Merdeka Day Weekend 2014

This trip was planned in mid-February 2014. I had initially planned on departing KL in the evening but changed my mind and bought a flight departing in the afternoon. I decided not to stay at my timesharing hotel and instead searched for a boutique hotel. As luck would have it, there is one such hotel at the Main Bazaar so I immediately booked a room.

I left for the airport from work on Friday (took half-day afternoon leave) and took the 13:20 KLIA Express to KLIA. I wanted to buy some bread for the next day’s trip but couldn’t find it at any of the convenience stores at KL Sentral so I had to search for it at the airport shops instead. I bought one of the last remaining two loaves and two buns before going in to the domestic departure terminal. Made my way to the departure gate after performing prayers.

We took off about ten minutes after schedule and landed at Kuching International Airport at 16:50. The bags took a while to emerge. I went to Tune Hotel’s counter to ask if we could take the airport transfer but was told no as we were not guests at Tune Hotel despite me telling that I had taken the transfer from the city to the airport on my last visit when I stayed at Riverside Majestic. The people at the counter wouldn’t relent so we went to the taxi counter. The taxi to our hotel cost RM26.

It took about 25 minutes to reach the hotel as we were caught at a long traffic light. After checking in, we had a cuppa before venturing out. We walked along the Main Bazaar all the way to Tun Jugah Mall, stopping in between at Tune Hotel to enquire on the transfer back to the airport, and at some food stalls behind Parkson at Riverside Shopping Complex. I was not surprised to find that we could buy our airport transfer tickets at the counter at Tune Hotel and told the lady that we were denied at the airport earlier. She said it should not have happened, we should not be denied from buying tickets even though we were not staying at Tune Hotel because the airport transfer is not an add-on to the hotel room. I wonder why the counter at the airport refused business. Here you have people willing to pay for your services so why do you have to be sticky about it? The transfer costs RM9.99 per person with minimum 2 persons travelling so if you’re travelling alone, you’ll have to buy two tickets. Well, RM20 still beats RM26 so we bought two tickets each as we would be taking different flights back to KL.

After checking out Popular Bookstore at Tun Jugah Mall (I bought a few books on my last visit to Kuching but didn’t buy any this time as the hotel has a Reading Lounge with its own mini library), we walked along the waterfront back to the Main Bazaar. We returned to the hotel after checking out the General Post Office and Jalan Carpenter. Dinner was had at the hotel. I had the set menu with Manok Pansuh, a local dish.

We woke up early on Saturday (prayer times are about 20-30 minutes earlier than in KL) and went down for an early breakfast. We left for the bus stop across The Court House slightly after 08:00 and of course this meant we missed the 08:00 bus to Bako. So we had to wait for the next bus at 09:00 %#T*)!~U#+~ It’s a red bus with Bako written on the front and the fare is only RM3.50 (unchanged from my last visit). We reached Bako about 40 minutes later.

At Bako, we had to register first and pay for the park fees (RM10 for Malaysians, I’m not sure what the fee for non-Malaysians is). There’s now a boat counter too and it costs RM15 per person one way. You have to buy the return boat ticket at Bako National Park boat counter.

We rode the boat and unlike my previous visit, we had to dock at the sea near the Park Headquarters and wade through the sea. It was low tide then. You have to register again at the Park HQ and indicate the trail you wish to explore. At the end of it, you have to return back and sign out. I guess this is to ensure there are no trekkers or hikers lost or missing in any of the trails. There are 18 trails in total but three (I think) were closed that day.

We set off and walked towards the beginning of the trail, passing the boat terminal. No vicious evil monkeys sighted so far, thank God. We had decided to take Telok Pandan Kecil trail and my, what a challenging trail it was! It was only 1.5 km long or 2.5 km from the Park HQ but it took us about an hour or so on the trail alone. The challenge started immediately where you have to immediately climb up almost vertically. The massive tree roots somehow formed a trail for you to follow and you climb boulders and the stairs provided (in some areas only) and climb up and up until you reach a large clearing with a rather smooth rock surface (instead of earth and forest). I was huffing and puffing and panting before long. Then we followed signs painted on trees after every few metres (yellow signs to Telok Pandan Kecil) and this was where another form of challenge began. Some stretches of the trail were wet and muddy and it was like wading through a very shallow river. In fact, I believe the wet trail stretch marked the beginnings of a small river prompting me to remark a few times, ‘So this is how rivers form in the mountains or higher lands.’ I’m never one who enjoys getting herself wet unnecessarily so I was a grimacing grouchy grumpy cat whenever we had to trek those stretches.

