Sarawakians have every reason to be proud of their Chief Minister, for, at the age over 70, he was just as spritely as a teenager. When called to make an address, he sprang to his feet and hopped on to the stage - 2 steps at a time!! The audience roared with approval. In his speech, he lamented that young people nowadays are very 'lembik' (soft) . Which prompted the other men to make all kinds of snide comments - well, they were just jealous of the CM who has such a lovely Lebanese wife. I was able to snap a pic of her - not a very good one as she was too close.
I find Kuching a more gracious city compared to Kota Kinabalu. There is hardly any traffic jam. There are more heritage buildings. And there is a whole street devoted to antiques and handicrafts.
We stayed in Merdeka Place and Suites - which used to THE hotel in Kuching - but now a bit runned down. Here we are with Dr. Lee, our Deputy Rector, next to me, Dr. Choong, dierector of English Language Teachers' Centre, behind her, Mdm Mary Teresa, director of Kent Teachers' Training College, opposite is Dr. Ranjit, director of Sultan Halim Teachers' Training College and next to him (hidden) is Ellen, his Iban wife.
We explored the city, nipping in and out of the shops in Carpenter Street and finally ending up in a Goldsmith shop because the ladies wanted to buy some gold. And Dr. Ranjit pretended he knew everything about gold and gemstones.
But the most interesting shop we went to was the Bla Bla Bla restaurant. we would not had ventured inside had not the goldsmith recommended the place. From the outside, it was a nondescript place -in fact, the frontage was pathetic looking. But once inside, it was a whole new world - Balinese garden, beautiful lighting and the food was indeed wonderful.
So, next time in Kuching, visit the Bla Bla Bla restaurant ...
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