Hi Everyone,

  We’re off to Kuching later this morning.  Not much really going on.  It takes about 40 minutes to get to Kuching from Santubong so we don’t go every day.  It’s not difficult; minibuses come along fairly frequently but by the time you close up the boat, take the dinghy, walk up to the road….it does become somewhat of a project.  Being able to step off the boat onto a dock at a marina makes exploring easier. 

Ru

Santubong and Kuching

   Last night Randal was worriedly checking our chart plotter to make sure the wind wouldn’t swing us into the boat anchored 120 feet away.  We have about 100 ft of chain out and our neighbor boat Arnak has about the same.  Technically when the wind blows we all blow the same way so no one bashes into each other. But sometimes the wind blows and every boat is moving every which way!  Some look as if they are sailing by you.   This is the problem of the rally anchorages.  There’s lots of river or ocean anchorage, but everyone wants to be as close to the dinghy parking area as possible and there are no marked spots in the river so it’s guess work based on anchoring theory.  Plus the sound of our anchor chain dragging on the river bottom and then going “THUNK!” is rather disconcerting.  But we haven’t moved and neither have the other boats so everyone’s chain seems to be holding.  If they drag, that’s the problem because you can flow into another boat. 

Looks calm, everyone’s bow pointing in the same direction.   Picture the wind blowing and those two sailboats swinging around at each other.  We are not far from these boats and Mt. Santubong is our land neighbor.   We park the dinghy over near the cluster of boats on the right.  The jetty is privately owned but we are kindly allowed to use it; get fresh water and dispose of our trash.  Parking at a jetty is so much nicer that having to splash through the ocean surf and then drag our 250 lb dinghy through the sand up onto the beach.  Your feet get wet and sandy and so do your shorts.  Jetties are better. 

   Saturday we spent the morning running the genset to refill the batteries that power the frig, freezer and things.  Randal read and I agonized over and then was miserable about the Sox game.  After that we took a minibus to Kuching which takes about 40 minutes and costs about 4 ringits per person. The 4 teen boys in the back seat kept trying to talk with us but only knew a few words in English.  But one kept saying he liked America.  He unfortunately also smoked.  A the end of the ride Randal gave him one of our flag bandannas.  We walked over to the Tourist Office to make sure we knew where Immigration and Customs were and then ate at the Little Lebanon Restaurant at the foot of India Street. 

Water pipes for men only.  The sign about said, “Why drink and drive when you can smoke and fly.”  They offered a choice of flavors.  I might ever be tempted, but if it’s men only I guess not.  They also served beer so technically you could smoke and fly and then drink and drive. We do neither. 

      Immigration and Customs for Sarawak are in Kuching and we had to check in.   The offices are a good ways from the center of Kuching and the bus service rather complicated.   In Singapore we had gone  to the Harbor Master’s Office using public transportation and it took forever and was hot and we walked forever as well as taking the MRT and a local bus.    In Terengganu we rode our bikes to Customs and then followed some other cruisers who had hired a taxi over to Immigration.  Luckily we had lots of red lights so we could keep up.  Randal had met Greg and Eddie in the Custom’s Office.   Thinking that Immigration was a tricky place to find, it was suggested that we follow their taxi on our bikes.  Like I said; luckily we had lots of red lights and considerate drivers as we cut lanes to “follow that cab!”  Randal told me to stay with our bikes; which is usually our plan.  The taxi driver indicated that he would watch our bikes and I should go with the guys.  Not wanting the taxi driver to think I didn’t trust he would watch our bikes, I ran to catch up with Randal.  This was not easy to do since I had to cross a busy road and run in my bike shoes.  Actually, the hardest part was walking on the slippery tile floor with my metal bike clips.  I had doubts right away about my clothes, shorts and a sleeveless top so went up the elevator with he guys and back down and out and back to the bikes.  Government building have stricter clothing requirements than anything other than the mosques.  I saw our taxi driver at a small corner food place so joined him for iced lemon tea.  I treated us both.   Randal came back and off we went and promptly took a wrong turn and did Tour De Terengganu.  But it was a good ride and everyone knew where the Giant was so we kept asking directions and finally got there. From the Giant we knew our way back to the boat.  We stopped for a drink and some shopping at the better grocery store MyDin that the locals use.  They have these wonderful things…They taste like those fat Chines restaurant noodles except they are round and flat and have tiny fish flattened into them and peanuts stuck to them too.  I first bought them thinking they were very thin peanut brittle cookies like I’d once had in China.  But these are salty and peppery and I have hooked at least 10 other cruisers on them.  If I find them again; I’ll take a photo since they are all eaten.    So, to make a short story long, here in Kuching we took the taxi option. We paid the driver to take us and wait for us and bring us back.  Total cost for the hour was 50 ringits.  Too much traffic and road with no shoulders to bike into Kuching. 

    That done Randal and I went to get haircuts.  The cuts were good.  Our mistake was agreeing to the “wash” which is their term for head, neck, and back massage which seemed to take forever.  I’m not wild about it because I’m just too ticklish.  But once you get started there is no stopping.  Apparently the price for the wash and massage doubles the cost of the cut.  We hadn’t experience this since China so were not expecting it.  Lesson; ask first, “How Much?”

The new Legislative building under construction.  It kind of looks like the Yurt we built at Outward Bound in Maine in 1971. 

Lots of colorful shop houses in Kuching just like Singapore and Indonesia.  Businesses down below and living areas upstairs.  Big window shutters that are painted to look like windows.

     The last minibus back to Santubong was at 4 pm so we slogged through what had become a deluge to the public “tandas” (toilet) and then over to get on the bus.  We’d hoped for rain so our rain catchers would fill our water tanks.  You can’t use river water to make water; it has to be salt water.  Santubong is on a river so we have to be very careful about our water usage.  You can take a shower with a half gallon of water if you are careful.  And you wear everything 2 or 3 times because there is no water for laundry.  If we were desperate we can get water at the dinghy jetty; but not enough for anything other than drinking, cooking and dish washing. 

Today we spent the morning on the boat, took the dinghy to the jetty and then walked into Santubong for lunch at our favorite restaurant.  All the locals, kids, adults, grandparents call hello and are very welcoming.  The food is very good too and inexpensive

Tomorrow we’re going into Kuching and decide if we want to go to the Rainforest Music Festival on Saturday at the Cultural Village a few miles away.   There is a craft fair I want to attend and it is also at the Cultural Village.  We’ll decide tomorrow.

Mt. Santubong at night.  I am enchanted by it and today had a conversation with it when it wouldn’t push away a cloud to let me see the shape of the top.  I was attempting another painting.  We are anchored just below this view and it is wonderful to watch it change during the day and night.  You can see where folk tales come from.  Something has to be happening in all that mist and mystery. And what kind of creature is that rising from the mist? Whatever it is, hopefully it is guarding our boat.