We've been told at least twice that the rain will continue until Chinese New Year (CNY)...

The festival apparently acts as a switch: If it's wet beforehand, CNY is the signal for it to stop raining, and vice versa.

For a couple of days this week, the sun came out, and we wondered whether we were heading back towards the more congenial (not to mention photogenic) levels of rain that we were previously used to.









But today we were again routed... The water slammed down just as we were about to head for the Library, and didn't stop until we were safely back in our apartment, having taxied over to return our books, taxied back to the city for lunch, and taxied home.




Anyway, aside from the weather:

-- We finally saw the interesting bit of the Moral Uplifting Society temple (derrr...)...

-- We tried the F and N Cafe's kolo mee, which is excellent. We'd been tantalized by the smell of the noodles as we put in time drinking coffee one day while waiting for my hairdresser to arrive. When we went back another day for breakfast, we found the taste absolutely lived up to the aroma.

-- While Nigel was out for lunch, I gave in to my steamed bun craving at Sin Kwang Foochow Big Pau. They'd just opened when I popped in, and a steady stream of people came shopping for pau as I chomped my way through a generously stuffed pork-and-egg specimen.


-- The CNY lanterns have gone up at the entrance to our building:


-- Our neighbouring monastery was all lit up yesterday, for reasons unknown:


-- And, whatever the season, Kuching's cats remain as cute as ever: