chapter TWO : jalan jalan cari pasal

Woke up, then woke the boys up for breakfast ( late breakfast actually .. 9:30am!!! ) Breakfast on the house, compliment of Grand Cont Hotel. For me, make it simple - toast, scramble eggs, jem , beacon, fruits and coffee.
Then, we head for the tourist office in the hotel to purchase our shuttle return tickets to Culture Village, Santubong. RM10 per way, which make it RM20 return ... cheap! If take a cab from Kuching to Culture Village in Santubong it may cost up to RM45 per car per trip ( not including those extra midnight charges yet! )
Azmeer decided to stay in bed ( he had a rough night I guess ) and left me n Joe to jalan-jalan cari pasal around Kuching.
11am, we start walking .. It was a bright windy day, nice weather to walk around. Again we set foot at the most famous Kuching statue in front of McD ( I was told that there were only 2 McD in Kuching, and I only found one! ). Mat Salleh is everywhere, with their cameras and digicam, including me 'the Mat Salleh celop'.

Next stop is the Fort Margherita, located across the Sarawak River. Fort Margherita was a heritage building left by the British long ago ( blablabla ... I dont dare to go details on this, I might twist the history .. hehehe ). We take a ride on a sampan to cross the river,RM0.50 per ride. While me enjoying the ride, all Joe can think about is were there a crocs in this river?!
We arrive safely to the other side ( thank God, no crocs! ), asked a local woman the way to the Fort. Luckily we were on the same route as her, only halfway. The route is scary, small pathway with bushes around. Walked behind a school, pass by a PDRM marching field, then only we reached the Fort ( below picture ). If I to walked alone, I might just turn around and wait a sampan at the jetty . The Fort is very small to be called a fort actually. It has 3 floors, 2 towers, 2 cel and 1 hanging room!! There is much information about the fort itself, just a brief history.
Both of us walked around the fort, go to every possible entries. Went up the spiral steep stairs, to the 3rd level ( where the flag poles are ) and it was a pleasant view from up there. Love the view, love the air!!
Back to ground level, I peeked thru the cels and it spooks me!! The hanging room ( below pix )was on the far side to the right ( based on the picture above ). One walked up the stairs to second floor, enter the door and pull the level. You'll be hanging below with your feet danggling in the air ... With that imagination, I'd answer my own question -- why the fort keeper reciting Al-Quran during their duty. Just how many of them lost their lives to the most cruel door i'd ever seen?
We are back on the other side. Next destination -- Pasar Satok. A cheap local flea market, a must go for cheap good sourveniers and bargain, and none of us know the road to Pasar Satok! hahahha, walked around Kuching with no map in hands. Stop by the nearest police station and ask for some directions.
"Walk straight and turn left at the United Oversea Bank building. From there just walk straight passing the tourims center, Merdeka Hotel and take right on the 1st traffic light after Merdeka Hotel. Pasar Satok shouldn't be any more further". Yeah! not far, about 1km ... supposedly 2km. Luckily both if us are used to super long walking distance. Thanx to all the band practice, marching around the 400m track non-stop for at least 5 rounds!
Pasar Satok is divided into a few different categories ( just like these days giant hypermart ). Here I bought a few souveniers to bring back. Keychains, bracelet, bags and vases. The market open at 12.45pm on Saturday and closes at 1pm Sunday! If I wasnt thinking of the extra kilos on my lugagge, I might spent more than I did here.
On the way back, we took a taxi back ( my legs are killing me man!! ). Very sytematic taxi, not like those KL taxis!! They only pickup customer at the taxi stand and the rate is synchronised! RM10 per cab from Pasar Satok to Grand Cont Hotel.
.... and get ready for The Rainforest Music Festival 2006 in Sarawak Culture Village.