A Day in the Cat City

Two days ago, my friends and I decided to run an errand as tourists in our own city, Kuching, the Cat City. Kuching is the capital city of Sarawak, Malaysia, located at the western part of Northern Borneo island. Here is the story:

Once upon a time, in an island afar, there were four vagabonds namely Lynn, Alpi, Suha and Janie.

They began their trip by witnessing Kuching from atop of Dewan Shuarah. From there, they saw...

The Sarawak River amidst the city center. Crocodiles live there. Fish also lives there.

Southern Kuching. Southern City Hall is right in the middle. The inhabitants there be blessed.

Roads and roundabouts with trees and greeneries

Then, they moved to the Amphitheater (Panggung Udara)

The Amphitheater...
... is where the Kung Fu masters fight like gladiators, hiyaa!

...is also a place where the love blooms.

After done with all the dramas, all went to Taman Budaya (Cultural Garden?). There, they...

... wanted to be "young at heart" while reminiscing the days when they were young.

Along the journey, a map is referred in case they lost, just like life.

Also just like life, things sometimes turned childish...

Sometimes... umm... less than appropriate.

Or even not appropriate at all...

But every cloud has a silver lining. Along the road, they think and smile.

And so the walk goes on, and so does life.

At the Museums...

All of a sudden, the group stride their feet to the once residents of the White Rajah. Now, the residence is resided by the State's relics, rare and rousing.

Ponder him that he may understand the meaning of all these - those ancestral relics long lost in the pace of time.

More of them reminding about the past, telling thousands of stories untold, yet never said a word.

Then to the dwelling of the creatures of the water (the Aquarium) the group visited...

They decided with a statue of a dugong they must stand along with for reasons unknown. They say, life is full of uncertainties.

From Kuching Waterfront to Kampung Boyan to visit Fort Margaritha...

To the river ya 'all, to the river for night is getting nigh!

And so they get into the penambang; the penambang's owner warmly greeted.

Plain sailing all over the way!

Hey look, Astana Negeri (the State's Palace) is at the riverside! Where is the Governor?

The New Sarawak State Parliament in the making. Greetings to the big boat. O big boat, don't get too close to them lest they sink before thy very eyes.

Arrived at the other side of Sarawak River. Arrived safe and sound.

At Fort Margaritha...

*Read the sign carefully* Don't wanna get lost in the middle of this hilly jungle.

The FORT! The FORT!

Where? There! INCOMING!!!

Back to Kuching Waterfront...

They were tired and now retired from the fort. Penambang rider wannabe?

An advice for the travelers.

Some are fit to be a crocodile tamer, others are not.

Borneo High Court, where justice is sought. Hey, the girls have done injustice to him!

Kuching map circa 1870's. How does this place looks like, then?

All in all, the trip began about 10:30am in the morning and ended about 8:45pm in the evening. They were all exhausted but were very happy... All slept soundly that night.

____________________________________________________________________

This is a place where civilization and nature infused together; this is where I grow. this is a place I call home.

At the golden triangle, the heart of Kuching City...

For I am Kuching! :)

Lesson I learned:
Revisiting the places of interests in my own place really makes me feel special. The places once I took for granted, now reassert my identity on the face of the world.

*Kuching (in Malay) means "cat" in English. Malay is one of the languages I speak and is also one of the common tongues in Borneo.