Day 1: Kuching, Here We Come!!!!

8.11.2007, Thursday ... Yeeeaaahhh!!.......The day had come….I couldn’t sleep really the night before. Mike Tjoa, Jennifer Lee (both fellow divers of mine) and I reached LCC an hour and a half before 1.00pm to check in. I was starved by the time I got there and after a hasty check-in and a short stop at the ATM machine for some cash, we binged at McDees…well, I did anyway. I was already acting as excited as a 5 –year old going for a ride in dad’s car. It’s been so long since I had the chance to anywhere new. As Jennifer remarked, “like a chicken out of the reban”…

Everything went well, cept for the airport security telling me…”Encik, you punya bag ada “tool”, tak boleh masuk. Awak pergi check-in bag ini” (thanks to my smart move of packing my Leatherman in my back-pack), which incidentally costs me RM75 for excess baggage, seeing that I had checked in my huge bag in earlier.

I slept some parts of the flight. And the whole time, my trusty MP3 player kept me company, whilst Mike and Jennifer chatted the whole way... I was tired, but all sorts were running through my mind as we flew, like a small kiddo going on a jet plane for the first time....There was not a care in the world at that moment. I was going to Catcity and there was nothing in my mind which could hinder that.

We touched down at Kuching International Airport at 2.30pm. We were picked up by Francis and Asther. The drive around Kuching was quite exhilarating for me. The weather was fine fine fine and the skyline is clear, not a smudge of haze and fog, something new to me since I’m in KL. We picked up Asther's cousin, Claudia on the way and checked in at...Jinhold (Hokkien= "river of gold") Service Apartments...pretty nice and comfy. Air-cond= 2.5 hp somemore!!!!

First order of things.... lunch!!! We went to Asther's mum's condo, Stutong Tabuan Apartments in Tabuan Jaya....the chicken-siew yoke rice in Kuching is interesting; laden with black pepper...
For desert, there was a whole range of cakes and kuih. My personal favourite is what the locals call "Kueh Lek" ...this round, glutinous sweet pan-cake-looking thingy. After lunch, we took a ride to Kuching town to attend to a few chores, namely getting the Cymbidium orchids for the hand-bouquet (demanded by dear Asther) to the florist, which Mike had precariously cradled from KL to Kuching....

For one thing, Kuching has roundabouts strewn with effigies of cats and of feline origins.... Not to mention this driver who had his entire car's motive set in Tiger stripes...Miao!!
I must say, it's an uncommon sight for me to be able to see huge, spacious bungalows strewn all across Kuching. Up on the hill, surrounded by resplendent flora. If you remain still, you can hear the crickets and cicadas and all sorts of "nature" sounds. I can imagine living in one of these houses. It's soooo tranquil over here. The air smells fresh and the sights so far have not disappointed this humble traveller in a foreign land.

After that, it was to Jacky Studio, this posh joint where Asther picked up her wedding gown and accessories. After that, we adjourned to Stutong Tabuan for dinner (tapau-ed).

After a long and interesting day, we returned to our apartment for some well-deserved rest....*Yawn*