Aug 24-31
Hi All,
Kuching Sarawak Malaysia (Sarawak is a state in Malaysia) on Borneo (did you know Borneo is the 3rd largest island in the world)…..sounds very foreign and somewhat exotic!!! We have very much enjoyed our time here and are somewhat sad to leave. The sights we have seen and especially the people we have met have all added to a fun and very interesting/educational visit!!!
Checking In: It was a bit confusing on where to go to find Immigration and Customs. We thought they were at the Ferry terminal so off we went on Uber from the Marina….maybe 10 min away. We get to the Ferry Terminal but the Immigration office is in the Industrial/Shipping complex behind barbed wire fences…..hmmm….the Uber driver goes around and drops us in front of the Customs building…..ok, let’s go there first. We go in and they tell us no bother…only see them if we have anything to declare….we say no…they say then go to Immigration…..they point us to the building by the Ferry terminal……hmmm, can we walk…..yes……there must be some gate we missed……so we walk over to Immigration….about 0.5 miles away……and still no gate…..so we go into the Ferry building and talk to some guys sitting around……they all laugh….yes, no gate…..one guy took pity on us and offered to drive us around….great…..there is a small gate next to Customs that he got through and then drove us around to Immigration….right across from the Ferry terminal. Immigration is very nice/easy…..fill this form and stamp, stamp…..where are you going they ask.,….to the Giant Hypermart…..would you like a ride, I’ll take you there…..after a 15 min ride and lots of talking about us and Kuching we arrive at a brand new mall…..and there is a really, really nice hypermart…..grocery store…..some of the best produce and even some western brands……OMG…we definitely stocked up…only later to learn that we liked the food so much in Kuching Kathy did not cook for over a week!!!!
These 2 rides were all free…..the guys did it just to be nice to a foreigner, speak English and tell us about Kuching……they are very proud of their country and City…..would not accept money…..now how nice and welcoming is that…..can you imagine that happening in USA…..yeah right!!!
History: “Kuching was the third capital of Sarawak in 1827 during the administration of the Bruneian Empire. In 1841, Kuching became the capital of Sarawak after Sarawak was ceded to James Brooke for helping the Bruneian empire in crushing a rebellion particularly the interior borneo dweller Dayak people who later became his loyal followers. The town continued to receive attention and development during the rule of Charles Brooke such as the construction of a sanitation system, hospital, prison, fort, and a bazaar. In 1941, the Brooke administration had a Centenary Celebration in Kuching. During World War II, Kuching was occupied by Japanese forces from 1942 to 1945. The Japanese government set up a Batu Lintang camp near Kuching to hold prisoners of war and civilian internees. After the war, the town survived intact. However, the last Rajah of Sarawak, Sir Charles Vyner Brooke decided to cede Sarawak as part of British Crown Colony in 1946. Kuching remained as capital during the Crown Colony period. After the formation of Malaysia in 1963, Kuching retained its status as state capital and was granted city status in 1988. Since then, the Kuching city is divided into two administrative regions managed by two separate local authorities.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuching
Museums: We went to the Sarawak Museum first…actually 3 museums…..Ethnology, Art and Natural History…next was the Cat Museum…..yes, that is right….a museum dedicated to cats. Kuching means “cat” and supposedly James Brooke, when he landed saw many cats and the name stuck!!! We both loved the Cat Museum……”There are four galleries containing over 4,000 artefacts including paintings and memorials related to cats. Exhibits include a mummified cat from ancient Egypt, a gallery of feline-related advertising, and the five species of wild cats found in Borneo.” Did you know that Albert Einstein was a cat lover and Sir Isaac Newton invented the “cat door”!!!
We also went to the Chinese Museum and to Fort Margarita…..both were really well done!!! Interspersed in all this exploring were many walks along the downtown Riverwalk, Chinatown, and India Street….like a gazillion stores and restaurants……we ate out almost everyday…..great Chinese food and Sarawak Laksa….rice vermicelli, omelette strips, shredded chicken, beansprouts, prawns, light curry, fresh coriander and lime….yummers!!!
One day we went back to Mt Santubong where we anchored in the storm when we first arrived in the area to visit a Cultural Village…..it was nice, rather unique in that it displayed the seven or so different ethnic groups that make up Sarawak…..and they had a dance show that was one of the best we have seen in quite a while…..excellent dancers!!!!