We finally reached the end of the trail and emerged onto a cliff top which overlooked a secluded bay and sea stacks. We stayed for about 20 minutes having our bread and enjoying the view. We decided not to descend down to the beach as it was low tide, content to just enjoy the view from above. We left at noon at trudged our way back to the Park HQ. It took us 50 minutes before we emerged from the trail.

We were making our way back to Park HQ and were at the boat terminal when a family (colony?) of monkeys made its way towards us. There were the normal-sized ones and a few babies and one fierce-looking alpha male. We looked at them warily and they eyed us in turn almost calculatingly. I told you they were a vicious bunch and I was right. We didn’t move as we didn’t want to alarm and appear intimidating but they advanced determinedly towards us. My mate started walking slowly and I followed suit but before we knew it, we were almost surrounded by them as some monkeys circled around and came from behind us. And they started to attack me, yes, just me alone. WTF? What is it about me that have people and monkeys attacking me? One tried to jump on my back or grab my bag – I wasn’t sure which but I know I felt something heavy on my bag and I almost yelled ‘Go away, stay away from me!’ Then the alpha male came and looked like it would attack. I continued yelling and somehow the monkeys stopped their pursuit. I was shaken and stirred and walked away muttering.

Back at the Park HQ, we signed out and then went over to the boat counter at the next building. Alas, the next boat out was at 2 pm so we had to wait about 45 minutes for it (apparently the first boat back was at 11:00). Again, we had to wade out to the boat and took the first boat back to the jetty. We decided to wait for the bus instead of taking the mini-van back to the city. The bus arrived at 15:10 and we had to wait until 15:30 when its scheduled service began.

We stopped back at the hotel for a while and went out again, walking along the Main Bazaar shops and entering some of them to browse. We were served by a sullen young woman with an attitude at our last shop. What’s with the attitude?

We returned back to the hotel and rested. I had a well-deserved soak in the tub.

After evening prayers, we went to Plaza Merdeka and browsed around. It started drizzling when we made our way back to the hotel. Dinner was again had at the hotel.

On Sunday, we walked to Jalan Satok (yes, walked). It took us only 20 minutes. However, the market has relocated to a trade area near Kubah Ria across the River Santubong. A couple who was driving by overheard us asking an elderly man for directions and offered us a lift. How kind! We accepted it gratefully, after all the morning was getting hotter by the minute.

We walked around the huge market, taking in the sights, smells and scents - there were some fruits and vegetables which were new to me. There are covered stalls and outdoor stalls and a lot of the locals do their grocery shopping here. We also saw some tourists there. We stayed for close to an hour before walking back (yes, we walked!) to Jalan Satok. I wanted to look for layered cakes but alas, the house shop where I bought them from on my last visit looked like it had been left uninhabited for some time. We crossed over to Jalan Kulas and waited for transportation back to Jalan Masjid.

We decided to check out the museum and headed there. I had checked and the website says the museums are open on Sundays and Public Holidays but when we got there, we found that it was closed. WTH. Surely Sundays and Public Holidays are the best time to visit museums and it was Merdeka Day too. Disconsolate, we trudged back to the hotel to seek a brief respite from the fierce sun.

We headed out again about 20 minutes later and took a boat across. Across the river, we looked for signs and trekked up to Fort Margherita. It was well-maintained with a fresh coat of paint and manicured lawns around it but it was deserted. We walked around it before making our way back to the river.

We decided to go to Jalan Satok again to find Mariam Cake House and after waiting ages for the bus to start its journey, we got down and walked (yes, walked again!) to Jalan Satok. We trudged up to the end of the road but there was no sign of the cake house. The lady finally answered my call and informed me that the shop which was listed on the company’s website had relocated... to the market. FFS, we were just there this morning! And why don’t people update their websites? We decided not to bother anymore and walked to the bus stop for the next bus back. It’s pretty walkable but the heat was getting to us.

I continued alone to the Main Bazaar and stopped at the first shop we stopped at the afternoon before and bought some pelikat and batik songket sarong. I returned to the room and had a shower. It was just too hot!

We stayed in and rested the rest of the afternoon, watching a movie. It was still raining when we went down for dinner (again, at the hotel). I don’t know if it was the food or the heat or both but we both felt unwell when we returned to the room. We had enough gas between us to rival Sarawak Energy and to light up Kuching, Bako, Santubong and Damai.

I got up early on Monday morning to use the bathroom. Despite this, I had tummy upset the whole morning right up to before boarding the plane. The breakfast service was slow this morning as it would inevitably be when you’re in a hurry and need to rush. The 24-room hotel is beautiful and tastefully decorated with friendly staff and a lovely ambience. Unfortunately, it is understaffed even for its size and it was glaringly obvious this morning.

