Kuching: the City of the Cat

My time now seriously draws to a close, and I worry how I will possible get everything done in time and how I will be able to say goodbye to this place that has become my home.

Last weekend, Dave, another volunteer, and I went on a “petualangan,” which is Indonesian for adventure. Dave is here teaching English on his way home from a four year stint of living in Japan and had enjoyed his month with ASRI so much that he had decided to stay for another. His visa was about to expire and he had to leave the country to get a new one. Although I could have simply sent mine to Pontianak to have it extended another 30 days, I decided that I too would skip town and go to Kucing.

Kuching literally means “cat” in Indonesian and Malay, but no one seems to know why exactly Kuching is called Kuching, though there are several theories. In any case, it is a lovely little city in Sarawak (part of Malaysian Borneo) on a river near the coast. To get there from Sukadana we took a 5 hour speedboat last thursday afternoon, to Pontianak (capital of West Kalimantan), and after a quick dinner we got on the nine oclock night bus. Although I cannot claim it was the greatest night of sleep I have ever gotten, and getting woken up at 4 to go through a border crossing doesn’t help, I must admit that I was pleasantly suprised by the painlessness of the experience (of course we treated ourselves to the super executive class which has HUGE reclinging seats and provided you with a blanket etc.)

After arriving in Kuching Friday morning drowsy and disoriented we found ourselves a place to stay and then set off to go to the Indonesian consulate. The nice taxi driver that we tried to hire, however, informed us that the consulate would be closed as it was a national holiday. Of course, why didn’t we think of that? Resigning ourselves to the fact that we would have to remain in this lovely city until at least Monday was not hard.

Friday was spent exploring the city, eating Lebanese food (ahh hommus and falafel how I’ve missed thee) and going to the Sarawak Museum which is chock full of interesting displays, including one about the history of oil in Sarawak (funded by Shell Oil), as well as a seashell collection, and a reconstructed Dayek longhouse (complete with human skulls decorating the interior). Saturday we went to an orangutan rehabilitation center which was similar to Tanjung Puting in Kalimantan where I had previously gone on a trip and seen several “feedings.” We were extra lucky that morning however, and I saw my first dominant which is a huge hairy beast with crazy cheek phalanges.

Next up was the Sarawak Cultural Village which is a “living museum” and though very touristy, also very cool. Out on a peninsula there are houses built in the traditional style of the various tribes and people of Sarawak (including not only several different kinds of longhouses, but also a Chinese farmhouse and a Malay style house). Our timing worked out well as the World Harvest Festival was going on that weekend and there were several visiting dance troupes as well as a special “theme play” that evening and the finals of “Miss Fair and Beautiful, Ethnic Beauty Contest.” The play was fantastic, and although we did not stay to see how would be crowned the fairest of them all, we DID try river snails (tasty) as well as some sort of toasted white maggot worm (less tasty).

Sunday was my birthday (thanks for all the well wishes!), and aside from wishing that more of the wonderful people in my life could have been there, I have absolutely nothing to complain about. Dave and I went out to Bako National Park, which is only accessible by boat. There we hiked through the jungle, on the highlands along the coast, and eventually to a river with a small waterfall that was delicious for swimming. It was surreal. The well-marked nature of the park also caused us both to reflect, yet again, on how far Gunung Palung has to go in order to become a more accessible tourist destination.

Birthday dinner was at a restaurant called, aptly enough, Bla Bla Bla and we both ate ourselves sick in the finest American fashion. When the cheesecake that Dave had secretly ordered came out we were both too full to even touch it, almost. The margarita’s were also a nice touch.

It was great to be back out traveling again, seeing new things and having new adventures, but I was also anxious to get back to Sukadana as my time here dwindles at an alarming rate.