Another Aussie couple on sv Delphian, John and Cecelie, were berthed next to us and we went to dinner one night….Imperial Duck…..we had roasted duck…..not quite as good as Peking duck in the plum sauce with the small rolls….but still yummers…..along with a Chinese green called Loba…..cousin to bok choy we think!!!
We then did a 2 day tour to a Bidayuh Long House in Mongkos….about 70 miles east. They are the second largest ethnic group comprising about 8% of the population….the Iban group is the largest at about 30%. Well……I think this trip sounded better in the marketing material….a bit underwhelming but at the end of the day we had a really good time mainly because of our guide, Rives, a Bidayuh….we learned quite a bit about the local customs, current day living and farming!! We were very impressed how rural Sarawak is developed…..no more subsistence living areas we saw in Indonesia…..all concrete houses, all with power, good roads, and internet everywhere. Malaysia has the 35th largest GDP in the world and this high standard of living was evident everywhere we went!!
On the way we went to a town called Serian and a very large fresh vegetable and seafood market….Rives bought us some Malaysian donuts like items…..yummers…..we also saw the jaring fruit…..supposed to be good for blood pressure but not taste so good!!
The “long house” had been modernized……still a very long house…..think like an apartment building…..that housed 24 families……one part was still constructed of wood, but the living part was made of concrete with a metal roof. Some of the things we learned:
– it is now cheaper to build with concrete than wood, and it lasts longer
– most people in the village were farmers….earning a good living from pepper and rubber. An average farmer can live on RM500/month…..about USD125. When pepper is >RM50….about USD12/kg……a farmer can earn enough to buy a car or build a house in a year. The price was now RM20……there was much griping about that….sounded like a corn or dairy farmer in the USA:))))
– you use black pepper on meat and white pepper on veges…..didn’t know that….maybe some of you foodies can confirm that….I did a Google search and there is quite a debate on this……https://www.reluctantgourmet.com/white-pepper!! A White pepper corn is just a fully ripened pepper corn that has had it’s red or yellow skin washed off to reveal the white pepper corn.
– Palm oil is not as prevalent as in Indonesia and peninsula Malaysia…..why – well, the land development laws are very convoluted and many Sarawaks do not want to destroy the forest. There were a lot of palm trees, but not many of the big plantations we have seen elsewhere.
– Avg wage is RM30….about USD7……avg wage in Indonesia is RM10…..about USD2.35……since labor is so cheap in Indonesia and harvesting the palm oil bunch/fruit is very labor intensive….no machines…..Indonesia is much more cost competitive!!!
– these people grow dry rice……not in a flooded area as for “wet” rice……they get so much rain they can clear a field and plant in a dry field….about 50% yield than wet rice but since they live near hills they can grow in more areas!!!
That night the children performed a few cultural dances and then some more modern styles accompanied by some gongs and drums…….some of the children were quite talented but they all had enthusiasm and a good time was had by all!!
Each of the meals……lunch, dinner, breakfast and lunch all had some traditional foods….the last lunch they had cooked some fish, chicken and rice in 4 separate bamboo logs on an open fire……they sent home with us one of the logs filled with rice……lemongrass, rice and chicken….delicious!!!
Oh….I should mention that we started and ended the two days with a trip to the Semennggoh Wildlife Center to see some Orangutans. Well…..the goal of the Center is to rehabilitate the Orangutans and release back into the wild….so they actually do no want them to show up at the feeding platforms…..well, good job Center…..we went 2x and were skunked both times……while we were sad to not see any we just thought back to our viewings in Tanjung Puting out of Kamai last year!!!
Dry season…..yeah right…..it has now rained hard the past 2 days….yikes!!! The rainy season has started early (like 2 months+ early!) and we had a lot of rain, so that put a damper on some our activities. We got caught in the rain walking a farm the 1st day…..then the 2nd day our walk to a waterfall and a cookout was curtailed…instead we walked to another farm and then came back for an unplanned visit to the Orangutan Center which we watched the platform in the rain……arghhhhhh!!!!
The Plan: We are leaving in a few hours at high slack tide for Miri…..still in the state of Sarawak…..~285nm north near the Brunei border. We will do one overnight and go as far north as possible….hopefully to about 30-40nm south of Miri…..then get up early Saturday, Sept 2 and arrive at Miri at high tide around 9-10am!!!
Hope all is well!
John
Mystic Moon
leaving Kuching for Miri Sarawak on Borneo
PS: A lot of pictures on the website: http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Kuching-Sarawak-on-Borneo
PSS: Saying a prayer for all our friends in Houston…..holy buckets of rain!!!
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