Kuching trip, July 2014

In July, we went to Kuching, Fie's hometown, to visit her family for 4 days. Stayed at her sister's house and spent all our time with family. It was, I must admit, an extremely enjoyable occasion. I am not usually one for big family get-togethers, but with my wife's sisters (all 4 of them, as you'll see in the photos), I was comfortable and really enjoyed their company.

Here's my gorgeous wife with her 4 sisters, all looking rather sumptuous

Florina (the lady on the right of the picture) and I have been best friends since I first met her in Borneo when she was 9 years old, back in 2003. We love taking photos, she's my model.

We took KLIA Ekspres from KL Sentral to KLIA2, the brand new airport which hosts all AirAsia flights. This is me feeling nervous moments after take-off while the plane was executing its climb to cruising altitude:

Here's a great view of the city of Kuching I took during our descent and approach to the runway:

Florianna, the lady in the centre of the first photo, picked us up at Kuching International Airport (KIA) where we immediately went for a special craving only to be found in Kuching - Kolo Mee!

Deliciously satisfying Kolo Mee

This Kolo Mee was worth the plane ticket already. We ate at Wisma Saberkas.

Chatting with my niece, Bintang

Our first night, we stayed at Four Points by Sheraton, another pleasant stay at this particular hotel. Enjoyed our room window with a view of the planes landing and departing from KIA. That window also provided inspiration for a little photoshoot with Florina, which you'll see shortly!

Swimming at Four Points by Sheraton, Kuching

Went to Felicia's house (she's the sister on the left of that photo at the top of the post) to have dinner and hang out before heading to the hotel to sleep.

My wife and sisters with their grandma

So on to the inspirational photo shoot at the hotel. Urai (Florina's Iban name, which I always use while talking with her) and I had a spare 15 minutes at the hotel and ended up with this collection of great photos:

So yeah, that was immensely fun, won't forget that anytime soon! 

Another culinary reason, besides Kolo Mee, that we came back to Kuching was Kek Lapis (or Layer Cake). For this, we drove to Mira Cake House, located just across the river from the main town area.

Bought several kek lapis for RM10 each. Ate a whole one in the car on the way back home! Like an animal!

Everywhere I go in Kuching, I am in a car with company like this:

Chillin' out with Fie and Urai

Another reason we were in Kuching was to be there for my nephew Noah's 1st birthday party. We had the family round for dinner and the birthday celebrations.

Yep, the poor boy couldn't wait to get stuck in!

Big family photo!

Games followed soon after, with Twister providing the laughs:

"Siapa kentut?" translates as 'Who farted?'

A radiant Felicity with her daughter, Bintang

Our beautiful girls with their gorgeous aunty

Really, we didn't want this holiday to end, such was the fun we had in Kuching with family. Our flight back to KL was smooth as we enjoyed the scenery of the skies:

AirAsia's nasi lemak received two thumbs up!

We then took a Malaysia Airlines plane for the 30-minute flight back to Kuantan from KLIA.

It was around the same time we were flying back to Kuantan at around 10pm Malaysia time that MH17 was tragically shot down over Ukraine, ending the lives of the 298 passengers and crew on board. We learned the news not long after we landed. 

I'm extremely grateful for our safe journeys, and ever mindful of the families of those whose journey in life has been cut unexpectedly short. Each moment spent alive, and with family, is a treasure.