kuching August 28th 2009

Efter nogle rigtig gode dage i Kuala Lumpur, som blev brugt paa at udforske saa godt som all shopping-malls i byen for at finde blandt andet iglestroemper og bukser og drikke masser af Starbucks kaffe, ankom vi endelig til Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo. Kuching er hovedbyen i Sarawak og har omkring 500.000 indbyggere. Den ligger ud til en flod og har en rigtig hyggelig promenade, som lyser flot op omaftenen. Den foeste dag blev brugt paa Sarawak Museeum, et naturhistorisk museeum, med blandt andet udstoppede slanger, krokodilleskeletter mm. Herefter ordnede vi nogle praktiske ting i forbindelse med vores tur til Bako NationalPark. Dagen efter skulle vi tidlig op, da vi havde planlagt at skulle besoege Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. Centeret ligger 32 km udenfor Kuching, saa vi maatte selv transportere os derud (med bus...og en elendig en ... read more
De soedeste dyr
Trekker-Tanya
Nej, det smager ikke som mors mad

Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Kuching August 23rd 2009

We sometimes get an acknowledgment of who we are and where we sit in the pecking order of life. For instance, the newly promoted executive may get the keys to the mythical executive bathroom. But it’s what we don’t get that can also define us, as I found out in my first few days at work. You will never guess what it was (wasn’t). Go on, have a guess and I shall enlighten you a little later...... Harold My building has 15 levels and about 130 apartments. It’s difficult to know just how many of them are occupied. At night only about a third of the building is lit up. I have no idea how many are occupied on my floor as I haven’t seen anybody else since I have been here. I do know though ... read more
Boatman
Waiting for a boatman
Chinese temple

Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Kuching August 23rd 2009

Well im in Borneo! " took a 1 and a half hour flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching in Borneo. Kristina and i went to find somewhere to stay the night and met a VERY friendly malaysian guy called Peter who runs a great little bar here and said he had a new gusthouse we could stay in, but first he wanted to give us a free beer each, and a shot of rice whisky! then hes like öh, you can stay the first night for free too! i was a little suspicious, but it turned out really well! the guesthouse is very nice and new, and very cheap to stay after our free night too. today we went to a wildlife rehabilitation centre to see some orangutangs, but when they arrived they said we had ... read more

Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Kuching August 16th 2009

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...... It’s a hot and humid morning. Mark wrestles with the four wheel drive as he negotiates peak hour traffic in downtown Kuching. The air conditioning is keeping up nicely. Not too bad for a vehicle that has done 250,000 km’s and which I suspect has run the AC on everyone one of them. We are heading to the local engineering consultants office where I shall be working for the next nine months. This is going to be my first day at work. The radio is tuned to the local funky FM station. A man and a woman DJ talk inanely to callers in between 80’s songs. Today’s topic is about road rage. The girl DJ speaks with a strong American accent to a man who is frightened of his wife when she ... read more
My workplace
3rd Floor
Noni

Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Kuching August 9th 2009

It took four hours until the screaming started. Surprising really. I thought it would start before then. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me fill you in on the hours before my head started to hurt. Outta Here! Brisbane International Airport, Monday 3rd August 8:45 pm. I get out of the car and say goodbye to Mum and Dad. Their friend Janet has given us a lift as her husband Daryl is catching a flight 30 minutes after me. Going to an airport is a changeable experience. It’s hello or goodbye. Staying or leaving. Happy or sad. Tonight I am leaving for South East Asia to work for nine months and I am happy. My house is rented out, my cat is at Mum and Dad’s place (and probably peeing on the bed) and ... read more
Hotel Room View
New State Legislative Building

Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Kuching August 5th 2009

Today is my birthday and for want of something more wildernessy to do I went to the local zoo, Jong’s Crocodile Farm And Zoo. It can’t quite be described as The Unhappiest Place On Earth (if I may be permitted to misquote Sir M. Mouse), but it is certainly pretty unlikeable. It was first established way back in 1963 and I wasn’t really expecting it to be a nice visit, crocodile farms usually aren’t, but I like to see the less salubrious facilities on my travels (by which I don’t actually mean I “like” to see them, more that it is instructive to see them, if you see what I mean). Their promotional pamphlet says it is “one of the largest and the only crocodile breeding farm in the country”, which is somewhat self-fulfilling. It also ... read more
the overcrowded pacu tank
saltwater crocodiles en masse
Bujang Sudin, a man-eating crocodile caught and brought to the farm in September 1988

Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Kuching July 29th 2009

When I travel I prefer not to book accommodation and things ahead of time, largely because that would mean I'd have no flexibility in my plans which especially in a long trip is very important. It usually works out all right except for the minor hiccup here and there, but sometimes not so much. Well I flew into Kuching in Borneo, and fell flat on my face with my plans. I am coming into the peak of the tourist season, which I knew, but August is also the month Malaysia celebrates its independance as a nation, which I did know but hadn't really considered as a problem. Hence I have discovered that it is very difficult getting into the accommodation of the national parks of Sarawak and probably also Sabah. My first stop was going to ... read more
blatant false advertising!! :)
red-tailed catfish at the Kuching Aquarium
snakehead at the Kuching Aquarium

Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Kuching July 17th 2009

Cat city Cats everywhere. This city is full of them. On street corners. In the gardens, At restaurant doors. Plaster, stone, wood and china cats. Furry ones wander the streets. There is even a museum about cats here. Young Rohan loves cats. So he points out every cat he sees. He never tires of them. He chases cats down alleyways. He runs away from cats that growl at him. But he comes back for more! I'm not a cat person. Nor a dog lover. Nor an elephant boy. I would like to get a pet hermit crab. Along the river The Sarawak River flows through the middle of the city. We see many boats making the short trip across the water. There are also thousands thousands of cars driving across a four-lane bridge. The waterfront area ... read more
City view
Hornbill carving
Across the river




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