Dark Clouds

Dark Clouds over Kuching Waterfront area ( to the right)

Views of Kuching Waterfront

Views of the Kuching Waterfront.

River boat ferry

You need to board this small river boat ferry, locally called 'perahu tambang' to cross the Sarawak River that meanders by the Kuching City centre area. Fare is RM0.50 per crossing. The still waters of the Sarawak river makes the crossing a breeze. The boat is powered by a small inboard engine.

Afternoon Break by the Kuching Waterfront

Sitting just a table away from the young lady we had a plate of banana, taufu and vegetable fritters for afternoon tea at the Kuching waterfront.  It was raining lightly and took time to sit longer for our afternoon time off.

Just across where we sat was this view of the new Sarawak State Legislative  Assembly building in an advanced stage of completion. Two trawlers passed by the quiet and calm waters of the Sarawak River where the popular Kuching waterfront area is sited.

Crossing the Sarawak River

The red 'sampan' or small boat ferries local residents and tourists across the lazy Sarawak River.

 At the time of writing this post I am actually in Bintulu, some 600 km away from Kuching.  I have spent three weeks in Kuching. And now that I am at Bintulu , I would probably spend a month here before returning back to Kuching.

In the meantime, I've taken lots of shots in Kuching which I will continually post here.

Friends, you are invited to travel with me to Bintulu ( virtually i.e.) and discover my hometown by visiting this blog: http://mybintuluclicks.blogspot.com/

Thanks for dropping by and see you in Bintulu.

The Astana by the Sarawak River

I went to downtown Kuching city today to do a bit of shopping. On the opposite side of the shopping area stood this rustic view of the Astana which is home to the present Governor of Sarawak. Back in the colonial days it was the residence of the Brooke's family who became the 'White Rajah ' of Sarawak for more than a hundred years. The beauty of Sarawak River is its stillness which is occassionally disturbed by the small boats that ply the river or the colourful small ferry boats called 'perahu tambang' that transport residents or visitors across the river at a token price of 40 cents per one way trip.

Pure Muscle Power

Today (3 August) the Sarawak Regatta 2008 came to its close.  The main attraction of the river regatta is the long boats race.  The events are categorised by the type of boats and the number of paddlers rowing them. I took some shots at the finishing line albeit at a distance.  Since I am just using a camera handphone N93i, the images may not be of good quality.  However the idea is to capture the moments of truth.

Colourful Sarawak Sampans

On normal days , these 'sampans' or small river boats are used to ferry the Kuching residents and tourists to cross the Sarawak River as it meanders at this point of its journey to the sea. A one way trip would cost only 40 cents per head.   At this strategic location are located Kuching City's big hotels, shopping complexes, banks and corporate offices. The building in the background ( under construction) is the proposed new Dewan Undangan Negeri building, equivalent to a State Assembly building.  Today these sampans join in the river regatta festival, adorned with the Sarawak state flags, the Malaysian flags and people dressed in various ethnic costumes to greet visitors, the public and the invited guests to a colourful show of culture fun and adventure.