Sibu

8 - 10 Jan 2016

I was invited to a good friend's wedding  in Sibu and immediately said yes to the invitation! After all, it would be my first time in Sibu. Partner In Crime and another good friend would also be joining. So, the more, the merrier! :) Hong's wedding would be at Kingwood Hotel by the mighty Rajang river, and he graciously booked rooms and even car rental for our stay in Sibu! Such a gem of a friend.

Our hotel Kingwood is probably the biggest hotel in Sibu, located by the mighty Rajang river. The hotel is OK, serving its purpose. We were booked at the deluxe room with room rate of RM170 per night nett with breakfast. Not bad ;)

our room

Rajang river at sunset

Sibu is predominantly inhabited by the Chinese, so it was a bit of challenge finding halal food, but we managed to find some by asking our friend Hong and google of course! We tried the local specialty - Mee Kampua at a Malay restaurant - although nice, but it tasted just like the Sarawak specialty - mee kolok. Perhaps the authentic mee kampua could only be found at the Chinese restaurants - which contain some non-halal ingredients. All were not lost though, as Mas, out troop member found this really yummy gula apong ice cream. Not too sweet, it's just right for me.

mee kampua

ais kirm gula apong

Sibu is famous for its legend of the swan. There's a statue of a swan by the Rajang river near to the ferry terminal, a walking distance from the hotel. According to legend, a swan have been fed by the people of Sibu although they themselves were starving. The grateful bird showed the folks how to extract edible starch from wild sago and hence ending the famine.

swan statue near the ferry terminal

ferries to nearby cities

We also went to the Sibu central market - according to wikitravel - is the biggest indoor market in Malaysia. It sells poultry, vegetable, fruits at the ground level; and clothes and food at the upper level. The food court is a mix of halal and non halal stalls - a common sight in Sibu, and Sarawak generally. I was fascinated by the live chicken they were selling- the birds are wrapped in newspapers and are sold by weight.

Sibu central market

inside the market

live chicken

Not too far from the market is the Sibu Heritage Centre. There's a museum on the upper floor which have displays on the history of Sibu and items donated by collectors. The entrance to the museum is free. On the ground floor of the centre is a shop selling souvenirs and handicrafts.

Sibu heriate centre

In the evening we went to the Sibu Night Market to get something to munch on before going out for dinner at Sungai Merah.

Sibu night market

Sibu night market

As for the wedding, it was an auspicious event, attended by both sides of the family. Again, Hong and family went all out to ensure we could enjoy the wedding feast (a 6 course meal) and put us at the non-alcohol table. Such is their level of hospitality to ensure we were comfortable. We were very touched by their kind gestures and can't thank them enough.

the lovely couple

yaaaaam seeeeeng

Hello Kitty!

Wed 6 Aug - Tue 12 Aug 2014
Kuching

I'm referring to the town of Kuching actually. Happy to be back here after 2 decades!

While doing some bunga telur shopping at Kuching town near the Waterfront, we stopped by at Bismillah Cafe for the yummy and famous Mee Kolok. There are a few types of the noodle, but today I had the Mee Kolok soup.

Bismillah cafe

Types of Mee Kolok

Mee Kolok soup

We passed by the stalls at the India Street Pedestrian Mall, selling clothes, tudung, and food, navigating our way through the narrow Indian Mosque lane which connects the mall and Gambier Road with the mosque in between. Walking a bit from India Street is Jalan Main Bazaar where there are many shops selling spices. I bought Masala tea spice and Mee Jawa paste for my mom here.

India Street

India street

stalls near India street

Masjid India

I noticed that vans are used as mode of transport in Kuching and are divided into zones since the city itself covers a vast area. Each Zone is dedicated to a designated area of Kuching. The nostalgic rectangle bus is also still in service.