We checked out at 8 and walked to Tune Hotel after settling the bill for the 08:30 shuttle to the airport. I was the sole passenger. Reached the airport barely 20 minutes later and went to drop off my bags.

We landed at KLIA at 12:18 but took a while taxiing the runway to our gate. The plane finally came to a complete stop at 12:27 and I rushed out. I was reunited with my bags at 12:50 and managed to take the 13:00 train back to KL Sentral.

So that was my Merdeka trip to Kuching. At the start of this trip, I did wonder why I don’t go to Kuching as often as KK. I think it’s because I always get a bad case of tummy upset after spending some time in Kuching but blame it on my sensitive tummy and not the local cuisine. I hope you had a productive and rewarding weekend too!

Cat City - August 2011

I was in Kuching over the weekend. I took half-day leave on Friday and Fire-flew there. We landed around 6 pm and it looked like it was closer to 7 pm than 6 because of the dark clouds hovering above. It had rained earlier because the ground looked wet. I searched for the airport transfer which I had pre-arranged with the guesthouse. I was quoted RM23 for the pick-up; an airport cab would cost RM26.

However, to my increased annoyance, there wasn’t anyone there. I searched for the guesthouse’s number and called. I was asked why I didn’t confirm my booking and I said, I actually had done that a week before. As it was getting late, the person advised me to just take a cab. Hello, the reason I pre-arranged is because it would be slightly more economical for me rather taking a cab. Still feeling pissed, I hurried to the taxi counter and paid for a cab. Thankfully the traffic wasn’t so bad save for on stretch just after the airport and we reached the guesthouse just before break fast time.

I broke fast with a guy who worked there on a temporary basis. Another guy (also a temp) sat and chatted with us. They were nice blokes and I had no issue with them.

I went out and walked to the shopping centre at Riverside Majestic (where I would check in the next day) and bought some food and drinks. I also went to a stall to pack some food for the next morning’s pre-dawn meal.

When I got back, the idiot staff who overlooked picking me up was there. I gave him a piece of my mind and being a typical Malay guy, ignored and cut me off. Of course this only prompted me to continue ranting. I told him he had issues if he couldn’t listen or accept feedback. He called me rude and I was so shocked and angry that I just said my last piece and stormed off. Rude? Rude? You’re not exactly polite yourself. Why couldn’t you just admit your mistake? And what about your inability to accept criticism and admit your mistake? Grrrr...!!!

Apart from the rude staff, I also wasn’t happy with the guesthouse’s slow response, and at times total lack of response. Besides the human issues, I wasn’t too thrilled either with the bathroom conditions at the guesthouse.

I woke up at 4.30 am the next morning for my pre-dawn meal and checked out just after 7. I walked to Riverside Majestic and stored my bag there. The plan for today was a trip to Bako National Park. The bus passed by as I was walking to the hotel so I had to wait for the next one out at 0815. I killed time by walking along the waterfront and Main Bazaar before returning to the bus stop at Khatulistiwa Café.

The trip to Bako took us 40 minutes (it cost RM3.50 one way). We had to pay for the park entrance (RM10) and then take a boat to the National Park. The boat cost RM47 for up to four people I think because we got charged RM54 for six people. However, only the British girl and I wanted to come back after 12 noon (the two couples wanted to stay until 4.30 pm) so we had to pay RM23.50 each on the return trip.

It took only 20 minutes or so by boat to reach the National Park. We had to register at the Park HQ and inform what trail we wanted to follow. I had initially wanted to take the Teluk Pandan Besar but later changed my mind and went along the Teluk Paku trail instead. The trails were arduous and challenging alright (not at all like the Niah trail). There was a family of monkeys at the start of the trail and my, they were evil and vicious and fierce! I had to wait for a couple with a toddler to come and join them and even then I shrieked out loud when they looked like they wanted to pounce on me.

The trail went uphill and downhill and you have to navigate your way through tree roots. Once or twice I heard some funny noises and I even wondered if there was a wild boar somewhere and what I would have to do if I encountered one. I persisted and some forty minutes later, staggered out onto a small secluded beach. I sighted some boulders in the shade and made my way there where I sat perched taking in the surroundings and the scenery. All the others who followed the trail were Caucasians and some were already swimming.

