Cat City - Day 3

It's a great feeling waking up in a jungle. No noisy neighbours, no noisy cars. Just nature and fresh air. The good thing about Bako is, there are no mosquitoes. We were surprised. Edwin woke up early in the morning to try out another trek, the Teluk Sapi. I was having lots of muscle ache from the previous day's hike, so I didn't join him. By the way, Edwin was my travel partner to Nepal during our 4th uni year. His stamina was amazing, despite the cachexic appearance.

We stayed at this jungle chalet with two rooms. Each room has two beds attached bathroom. Quite comfortable, just that no air-con.

The chalets are surrounded by trees, which makes it a very nice back to nature experience.

We had simple breakfast that we brought along. Food at the canteen wasn't great. Told the boatman the day before that we'll be leaving at 9 am. Initially wanted to share boat with other tourists, but there were none leaving at that time. The cost for a one-way boat ride is RM 47, and can usually sit 5 people per boat.

Our boatman was a bit late. So we still had some time to walk around the wooden platform. And then it was time to leave.

Our schedule was very tight for the rest of the day. From Bako, we headed to the Satok Sunday Market. That is a bit like the Gaya Street that we have in KK. Many things to see, hold, and buy. The market starts at Saturday evening and ends at Sundah noon.

Irene shopped for some gifts to bring back home. Little boy was finding things to play with. By the time we're done, our stomachs were growling. Must try some authentic Sarawakian food before we leave.

Sarawak laksa.

Kon lo mee. Not very authentic, but will do.

Met up with some old coursemates who are studying to become eye doctors. Then we rushed off for our next destination: the Cat Museum.

Edwin sums it up well. In the Cat Museum, you can find almost anything about cats, except real cats. Pretty good collection of cat related stuffs, and entrance is free.

Have you seen a crying cat before?

Time was running out. We rushed to the Sarawak Cultural Village, which is located in Santubong, about 45 minutes away from Kuching. Arrived there at about 3 pm. The cultural show starts at 4 pm. We've got just an hour to finish seeing all the houses there. Entrance fee is a whopping RM 60. Luckily, my student card earned me some discounts. For those of you who have never been to SCV, let me bring you on a very fast sight-seeing tour. The SVC is basically a cluster of houses of different races/tribes built around a lake, with staffs in the houses making handicrafts and cultural performance.

The Chinese house.

The Malay house. Some ladies playing congkak and making kueh kepit there.

The Melanau house. Gigantic structure.

The Orang Ulu house. Magnificently built on stilts. There was a man playing music instrument and another making the sape (native guitar).

The Penan house. Or rather, hut. The simplest of them all.

The Iban house. Lots of tree bark as wall paper.

The Bidayuh house. My favourite. The circular hall was really grand. Great place to sit around and yum-cha and have BBQ at the fireplace in the center.

And finally, we rushed to see the cultural show. We were a bit late. Nice show it was. Sayang didn't manage to have a photo with the guy in loin cloth.

Took some photos of our final moments in Kuching.

3 days 2 nights passed very fast. Before we knew it, it's time to get onto the return flight. It has been a great trip, made even more memorable by Edwin's company. Schedule was very hectic. But I think we managed to see most of the things we need to see in Kuching.

Had dinner at The Spring, the newest shopping complex in Kuching. Something like Midvalley of KL. Then, Edwin sent us to the airport.

And we went on our way home to KK, with fond memories of Kuching, Sarawak.

To see more photos, click HERE.