Borneo 2015 – day 01

Monday 29th June

Monday morning, and we’re chomping at the bit to get out and start soaking in the sights, the sounds and the smells of Kuching.
Breakfast in our hotel gave us the choice of local style or western style, and I have to confess, we opted for what we knew. A cuppa and a couple of slices of toast and jam.
Then, it was out and about to explore…
From our experiences two years ago in Kinabalu, things here seem fairly similar. The locals are extraordinarily friendly, they drive like there are no rules (as I’m writing this on day 03, it has since come to our attention that the only real rule on the roads is “do no harm”… Beyond that, anything is allowed), and almost everything (particularly food, but not electronics) is really inexpensive.
Max is blown away by the notion that the meal at McDonald’s that, in Australia would cost him $10, he can have here for RM7 (that’s 7 Malaysian Ringgit, which based on the current exchange rate of RM2.80=AUD$1 comes to about $2.60).
The centre of town is on the south side of the river, and there are a couple of places of interest on the north side. In this area, the river is only about 100 meters across, and there are these quaint little ferries, run by men who look like they would blow away in a strong breeze. To cross the river costs the princely sum of RM1 per person each way. We all hopped on board and headed across to explore the north side of the river. Upon our arrival, I had to shuffle along the bench seating inside the ferry, pushing my camera bag in front of me, as the roof was too low for me to stand upright. In the process, I left my camera sitting on the seat! I was about 15 meters up the gangplank when I heard a commotion behind me and turned around to see the old ferryman holding my camera aloft, looking for its owner. I raced back, thanked him profusely, received my camera, and offered him a RM10 note. He had a smile a mile wide like he’d just one Division One lotto, and shook my hand profusely. I figure he probably took his wife out for dinner on that reward!
The couple of places of interest we had crossed the river to see (the Council chambers, and the old Fort) both ended up being closed, apparently due to the Governor (kind of like their Prime Minister, I gather) being in town.
So, back across the river we went, and returned to our hotel for a rest.
As the sun started to sink in the afternoon, we headed down to the waterfront in search of the same night markets we had come to love about Kinabalu. Sadly, we couldn’t seem to find any in this part of town. So, we settled for a cafe/bistro which overlooked the river.
Tomorrow, we are booked on a full day excursion with Kuching Caving. We are in for some caving, some visiting of rural villages, a jungle trek, and a bit of off-road adventure…. should be an interesting day!