Watzup Speedy

It was a trip that almost didn’t happen. I’d intended to return to Kuching for the annual September regatta but had to change my plan three times!

The first was when Margaret decided that she would tag along as the timing coincided with a week’s school break so I made flight and hotel arrangements for two instead of one.

Two weeks before our departure her good friend Helen asked whether she would like join her and two others on a trip to a heritage site in China. The timing clashed with the Kuching trip. So I changed my bookings back to one person (in the end they went to Cambodia instead because they couldn’t get bookings for the China trip).

Five days before our departure (we were leaving on the same day) my father had to be admitted to Changi General Hospital because he was suffering from DVT (deep vein thrombosis). Not knowing the length of his hospitalization I delayed my trip.

I finally got to Kuching but the regatta was over. Dropped by Sarawak Tourism Board to pass them the Silkwinds magazine – ‘compliments’ of the Silkair flight I was on - containing my piece on the RWMF. The other reason for going to Kuching was to check the Archives for old newspapers from the 50s (my father was stationed there from 1949 -55). It seemed that luck was with me as my contact at the Tourism Board knew someone at Archives and helped me write the introduction letter. Furthermore the Archives was in the same building (Bangunan Yayasan) as the Tourism Board. Great! But it turned out to be a dead end as I was shunted from the 8^th floor library to the 3^rd floor where the old newspapers were supposedly kept but the door was locked and peeping inside didn’t see anyone. Back to the 8^th floor where they helpfully told me to call a number to check first before trying the 3^rd floor again but I didn’t bother in the end. It didn’t look much like a library of old newspapers, more like a storeroom and there didn’t seem to be any microfilm reader.

Took a long walk to see the Sarawak Club where dad was a member (it was called the Kuching Recreation Club in the old days but the original wooden building had burned down in late July (electrical wiring fault) although the new extensions are still intact. I was aghast as I was in Kuching in mid-July for the RWMF but didn’t have the time, now it was too late!

This trip I had more time to slowly wander around and explore. Visited the Chinese History Museum; at Indian Street bought pepper from Tay Hak Hak shop (8 Leboh India); had local coffee at Black Bean (87 Ewe Hai St) – a non-descript little shop that is very easy to miss; splurged on dinner at the Junk (80 Wayang St) where I had a glass of wine, lamb shank, coffee, and chocolate mud-cake which I thought I deserved after subsisting on coffee shop fare and cup noodles. It came to RM$54 which would probably have bought me only the shank in Singapore.

My return flight to Singapore was on Friday evening and I had to check out by 3.00 pm. Walked around the area for awhile before parking myself at the James Brooke Bistro where I had a few drinks and worked on the computer. There was no air –conditioning and it was getting warm so returned to the hotel to wait it out in the lobby for my pre-arranged transport to the airport. Who should I see but my brother! He was in town to attend a Lodge function that evening and was also staying at the same hotel. He was just about to go out so I asked him to let me into the comfort of his room where I could also charge my laptop. In any case I would be seeing him the following Monday when I leave for Kota Kinabalu. Yes I know it’s a roundabout way but my flight bookings had been changed thrice already and SilkAir doesn’t fly from Kuching to Kota Kinabalu. I didn’t even bother to unpack except to put in a fresh set of clothes. All in all, despite missing the regatta it was a trip full of little surprises.

// posted by Speedy @ 2:33 pm