Kuching Day 1: De Palma Hotel, Kuching Waterfront

On the spur of the moment we booked a holiday to Kuching to take advantage of the long Hari Raya school holidays and to bring our daughter for a long due  family tour.

This is my 3rd time at KLIA2, but the first time for her...she was so pleased to see a spanking new airport!!!

 The trip made possible by AirAsiaGo air tickets plus hotel stay came to about a little more than RM1K (to be exact see below: RM1,974.93) for 3 adults...and the fare to Kuching on 28 July which is the first day of Raya was the cheapest! RM199!!!

Flight + Hotel		RM1,974.93
Total Price RM1,974.93
All prices include taxes & fees and are quoted in Malaysian ringgits

Within i hour 45 minutes we had reached Kuching, Sarawak at 10 in the morning.

the coupon taxi fare from the airport to our hotel was only RM26

and our hotel costs only RM64 per night!!!!

• •  RM64
  • avg/night
• De Palma Waterfront Kuching 
• Kuching (Kuching City Centre)
• AirAsiaGo Rate

one double and two single beds for the 3 of us!!! hahaha, plus mats and giant cushions on the floor

for lounging and lolling about

De Palma Waterfront Kuching

Lot 299-303,Section 49 KTLD Jalan Abell Kuching Sarawak 93100 Malaysia

De Palma hotel 2 and half stars but has all the basic amenities

Location

Situated in the city center, this hotel is close to Tun Jugah Shopping Center, Hills Shopping Mall, and Tua Pek Kong. Also nearby are Fort Margherita and Chinese History Museum.

Tua Pek Kong

 It was a public holiday and all the shops, restaurants and everything else WAS CLOSED!!! Big mistake. So we had no choice but to have lunch at IPOH TOWN franchise.  Ipoh Town in Kuching!!! hahaha what a misnomer....and no wonder, it was crowded because there was no where else to go for a decent bite.

 we chose from the RM9.90 special which includes a main meal and a drink...good value for money.

 our drinks came in kinky containers, and the ice tea came in an enamel can that my father used to brush teeth in and my father-in-law used to boil soft boiled eggs in. 

Before the squatters got chased off in Bukit Bintang and Berjaya Timesquare rose up, mamak and Indian men used to drink their iced teh tarik in these enamel tins,  I saw every men with one in their hands as they looked at me curiously when I (I also looked at them curiously because all of them had their own tins) walked from among them to get to Sungei Wang from husband's clinic in Pudu more than 20 years ago.

Walking along the waterfront, we found the first of three CATS roundabout, in case you do not know, Kuching means CAT in Malay, hence the significance of Cat as statues in roundabouts.

It was pleasant, but very hot walking the length of the waterfront of Sarawak River.  It is quite a surprise to find a river right in the middle of the city!

If there is a waterhole, there is bound to be a cruise, so we booked and bought tickets for the evening sunset cruise.

After all that walking, we were very thirsty and found this busy place for a drink.

I saw everyone having a green drink that looked like a thirst quencher so I asked the waiter what the drink was, and he said, "Kedondong" I shook my head and said I did not understand, then he said "Bakolong" I shook my head again, then he said, "Ambla" I also shook my head and I said I have never heard of the drink, have you?

But I ordered one anyway, daughter ordered a safe drink : sheet cha or iced chinese tea, and husband ordered a very KL drink: Barley peng!!!

Then little girl could not walk anymore and demanded to go back to the hotel where she flopped on the floor mats and fell exhausted on the cushions!!!! Hahaha!!! We could not stir her because she really caught 40 winks!!!

Then she woke up refreshed in time to catch the cruise!!! I used the time to shower (I was so hot, sweaty and sticky) and changed into my evening flirty skirt for a leisurely cruise!!!!!  Join me for the cruise post soon!