Kutching

The trip down to Kutching was much longer than I had thought. Had an unexpected stopover in Sibu when my bus arrival was later than the only boat departure of the day. Sibu is a port town with a Chinese temple. But it really didn't make up for the day I lost that could have been spent in Bako, the park everyone has been raving about since I arrived in Borneo. Like everywhere else, I'll just have to go on my next trip! Seems the places I want to visit are adding to my list and not being scratched off! Had an exciting stop by the Polis (the Malay-English spelling is great!) who were looking for illegal immigrants.

Kutching is a peaceful, relaxed city on the Sarawak river. So relaxed that I seemed to have a problem keeping my eyes open. Could it be 4 months of travel is tiring me out? Or maybe it was all the food I ate. Ramsay (the artist I met a couple months ago in KL) just happened to be at his Kutching gallery when I arrived. He invited me to join his brother and wife to see the outskirts of the city. We drove to a Malay village on the other side of the river and ate seafood... my favorite being the salty, crispy, muscle omelette! After my 3rd attempt at eating crabs, I think I'm starting to get the grasp of the whole process. Jungle ferns, ochre and lady's fingers, we had a feast. Then got in the car to find an ais dessert--what is this name? Shaved ice on top of red beans (and an option of green jellies), sitting in coconut milk. Not bad but I was about to burst. P