Trip To The Equator Riverside City

I had made plans to be away during my birthday as early as mid-January. Then the surgery took place but I still asked my doctor hopefully if I could travel (barely a week after the surgery). He said that I could, as long as I exercised necessary caution. Sought second opinion from my therapist and she said it shouldn’t be a problem either so I rushed back from therapy and scrambled to check in for my flight, search for and rebook hotels as I’d cancelled the hotels booked earlier, pack and get ready.

 

I flew out to Kuching on the late afternoon of 4 July. From the airport, I took Maxim car to Kuching Sentral to find ticket to Pontianak for the following morning. I finally called a bus company and he said there were some seats on the morning bus but that I must come early to pay for the ticket. I then walked to Kuching Transit Inn to spend the night. It was the nearest inn I could find to Kuching Sentral. Well, it wasn’t great but somewhere I could rest. I could hear the next door guests and after a while, a noise that continued until I realised it was rain.

 

I woke up early on Friday for prayers and packed. It was raining and I walked out in the rain to Kuching Sentral. Alhamdulillah, I packed my brolly for the trip. After queuing up and paying for my ticket (the man I talked to the previous evening told me I could pay online but counter lady said no so I had to find an ATM to withdraw money. I was in such a hurry that I didn’t dig out moure cash to bring.

 

The bus finally left at almost 10:00 and we stopped at a supermarket for passengers to use the facilities or do last-minute shopping or purchase snacks for the trip. The rain still poured. We continued after thirty minutes until we reached the border at Tebedu where we had to get all our bags and go through passport control and immigration, cross over to the Indonesian side and go through passport control again.

 

We continued our journey and stopped en route at a restaurant for lunch. I thought the price was a bit steep but the owner could get away with it as it seemed to be the only eatery around and most, if not all, bus operators stop there.

 

We resumed our journey and finally reached Terminal ALBN (Antar Lintas Batas Negara). There’s WiFi at the terminal but passengers cannot arrange for e-hailing car to pick them up. I had to ride a cab to Garuda Hotel. It took about 25 minutes in the after-office peak traffic to reach the hotel. I checked in and performed prayers. I ventured out after dark to Ayani Megamall to find dinner. The mall is across a busy road and I had to walk further to use an overhead pedestrian bridge to cross over. I spent about an hour there before turning back.

 

I slept badly that night, no thanks to the traffic noise outside the window.

 

I woke up on Saturday, 6 July, for prayers then lingered before going for breakfast. After breakfast, I walked to the riverfront. I had thought of taking the ferry across but it looked like it was a vehicle ferry and I didn’t feel like asking. I had initially planned to visit the Equatorial Monument but changed my mind that it doesn’t lie on the Equator but 117 metres off. Plus it looked like it was going to rain so I turned and walked back to the hotel. I went to the hotel rooftop for a bird’s eyeview of the surrounding area before returning to the room. I checked out after noon prayers. After depositing my bag at the left luggage, I went to find lunch. I then sat in the lobby and read. It rained shortly after and I was glad that I was safe and dry in the hotel lobby.

 

 

I sat reading and occasionally swatting mosquitoes away. There was a small mixed prayer room for hotel staff and guests (? It looked a bit horrible for guests) hidden away so after freshening up and changing clothes, I performed prayers.

 

The Maxim car I had arranged arrived early, driver said to avoid the traffic jam. So we left before 21:00 and arrived at Terminal ALBN 25 minutes later. My bus (I purchased the ticket online from another bus company) was leaving at 23:00 and we left on time. In contrast to the trip over, the bus was empty. I moved seats to get comfortable but couldn’t sleep, surprise, surprise.

 

To my surprise, we stopped at the same restaurant just before 03:00. And I was even more surprised to find people actually eating - and rice at that - at that hour.

