Fort Margherita, Kuching, Malaysia

Been re-working a bunch of files from the last year and have found quite a few that I overlooked the first time around. This one is from Kuching, Malaysia.

Srawak, Brunei & Sabah

Back in Hong Kong now and back to the dreary weather, polluted skies and masses of people. It is really interesting to consider that in all of Sabah and Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo) there are only 5 million people, whichc is a few million less than here!

The city of Kuching is split in half by a river, and at the city center the only way to cross the river is by boat. Most of the locals pay 1RM to cross the river, but a lot of the boat drivers try to ring more money out of you if you are not Malaysian.

Satay is one of the specialties of Sarawak cuisine. Delicious in every way, can get chicken, beef, mutton and even fish. The best part of the satay though is the sauce, which is usually a peanut sauce similar to that in Thailand.

Of course, in Kuching, cats are everywhere. They are everywhere all around Sarawak and Sabah for that matter though. Most of them have short or non-existant tails and I still do not know why.

Typical scene from "the other side" of the river in Kuching. Lots of small motorcycles and scooters carrying entire families!

No trip through Brunei is complete without a visit to this structure. The Sultan of Brunei has an enourmous amount of money and this is just one example of what may be found in Bandar Seri Begawan.

Waiting around at a bus station in Suria, Brunei. The country is much bigger than it first seems. From Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia to Suria is a 2-hour bus ride, and from Suria to Bandar is another couple of hours.

During Fridays and weekends in Kota Kinabaly there are some fantastic street food vendors set up near Jolon Gaya. This was dinner one night. Cooked to perfection with all sorts of chilis and vegetables added to the fried tofu, it tastes absolutely divine.

Food seems to be a running theme throughout all of my Borneo pictures. This is Black Pepper Chicken along with the standard Iced Coffee that I've become addicted to. The sauce has a perfect blend of flavor and spice and even brought beads of sweat to the forehead!

Kuching "Cat City" Malaysia

Right now I am in Kuching, which translates to "Cat City." It is the far western city in Sarawak, which is the western province of Malaysian Borneo and the biggest state in the country. Tomorrow night I'll start the slow process of getting back to Kota Kinabalu in time for some hiking around the mountain areas of Sabah and then, sadly, heading back to Hong Kong (not so sad actually, I love it there and am somewhat excited to get back to the city and bike on a proper recumbent instead of the things they have here)

Here are a couple of pictures I took today in Kuching. There are tons more, but they will have to wait for another day to get posted :)