Back to Kuching

Early morning mist.

Iban traditional cemetary.

Two extraordinary guides: Louis and Selvam.

A local orchid.

Pepper growing on the vine.

Another flower plant that I have forgotten the name of.

Kuching city skyline.

A traditional water taxi.

The state legislature and the bridge.

The construction of the new floating mosque.

The street around the corner from the hotel.

The group just before the water taxi tour.

Ominous looking cloud.

Inside the Fast and Furious Café.

Saturday, June 23^rd.

I woke up at dawn, organized my bag, showered and then went down to sit in the lobby and enjoy the atmosphere of this beautiful resort. I met Louis there and had a leisurely breakfast with him.

We took the resort shuttle boat back to the other side of the lake to meet our bus. We made several stops on the way back to KK (Kota Kinabalu). First, we stopped at an Iban cemetery where we could see how they bury their dead. They are buried under an individual metal roof with some of their belongings, as they believe they will use them in the next life. One grave had a TV and a fan on it. Then we stopped by the side of the road to see a little local type of orchid that blooms all year. After another hour or so we stopped at a local strip mall where we had lunch. Again, it was a local set menu and provided by G. Shortly after that we stopped at a pepper farm where we could see the pepper vines and learn about the process of making black and white pepper. Then we had a two-hour drive back to Kuching, for a total of over 300 km.

Louis had given Anthony two envelopes to collect tips for Selvam and our driver, Belia, and since Anthony doesn’t like doing that, I volunteered to present them. That happened on the bus just before we arrived at the Lime Hotel. When we arrived we checked in and I immediately went for a walk back downtown along the waterfront as I wanted to see it in daylight. It is a beautiful area and such a contrast to the rural areas of the country where the tribal people live.

When I got back to the hotel I met up with Vivien and Anthony at the rooftop bar where we had a lime drink before meeting the whole group at 6:00. We walked back towards downtown to meet our water taxi driver who took us on a ninety-minute cruise around the river. Half way we stopped and had a short walking tour through an old village area of the city before getting back in the taxi and completing our tour. By then it was dark and we saw the area lit up again with the lights. We learned that the government has done a lot to clean up the river to make it more presentable to coincide with the image of prosperity that they are trying to project.

We went to dinner at the Fast and Furious Café owned by a local professional jetski racer and motorcycle enthusiast, Alex Wong. The restaurant has several motorcycles in it and pictures of all types of racing and monitors that show racing events. Really a different atmosphere and quite fun. I had a Norwegian salmon dinner which was excellent. That is one dish I have missed on this trip. We had a couple of drinks and a really good evening for our last dinner. Louis gave everyone on the tour a little bracelet made by his wife’s tribal community and I presented his tip to him. We were blessed on this trip by two exceptional guides. When we got back Louis, Anthony, Vivien, Francesca, Tom and I met at the rooftop bar and had one final night cap before saying our goodbyes.