Tyler and I have pledged to see more of Malaysia. We figured that it would be a real shame not to have really explored our host-home for the past two years, previously having really only scratched the surface with rendez-vous to Langkawi (any-beach S.E Asia) and Sabah, East Malaysia. So now added to the hopefully ever-growing list of Malaysian cities explored is Kuching. Kuching is located in East Malaysia on the island of Borneo, in the state of Sarawak...as that means very little to me without a point of reference, check out the map.
Tyler and I were meeting an array of people in Kuching. The Chinese New Year crew included Amanda Juray, Hutchy, Danielle, Damian and two new Swiss friends, Johanna and Dino. We had a pretty spectacular welcome to Kuching as we landed at the stroke of midnight marking the beginning of Chinese New Year. Much like the Western New Year, midnight gave the green-light to thousands of fireworks being sent up into the sky. It was a pretty neat perspective to enjoy the show! Upon arrival we checked into our hotel, The Pullman and chilled. (I would have highly recommended it up until the last night. That hotel is totally haunted...in a 'I don't think I believe in ghosts, but that just got real' kind of way.) Otherwise, The Pullman was host to lounge cocktails, poolside poker games and a whole lotta robe-wearing.
As it was Chinese New Year (Gong Xi Fa Chai!) most of the town was shut and things were pretty quiet. This did not stop us from hitting the parks. First up was the Orangutan Sanctuary. Last year Tyler and I had traveled and trekked in Sumatra, Indonesia to catch a glimpse of our distant cousins (we could probably marry them in some States). As we fell in love with them then (in a platonic way), and they only inhabit two islands in the world, AND we found ourselves on the second of the two islands, we had to go. It was a very easy trip, and we weren't disappointed as we saw 10ish orangutans just hanging, swinging and being generally awesome.
The next day we hit up Bako National Park to try and catch a glimpse of the weird and well endowed Proboscis Monkey. These monkeys are a rare species with an usually large NOSE (perverts...), and can only be found in Borneo. In order to get to the park you need to catch a bus to Bako Village and hire a boat to the park. Not realizing that there needed to be high tide in order to leave the village, we spent some serious time lounging, pacing, playing charades and puzzling each other with useless trivia. A serious quality I look for when choosing friends is the ability to shoot the breeze; these guys have got it (...said the guy with two NOSES). Finally, we headed off down the crocodile infested river. Having examined the various killer characteristics of crocs during our wait on the pier, we figured we were headed the way of Captain Hook as the boats ran aground. With all hands in tact, we arrived at the park, spotting a big Bearded Pig straight away, and the illusive Proboscis Monkey not too long after. Trip satisfied. Otherwise we walked and climbed along a jungle trail for a an hour or so, then headed back to the boat. With the water levels much higher by this point, we were flying!
 |
| It's no Bay of Fundy, but we were appreciative of the rising tides! |
 |
| Obviously not my picture, but check out that schnoz! |
Otherwise, we wandered the lovely town of Kuching for a couple of days. It was awesome being in a Malaysian town that wasn't Kuala Lumpur. We spend 97% of our time in Malaysia in KL (a blind estimation) and as a result, have a pretty one-sided impression of the country. Although the good far outweighs the bad, the things that can grind my gears about KL (insane traffic, never-ending mall culture, obscene piles of trash) were by and far removed from Kuching. I know things always look shinier and brighter while on vacation, void of work responsibilities, free to have a day-beer, but it really felt like the best parts of Malaysian culture were being highlighted in Kuching-- totally recharging my love for Malaysia. Gotta love that!
As the town began to slowly open up after the holidays, we indulged in some great food (as always), putted around the river, breezed through the natural history museum with 10 minutes to closing (blowdarts, mutant jungle animals, and headhunters can really capture your attention) and marveled at cat memorabilia. Did I forget to mention Kuching means 'cat' in Bahasa? A truly puuuuuurrrfect fit for a feline fan! (Feel lucky I only managed to throw in one bad cat pun. The trip on the other-hand was riddled with cat gestures, props, puns and sightings).
 |
| Kuching is the cat's meow! |
Tyler and I have pledged to see more of Malaysia. We figured that it would be a real shame not to have really explored our host-home for the past two years, previously having really only scratched the surface with rendez-vous to Langkawi (any-beach S.E Asia) and Sabah, East Malaysia. So now added to the hopefully ever-growing list of Malaysian cities explored is Kuching. Kuching is located in East Malaysia on the island of Borneo, in the state of Sarawak...as that means very little to me without a point of reference, check out the map.
