Our 2006 CNY in Kuching...

Finally found the time to blog about my Kuching trip in late January early February of 2006. I have been so busy lately and with the misfortune of "losing" part of the HTML script of my blog after returning to Miri, there was just no time to blog this Kuching trip until now.

Every CNY, it is our duty to perform the annual "pilgrimage" to Kuching as my parents are living there... plus the numerous relatives that we have there that we need to visit to exchange our yearly greetings!

Anyway, as usual, our trip back to Kuching is filled with more than just the CNY celebration with family and friends, but also a real need to "devour" our favourite missed Kuching foods (at least that is the case for my brother and I)! :D

This blog entry depicts some of the highlights of the trip (i.e. those I remember to take pics of!). You may have already seen some of my blogs that was written using my PDA whilst in Kuching (on location so to speak!).

Sarawak Club
















This is one of the oldest and elite Club in the heart of Kuching city itself. Located next to the Civic Centre, this Club was established since 1846(?) or some where around there! Despite its age, it is a beautifully, well maintained club with good facilities.
















Jessica exploring the walkways at the Club (pic above) and curious at the huge potted plants (pic below).































After a busy running around the Club grounds, Jess is ready for lunch.






























Smack in the middle of the Club building is a playground for kids. Both Josh and Jess enjoyed having a go at the "rides" there!



























































This is the first and only time Josh rode a "motorbike" with my blessing! (pic above and below)!
















"Bla bla bla" Restaurant
















My brother and I went to this restaurant which was reviewed by Kenny in his blog. It's interesting how they have renovated an old shoplot into such a "cosy" place. We were there just for desserts. Whilst we were there, there was this rowdy group of "uncles & aunties" there. Yes, it wasn't a pleasant sight especially when they started demanding for dance music from the owner. Neither was the dancing pleasant! Ugh. It's a sight not to behold! Trust me. I guess it is because they were trying "hard" not to act their age. Besides the crowd, the desserts is alright. I Oh and the drinks! The cup is so huge!! I ordered an ice lemon tea and boy oh boy, I was pleasntly and delightfully surprised. Really a thirst quencher. Took some photos with my PDA but due to the "cosy" lighting (another word for too dark, too many msquitoes), they photos did not turn out well.
















Durians during CNY

One of the most memorable event during our trip is the feasting of the King of the fruits...durians! You'd be surprised that we Mirians are so deprived from good durians as they are sold by weight i.e RMXX per kilo!!! So when we see durians in Kuching, it is cheap, cheap and eat, eat! We had ours in our parents' home. My dad bought the durians from the seventh mile bazaar. All the durians bought were SUPER DUPER yummy... ate 'til we could eat no more. So what do we do? Save them in containers and sent them to the fridge for consumption the next day. (Unfortunately, as my wife pointed out when we were back in Miri, we did not bring the lovely durian leftovers with us... Dang!)

Oh, there're also downsides to having durians during CNY...
1. no alcohol when eating during as alcohol and durians don't mix... they ferment in your tummy if you do so and you will not be well...and I mean not VERY well after!
2. CNY guests will have to bear with our durian fragrances in our parent's house! (actually this downside is not too bad as most, if not all of our guests love durians... but we do not serve durians though. Hmm, maybe we should start that in the coming CNY celebrations! That's a thought.... a very fragrant thought... over powering one might say!)
















Dad opening the durian (pic above)... I also helped-la but for this one, I was busy snapping away using my PDA (apologies for the poor quality of the pic).
















Yummy durians.... we miss you!
















Eunice couldn't wait to eat the durians and dived in to have a piece of the action in opening the durians!
















Durians... when will we meet again?


Hong Kong Bun Coffee Shop

That was the name of the coffee shop as depicted on the workers' bright red shirts. However, I reckon this may not be the direct translation from the Mandarin signboard outside the shop. (anyone knows what the Mandarin characters mean or translate to??? please help... Mandarin iliterate here!)
















This coffe shop is along the main street of Padungan and has a nice cosy ambience to it. It is clean, bright and has a nice selection of Tim Sum. I was told this shop is not new and has been around for quite awhile. It is famous for its "sio pau" but that morning when we were there, there weren't any (maybe bakers still in CNY celebration). We had the other Tim Sum dishes and what we liked best is the "Char Siao Pau". It is really good although most of the Tim Sum offerings were not as good as the ones in Miri.






























Pic above is looking towards the main entrance but as you can see, they have opened up the side of the shop too for a more airy and brighter feel! Well done!






























Josh checking out what his Crysanthemum tea is made of.... just kidding!


Kuching International Airport

All good holidays have to come to an end. On 4th February 2006, we found ourselves in the newly renovated Kuching international airport (this was the second time of course since 8 days ago then. Before the completion of the airport, I could always remember the half completed airport as being extremely busy, congested, dirty, unplanned, chaotic, ....) This newly completed airport is a fresh change and a much welcome sight for all who travel in and out of Kuching city. It is almost a replica of the Miri airport as I guess the design of all the "new" airports in Malaysia uses the KLIA design.
























































































Saw this advert in one of the shops at the airport and decided to snap a picture of it. Why? Maxwin is not a very common name in Malaysia... it's Scottish (or is it Welsh?). How do I know? Because one of our church member's name is Maxwin. So Maxwin Chong, if you are reading this, you are not alone! *grin*grin*
















So at the end of the day, all the kids were tired out of an exciting trip in Kuching... as for the parents, this was yet another memorable CNY trip to Kuching!
God bless!