City tour of Kuching, Sarawak

What happened to Day 2? You may ask if you read the title of the post and realised that I have jumped from Day 1 to Day 3. Well, since Day 2 is really the main focus of my visit to Kuching, I've decided to post that as my final Kuching post; this is called saving the best for last.

OK, after descending from Mount Singai on the third day in Kuching, we made our way back to the hotel for a refreshing shower and satisfying lunch. The next activity was what the ladies have been waiting for - shopping in the Main Bazaar street of Kuching. This is just next to the Kuching Waterfront and consists of rows of two-storey shophouses that sell a variety of antiques and handicrafts.

The Main Bazaar street......

with a quaint lodge.......

compared with the imposing Kuching Hilton.......

While the ladies were shopping, I went across the road to the waterfront to exercise my camera. This is the bank of the Sarawak River that has been built around some historical buildings.

a view of the Sarawak River..........

The Governor's residence across the river........

The jetty on the other side.......

Row, row, row your boat.........

The Sarawak Steamship Building in the background.......

The Court House..........

the Square Tower..........

After the ladies had shopped till they dropped (almost), we made our way back to the hotel on foot.

Ronald Kwok

http://cbpirate.com/s/cbp/ronaldkwok

Churches in Kuching, Sarawak

My visit to the CMPC, Mount Singai began with the flight to Kuching, the capital of Sarawak. As the flight was at about 7.00 am by Air Asia, we had to get to the LCCT (Low Cost Carrier Terminal) very early to avoid the notorious queues and human traffic jam there. It was a good thing that the weather was fine so we need not have to experience first hand the horror stories about soaking wet luggage that were exposed to the rain.

I have been to Kuching some 30 years ago so it was as good as a first visit. The chartered bus was waiting for us when we arrived at Kuching. It was a bit small but the air-cond was not working properly so the ride was rather uncomfortable. (Luckily the air-cond was better subsequently so it was probably out of gas.) Our first stop was at the Blessed Sacrament Church as it was located between the airport and the town centre. The church looks quite new and the architecture is different from what we have here.

The front.....

The side view.......

The interior........

The altar.......

Mother Mary at the front entrance.....

The grotto.....

The grotto, closer view.......

The pieta......

From here, we went to our hotel in town. This is the Telang Usan, a family run 3-star hotel that is not too far from the main shopping bazaar street of Kuching. There is also a convenient store nearby and the neighbourhood comes alive at night as there are many restaurants and pubs around the hotel.

After our lunch, we continue the tour of the churches in Kuching. Next stop was St.Peter's. Compared to the Blessed Sacrament Church, this is older, smaller and much simpler in design. Nevertheless it still provides the solace and the tranquility of a place of worship.

The exterior......

The interior..........

The altar..........

Next stop was the Holy Trinity Church. This is even smaller and is right in the middle of a residential garden.

The front entrance......

The altar..................

Mother and Child...........

The second last stop was to the largest church in Kuching which is the St.Joseph Cathedral.

The front......

Another view of the front.......

Close up of St.Joseph and Child.......

When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary......

Next to the Cathedral, is a plot of cemetery. Here lies the remains of Father Felix Westerwoudt and several other priests. His tombstone is shown below.

Our last stop was at the Carmelite Chapel. This is where we had our evening Mass.

After Mass, we went back to our hotel and this was followed by dinner. I have never visited so many churches in one day and this must surely be the holiest day of my life.

Ronald Kwok

http://cbpirate.com/s/cbp/ronaldkwok

Mount Singai and CMPC

Sorry for being MIA after my last post. I was busy with my Forex trading in order to build my experience. I even attended the Advanced Forex Class ran by Forex Investology since they were giving very attractive payment terms to their students from the basic class. If you've being following my other blogs, you would have known that I'm back in the blogging business so I need to keep this blog up-to-date as well. So here goes........


The obvious topic would be my trip to Mount Singai in Kuching, Sarawak. As an appetiser, below is a shot of the ultra-modern sculpture of Christ the King at the foot of Mount Singai, just before the trail going up.

The main focus of my trip to Kuching is a visit to the Catholic Memorial and Pilgrimage Centre (CMPC) at Mount Singai. The Centre is about half way up the the mountain slope and is accessible through a jungle track and wooden steps (made of belian, a type of local hard wood) most of the way. Mount Singai is located 30km west of Kuching and is 536m high while the Centre lies about 300m up. The Centre is located at the exact spot where Fr. Felix Westerwoudt, a Dutch Catholic missionary, first settled in 1885. You can read more about Fr. Felix and the history of the Centre here.


OK, enough of the appetiser. The main course will be served in the subsequent posts.


Ronald Kwok
http://cbpirate.com/s/cbp/ronaldkwok