We have a car for a few days this week, primarily to enable us to continue the stocking-up process.

But, of course, a car also gives you the chance to explore a bit.

So, when we went over to the northeast bit of Kuching to collect our second IKEA order, we checked out the rather lovely Chinese temple at Bintawa, which is dedicated to Mazu:








Nearby is the Bintawa Hawker Centre, where they do great pork noodles:


The river surrounds Bintawa on three sides, but you have to be fairly enterprising to catch a glimpse of it:



If you have a car, you can fairly easily make your way from the top right to the bottom right corner of Kuching, where you'll find La Promenade. Your objective there will be Mr DIY (this branch is still the best in town, I think), but it's definitely worth also having a look at the little exhibition in the Hoan Gallery, which is called Through the Canvas Across the Sea, and features work by five West Malaysian artists: