Telang Usan Hotel,Kuching,Sarawak,Borneo

I cannot believe we actually spent the weekend in SARAWAK!To think that it started with Azim,Shu and I joking around on New Year's eve,we actually managed to go and it was awesome!I wish we stayed on a little longer coz seriously,despite the food being a wee bit expensive,I had a blast!

We arrived on the 8th.Got to the hotel at about 4pm-ish.It was too early to not do anything so Shu got us (Azim,Rashid and I) all together and we headed straight for town.We actually went to Waterfront since we didn't want to go too far away from the hotel.Also,we were on foot so we could only go as far as our feet (actually,Azim's) could take us.

*My brothers (especially Azim) aren't the adventurous type to go out and about and explore*

Finally,we decided to have dinner by the river.The view was awesome but the price was mad.Now we know!Scheißer!AND!..........We also did NOT know just how dangerous the place was.Well,apart from Shu's dad's warnings about people getting mugged around that area at knife point and stuff,I found out from my sister that the gangs there are the type who'd simply kill anyone if they wanted any girl.

*It's a good thing I was dressed like a Nyonya jual sayur most of the time ;)*

We did a little more walking after that and got back to the hotel at about 8:40pm-ish.It was kinda good that we were already back by then coz kit started pouring soon after we started lounging about in front of the TV.Yes,even though we got 2 rooms to ourselves,we spent most of the time having a slumber party in just one room.

Oh yeah,Cikgu Sansei called.He was asking about our plans and stuff the next day coz he wanted to come over and take us around.

*It's really3 good to see him again after ALL THESE YEARS!Shit!It must have been over 12 years since I last saw him!He was teaching in my primary school back then.Became really good friends with my dad.In fact,he used to join my dad go on bicycle rides every other afternoon.I'm not talking about the regular main road bike rides.They'd go up forest hills and stuff.Totally off-road stuff.So yeah,it was really great to see him again coz all the while,he'd only be on the phone with my dad.

Anywho,my former teacher met us at the hotel early on Saturday morning.We had some breakfast and then the whole lot of us got into his family car and he took us all the way to Serikin which was like an hour drive away.Serikin was at the borders of Kalimantan and on weekends,people from everywhere would go there to shop for cheap stuff.Mostly Indonesian made things.The atmosphere was crazy but fun.Loads of people selling loads of things.I enjoyed trying out food stuff like crackers which cannot be found in KL.I got hooked to this cracker which looks like one of those onion crackers with the stripes but instead of tasting savoury,it has this balanced sweet taste and it's in black and white instead of brownish.ME LURVES THEM LOTS!

Next,we went to Tasik Biru which is a lake where people used to dig up gold.My teacher said that there is still gold down in the lake but not much left.The place was beautiful!The view was breathtaking!I'm gonna have to upload a picture for this one to actually show how beautiful the place was.

*Yes,I'm an awesome self-proclaimed photographer.Yumi liked most the photos I took :p*

We drove to the little town of Bau to get to a Muslim restaurant called Siti Cafe & Catering for lunch.The food was good and there was this HUGE pregnant cat lying on one of the tables.It was so huge that it couldn't even get up.Hahahaha!KAWAII!

Then,we went to Joong's Crocodile farm.The people who ran the place must have been completely mad!There were shitloads of crocs crawling in several areas and the walls which were holding them back were not as high as I would imagine them to be (in order for us to feel safe) Well,let's just say that crocs have really3 strong tails so if they were to get into a fight or something,they could really break the brick walls.......or something........

Anywho,we walked around and waited by the sitting area to watch the crocs getting fed and stuff.As we were waiting,Shu,Cikgu Sansei and I were looking at the crocs slowly moving into the water submerging and swimming around and stuff.It was then that we realized that when crocs stay still in the water,they'd look like floating logs and the moment they submerge into the brownish river water,we'd never guess they're actually there.We thought about this after looking at the photos of Bujang Senang earlier and how that 19 feet long crocodile ate up a whole kid!

There were also some other creatures at the farm like otters and bear cats and barking deers.......

After a long walk around the park,we headed over to Satok where there's this weekend market happening.I lurve that place!You can buy anything (just like Serikin) but with more food stuff.Rashid wanted a tee so much so we were hopping from one stall to another trying to bargain for a good price.We had drink and ate a little at the food out front.Shu finally got to try the Laksa Sarawak.I was drinking shitloads of H2O coz I was beginning to dehydrate.

*Actually,just before Satok,we were actually back in Kuching but most of the museums we wanted to go to were closed so we made some quick stops at places nearby like the fish museum and the memorial park*

Satok was our last stop for the day.Cikgu Sansei drove us back to the hotel and by the time we got there it was 7pm-ish.That was ONE LONG DAY!We got up at 7:30am and we've been walking all day long.Still,that wasn't our last outing for the day.Shu wanted to have seafood and we did see this place at the top of a multi-storey parking lot called Top Spot.The food was awesome!We walked there coz it was within walking distance and then we were done eating at about 10pm-ish.The walk and the climb up the stairs got us really hungry.

I was totally knocked out not long after we got back to the hotel.Usually,I wouldn't be able to sleep at least after about 3 hours of the last meal but that night,I just couldn't keep my eyes opened anymore.

We were rushing the next morning trying to get to the museums which were closed the day before ON FOOT!Then,we also wanted to get on the little boats to get across to Fort Margherita and be back at the hotel in time to check out.We got to the airport super early coz I needed to confirm my brothers' flight since they were both on stand by.So yeah,my brothers were practically cursing for making them run up hill and up the stairs to the fort IN THE HOT noon!Hahaha!

When we were about to check out at the hotel front desk,Cikgu Sansei called to ask if we could hang around a little while coz he and his family were coming from Satok and he got my folks some stuff.We waited and he came and we finally got to meet his wife and kids.They must have been married for about 6 years already and only now we got to meet the family.They are really nice people and they wanted my folks to go over to the their place once their house is ready.

They have an awesome single storey house with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with land area on the side.My former teacher said that his house wouldn't be so far from the school he teaches at or the school his wife teaches at and it's not far from Kuching or the airport.

*Mind you,it took him 3 hours to get to our hotel from the place he's currently living at!*

I had a blast.Our flight home was funny too.In fact,the 4 of us had been making fun of quite a number of people in the plane but I'm just gonna save that for another entry ;)

I am super tired and in need of sleep...........