Cat City Reunion

I’d been planning a return trip to Kuching for the past 1.5 years and finally got a return ticket at a bargain earlier this year for the Maulidur Rasul weekend. I left early on Saturday morning and arrived at KLIA at 09:30. After dropping off my bag, I went to buy some buns before going through security check.

We took off on time and landed on time. I had contacted my friend, SAK, who now works and resides in Kuching and she agreed to meet me. We haven’t met since a school reunion ten years ago (!). I had told her to come after 13:15 to give me enough time in case my bag came out late and she wouldn’t have to wait long for me but my bag made an early appearance so I decided to perform prayers while waiting for her. SAK’s car was hit by a lorry and she had to rent a small car to get around while waiting for her car to be repaired.

View as we were descending

Our first stop was the Borneo House Museum. I thought the admission of RM19 for adults was pretty steep and I suppose that explained why the museum was deserted. We spent about 40 minutes there before driving to Santubong. I had decided to visit Santubong/Damai – it would be my first time – and book three different hotels for this trip.

The trip took about 40 minutes and we arrived at Damai Beach Resort at 16:00. We headed for our room at Block 1 and I was unimpressed with the gloomy exterior. We went into our room on the ground floor (thankfully it didn’t face the pool or it would be pretty noisy) and were disheartened to see the tired decoration and ambience. It was dated and not very welcoming. Sure, the room was large with a king bed, an extra spring bed and plenty of space to swing a cat or two but that was about it. The bathroom made me feel as if I was in the mountains for despite signs warning us to be careful and turn on the cold water tap first to avoid hot water scalding, the water was just lukewarm even when we turned on the hot water tap solely. I made some tea for myself and coffee for SAK then went to check out the nearby Sarawak Cultural Village. I had dithered over whether to visit the Village but after reading the reviews, I decided to give it a miss. It must have had rained before we arrived for the ground was wet and the Village looked even gloomier from outside.

I returned back to the room and after chatting with SAK, I took a bath. We left for dinner after prayers and drove to Buntal Village. SAK treated me to a seafood dinner and it was great. Very satisfying and delicious although she did say it cost more than it would in Kuching.

Seafood dinner

We returned to the hotel quite late and I was already very sleepy when we got back. It wasn’t long before I succumbed to sleep.

SAK had a charity run early on Sunday morning and she left right after morning prayers. I had a short kip before getting up. After showering and packing, I went for a short walk along the beach before heading to the lobby. I informed a tour operator staff that I wanted to book a seat for the 12:30 shuttle service back to Kuching before crossing over to the restaurant for breakfast. I have no complaints over the food but the hotel could have added a noodle station.

After breakfast, I went to sit in one of the gazebos and sat reading while enjoying the sea breeze. I returned back to my room at 11:45 and finished packing. Then I went to the lobby to check out and wait for the 12:30 shuttle.

There was a Caucasian couple with four large suitcases along with me and we stopped at the Cultural Village to pick up a young family of four. The trip back took an hour and the driver dropped the family off first at Kubah Ria Sunday market before continuing on. I was dropped off next. I paid RM15 for my ride (Grand Margherita charged RM20 for transfer to/fro the Cultural Village) and went to see if my room was ready. It was and I went directly to my room on the first floor. I was a bit disappointed that my room faced the main road instead of the river but the windows were soundproof and I couldn’t hear any traffic noise at all so I had no complaints. And my, the room was heavenly! It was just the right size, not too big and not too small. The bed was so inviting and I rested for a bit and read my book. It was just too hot to venture out then. I checked the BBC Weather prediction on Friday and it was forecasted to rain throughout my trip but the weather turned out sunny and hot!

I left at around 16:00 and went to Tun Jugah Mall (now a pretty much dead place save for Popular Bookstore) before walking along the river where it was shadier. I then crossed over to the Main Bazaar shops before crossing over again. There’s a new bridge now which wasn’t there on my last trip during the Merdeka weekend back in 2014. Shaped like an S, the pedestrian bridge is supported with two cables from two steel towers topped out with stylised hornbills which denote the state emblem. I walked up and across the bridge gingerly. I couldn’t help wondering how deep the river was and what would happen if I were to fall from such a height. Call me paranoid but I feel the same way crossing most pedestrian bridges. I didn’t linger on the other side and turned back shortly after reaching the end to make my way back across. Towards the end, I met a young couple walking out their Maine Coon-Persian mix pampered cat.

I walked to Plaza Merdeka and then along Padang Merdeka to the museum. Yes, as SAK had informed me, it was closed for renovation. What a shame. I didn’t get to visit it during my last trip as it bizarrely closed then too and I couldn’t visit it on this trip either. I turned back and walked along Carpenter Street to the end then up the hill at Hilton. I bought dinner to go before returning to my room. I spent the evening resting and reading.

