Exploring Kuching from a new point of view

So here I am, writing up a post I should have written some time ago. So, now this is going to be a really long entry, I think I will break this up into two posts for easier reading…

First up, two weeks ago on Saturday, Roselyn and I decided to do something different from a change. Instead of jalan-jalan cari makan (walk around in search of food), or the usual window shopping, we decided to explore Kuching as a tourist would do. Believe it or not, it was actually quite fun! And we sure walked a lot.

We started off parking the car at Carpenter Street at about 11am, the moment we got down from the car, it started drizzling. Oh well, it did not dampen our spirits, we carried on walking down Carpenter Street until we reached the Textile Museum, which my friend had never visited so we went there. It was eerily devoid of people upstairs, as the staff were mainly downstairs. And the mannequins that were depicting scenes of making textiles were quite spooky in that quiet and secluded place. Hehe. Then we were walking when Roselyn said something about ghosts when one of the doors suddenly opened. Really scared us, turns out it was just a staff who was using the toilets upstairs.

Anyway, next destination after that was the nearby India Street. It was still drizzling when we walked over. But no matter since along the street, we could walk along the sheltered five-foot way. Along the street, there were many shops, many selling clothes and cheap they were. All the way, I was holding tightly onto my bag, for fear of snatch thiefs or pickpockets, I was carrying my beloved camera afterall. Needless to say, I didn’t even dare to take out my camera there to snap photos. Perhaps next time, when I come with my bodyguards. Haha.

The rain did not seem to stop, in fact it got heavier as lunch time approached, and we just kept continuing to walk. Walked and walked, till we reached Main Bazaar. Where there are more shops, many of them tourist souvenirs shops this time. Sure did have a blast discovering the many shops along the way. Eventually, we realised that many of the shops carried similar items. Nevertheless, there were some interesting items. And the handicraft bags were really beautiful and not that expensive. In fact, when I went to Malacca at West Malaysia, one of the shopkeepers said that the bags they sold in the souvenir shop there is actually from Kuching.

When we had finished walking the entire length of Main Bazaar, it was already about 3pm and we had not even eaten lunch. So, a short drive away and we were at McD. The rain eventually stopped after we finished lunch. The sun was out again, and we decided to walk along the Waterfront from McD. We walked along the whole length, took photos too. Like this photo…

Taken in front of the James Brooke Restaurant where there is this interesting cat art piece.

Then, we walked further along and realised that the Fish and Pets Expo was on around the area at the Square Tower. I have blogged about it at the Undergroundsquare Blog if you want to read more. One thing I remembered clearly, the cats exhibition causing my respiratory system to be polluted by cat hair.

After a quick round around the expo, we crossed the road to the Old Courthouse. Where the Tourist Information Centre now is. More photo taking session ensued. Here’s a photo of me… Yea, bad hair day, the rest of my photos looked worse.

After all that, we finally walked back to where we had parked our car near McD. Somehow, the walk back seemed longer than when we had made our way here. Heh. I’m not sure how many kilometres I walked that day. But it sure was a fun experience. Nevermind the aches my legs were in after that.

The view from the Waterfront..

Mosaic patterned floor at the Waterfront. Nice, right?