 

We finally resumed our journey and arrived at Pos Lintas Batas Negara (PLBFN) Entikong before 05:00. I heard the call for morning prayers and went to find the mosque to perform prayers. it was drizzling. After that, we waited in the bus before we were told to bring our bags and queue at the gate. I didn’t know borders actually closed. The Azerbaijan-Georgia, UAE-Oman borders for instance didn’t close when we crossed in the middle of the night.

 

We stood waiting in the drizzle and the gate finally opened at 07:00 Indonesian time. There was a stampede as we rushed towards the passport control building where we joined yet another queue. Another bout of standing ensued. And of course, the kiosk I queued for opened much later. Having had my passport stamped, I crossed over to the Malaysian side and repeated the process. No queue this time!

 

When all passengers had boarded, we continued our journey to Kuching Sentral and finally reached it at 11:40 (!), 12+ hours after we left. I walked over to Kuching Transit Inn to meet SAK who’d parked there. We went for lunch and then she dropped me off at Marco Polo Guest House in Padungan. After checking in, I walked to the city centre and returned after buying dinner. it’s hard to find halal food in Padungan.

Gula apong ice cream

Guest house resident cats

 

On Monday, 8 July 2024, I woke up early and went for a walk. I came back after 45 minutes, freshened up and finished packing. I left shortly after breakfast for my flight back to KL.

Return To Kuching

It was high time for my department to have its teambuilding – new boss, new colleagues – and after some surveys, the majority voted to have it in Kuching in mid-October. I opted to buy my ticket myself and shortly after, upgraded myself to business class. We were to depart on staggered basis so I decided to fly out in mid-morning so that I could have time to rest.

On Thursday, 13 October 2022, we landed in wet Kuching at 12:42. I didn’t check in my bag but my colleagues’ bags came out swiftly. I decided to join the guys and after listening to them dither, I suggested going directly to Damai Beach Resort as we would have a free afternoon and evening in Kuching on Saturday anyway. So after querying a cabbie (he quoted RM85) and searching (Grab cost RM72), I decided to check Maxim and managed to get a Perodua Aruz for RM51. The driver was nearby and three of my colleagues joined me. The drive took slightly more than an hour and was I glad that I decided to head directly to Damai! We arrived after 14:30 and had to register with the guard at the gate first before we could proceed to the lobby. I was told that my chalet wasn’t yet ready (although my colleagues’ rooms were) so I decided to perform prayers first.

I was not happy to be told that chalet 419 still wasn’t ready when I returned to the reception and after waiting for 20 minutes, I was given chalet 321 instead. So I went to collect my bag which I had wheeled to chalet 419 and dragged it to chalet 321. The room was a bit dark because one or two lights weren’t working. I proceeded to iron my clothes before going off to buy some food for dinner at the nearby foodcourt. The guys were having a meal but I didn’t join them as it was threatening to rain and I wasn’t keen to be caught in it on my way back to my chalet. The day cleared after a while and I went for a walk along the beach and was surprised to see the fierce and heavy waves pounding the beach.

Chalet 321

My roommate arrived much later and told me she hadn’t performed prayers so I waited for her, all ready to open the door and all. After a while, she rang and asked where I was. I told her I was in the chalet waiting for her. She told me she was in the chalet too and wondering where I was. Eh? Turned out she was given the key to chalet 419 when she checked in. So I sauntered over and found that chalet 419 was better, brighter and looked much more comfortable than chalet 321. The only thing was the air-condition wasn’t switched on so my mate contacted the reception to inform of this before following me to chalet 321. She agreed that chalet 419 looked way better and more welcoming so she helped me carry my things to chalet 419. Luckily the two chalets are very close to each other.

Chalet 419

Someone from the hotel came over to turn on the AC and explained that the previous guest complained of some stench emanating from the chalet so we started breathing in but couldn’t detect any funny smell so we told her we wanted to stay. I had to return chalet 321 key and get another for chalet 419 so had to make another trek to the lobby. It was a good thing it didn’t rain at all despite the earlier dark clouds. It was getting dark then and my mate went out to have dinner at the foodcourt. I decided to stay in.