On Monday morning, I went down for breakfast at 09:20 and after a leisurely breakfast (had my first Mee Kolok), I went for a brief walk along the river before returning to my room. I checked out just before noon then sat at the lobby reading while waiting for Zuhor. After performing prayers, I crossed over to Sarawak Plaza for a 1.5-hour massage at Alternative Therapy Centre (Blind Massage Centre). It cost even less than the hour-long massage I had in Melaka just days before.

It was close to 15:00 by the time I returned to get my bag. I crossed over to my third hotel of the trip. I had stayed at this hotel at least twice before but this time, I got to experience the new Astana Wing. My room was at level 7 this time and from my room at the end of the corridor, I could just about view the river and DUN Building. The wing was only opened early this year but I noticed the hole covers in the bathroom were already rusting. Shame.

I went out into the hot afternoon and it was time to do some shopping. I bought some pelikat sarongs, a couple of caftans and some layered cakes before returning to my room. I had a shower and performed prayers and quickly changed when SAK informed she had already arrived. We drove to Lepau Restaurant for some traditional Sarawak fare. I liked the ambience and setting and food. It was almost 22:00 when we got back to the hotel, having had to park at Riverside as the Astana Wing car-park was already full.

Dinner at Lepau

On Tuesday morning, we checked out at 07:40 and brought our bags down to the concierge at LG before returning to Sapa Restaurant at UG for breakfast. We left at 08:40 and after getting our bags, hurried over to the car-park at Riverside and drove to the airport. We arrived at the airport at 09:05 and after thanking her and bidding her goodbye, I rushed in, placed my bags on the conveyor for screening and rushed to drop off my bag and get the boarding pass.

The plane took off on time and we landed at KLIA ten minutes earlier than scheduled. I suppose my return trip would be after 2020 when the Sarawak Museum is reopened. And no offence to my Sarawakian friends, but somehow I prefer Kota Kinabalu to Kuching (and as evidenced by my many more trips to the latter compared to the former).

Sorry Is Not Enough

I am very sorry that I have failed you.

I am very sorry that I have ignored you and remained in ignorance of your plight.

I am deeply sorry that I have stood by and allowed you to be violated.

I am sorry and ashamed that I have allowed you to continue suffering all this time, fighting to stay alive.

I regret that I have been unable to do much to help you.

I am ashamed that I have been mute, deaf, blind and paralysed and thus couldn’t come to your aid.

I am sorry. Please forgive me, the innocent people and creatures of Aleppo. My ignorance and inaction have led to your destruction. I have failed you, just as I had failed Srebrenica, Gaza, Afghanistan, Yemen and Rakhine State of Myanmar.

As we may have known (if we’re not still too ignorant or self-absorbed or self-obsessed), there was heavy bombardment on Aleppo earlier this week. The Syrian forces had pushed in with the area held by the rebels shrinking. They claim to be liberating the city from the rebels when in truth they have systematically and determinedly been destroying all public facilities: hospitals, schools, and anywhere that may provide shelter to the innocent civilians. They even destroyed bakeries, for crying out loud. I was tearful for the most part of this week and prayed to Allah for safe passage for the civilians. I was sad, I was angry, I was furious that no one seemed to be doing anything. No one, except for the pro-government forces who were relentless in destroying the city. The final straw was the clip of the people saying goodbye, convinced that their end had come.

Who is the terrorist here? The innocent civilians who just want to be left in peace, who want to continue living in the city of birth, who oppose the tyrannical president? Or the dictatorial president who clings greedily, hungrily and blindly to power, never mind that he commits genocide on his own people and destroys his country’s heritage? It was the Syrian forces which bombed Aleppo and then attacked them with chlorine gas??? How low can one go?

Aleppo has been in existence for more than five thousand years. It has seen hundreds of generations building and expanding it. And it took a generation of morons only four years to completely destroy it.

And yet, in spite of this, it’s amazing that there are still heroes there. One such man is Mohammad Alaa Aljalel or the Cat Man of Aleppo who, while himself seeking shelter from the bombings, found a stray cat. To me, it’s just amazing how this hero can manage to keep his sanity, humility, humanity and compassion in the face of fresh challenges and onslaught. He’s the total opposite of the dictatorial tyrant.

I have faith in Allah. I have faith that Allah knows best. The Almighty is in full control and has a bigger plan. The people of Aleppo are now being evacuated. The Cat Man is now safely in Idlid with his cats, Alhamdulillah. I was so happy and thankful that he and the cats are safe but couldn’t help thinking how sad and heart-breaking it must be to have to leave your beloved birthcity, not knowing if you’ll ever be back.

Oh Allah, please protect the innocent souls in Syria. You know best. Amen.

