16-Mar-2025
A lot has happened since I last posted, a mere week and a day ago.
One friend had a birthday; another had really bad news. I passed a third medical check-up (yay, that's two "stable", and one "improved"); and we found a flat to live in (yay some more). We caught up with a few more friends; and we checked out innumerable new cafes while filling in the spaces between flat-viewing appointments.
The week in pictures:
The river views from our temporary accommodation continue to be a great joy
We've been following the progress of the Tiong Hock Kiong temple facade for a while now. We're currently ideally placed to do so, as our condo is right alongside
It's fascinating to watch these things being built up
The inside is fun too
The great gate of Padungan
The Roxy cat has had a makeover
Coconuts in the city
I'm sure there's a rational explanation for why that ding is on that container...
Back to Sit & Sip for SCONES! Blueberry ones, served with blueberry cream cheese... It was here that we started to comb through the apartment listings
Yia, an old favourite
This one, called Chas, was new to us. It was here that we considered whether we wanted the cluttered apartment with the scorpions in jars just down the corridor (err, that would be a no), or the three-storey flat with the washing-machine in the middle of the mezzanine (again, no, although that place actually had a lot of charm), or the nice flats in the nice condo that was, however, quite a way out of town (we lingered over that one, but finally went for a no there too)
Chas does nice waffles
Wonderboom is another old stalwart. Excellent Turkish eggs. It was here that we figured out that the lovely apartment we'd just viewed, and the nicely presented condo it was located in, were effectively situated on an island of land belted by swathes of uncrossable roads. A no then...
Another first-time for us. This is Hup Ho, on Jalan Padungan. Another establishment that's making the most of the shophouse vibe
Brew & Go, Plaza Merdeka
Birthday girl!
A very multicultural evening... After teaming up with some film-loving friends to watch Grave of the Fireflies, a moving and beautiful Japanese animation about the terrible effects of war on children, we all -- incongruously perhaps -- went for dinner at Paprika Paradise, the Hungarian restaurant just across the road... Having seen chimney cake on offer in several of the east European places we visited in 2023, it's ironic that we should try it for the first time here in Kuching...
The meat pancakes are good, as is the goulash soup
Ramadan continues, in shades of green
And, finally, the building up on the hill behind the trees is where we're going to be living...
A propos of this last item, we're expecting the upcoming week to be pretty busy, as we complete the formalities and move in. Much coffee will be needed for sustenance...