Day 7: More Exploring around Kuching

This morning we got down to the hotel lobby by 8:30 to meet the group. We loaded up our tourbus and drove about an hour to the Sarawak Cultural Village, where we toured traditional homes made by various cultural groups that live in Sarawak. (It reminded me so much of the Polynesian Cultural Center in Oahu.) Some of the houses were built on stilts, some on the ground, and some were terraced into the hillside. My favorite was the house of the Melanau tribe, because it was built high above the ground on stilts, and the house itself had four stories of living space. It was amazing, and we were able to walk all around the different levels, which was really fun. Instead of staircases from one level to another they placed a log diagonally between the levels, just like a staircase would normally connect them. For stair steps, they notched triangles out of the log. It's very simple, and surprisingly effective. I will say that it is much easier to climb up than it is to go down. My feet are big anyways, but in my lovely all-weather, all-terrain, four-wheel-drive hiking shoes, it felt like I was maneuvering with giant snowshoes on my feet. They are anything but dainty. But what can I do? They have saved me many a time from slipping and falling. 

We watched a performance of various tribal dances, and then Dr. Perumal made us all go up and dance with them. I'm not a natural born dancer. I love dancing, but it's just not something I'm very good at. Also, the giant hiking shoes didn't help. This trip has been all about stepping outside my comfort zone. I am slightly germ-concious, but with the help of my friends I am getting over a lot of my phobias. Today, for example, I used a blow-dart gun at the cultural center after everyone else in my group had also used it. I really didn't want to. It was peer pressure. All I could picture as I aimed at the target were the thousands of other people who had put their mouth on the blow dart gun before me. I was so distracted that when I tried to shoot, I missed the target completely. The dart made a lazy arch towards the ground, and they made me shoot it again. I am happy to say that I am still alive, and thus far I have avoided tropical mono. 

After the cultural center, we drove back to the city and had lunch at a place called @roma café, which had great food and free wifi. They served mountains of vegetarian fried rice, sauteed tofu and vegetables, and sauteed vegetables with egg. For a drink, we had a fresh squeezed limeade type of beverage that came with a dried and salted plum floating in it. 

After lunch, we walked to the spice markets. It was really cool to see the raw ingredients to all the amazing food we've been eating. The giant buckets of curry powder, salted fish, and dried dates were beautiful and fragrant. 

We ducked in and around different shop fronts to do some souvenir shopping in little India. Soon, we made our way back to the hotel to meet up with the group again. It was 4:30, and time for our river cruise. The river is right in front of our hotel, and we met a small river taxi there at the dock. We all crammed inside, and worked to balance out the weight so that no water would come over the edges. At times, the water level was within two inches of cresting over the boat. The boat had a wooden roof, and was almost completely enclosed on the sides. When the driver started the engine, it became really hard to breathe inside the boat because of the exhaust fumes. Then he started smoking, which complicated the aromas. Finally, our tourguide Nikki suggested that we turn the motor off and have someone paddle us around using the oars on the front of the boat. We all took turns paddling, which required a complicated method at first, but got easier with practice. 

We eventually managed to maneuver the boat to the other side, and we landed at a set of stairs that came down into the water. The stairs led to a Malay village. The area was very old, as it was one of the first communities built in Sarawak. Many of the houses were built up off the ground. The buildings had large windows with skinny panels of vibrant shutters that were thrown open to let in the air. Everyone waved at us as we walked around. We had no chance of blending in, what with our many touristy qualities. It was a beautiful old community.

We got back on the taxi boat, and paddled for a while longer before the driver took over. When we got to the other side of the river again, we took a van to Sunny Hill ice cream shop, where Dr. Perumal used to work. It is widely known as the best ice cream shop in Sarawak, so we had to try it. We all had strawberry and vanilla swirl soft serve. It was the perfect way to cool off!

We drove from there to the Sarawak food festival, which was the highlight of the evening for me. It was a big area full of food stalls, much like a state fair. But here, there were so many different choices! We started with durian ice cream, then tried sweet rice and banana wrapped in a banana leaf, and we tried tapioca plant with coconut milk. Right next door, we sampled different imitation meats and other vegetarian food at a Japanese booth. We tried so much other food that I can't even remember it all. I must mention my favorite, though. We had bamboo and charcoal ice cream. It was bamboo ice cream wrapped in charcoal-infused bread. The whole thing was frozen, but before serving it, they put it on a barbecue to thaw the bread out. It was so delicious! Also I felt like it a food festival would be the perfect place to get that extra charcoal into my diet. 

There were so many people at the festival that we carried our backpacks on our fronts, just as a precaution. It seemed pretty safe, though, and very clean. The crowds were often hard to walk through while keeping the group together. Dr. Perumal had me walk first, because I am the tallest, and much taller than the average person here. 

We walked back to the hotel after the food fest. It was about a half an hour of walking, but soon many of us started powerwalking. It turned into a race, through markets and past all the major landmarks of Kuching. Dr. Perumal and Jon Rojas won this round, but I am ready for a rematch!