“01:33.501N 110:24.317E”

Thursday 18^th April

We have thoroughly enjoyed looking around Kuching today. We headed into town from the marina on the same muddy Sarawak River, a little out of town, on an old yellow bus with such rattly windows we could hardly talk.  The city has some lovely buildings established in Rajah James Brooke’s time, when he came in take over from the Sultan’s brother in the late 1800’s with two more generations of Brooke rule following him. The Square Tower, Brooke Memorial, The Pavilion, The Central Post Office and the Old Courthouse were majestic white buildings with the Astana and Fort Margherita standing out across the meandering river. The waterfront was lined with shops crammed with beautiful treasures such as sarongs, beaded handiwork and wooden artifacts and stalls selling delicious fruit juices and the local brightly coloured, very sweet cake.

The Women’s Museum had some good models of the traditional dress of the local people with beautiful beads, silver jewellery and finely woven cloth. The Textiles Museum had some stunning old cloth and models of how it was woven. Headdresses, vests and beaded finery from years gone by from the Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu people were also on display. Julia, the lady who ran the gift shop, showed the girls how to make simple bracelets and necklaces from the colourful beads and she herself had a shop full of intricate sashes, mats and other beautiful beaded work she had made. Hatty enjoyed looking at the colourful mats and jewellery made from beads, and learned that they dye their cloth from bush materials by stamping on it in a wooden bath. Willow liked the cloth they were weaving from silk on wooden weaving stands. Phoebe liked the beaded babies’ baskets which their parents use to carry them around.

Lunch in Chinatown of delicious noodles and lemon tea, to which we are becoming quite partial, was followed by a look around the very interesting Chinese Museum. Originally built as a courthouse to administer Chinese civil affairs by the Second Rajah, now it is fascinating about how the Chinese came to Sarawak to farm mainly in pepper and rubber. Now, as everywhere in the world, they dominate in all industries. Festivals, musical instruments, a film about their early days, games and food presented a broad overview of their culture. Hatty enjoyed watching the movie about Chinese New Year and the other festivals. ‘The dragon was gold and red and pretended to scare people by lunging and roaring and it had people inside dancing to move it’. Willow liked the red gramophone with the horn shaped like petals and the pink and white balls, Tang Yuan they made for the Winter Solstice Festival. Phoebe liked watching the movie about calligraphy and looking at the special brushes and nib pens they used.

Friday 19^th April

Another action packed day in Kuching, browsing shops and enjoying the museums! India Street was packed with clothes shops and was the first commercial street and mall in Kuching. A small alleyway led to Kuching’s first mosque, built by the Indian Muslim community, very open air which is perfect in this steamy climate. Men in domed white hats and traditional shirts prayed on woven mats as Friday is their main religious day, while a couple of veiled blind women sold loo paper nearby. (Rather a necessity in this country as there is never any in the loos, luckily though they aren't all squat ones as in Indonesia!)

We ventured past the main mosque and a busy Muslim lunch spot, with eaters enjoying roti and shovelling up rice dishes with their right hands after pray time. (The left hand is reserved for hygiene purposes!) Unfortunately being Friday the Islamic Museum wasn't open, as they were meant to have interesting displays about their culture which may have been able to answer some of our questions about their religion.

The Sarawak Museum gave us some history about Malaysia’s independence and the joining of the states. In the early 1960’s as British Protectorates, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak were to join as one. Sarawak until this time was under Rajah Brooke rule. Brunei didn’t want to pay the high taxes so remained independent, as did Singapore, while the other joined to form the twelve states of Malaysia. A section on archaeology was good to expand upon our new history program and some Chinese displays of household goods added more ideas for the girls’ games! Willow like the beautiful marriage bed that had a rose pink shade over the top and decorations all over it.

A quick visit to the Art Museum was beneficial as college students were displaying their work. Hatty liked making a small Sponge Bob figure with yellow Hama beads. Phoebe enjoyed looking at the birds, their bodies made with cans and wings made from rusty corrugated iron. Some excellent presentations about Sarawak products, marketing and logos was great for the girls to see after they've started drawing their own logos recently, to make into writing paper and Nalukai cards!

A snack of pork satays and delicious pork noodles got everyone back to Nalukai, where they've started their own bead creations after learning the art yesterday.

Monday 22^nd April

After a day of fuelling up, shopping and enjoying the traditional Malay people’s food at the restaurant ‘The Dyak’ on Saturday we explored the rugged jungles of Bako National Park on Sunday. Washed with white and iron red, the black, weathered limestone cliffs interspersed with white sandy beaches were home to Long-tailed Macaques, Proboscis monkeys and lovely birds. Ringing with the shrill call of cicadas and the squawk of birds, the jungle was full of sharp thorned palms, twining vines and tall rainforest trees with their canopy reaching high for the light. The path to the deserted beach was steep, over large boulders and up the maze of roots clinging for life in the shallow, leached soil. Phoebe enjoyed walking quickly along the smooth rocky path with big boulders piled on top of each other lining it with ferns sprouting out from the cracks.  Willow liked eating peanut butter sandwiches and biscuits on the big rocks in the shade with a light breeze blowing in our faces. Hatty enjoyed swinging on the rough vine, curved like a ring, hanging over the small rocks, which were surrounded by shallow water. A quick dip in the milky water cooled the girls off before the walk back.

A trip back to the park headquarters was in a small runabout down the coast, past rickety wooden frames to trail fishing nets from and a variety of sea craft including those steered by two oars instead of a rudder. The colourful houses of the local fishing village were full of life with men fixing their nets and boats, ladies enjoying a chat on their verandas and small boats ferrying people across the river shaded by umbrellas. Henry drove us through wheat silos, cement works, power stations, container terminals and dry docks in air-conditioned comfort back to the marina to prepare to leave today.