Zone 1 van

Classic bus

Classic van schedule table

Crossing the street from the spice shop is the Waterfront promenade along the Santubong river, a popular place to hang out with friends and families and take photographs. We took our outdoor wedding shots here too, with people cheering and congratulating us. Sweet.

waterfront

On the night before the kenduri we stopped by at Topspot, a food court on the top of a multi storey parking building; with mostly stalls selling seafood, just beside Ariva Gateway where my family were staying to have dinner with mom and my side of the family from KL.

Topspot

Image taken from here

After the majlis kenduri (wedding reception) at the kampung, we spent a night in Kuching town with our good friends from KL, Mas, Ezad, baby Mishary and Liza who came all the way to Kuching. In fact, they attended both wedding receptions in KL and Kuching. We stayed at Merdeka Palace Hotel at Padang Merdeka Kuching. Our friends opted for the 2 room apartment while myself and Partner in Crime chose the hotel room.

The 2 room apartment is spacious with 3 bathrooms, a living room and kitchen with a view of the Padang Merdeka. However, the hotel room is a disappointment - very small, no view and has outdated deco (RM180/room/night with no breakfast).

Apartment master bedroom

Apartment room no. 2

Apartment kitchen

View from apartment

That evening we went for the Sunset River Cruise from 5.30pm - 7pm which include drinks, kek lapis and a short traditional dance performance onboard. The cruise cost RM60/person. Little Mishary also joined us on the cruise and he seemed to love it (and managed a nap too) with the cool breeze lapping. We passed by the Dewan Undangan Negeri, DUN (State Assembly) Astana (a palace, the official residence of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak, or the Governor of Sarawak), Malay traditional water village, Kuching State Mosque, Fort Margherita (built in 1879 by Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak) , Kampung Boyan/ Surabaya and Chief Minister's house, among others. The cruise ended with Sarawak traditional dance of the Iban, Bidayuh and Melanau.

before going onboard

u can sit inside

u can sit outside

Mishary loves it

DUN

Astana

Chief Minister's house

Brooke dockyard

kampung

traditional dance

Mishary ogling at the lady dancer. Naughty ;)

The next morning we had breakfast again at Bismillah cafe as I was still craving for Mee Kolok. Unfortunately, the Mee Kolok maker had to go to the dentist on the day of our visit -_-  We ended up having nasi lemak instead.

It was drizzling when we made our way to the Sarawak cat museum. Located at the Kuching North City Hall headquarters on top of a hill, it has a great view of the city. The entrance is free but we had to pay RM for a camera permit. The exhibition is all about cats but seemed dated and in need of new content. Nonetheless, the cat exhibits are indeed kawaii (cute) ^_^

kawaii

Japanese painting

Cats Rock!

Spacey Cat

keep off my teddy bear!

We then made our way back to the Waterfront to take the sampan (or tambang) to cross the river and back. The return journey cost us RM1. Residents of the water village by the river regularly use this service for their daily transport.

tambang coming!

Pramugari tambang...Silakan Masuk...

berthing

It was then time to eat again! I wasn't about to give up yet on my mission to get good Mee Kolok and Laksa Sarawak. So we tried our luck again today at Mom's Laksa (they ran out of laksa the day before). We noticed that Mee Kolok and Laksa Sarawak are served for breakfast at most of the restaurants and tend to finish up by 11am.

Luckily the Laksa Sarawak was still available for lunch, but no Mee Kolok though. Some of us also tried the Meehoon Belacan, but it was so-so only. After the hearty lunch, we went to the nearby Kubah Ria, an integrated complex comprising of a food court and stalls selling local goods such as kuih lapis sarawak, laksa sarawak paste, ikan terubuk masin and beras bario, among others.

laksa sarawak

meehun belacan

laksa sarawak paste

stalls

food court

We then bade farewell to Mas, Ezad, Liza and baby Mishary. We would be doing our outdoor photoshoot that evening before going back to kampung and leaving for KL the next day. I would definitely be seeing Kuching again in the near future ;)