It was our first visit to East Malaysia; Kuching, the Land of the Hornbill. Flew east with AirAsia and pre-booked the 360 Urban Resort Hotel. The hotel is actually at Hock Lee center itself, along Jalan Datuk Abang Abdul Rahim; approximately 15 minutes drive from Kuching International Airport, and about 5 minutes drive to Kuching Riverfront. The hotel is relatively new and has free shuttle to Riverfront. We were greeted by the hotel-airport shuttle driver at the arrival gate. Very good shuttle service for RM5.99 per person per trip.
The deluxe room RM162/night comes with two queen size bed that can accommodate 4 adults in a room. Pretty decent I would say.
It was already way past lunch time after our check-in. We quickly grab lunch at a restaurant inside Hock Lee center itself. Food was so-so, nothing special, but price was surprisingly lower than Ipoh!
Weather was really nice that afternoon; a little sunshine with a little raindrop ;) We took the hotel shuttle to Riverside. Having our first free and easy self-tour to Kuching, nothing was precisely planned. And this is what you will see when you are on a super free and easy trip...
Weather was really nice that afternoon; a little sunshine with a little raindrop ;) We took the hotel shuttle to Riverside. Having our first free and easy self-tour to Kuching, nothing was precisely planned. And this is what you will see when you are on a super free and easy trip...
5 minutes drive from hotel to Riverside. Shuttle dropped us off at Riverside majestic, opposite Riverside Suites.
It was the 3rd day of Chinese New Year and town was really quiet and empty! Most of the shops were closed. In spite, we took a stroll along the riverside, snapping pictures like any other tourists!
There are many shops along Riverside road selling handicrafts, batik, souvenirs, Sarawak famous layered cakes, and pepper.
Sad to mention, we had to take away KFC for dinner that night as most of the restaurant in town were still closed for Chinese New Year, plus, it was raining heavily too :(
Day 2: Pre-booked trip to Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre at RM35 per person. Shuttle picked us up from hotel directly to Semenggoh. It was about 45 minutes south drive from the hotel. We were there by 9.30am, waited for the feeding time that was scheduled to be at 10am. There was nothing much to see, nothing much to hike, because the shuttle van dropped us right in front of the feeding gate. Well, fair enough, it was drizzling that morning. We waited until 10am when the wildlife center officers came out with food, fruits to be precised, to feed the Orang Utans. Everyone was very excited, of course, the warning said we should keep away from them for at least 20m! Whoa, they must be really dangerous! Crowd grew and officers on two-way-radios were all around us. Warned us not to stand too close, in fact, there was a point when they told us to back off immediately as a huge Orang Utan was on his way towards the crowd. The Orang Utans, not many, only about four, came out during the feeding.
Instead of heading back to the hotel, the driver was kind enough to bring us to the kek lapis shop; Sarawak famous Dayang Salhah Kek Lapis. There were various cake samples to try out, ranging from the colourful layered cake, to chocolate, oreo, and also my favorite of all, the cadbury cheese kek lapis! The cakes were rather pricey, fetching at RM10. They claimed to have no preservatives added, needs to be refrigerated and can be kept for consumption for up to 3-5 days. **Ting ting, that reminded me about the kek lapis sold along Riverside road, under the hot, humid weather! oh yeah, keep your imagination run wild!
We had another stop at 5th mile road to visit a pottery shop; the Yong Huat Heng Pottery. Nothing special to mention, except that mom got overexcited with the pots!
Day 3: Pre-booked trip to Sarawak Cultural Village at RM80 per person; inclusive of entrance fee of RM60. The Cultural Village is the main venue for the Rainforest World Music Festival. A place that gathers all from different cultures and ethnics for the sake of music! Music, the universal language to humankind. Oh well, we were not there for the Rainforest music after all. We were there to understand more on the different cultures and ethnics of Sarawakians. 45 minutes drive from hotel; north of Kuching, is indeed an eye-opening experience. If I were to compare this to Shenzhen's Splendid of China, I am really sorry to say that Sarawak Cultural Village has a huge room for improvement. To begin with, probably guided tour or some display notes on every ethnic homes, explaining the ornaments, their home, culture and etc.
In every ethnics' houses, there were various unique ornaments... sculptures from coconut husks...
There were 2 shows each day, dancers perform dances of different ethnics, as well as the blowpipe performance.
Before our departure back to Riverside, we walked over to the Damai beach that was right in front of the Sarawak Cultural Village main entrance.
There are many shops along Riverside road selling handicrafts, batik, souvenirs, Sarawak famous layered cakes, and pepper.
Sad to mention, we had to take away KFC for dinner that night as most of the restaurant in town were still closed for Chinese New Year, plus, it was raining heavily too :(
Day 2: Pre-booked trip to Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre at RM35 per person. Shuttle picked us up from hotel directly to Semenggoh. It was about 45 minutes south drive from the hotel. We were there by 9.30am, waited for the feeding time that was scheduled to be at 10am. There was nothing much to see, nothing much to hike, because the shuttle van dropped us right in front of the feeding gate. Well, fair enough, it was drizzling that morning. We waited until 10am when the wildlife center officers came out with food, fruits to be precised, to feed the Orang Utans. Everyone was very excited, of course, the warning said we should keep away from them for at least 20m! Whoa, they must be really dangerous! Crowd grew and officers on two-way-radios were all around us. Warned us not to stand too close, in fact, there was a point when they told us to back off immediately as a huge Orang Utan was on his way towards the crowd. The Orang Utans, not many, only about four, came out during the feeding.
Instead of heading back to the hotel, the driver was kind enough to bring us to the kek lapis shop; Sarawak famous Dayang Salhah Kek Lapis. There were various cake samples to try out, ranging from the colourful layered cake, to chocolate, oreo, and also my favorite of all, the cadbury cheese kek lapis! The cakes were rather pricey, fetching at RM10. They claimed to have no preservatives added, needs to be refrigerated and can be kept for consumption for up to 3-5 days. **Ting ting, that reminded me about the kek lapis sold along Riverside road, under the hot, humid weather! oh yeah, keep your imagination run wild!
We had another stop at 5th mile road to visit a pottery shop; the Yong Huat Heng Pottery. Nothing special to mention, except that mom got overexcited with the pots!
Day 3: Pre-booked trip to Sarawak Cultural Village at RM80 per person; inclusive of entrance fee of RM60. The Cultural Village is the main venue for the Rainforest World Music Festival. A place that gathers all from different cultures and ethnics for the sake of music! Music, the universal language to humankind. Oh well, we were not there for the Rainforest music after all. We were there to understand more on the different cultures and ethnics of Sarawakians. 45 minutes drive from hotel; north of Kuching, is indeed an eye-opening experience. If I were to compare this to Shenzhen's Splendid of China, I am really sorry to say that Sarawak Cultural Village has a huge room for improvement. To begin with, probably guided tour or some display notes on every ethnic homes, explaining the ornaments, their home, culture and etc.
In every ethnics' houses, there were various unique ornaments... sculptures from coconut husks...
There were 2 shows each day, dancers perform dances of different ethnics, as well as the blowpipe performance.
Before our departure back to Riverside, we walked over to the Damai beach that was right in front of the Sarawak Cultural Village main entrance.
