Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, family and friends

We have been in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, located on the island of Borneo, for three full days now.

It's great to return to a place to find familiar people still there, still happy and well, still on common terms and friendships. That's what we've found here in Kuching thus far.

Fidelia's cute little grandmother meets her great-grandchildren for the first time! Fidelia's sisters, Florina, Felicia and Florianna (L-R) gather round.

Lauren and Leah's great-grandmother silently watches TV

And here she holds Leah:

Meeting old friends from my first visit to Kuching back in 2003. They still remember me and conversations we had 8 years ago. Joy.

Lauren enjoys herself at 'Sugar Bun', a restaurant near Tabuan Jaya, Kuching

She got a picture with some of the staff who couldn't keep their eyes off her!

Fidelia met up with her best friend from school, Paula:

Today we bumped into a kindergarten trip to the museum in Kuching:

Florianna loves her niece, Leah. Here we are eating KFC at the Kuching International Airport

Florianna and her nieces

Lauren and Florianna at Kuching Riverfront. More pictures of Kuching Riverfront at night will be coming in a later post.

Florina with Leah today at the Kuching aquarium:

Florina with Lauren on the way back from Damai beach, Kuching. More pictures from Damai beach will be coming soon.

It's great to be back in Kuching, my wife's hometown. What a joy it is to see family and old friends and renew acquaintance with them once more. 

Hope you're enjoying this little tour of Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia!

CPB members, vote for my photos here

Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

We arrived in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia this afternoon after a 1 hour and 45 minutes flight.

We travelled with Air Asia from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), the new terminal which carries all Air Asia flights. The flight was a first for Lauren and Leah, and our first for 5 years! Leah slept through the whole flight and Lauren handled it very well until the descent, when her ears started blocking!

Waiting for that airplane on the runway

Take-off from KL

beautiful!

Borneo appears below..

...and here is Kuching

Kuching is the capital city of the state of Sarawak, which lies on the island of Borneo. It's my wife's home town and she's so excited to be back!

My sister-in-law, Urai, has borrowed a Nikon from her friend, but it's stuck in zoom and we don't have the zoom lens. I think my Sony point-and-shoot will do a good job for the wedding pictures. Let's see if we can sort out the zoom on the Nikon.

Kuching has changed a lot in the last 5 years, which we noticed just on the journey from the airport to Batu Kawa, where my father-in-law stays. Looking forward to exploring Kuching and taking plenty of pictures!

CPB members, vote for my photos here

Our stay at Vistana Hotel Kuantan

We had a lovely stay at Vistana Hotel Kuantan on 9th October, 2011. As I'm writing, we will be staying there for one extra night thanks to a hugely generous General Manager, Wayne Lee.

Wayne Lee is a mid-30's Vistana Hotel General Manager who has had no hesitation in providing us with a lovely room and services. What a pleasure it is to converse with and get to know him, along with other staff at Vistana Hotel Kuantan.

The Front Desk were warm in their greetings, calling me by name each time I saw them, and those who worked on the phones when I requested some particular room service. Very impressive indeed.

There are 6 floors at Vistana hotel, 5 of them comprising rooms. We were fortunate enough to be given a Deluxe Suite. Here are some images of the room:

The living area:

The bedroom:

And here is the swimming pool, reachable via the lobby or the Coffee House on the Ground Floor:

And so it came to night time. It's so calming for me to be standing in a hotel room and looking out at the lights and traffic below, watching the world go by. Here are some of the views firstly, from our hotel room window, and secondly, of the Vistana Hotel Kuantan as it appears lit up at night...

View of Kuantan traffic through the curtain

The moon shines above Vistana Hotel Kuantan

Finally, we enjoyed some lovely food from room service last night

We experienced great service, good food, and a lovely room at Vistana Hotel Kuantan, alongside "the best night's sleep in Kuantan" offered by the Vistana Hotel. Hoping for many more pleasant experiences there!

CPB members, vote for my photos here

Blog Flashbacks

During the first 8 days of October 2010, we gave the Herbalife 8-day trial a go. It lasted five days, but at least we tried! Here are the links to those five days of shakes, teas and aloe vera drinks:

Herbalife days 4 and 5

Herbalife day 3

Herbalife day 2

Herbalife day 1

Two years ago in October 2009, we went out to the new-look Kuantan post office to pay an amazingly low RM3 water bill for the month, pick up a package, and do a little shopping around East Coast Mall. Here it is recorded in words and pictures:

Out and about in Kuantan, October 2009

This past week's most viewed post was the collection of pictures I took at The Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall. Click the link to view them if you missed it earlier:

Wan Fo Tien Temple, Kuantan

I've entered one of the photos of this temple into a monthly photo competition where the winner receives $100, with a $50 runner-up prize. So if you like the photo, please vote for it entitled 'Duncan Horne' at the following link:

Duncan's photo

CPB members, vote for my photos here

Fidelia's Friday - Happy Birthday!

This October we are celebrating two of the most important people in my life.

Tomorrow, 8th October will be my dearest sister, Florianna's birthday and she will be celebrating it with her friends and my youngest sister, Florina who is flying from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur tonight. 

Then on the 16th, it will be the birthday of the wonderful husband of mine! We will be celebrating his birthday with a free night stay at Vistana Hotel this Sunday. We will still be in Kuching on his actual birthday. 

I love the both of you. Hoping the two of you will have a lovely birthday this year and wishing you both many more wonderful birthdays to come!

My sister, Florianna

Duncan and Lauren when she was a baby...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUYS! LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH...

CPB members, vote for my photos here