As shitty as 2016 had been at times, I don’t look forward to 2017. How can I when my fellow brothers and sisters are suffering?

P.S. This is another Twitter account of the Aleppo Catman.

Senseless

It has been 5 years and 8 months since the Syrian civil war started and it has not shown any signs that it will stop any time soon. In the meantime, millions of Syrians have fled their country, millions have been killed, cities and homes destroyed, families separated, prices of commodities have risen, well, generally all the usual things that take place during a war. There are those who refuse to leave their country despite the situation and I can’t blame them because it’s their country after all and why should they be driven from it? But they have to bear with the bombardment, the attacks, the fighting, fight for survival, dwindling food supply and starvation, cold weather, lack of clean water and fuel, etc.

I don’t know enough and may not be the best person to comment on the situation but I do know that it is all senseless. One man is clinging stubbornly to his power and is doing all he can to do so, never mind that he does so by violently repressing the protests for his removal. Never mind that he has the blood of his own people in his hands and that his country is now destroyed beyond words. Never mind that he has turned his own countrymen against him. He is a stubborn arrogant dictator who doesn’t think twice about massacring his own people, who doesn’t care that he drives his people away from their beloved country, who couldn’t care less that his people are struggling to make a new life in other countries. And don’t forget the UNESCO World Heritage Sites which are all now in danger.

My heart goes to Syrian and the innocent Syrians. To the poor children, most of whom are now orphans. To the parents who have lost their children. To the animals who are caught in the war (there’s a FB page called ‘Daily Life of Cats in Syria’ that I follow and Instagram and Twitter accounts. I don’t care if people call me a crazy cat lady; what I know is that cats are not evil but some humans are and they are worse than animals). I wish I can do more for them for unlike Assad, I don’t want to fail them and I don’t want their blood on my hands and conscience.

Who will help you rebuild your country now, Assad? Do you not know the moral ethics of fighting in a battlefield? Do you not know how sacred souls are that you think you can just eliminate lives just like that? Aren’t lives valuable? It is a travesty to kill innocent souls; conversely, it is an honour to safeguard innocent lives, even if it’s little cats >^..^< My heart bled when I saw the tweets yesterday and early this morning. Damn you, Assad, damn you to hell and back.

How much longer is this madness going to last? Until all innocent lives have been wiped out? What is the world doing about it? The United Nations? I keep asking myself what I can do and can’t help feeling helpless and useless. The only thing I can do is to pray that this senseless stupid war will end very soon.

If you’re looking for a cheery blog post today, I’m sorry. I don’t know how we can go on about with our normal lives when there are people dying, starving, being oppressed in Syria, Palestine and Gaza, Iraq, Myanmar and Afghanistan. Allahuakbar. You know best, Allah.

My Parts Unknown: Tanzania And Malawi – Recap

Tanzanias are an exotic lot. There are about 125 ethnic groups mostly of African descent. There are also those from Arab, Asian and European descent. There is one Albino in approximately every 1,400 births in Tanzania - the largest proportion in all of Africa. There was a gallery on the ‘ghost people’ of Tanzania at the National Museum in Dar. Some albinos have been victims of violence in recent years. This intolerance towards those different from us saddens me.

The name Tanzania derives from the two states that unified to create the country: Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

Tanzania is apparently one of the poorest countries in the world although you’ll be hard-pressed to see beggars or panhandlers or homeless people. Well, I didn’t come across any in Dar or Stone Town. China is one of its three largest trading partners.

When I was trying to catch some kip at the airport the night I had to camp there, I overhead some Nigerians (from what I gathered from their conversation) that they find the country very peaceful. However, they did note that the education level in the country is still lacking.

Malawi projects itself as the Warm Heart of Africa. And I did find some of its people way too friendly. Too friendly that the men can approach a foreign girl and just shake hands (sorry, it’s not in my culture). Too friendly that they can spot from a distance a foreign girl sitting alone has some gold jewellery on her and decide to approach her to sell things.

From what little I saw, I surmised that Malawi is poorer than Tanzania. It is what Malaysia used to be 50 years ago. Most people are poor. Everyone walks everywhere. The more fortunate ones have bicycles. You do see brand new cars in Lilongwe though. My guesthouse owner told me his sister and one brother left to find work in South Africa because the job prospects in Malawi are low.

Malawi is very green. It is very much agriculture-reliant. The soil must be very fertile because it’s green everywhere. The main crop is maize. There were heavy rains and floods last year which destroyed the crop.

I read that fuel is expensive in Malawi (well, I don’t know about now what with the plummeting global oil prices). Malawi has very good roads though, even in the countryside. It’s a good thing there aren’t many vehicles on the road to spoil the roads. There are many police check-points all over the country, just like in Lebanon.

