08-Mar-2024
The Big News:
Our visas have been extended!
It took 1.5 hours, which was a bit tedious for our poor sponsor (now required to accompany us). But it was all done in one pass, whereas we had been expecting that a third trip would be necessary. This extension is not for the full five years, as our passports will run out before that point. But it "should" be a simple process to have the visa transferred to the new passports (no hollow laughter, thank you...)
Celebrating an extended visa with a nice cup of coffee
The weather is still making headlines:
An interesting sky after hours of rain...
We keep a curious eye on the river levels at the moment. This is a high river...
Seni Kita (Our Art):
Local art hub Haus KCH organized a little event at the Old Court House last weekend
This was one of the tuak stalls
Just grabbing a bit of shut-eye amid the hustle and bustle
Birthday celebrations (spread out over several days, just to be clear...):
Birthday tuak (see above for the source)
Birthday brunch at Big Veggie on Jalan Padungan
The dishes were all good. This is salted egg lotus root
Black tofu with cheesy sauce
Vegetable satay, in a turmeric sauce
Birthday pancakes from The Coffee Code
Non-birthday F&B:
Durian cheese
Gigi, yet another new coffee chain that's opened up since we went away
Excellent popiah from the foodcourt by the sports ground. We hadn't been there for ages, but will certainly put it back on our list
Another great kopitiam
Pork leg kolo mee
Chicken curry mee
And the saddest news of the week:
This happened just this afternoon. A car caught fire on Jalan Ewe Hai, one of Kuching's most famous heritage streets. You'd think everything would be too soggy to burn at the moment, but the blaze spread very quickly. No-one was injured, but the damage was extensive, and several of the lovely old shophouses are now in a very bad state. It's generally older people who manage these stores, and our hearts go out to them as they cope with all the turmoil ahead:
And so to the rest of the week's gallery:
The fountains in the park are working (we think for the first time since we've lived here)