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Every year, I made a point to set my foot in Sarawak. It’s my yearly tradition. Mainly it’s because Geena’s hometown is there, but for me, I just love the place.

No other place in Malaysia that can put me in complete peace of mind. Being there is so relaxing. One thing for me, I’ll be away from work for sure. And more time to relax.

There are many things that I look forward to when I travel to Sarawak. First thing would be the ever so delicious Kolo Mee where you can’t seem to find it anywhere in KL. Even if you do find it, it’s just not the same.

Le Famous Kolo Mee

It’s also one of Kenna Sia’s favourite dishes. I understand why he likes it so much. It’s just awesome. But it’s quite difficult to find the halal version of Kolo Mee, luckily there’s one in Geena’s hometown in Saratok that serves halal Kolo Mee, and it’s quite nice.

Another type of noodle that I enjoy is the Mee Sapi a.k.a. Mee Daging (Sapi means beef). Not bad too.

Now food’s aside.

Another thing that I look forward too are the places in Sarawak, mostly in Kuching and the places along the route to Saratok.

In Kuching, the Riverside area is probably the place to visit for first-timers. I have been to Kuching’s Riverside back in 1995 but that was a long time ago. Time really changed the look of Kuching since then. And the Riverside is now best known as the Water Front. I like it.

Overview of the Riverside

The last time I was in Kuching was last year during the Regatta. The picture above was taken from my hotel room at the Habour View Hotel and from here I can see the river and the ongoing Regatta event. It was awesome.

By the river

I remember the first time I traveled away from Kuching, meaning on the way to Saratok via the trunk road passing along smaller town areas were quite fun for me. And the first stop, Serian.

Serian Town

Reminds me of PJ area in Seksyen 14

Serian is a must stop for those who are traveling to and from Kuching. It is sort of a last stop for fuel and toilet before a non-stop long drive towards the pedalaman areas. There are many other small towns along the way, but Serian is the prefered pit stop.

One of Geena’s university friend, Tessa, is from Serian. So this is her hometown.

The market area

The market area is a must go. Coz there we can find many fresh items to buy like vegetables and other fresh goods. That’s also where I had a strong black kopi “o” before the long drive to Saratok.

Fyi, the drive from Kuching to Saratok usually took about 6–7 hours. I broke the record by taking only 3 hours 20 minutes from Saratok to Kuching at one point driving a Kancil. Yeah, I was speeding. The road was empty mah. Lucky me. And only one time stop for petrol.

Anyway, after Serian there’s no other places to stop. So we have to travel for hours before the next stop in Simpang Semanggang, the rest area before the junction between the route to Sri Aman and Saratok.

The road is only a single lane all the way, for about 400km.

Another thing that I look forward too then traveling along the way is the awesome landscape. We can see many breathtaking view of the mountains and seeing green along the way. This can be matched with Zainal Abidin’s song “Hijau”. Ku lihat hijauuuu!!!

This is probably a common sight along the way.

I came across an article in the newspaper the other day about a place in Sarawak called Bario. After reading the article, I made a promise to myself that I will, one day, go and visit Bario. From what I read, the writer said that Bario is an untouched place in Sarawak and the people of Bario are indeed very friendly. Note to myself, go to Bario.

A picture of Bario that I Googled. Very nice…

But the thing I look forward to most would be, my “family” in Saratok.

I wonder how Joanne would look like nowadays. By the time I get to Saratok next month she would turn 2 years old, just in time to celebrate her 2nd birthday.

Joanne, in 2007.

Joanne, in 2008.

I know she is getting naughtier by the day. Whenever the phone rings, she would be the first one to pick it up. If she’s not the first, she would fight with the person who is.

I always have a great time when I’m in Saratok. There’s always so much things to do, places to go and people to meet. It is also good to know that I have already been accepted as a family member. I just love them so much. Darn, now I can’t wait…

It’s been a while since the last time I went “outstation”. But during the weekends (yesterday), myself, Geena, Angie, Reta and Max decided to go for a day trip to Historical Melaka. The drive to Melaka took about 1 hour 30 minutes. We left KL around 11:30am and reached Melaka town just in time for lunch. The weather was rather hot. So we were all sweating like mad while walking to the restaurant to have lunch. It was quite a busy Sunday afternoon. I had to park my car near Mahkota Parade area and made our way towards the restaurant, near the old church. That was like between 300 - 500 meters away. Like I said, it was quite a sweaty walk on a hot day.

Good thing the restaurant was near the river, strong wind was blowing to cool us down.

After lunch we head towards an old ship, a replica of an old Portuguese ship called The Flor De La Mar. The ship is huge, and cozy. I was thinking like it would be cool to build this type of “ship” as a house somewhere in the kampung area. One thing for sure, I don’t have to worry about flood problems.

The Flor De La Mar.

Now that’s what I call a “Canon Powershot”.

Me on the deck.

Thank god the inside of the ship is air-conditioned. If not, we would come out baked and well done.

The description and history of the ship. Some of the exhibits they have inside the ship:

Captain’s cabin. Reminds me of Pirates of the Caribbean, *ARR*.

Walking inside and outside and on top of the ship was fun. We get to take a lot of pictures. Plus, the air-conditioning was so comfortable that I don’t wanna go out. Felt like moving in and stay there. But some of the statues gives me the creeps. Errr…it’s ok then. Let’s move on.

Then we head towards the old Christ Church which is the landmark in Melaka town. You can’t miss it coz of its prominent red colour as you passed by. It is often the meeting place when you’re looking for someone in Melaka. It’s either the old Church or the A’ Famosa.

And you won’t miss the water fountain too….

…and the clock tower too.

While I was in the area, I keep a lookout for the snake charmer. I’ve always wanted to take a picture with an Albino Python. That’s like so cool. I’m not afraid of snakes, especially Pythons. Mainly because they (usually) are not poisonous. And Albino Pythons are (also usually) “manja” with people. I’ve held one Albino Python once, that was a long time ago and I had no camera with me back then. So I was quite disappointed when I can’t find the snake charmer anywhere in the area. Darn. From there, we moved on towards Dataran Pahlawan, ascending the hill towards another old historical church right at the top of the hill.

Geena, Angie and Reta.

What’s left of the old church.

Memorial headstones / tomb in the church.

Walking out of the old church.

At the bottom of the hill near Dataran Pahlawan, stood the historical A’ Famosa building. Felt like I was stepping back into time when I saw the A’ Famosa. Creepy.

The famous A’ Famosa, Melaka.

Another moment with “Canon Powershot”. I wonder how powerful this one is.

A’ Famosa was the last place we visited. It was getting late already by then. All that walking, the heat, the sweat, really maxed us out. Good thing the new Dataran Pahlawan Megamall is just next to the A’ Famosa. We were practically running to get inside to air-conditioned ourselves. We took a rest at Starbucks for a cool ice blended mocha and such. So cozy and relaxing. The trip was well worth it. I haven’t been to Melaka in a long time. Much has changed. I think the last time I was in Melaka was when Dataran Pahlawan was still a “Dataran” instead of a Megamall. Time has changed. Ok. I’m done with Melaka this year. So where’s next?

More photos of Melaka Trip

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