FROM BAKO TERMINAL TO BAKO NATIONAL PARK

 7TH SEPTEMBER 2022  ~ We decided to embark on a more adventurous trip on the third day of our stay in Kuching. We drove to Bako Terminal after breakfast, just trying our luck we would be able to get to Bako National Park even though we had not made any early reservations before going.

When we arrived at the terminal, there were people crowding the waiting area. We had to get a boat to get us to the park [RM200 per boat] and a guide [RM150 per group]. We were told there were neither boats nor guides so we had to wait. Then someone out of nowhere appeared to offer his service, and there was a boat coming to take us to our destination.

We had to pay more as we decided not to share both the boat and the guide with other people, which would be more convenient.

So we just followed our guide of the day, Mr. Mazlan, a local there. We were lucky indeed as he was actually very knowledgeable and informative and we had him all to ourselves.

I always enjoy going on a boat ride and the journey from the jetty to the Park took about half an hour.

TO BE CONTINUED....

MY KUCHING TRAVELOGUE MAIN PAGE

MEE JAWA FOR BREAKFAST ON THE THIRD DAY IN KUCHING

 7TH SEPTEMBER 2022  ~ The gastronomic adventure in Kuching continued on the third day. We decided to revisit Kopi-O Corner to see what we could have for breakfast. We went to this restaurant the day before but it was not ready for us yet as we were too early so we made it a point to go not that early this time.

The same concept applied here - small stalls selling all kinds of food.

'

The eating place was clean and spacious, and the decorations were interesting.

Most importantly, breakfast was good and we were ready to go on with our adventure on the third day in Sarawak.

MY KUCHING TRAVELOGUE MAIN PAGE

AN IMPROMPTU MEETING AT THISTLE HOTEL

Another friend of UPM TESL class of 1993, Puan Shamsul Niza Shamsuddin, contacted me [at the very last minute] to inform she was in town. A quick meeting was set - it was now or never. Since she was staying in Thistle Hotel with her family members and we had no other free time, so we just agreed to have coffee at the hotel, right after she had checked in.

We got our extra complimentary cuppas as someone complained when our hi-tea set took such a long time to arrive at our table.

On one hand, fortunately we still managed to get a proper hi-tea set at the cafe. On the other hand, too bad we both had to hurry so the reunion happened for about only an hour.

Thanks Puan Shamsul Niza for the time and effort to get reunited again, and hope to see you later some other time when you are back in JB, or when I am in KL.

SEEING KUCHING AFTER 9:00 P.M.

 6th SEPTEMBER 2022  ~ After having the tummies filled with all kinds of food and drinks at Chicken Hertz, we decided to take a walk to see what Kuching had to offer after 9:00 p.m. This time my ex-student, Mr. Aster Smith, had to play the tourist guide.

The first short stop was the cats statue in front of Margherita Hotel. This should be one of the must-visit and must-take-photo spot when you are in Kuching. I think there is another statue inn the middle of the road where people could pose for photos.

If you are wondering, why cats? This is because "Kuching" is actually "cat" in the Malay language.

Then we went to join the crowd at the Waterfront.

This time, we went up the Darul Hana Bridge. The pedestrian bridge was still attracting a lot of people after 9:00 p.m.

We were actually walking over the Sarawak River and observing the surroundings. This should be one place where one could find peace but that would not happen when there were just too many people walking in both directions.

We took many photos on the bridge before it was time to leave. The time to bid Mr. Aster Smith goodbye came when he sent us back to the hotel.

I was happy to get to see Mr. Aster again and hoping we could do that again some other time - either in Kuching or some other places.