Once again it has been a dispiriting week on the covid front.

You remember my mentioning those 17 Delta cases in Kuching last week? Well, that number has now turned into 76 for Sarawak, and 52 for Kuching.

And given the time-lag in the analysis of these cases, you have to suspect there are lots, lots more cases out there...

Meanwhile, what we know for sure is that the seven-day average daily rate in Kuching is higher than it has ever been.

The overall picture in Malaysia is not rosy either. As of yesterday, we had registered a total active case count of 142,051; an overall infectivity rate of 1.07; and a tragic total death toll of 7,574.

Here's this week's edition of the graph, with the dark blue line (the whole of Malaysia) and the grey line (Kuching) going ominously upwards.


We're eagerly awaiting our second vaccination (in just over two weeks). We're hoping that the brisk vaccination rate will soon start to make an inroad into the case numbers. And we're exercising an awful lot of care...

Other news:

Tuesday 20 was the Muslim festival of Hari Raya Korban, otherwise known as Aidiladha (there are multiple spelling possibilities). As is the way of things at the moment, covid got in the way of the celebrations, but nothing could stop the beauty of the mosque calls, which we enjoyed to the max as we walked along the river.

Thursday 22 was Sarawak Day.



We celebrated with a splendiferous platter from Indah. Creamy chicken kurma, peppy sambal tofu, crispy baked bittergourd, luscious rendang tempe, tangy pickled vegetables, and Sarawak red and white rice: a really awesome combination of flavours and textures. YUM.


It's HOT at the moment. We're currently experiencing the southwest monsoon, which is likely to be with us until mid-September.

Partly for this reason (but also to avoid the builders, who have been drilling extra-exuberantly since their Phase 2 recommencement, and the annoying old character opposite, who has taken to playing ghastly, sweet, syrupy music on a ghastly, tinny player while she exercises on her balcony), we've brought forward wake-up time to 4 am. No, really... Whether we're breakfasting on the balcony, or walking the city, we just love the early mornings....