This trip was planned very early in the end of October. The purpose is mainly to release our tension after half year of practical training. It was a tough practical training for all of us. We were unfortunate to enter all the firms during their peak period. Anyway, scrap all that and let the story begins! Well, the trip started at 12th February 2009. We departed from Melaka at 330am to LCCT to catch our flight which was scheduled at 920am. We reached early and took our breakfast at Asian Kitchen.

At the waiting platform. Everyone was nervous as we had been anticipating this trip for a long time. Also, because that was the first flight experience for many of us. For me, this is the second time. (my first flight was trip to Langkawi) Another reason would be.... also our first time stepping our foot on the Borneo Land. Yeepee! After a round of interview, none of us sleep the night before. Too excited!

Well, our plane finally arrived! AK5200 to Kuching! Delayed for 30mins but consider normal for AirAsia flights. We managed to catch up the Express Lane passenger and took over them. Just imagine our excitement!

We reached Kuching International Airport 1100sth. We waited our friend, Abang to fetch us with a van he supposed to rent earlier. We waited for 1 hour plus and end up the van was poorly equipped. (without air cond and most importantly without safety belt, OMG!) We did not blame Abang as he was trying to help us save cost. We decided to rent an Unser, Toyota from the Airport. We get a good deal and without hesitation we drove off! Start to the journey to search for food and accomodation. Yeah!

2 dissapointments. Rock Road Restaurant already closed after 200pm. Too bad! It was a seafood restaurant highly recommended by Abang. We decided to come here in another day. Topspot Seafood Foodcourt also haven start their business as they still preparing. We also will come back for this one at night. (though mission failed, we did took some photos)

End up eating in a foodcourt in shopping mall. A place frequently visited by Abang during his internship. According to him, the food there also not bad. Black pepper claypot chicken - highly recommended by him. I ordered one and .....

The taste was awesome! Then only we realised that the secret was the black pepper! Sarawak is the main state that produce pepper! The aroma was too good. We finished the food very fast as we were all hungry. We continue the trip by having some leisure walk at the street nearby.

Found the first statue of "Kuching" at the city. (there are 3 in total) You can notice the sky was very cloudy. Yeap, just want to remind you guys that it was rainny season when we went there. In fact, Kuching was striked by worst flood in 20 years. Anyway, most of the places we travelled were not affected. Lucky!

Dwi-Language street signboard. Very common in Sarawak and Sabah. But many controversies arose when Penang wanted to implement it before this. Probably same country but different mindsets.

Our next mission was to find a comfortable place to sleep. Our accomodation! At first, Abang recommended us Fata Hotel. But we decided to check out the "Lodge 121" first. We were attracted by the promotion back at the airport. This lodge is located near the city area and many facilities are provided too. When we stepped into the lodge, we were thrilled with the decoratons and inner designs. We negotiated the price and then we straight checked in.

Our dorm/hostel style room at the attic. Top of the shop house. There are 10 beds in the room!

Actually, "lodge" style accomodation is very popular in western country. It is meant for backpackers and travellers. More like a home style accomodation. We were rovided with facilities like bathrooms(6), computer(with internet access), study corner, travel info shelf, dinning room, tv room, fridge and water dispenser. Not to forgot, they also provide us with free breakfast. The staffs were all very friendly and informative. Most of our travel info were sourced from them. ohya, the cleanliness also TOP one!

Rest for a while and go for dinner! (Topspot Seafood Food Court)

We ate at the ABC stall. (also recommended by Abang) The food was great but slightly expensive. Worth going but maybe can try in smaller portion. (if to save cost) Every dish was billed according to weight.

Top(from left): Mango Fish, Sarawak Vege, Ikan Bakar
Bottom(from left): 菜苗, Butter Prawn, "Bamboo stick"

Then we walked to WaterFront (famous tourist attraction in Kuching). The night decorations were beautiful and along the WaterFront, there were a lot of Cafes and Mamak stalls. We managed to snap some nice photos too. We also noticed the river water was very rough at that moment. (due to the rainning season)

Then, on the way back we accidentally come across a burger stall that was very crowded. There were cars lining up to wait for their order. The business was so good! We gave it a try and we did not regret it! The beef burger special (plus extra cheese) that I ordered was awesome! Same secret, the pepper smell was so tempting and tantalizing. We had the same intention to buy another one but decided to keep some space for the next day.

Our expression when we ate the BURGERS!

We headed back to the lodge after the walk. Chit chat before sleep.
End of the first day of Kuching Trip.

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