On Friday, we rose early as prayer times are sooner over there. I decided to go for breakfast after 07:30 while my mate decided to go earlier. I was not amused to find that my card didn’t work after coming back from breakfast. I decided to change the card later as we needed to join the rest and walk over to the Sarawak Cultural Village – after some group photos.

We entered SCV and were greeted by some staff who then proceeded to lead us all to some Zumba steps. Man, it was exhausting alright and I didn’t want to exert myself too much in view of the Amazing Race to follow. We had to answer a series of questions by visiting various ethnic houses and yes, some houses are built some feet above the ground and we had to scale steep staircases to reach the main room/hall. We also had to perform simple challenges before submitting our answers. Then we had a brief tea break before telematch (I don’t know why this activity still exists!). After that, we went into the theatre for the cultural show (air-conditioned!). We had another round of group photos after the show before returning to the resort for lunch. I was disappointed with lunch as most dishes were finishing and there wasn’t much choice to begin with.

After re-activating my chalet card, I returned to the chalet to perform prayers and rest. We ventured out at 15:30 for our CSR activity of picking litter off the beach. The beach was pretty clean so we finished pretty quickly. As a token of appreciation, the hotel provided us some drinks, sandwich wraps and fried noodles. I then returned to the chalet before venturing out again to watch the sunset.

We had an indoor BBQ dinner that evening. We also had door gift exchange, best dressed awards and lucky draw awards.

On Saturday, it was back to work with our discussion of the department’s business plan for 2023. That took almost the whole morning. We finished just before 11:30 and I went back to the chalet to finish packing. For some reason, most of us couldn’t enter our rooms and luckily I spotted a hotel staff and asked for help. We finished packing and after a final check, left the chalet. We piled our bags onto a buggy and walked to the restaurant for lunch.

The bus arrived at 13:00 and after loading our bags, we set off for Kuching – only to stop barely a km later as someone had included some bags belonging to someone else (hotel staff? Or guest?). Fortunately, it didn’t take long to locate those bags and we were soon on our merry way back to Kuching.

We stopped en route at Kubah Ria to stretch our legs and shop for some souvenirs to bring back. We then stopped at Warisan Layered Cake House at Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce for layered cake shopping. It started raining heavily when we were there and it didn’t relent until much later that evening.

The driver stopped near Riverside Majestic to let a colleague and her family down before continuing on to The Waterfront Hotel. The bus couldn’t get into the lobby drop-off, so we had to get down in the rain and retrieve our bags. My bag was among the first in so it was buried deep in the belly of the bus and I had to lift out some bags before I could even spot mine. Then I hurried into the hotel, eager to escape the rain.

We quickly parked our bags next to a pillar, made our way to the check-in counter, fished out our MyKads and then filled up our details at the next counter. I had observed the procedure and within no time, we had finished writing up our details. We then asked for our room cards and were in the lift in no time. It pays to be kiasu, you know.

I had a quick shower before performing prayers. We then ventured out to the Main Bazaar, yes, in the rain but I had already asked if I could borrow an umbrella from the concierge. I ended up buying some costume jewellery after dinner at the foodcourt of Plaza Merdeka. After dinner, we returned to our rooms and after prayers, I finished packing and rested.

Hotel resident cat ambassador

On Sunday morning, I had planned to have my breakfast by 07:50 as I had an early morning flight to catch. A friend called me and I was only able to end the call after 34 minutes. So I had a hurried breakfast – which I dislike doing – before rushing back to the room for my bags. I checked out and arranged for Grab to pick me up. The driver was nearby and it took less than 15 minutes to reach the airport. I didn’t have a lot of luggage so I chose not to check in.

We landed at KLIA at 12:45 and I reached home just before 14:00. So that was my second trip to Kuching and third trip to Borneo this year. Syukur Alhamdulillah.

46 Hours In Kuching

 Back in June, I decided to take advantage of Malaysia Airlines offer and also utilise some of my expiring Enrich points and searched for tickets to Kuching. Early August looked to be good but I had to change my plans to depart on Caturday instead of Friday because I dithered a bit.