I don’t know if Malawians aren’t familiar with foreigners because they sure look and stare at you like you’re a freak. Most speak good English so you can presume they have high contact with foreigners or learned it in school.

  

People in both countries have very strong B.O. It must be due to the relentless heat (I was starting to smell like an African too). But then again, the Middle East is also blessed with strong sunshine and high temperatures but they don’t smell as bad.

Here are some pictures of the trip (you may have seen some of them before):

 Darajani Market, Stone Town, Zanzibar

 The Old Dispensary, buildings and an alley in Stone Town, Zanzibar

 Fishing activity, Stone Town, Zanzibar

 The Palace Museum, Stone Town, Zanzibar

 The House of Wonders and The Old Fort, Stone Town, Zanzibar

The doors of Stone Town, Zanzibar

 Cats of Stone Town, Zanzibar

 Cats of Stone Town, Zanzibar

 More cats of Stone Town. Zanzibar

Dar Es Salaam

 Monkey Bar, Mangochi, Malawi

Cape Maclear, Magochi, Malawi

Malawi

Some Lebanese Facts And Cats

Here are some Lebanese facts (some of which I had shared in my previous posts):

USD is good for tender in Lebanon: you can use it on minibuses, at supermarkets, buying coach tickets etc. You will get Lebanese Pounds in return of course. USD1 is tied to LBP1,500.

Internet coverage and WiFi connection are slow in Lebanon. Some hotels charge extra for it. I had been offline in Myanmar before so as much as I was reluctant to be offline, I wasn’t about to fork out money for a slow crawling surf on the Net.

You need to exercise a lot of patience dealing with the locals and waiting for and riding a minibus. Minibus condition varies from downright dilapidated no longer road-worthy vehicles to almost new almost clean vehicles. Bus drivers there are like the Metro bus drivers here when they used to terrorise the KL roads (good riddance to them and polluting smoke!): they wait on and on for passengers and take longer routes if it means an extra passenger or two when a shortcut would suffice. Minibus drivers may promise you they would take you to your destination but bring you only half-way there. And they know they can get away with it as you can’t do anything about it when you’re already half-way to your destination.

The army presence is heavy in Beirut and around the country especially along the highways. Baalbek is less than 10 km away from the nearest Syrian border and we were subjected to roadblocks on the way to and from Baalbek. You can’t take photos of just about any building in Beirut; the security guard or an army personnel may ask you not to do so.

There are some helpful locals but there are also gruff unfriendly rude locals who won’t think twice about snatching things off you. Be alert, be aware, even when you’re not walking alone and even when there are security guards and the place is all lighted up. There’s also a scam to rob passengers in service taxies where who you think is your fellow passenger is actually collaborating with the cabbie to rob you.

The locals speak Arabic of course and French. You’d expect the younger people to speak more English but not all do actually. At least not those I approached to ask for directions.

The locals live in apparent harmony, Muslims and Christians. Muslims also seem to celebrate Christmas and I believe I saw Bibles printed in Arabic. Here, we are so worried that Muslims would be apostates and become Christians if the Bible is printed in Malay (note: it’s printed in Bahasa Indonesia in Indonesia). Who’s to say Muslims would practise their faith anyway? Under the terms of the 1943 National Pact between the various political and religious leaders of Lebanon, the President of the country must be a Maronite, the Prime Minister a Sunni and the Speaker of the House a Shiite.

And now for some Lebanese cats and a Qatari:

 I was welcomed by this kitty early in the morning of my arrival

 Minutes after that first cat, this scaredy cat was fleeing away from me. Maybe because I looked like I eat cats for breakfast

Temple guardians, Baalbek, with their personal butler

A local in Tyre (Sour)

Outside Natural History Museum, American University of Beirut

Campus residents at the American University of Beirut

 Local resident with The Corniche at the background, Doha

At Souq Waqif, Doha

Jordanian Cats

Below are some cats that we met in Jordan.

Cat at Bedouin tent at Jabal Umm Fruth Bridge, Wadi Rum

Cat at a cemetery, Wadi Musa

Welcoming committee of ginger cats at our hotel, Wadi Musa

This cat was not really part of the welcoming committee

Cat at a souvenir stall in Petra

Cats at a souvenir stall in Petra

Thirsty cat in Petra

Scaredy cat at the Petra Visitor Centre

Hungry noisy kitten on our climb up Jabal Al-Deir

Hungry cat at one of the lookout points at Jabal Al-Deir

Met the earlier hungry noisy kitten again on our climb down. Still hungry!

Cat at Temple of Artemis, Jerash

Boogie, resident cat at Hotel Sydney

Coco, the other resident cat at Hotel Sydney

Cat near Nymphaeum, Amman