I stayed there for about 30 minutes. After collecting some seashells, I made my way back to the Park HQ. I was not looking forward to encountering the evil monkeys again and not only was I in luck because the evil primates were gone but there was a proboscis monkey there instead having his midday meal! I joined the others who were busy snapping pictures. I must have taken dozens myself. The proboscis monkey made some funny noises and I think it was his species that I heard earlier while trekking.

I met up with the British girl and her guide and agreed to meet them at the beach for our boat-ride back. It was already low tide and the water had receded so much that no boat could come near the jetty. We walked on what was the sea only a couple of hours before and had to wade the last few steps into the boat.

I took a van back to Kuching as I didn’t want to wait for the bus (the bus would only leave at 1330 and it was only 1240 then). The van cost slightly more at RM5 but moved a lot faster and we reached Kuching by 1 pm.

As I couldn’t yet check into my room, I walked along Jalan Padungan and even checked out Tun Jugah shopping centre before returning to the hotel. It was such a hot humid sweltering scorching day and I was ready to melt. I took a long shower (I felt like I could stay under the shower forever), performed prayers and read a bit of Quran before taking a siesta.

I broke fast in the room and only ventured out for dinner after prayers. Dinner was had at the stalls where I bought my pre-dawn meal the evening before. I returned the hotel and asked the hotel staff how to get to Satok Market and if there was a cinema in the vicinity. They advised me to take a cab to Satok (but of course) at RM12 a way and yes, there is a Cineplex in the Riverside shopping centre. I made my way to the Cineplex and was sorely tempted to watch Captain America again. But I didn’t.

Firefly had informed that my flight back on Monday was cancelled. Instead I was bumped to the next flight departing at 1025. It was then when I realised I forgot to bring a top to wear to office on Monday. I had three options: recycle what I wore on Friday; wear casual; or shop for a new top. I had never worn anything to wear twice in a space of a few days before and was not keen to start that.

On Sunday, I walked to the Tune Hotel to book a shuttle to the airport. It cost only RM10 but they need at least two people travelling. If you’re the only requiring it, you’ll need to pay for two people. Well, if I had to pay for two, it’ll cost me RM20 which is still less than RM26. No, I’m not stingy, just financially shrewd. The lady behind the counter couldn’t confirm if I’d be the only traveller so I promised to come back again later in the day. After that, I walked to Jalan Masjid to get the bus to Satok. Jalan Masjid is like the bus terminal there and I was sure I could catch a bus there.

There were quite a few buses to Satok. The fare is only RM1 (as opposed to RM12 if you took a cab!). I walked around, taking in the scene. It was a huge, huge market and you can get practically all your food here (fruits, vegetables, chicken, meat, even snacks). You can even get plants for your garden and some clothes. I just wanted to find a place selling Sarawak layered cakes. My friend had advised me to find it behind Hartz Chicken shop. I finally found it and was surprised as I expected a shop but this cake house, Anisah Cake, really operates out of a house! Hartz Chicken is on the main road and the house housing Anisah Cake just behind it. I bought a few rolls and left. Not to worry, they used Buttercup and margarine.

I took a van back to the hotel and stored the cakes in the fridge. I went out again to find a top for work tomorrow. I searched in Parkson and the smaller shops; I went to Tun Jugah; I even crossed the street to another shopping centre but I couldn’t for the life of me find anything suitable for office wear at all! So where do the good women in Kuching shop for their office wear? I even ventured out to the Main Bazaar under the relentless sun to no avail. So it meant I would recycle my Friday outfit after all. Good thing I had already laundered it the night before in anticipation.

I returned to the hotel and dithered if I should watch Captain America. The pull of Chris Evans (or his body? No, not just his body because he has good looks too) was just too great. Finally, I decided against it. Instead I stayed in the room, read and later napped.

Just like the evening before, I went out after evening prayers and did a bit of shopping before having dinner. I returned to the room at almost 10 and packed. There was no Star Sports in the hotel TV channel offerings – not that I would watch the match between Man Sh*tty and ManUre.

I checked out at 8.15 on Monday and walked to Tune Hotel for my 0830 airport transfer. The transfer is hourly at half past the hour beginning at 0830 (so it’s 0830, 0930, 1030... and the last shuttle at 2030). Turns out that there is a similar hourly service from the airport too on the hour (0900, 1000, 1100...until 2100). If you’re catching it at the airport, buy your ticket at the Golden Car Rental & Tours counter. Its desk is just two desks away from Hertz at the arrival hall.

Flight took off on time and we landed just after noon. I took the train back to the city and met up with Abah at Ampang Park LRT station. Then I took the bus to work and worked for the rest of the day.

Hope you had a good weekend too, which was stress-free and nowhere as hot, humid, scorching, sweltering like mine!