So early last Caturday morning, I left home and made my way to TBS. I arrived with enough time to get my physical ticket (can we already do away with this??) and browsed for buns (not much choice for flavour). The bus left at 09:03 and we reached KLIA at 09:59. After trying to check in online and seeing how full the flight would be, I decided to avail of the ticket upgrade offer and paid a bit extra for a Business class seat. This meant I could bring my suitcase on board without checking it in.

We landed at 12:40 and after trying to wait for the electric bus which runs from the city to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre and passing the airport, I took Maxim to my hotel. Alhamdulillah, I managed to check in even though it was only 13:40.

After performing prayers and resting, I went out to the riverfront briefly before going to the Main Bazaar. I walked before turning left at the Old Courthouse and walking up to Plaza Merdeka. I passed through the shopping mall and explored the area beyond. It was drizzling by then and I wasn’t keen to stay out too long as I was coughing.

I turned back and walked along the Main Bazaar again and went to find dinner. I was in my room by 19:00.

On Sunday morning, I left at 09:50 and went to wait for the hydrogen bus but gave up after ten minutes. I walked a new route to the newly opened Borneo Cultures Museum. I reached at around 10:30 and after taking some photos, I went down to the main entrance. I was a bit confused when I saw people sitting and started wondering, ‘Do I join them? How does the ticketing system work? Do we go by row?’ and then I saw the ticket counter beyond and decided to make my way there. I joined the queue and no one shooed me away so I was in the right queue. But oh my, it was such a painfully slow process. One can pay by cash or Sarawak Pay but both were slow. The plus thing about paying by Sarawak Pay was the shorter queue but it was definitely not any faster. When I got to the counter, I understood why: you have to present your MyKad (different rates apply for Sarawakians and non-Sarawkians) and they would then print you receipt for your payment with your name on it. I’m not sure if a simple receipt couldn’t play the same role unless there are those who actually visit and make official claim for reimbursement and hence need their name on the receipt. I went up to the second floor (first floor actually; the museum calls the ground floor as first floor) to the children’s gallery first but didn’t stay long before making my way up to the next level. I spent 2 hours and 40 minutes in the museum. I then crossed over to Muzium Sarawak and National History Museums (the old buildings) but the former looked empty and the latter was closed for refurbishment.

I walked to the Main Bazaar and bought some layered cakes (made with butter instead of margarine and honey instead of sugar or so the seller told me) and two sarongs before returning to my room. It was threatening to rain then. I had some tea and bun and read my book.

I went down at 16:50 and only noticed it had rained while I was in my room. It must’ve been a quiet one as I didn’t hear the rain. My friend and her husband came at 17:14 and we drove to Sharing Downtown for early dinner. My friend is a local Kuching lady and the last time we met was when we sat for our SPM.

I was back at the hotel at 19:00 and packed before resting.

On Monday, I took Maxim to the airport. The journey took 20 minutes and there were a lot of people at the MAS counters. Thankfully I had redeemed my Enrich points for a Business Class seat so I skipped the queue and went in after ascertaining I could bring my suitcase, box of layered cakes and bag on board. I went through immigration and security clearance and made my way to Plaza Premium Lounge. It was pretty tiny and there was not many options.

We boarded and there really were a lot of people travelling as the ETD was 10:45 and people were still boarding at 10:47! The door finally closed and the plane taxied down the runway almost immediately. We took off at 11:00 so it wasn’t bad at all. We landed at KLIA at 12:40. I decided to take the train as I thought it’d be faster but I didn’t factor in the possibility of a train breaking down and our train rescuing the passengers of this earlier train. So I reached BTS at more or less the same time as I would had I taken the 13:15 bus from the airport! Then I had to wait for the LRT train. Anyway, Alhamdulillah for the rezeki and time that enabled me to go on this short trip. Kuching, I’ll be back. InsyaAllah.