Sarawak Day 3

Mount Girang

the third day was reserved for the journey to Lundu, the place where we lived before. we started early in the morning coz it was 3 hours journey from Kuching. but first we stopped at Bau, the old gold mining town. there was this lake called Blue Lake which was really famous back then. mom said a lot of people went swimming there back then and it was a tourist attraction. but when we got there, it was just a deserted place with a little tell-tale trace of the glory it had years before. we read a sign that warned people against swimming or fishing because of the high traces of arsenic in the water. no wonder everyone avoid it like plague. still, it's pretty.

we continued the drive towards Lundu. then, before crossing the bridge (back then ferry was used to cross the river) to reach Lundu, we stopped by a village. it was where me and my brother's former nanny lived. dad asked a lady who was selling traditional cakes by the roadside about the family. she told us that our nanny already married someone from Sibu and stayed there. so we just stopped by to visit her parents. mom and dad talked to them which was not that easy coz i don't think they get every word we said, and the same goes to us :p.

the remains of the old ferry wharf

then we head to the town. we went to the market coz mom was looking for the Sarawak yellow aubergine. they sell veggies by handfuls and all of them sat on the ground. we also bought some cakes and tapai nasi (fermented rice). usually we can get tapai pulut (fermented glutinous rice) here, but there they use plain rice. i don't eat tapai much, and would usually skip it. the others only ate little bites of it, i guess it tasted weird then. but when we ate them chilled it's not so bad.

we stopped by the hospital where my brother was born, and mom showed us the maternity ward. but as it was not visiting hours, we couldn't see the interior. next, we continued the journey to SMK Lundu where mom and dad both worked. it was also where we lived. our old house has been converted into classrooms and it seems that there was some work being done in the area.

our old house, second from left

after the short tour of the school, we went to Siar Beach for a picnic. we had Nasi Lemak for lunch there, at the place where we had picnics when me and my brother were little. there were other people there, and there's a new resort by the beach..but it still showed the untouched beauty for being quite far from the city.

on the way back home, we made a stop at Cats Museum at the Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Utara. there were various displays of cats compiled by collectors. all sorts of cats in paintings, keychains etc. the owner's or the collector's idea is to be praised. it would surely take a lot of money and interest to get all of those things.

the entrance

cats made of shells

we rested at home before going out again to a shop selling souvenirs. it got all sorts of T-shirts, keychains, bangles, batik Sarawak, pepper, and vase there. i felt like staying there and try on everything :p. we spent hours in that particular shop choosing things to bring back and i had a great time taking pictures.