Discovering Kuching on a shoestring
By Jovin Wong
It’s hard, yes. Travelling for one and travelling for four is very different but not impossible. With the right kind of help and proper planning, I successfully took my parents and my sister to the ‘Land of the Hornbills’–Sarawak in East Malaysia.
And it all started with the greatest saving one can enjoy in a travel–flight tickets!
Ticket price for four from Penang to Kuching, inclusive of luggage was only RM242. That’s about RM60 per person. I can barely make it to Kuala Lumpur and back with this price. The key is to book early! So when 30 June 2011 came, the entire family packed up and flew to Kuching!
The first thing we did upon landing and settling down was naturally to hunt for food.
It’s cheap, good and a totally different culinary experience from those back home. Kuching is famous for its ‘Kolok Mee’, a plate of dry noodles that tastes pretty good in my opinion. The ‘Kolok Mee Special’ (photo on the left) that we ordered was filled with extra fish fillets and other ingredients. It was so good that we actually had a few servings of ‘Kolok Mee’ throughout our holiday in Kuching.
So what can you do on a shoestring trip in Kuching?
Easy. Like everywhere else in the world, you head out to town. In this case, the old town and make your way towards the Kuching Waterfront.
The Kuching Waterfront
Here you will find stalls selling all kinds of things, from the famous ‘Sarawak Layer Cake’ to unique handicrafts and souvenirs, such as bracelets, necklaces and ornaments made from beads and wood.
Walking along the waterfront, we found many signs of ‘cruise’ rides and many boatmen offered to take us on a ‘cruise’ along the river. My advice, skip it! It is nothing a cheap ‘sampan’ ride can’t offer. There are numerous sampans along the river and for less than a ringgit, you get to experience the real way of commuting along the river!
Right by the waterfront is the Chinese Heritage Museum that is funded independently by the Chinese community here in Kuching. It is a small and humble museum with just enough exhibits to make it a short yet enjoyable visit. What’s more, entrance is… yup! Free!
Chinese Heritage Museum
What’s interesting here was the short audio commentary available under each description board which plays the dialects of each Chinese community. Apart from Cantonese and Hokkien, the other dialects were almost foreign to me.
More of the Chinese Heritage Museum
There was a set-up of an old coffee shop inside the museum. That’s me sneaking a shot right there, posing as if I’m in deep thought for my next move in the Chinese Chess J As a visitor, you can also help out the museum by offering a little contribution…
Have you spotted the donation box?
…that is if you can find the donation box! Yup, it’s that finely carved pagoda right next to the Chinese drum. That’s the donation box right there! Who would have thought right?
We spent the entire afternoon museum-hopping throughout town. I probably visited more museums that afternoon than I did in my past 26 years.
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