On my last night in Kuching I met up with my friends from the night bus from Miri. I was met at the Khatulistiwa restaurant/pub/dance club down at the waterfront (try pronouncing that one. then try repeating it five times fast). Dan was late.
I an aging toyota landcruiser with a primed stereo we drove off to meet others at the reservoir park, where a late night aggregation of hawker stalls served food and drinks to an interesting crowd. So far in Malaysia the hawker food is the best, if only because that's where all the locals eat, allowing me to make the assumption. It was late, around 10, but I hadn't eaten dinner, so Dan and I ordered a spicy prawn rice dish made from fermented shrimp - pretty darn good despite the description. For a few hours I pressed the chinese malaysians for little insights into their lives. Many of them were born to successful Chinese families who've been prominent businessmen for generations. It is very clear that the chinese have influenced malaysian borneo heavily as most store signs are bilingual, local papers appear in chinese, malay and english, and the most prevalent cuisine seems to be chinese (nothing like chinese back home...). Around midnight, after the stalls had locked up their carts, we headed to one of the girl's homes nearby - a lush home of incredible size, gated entrance, pillared entranceway, massive teak doorway. In the large kitchen, stainless steel and spacious, we hung out over cold Tigers, the girl's illegal baby gibbon galloping on its hands and feet around the floor. Despite the tragedy of wildlife like this becoming pets in the home, this particular monkey was very well looked-after and seemed happy. Truly amazing to play with such a human-like creature. After it had become very late, Dan took me back to my hostel, and my large private dorm room.

My SFU friend arrived at my door around 9 or so, happily surprising me as I had hoped to see her again before my flight later that afternoon. I quickly dressed and we set off for some traditional Malay breakfast food. Kuching is apparently one of the best places to eat Laksa, a spicy vermicelli noodle soup. We went to a restaurant that appeared to be a local favourite judging by the crowds. Like most restaurants here in Malaysia, this one was on the ground floor of a commercial building, open to the street, tables and chairs spilling out of the tiled interior. inside separate stalls served up different specialties from portable stainless steel booths. More of a cafeteria feel.
The laksa was delicious and invigorating - the spice forcing an early morning sweat.
I loved speaking with Cayce about everything Bornean and biological, and of course, reminising about our times at Simon Fraser University - she finished just after I started my stint there in 1999. She is currently involved in fascinating work with the local primates and other wildlife in the many national parks in the Kuching area. Definitely wish I would have planned to stay longer so I could explore the region - a true naturalists paradise. Will have to come back to do that...
After Laksa she took me back to my dorm to pack my things and send off a parcel via slow boat to Canada. Costing only 50Rm, I was happy to part with the 9kg. I have recently become a bit concerned over the fate of this package, though, as it contains my Bruneian DVD collection, and like most of the products in Asia, is pirated. (On that note, do not buy any expensive name brands here, not even from a department store, as they are almost guaranteed to be counterfit). I posted my photo cd's, perhaps stupidly, and will be very remorseful if the package is delayed or, even worse, confiscated... Not to mention the cool souvenirs...

After the post office, I took Cayce to the Bollywood Cafe to have a Teh Tarik (mmm!) and some Samosas, and to say goodbye to my adopted caretakers there. I was surprised to discover that I had had a large influence on these people who had come to expect my presence for at least two meals a day. Very delightful people. didn't hesitate to tip here (if you leave a tip in most restaurants the employees will chase you down on the street with the money in hand, "Sir, sir! you forgot....").

Next stop, a favourite chinese restaurant of Cayce's for some bubble tea. Despite the prevalance and popularity of this strange beverage in Vancouver, I had never tried it. Not sure whether to eat or drink it, I did end up enjoying the large chewy 'bubbles' through the weird straw (within which I could fit my pinkie finger).

Finally to the airport, where Cayce was picking up a Brazilian friend of hers. Funny to drop of a Canadian and pick up a Brazilian in the same day.

My hour-an-a-half flight from Kuching to Kota Kinabalu (239RM), which left a half hour after it should have, was pretty cool. Malaysian is a very good airline to fly with, having great service, and even a small meal. and of course flying over Borneo is always cool. I landed at the international terminal of KKIA around dark and was surprised to see a whole lot of tourists! Ever since I left Thailand I have not seen too many western travellers; in Penang there were maybe a dozen; in Medan I was one of two; in Lake Toba there were perhaps 8; in KL there were a lot more, but not nearly as many as Bangkok; in Brunei there were about 5; in Kuching only a few dozen here and there. Now in the airport of KK I actually blended in a bit. With the local school holidays, summer holidays in Oz, winter holidays in the northern hemisphere, and of course Christmas, the airport was bustling. Travellers from the peninsula, from Singapore, from Oz and New Zealand, from europe (of course) and canada; there were even Americans! I have already mentioned the strange absence of American tourists in SE Asia...

With the darkening skies came a halt to the bus service to town, and so I wandered around looking for alternative cheap transport. Unfortunately the local I had (intentionally) befriended in the seat next to me had offered to take me in his car but didn't want to wait for my luggage. Finally I convinced myself that the 15RM (you guys keeping up with the exchange rates? I have become so used to converting on the spot... a bit more than 3RM to the CAD$) was a price I'd have to pay. Looking hard to find other travellers to share a taxi with, I bought my ticket. Just as the change was handed back to me, I found two Aussie women and one of their sons who hesitantly agreed to share a taxi - I would go anywhere they wanted just so I could save some ringitts (cheap bum I have become, or was I a cheap bum before too?). They ultimately paid the full price and let me tag along to their hotel, the Hyatt. Very nice of them...
As it happened, the Hyatt was just down teh street from the hostel where I was to meet Jenifer. I collected my bag and set off past the giant statue of a swordfish that sits in the middle of a large roundabout along the waterfront. Past an Aussie war museum was the backpacker hostel, Lucy's Homestay. I collected a note from Jen at the front desk, and, after dropping my bag on a bed in the 14bed mixed dormitory, set off to find her. At a nearby cafe she was with a large group of young tourists, mostly from Finland but also Germany and Scotland. I joined for a Tiger, then we set off for some food at the very busy chinese restaurant a few blocks away. For $22CAD six of us ate a half-dozen different dishes with rice - very nice food! And at only 3RM each, the tigers were delicious too (as always). Later we would find ourselves at a bar strangely named the Cock and Bull, where we would find expensive Tigers in our hands while we drank at a table on the boardwalk skirting the waterfront. A drunken chinese man in his late fifties with a cockney accent would bother one of the Finnish girls; I would politely intervene; he would leave; we would move; he would find us again; we would mock him. Jenifer would befriend a Singaporean from London and would eventually leave with two santa caps, one with flashing lights, the other with cotton swab-braids. These prizes, which I had tried to buy earlier, would be worn to keep us warm and seasonal on our climb up Mount Kinabalu the next morning...