A walk around Kuching Waterfront

Kim was bored again today, so I had to take her out once again. Brought four dresses for her to change  - 7-14, 12-60, 35-100 and the 50 macro. Boy, was my bag heavy!

Started my day with some Kolo mee at 3rd mile (what to do.. grandparents chia mah). Another aunthentic experience with the noodles served in a chicken bowl.

After dropping my grandparents back at their place, I made my way to ciniplex, where I took my usual aerial view of town with the 7-14. This lens literally sucks in anything thats presented to it with such a large field of view.

Don't forget to look up - some interesting opportunites await when you don't notice them.

Thank God for the super blue skies yesterday.. The self polarising effect of the 7-14, coupled with the 'true blue' colours of the olympus sensor made sure everything fell into perfect place.

Waterfront as it usually is, in late morning. Nothing much happens here, other than manual-powered boats going back and forth across the river bank.

The stalls here also open late in the morning.

The shophouses on main bazaar. Each lot has a distinctive character, but there is a coherent architectural design for all the houses. Its not very good news if a fire happens, though. A large one can raze through a whole block of shophouses in a short time.

The eatery on the left is usually packed with people during the night.

I noticed a very large crack in the middle of the pontoon. I'm trying to give it some significance by combining it with the new DUN building. Not sure if I'm that successful.

Looking towards the hotel / shopping complexes of Hilton, Riverside and Sarawak Plaza.

Not sure what this funny little monument means, but it looks interesting nonetheless.

It seems the crocodile cannons are always 'poised' to keep intruders at bay. The lookout tower is closed, unfortunately. Kinda sucks. :s

Looking towards Gunung Santubong. I've never taken a hike up there, but I've heard it can be quite interesting.

The Court House, where the judging process for Malaysian Idol (Kuching divison) was held.

India Street. You can find all sorts of wares here, from spices and China made toys to cafes and kitchen appliances.

For most of the common people, a motorcycle is the most convenient (and dare I say, the cheapest) mode of transport available in Kuching.

Kim was getting a little bored with the 7-14, so I put the 35-100 on her (with some hestitation).

Foreign labourers can be seen constantly doing renovations to the shophouses here.

If your parking coupon expires, watch out for the ticketing lady. She looks pretty daunting from here.

The ah pek (old man) sitting on a bench with a ciggarette seems to be a pretty common picture. I'll try to be brave next time and ask for a pose.

Dried chillies. Yes, I do get them in Melbourne, but there's a whole heap of them here! Plenty of stuff here to choose from for your next curry dish.

Some local fruit. Not sure what it is though.

The five foot walkway (kaki lima) is a hive of activity during noon time. Cheap and good stuff can be find here if you're keen for a bargain.

Looks like the MSN craze has reached our Malaysian mobile phone users who subscribe to the internet.

Trailed this chinese couple as they walked through the Court House. As you can probably notice by now, I've not been brave enough to request for portraits (yet), so taking people from behind will have to do for me in the mean time.

These slim ladies are probably working in a bank nearby. The drabby grey uniforms don't really appeal to me though.

A stone lion guards the entrance to Carpenter Street (Kuching's Chinatown).

Over here, not many people can afford a sedan, like a Toyota Camry or Altis. Its much more common in Melbourne. 

Some of the stall owners in Carpenter St have operated here for ages. I haven't fully explored the local food in this precinct.

Some lanterns in the Carpenter St temple compound.

Home grown vegetables are also widely available next to the kopitiam, so most people drop by for a quick purchase during lunch break.

Some shops still sell some old-style timber furniture. Its not expensive, but its not that cheap too.

Sigh.. I miss the sight of the quaint white scooter on Degraves Lane.

The new DUN (Dewan Undangan Negeri) building seems to be nearer than usual due to the 'compression effect' of telephoto lenses.

I don't know what struck me to take this picture. Was it because of the timber stool and the plastic chair put against the worn out concrete column that gives Chinatown its particular character? Perhaps so..

This guy had some markings on his hands, so i didn't want to get too close to him. He's at a metal shop.

There's a halal version of kolo mee, but without the pork, I can't imaigine how can this be authentic.

Some bubu  (fish cages) made from rattan. This hardy material ensures that the fish cage can last for a long time.

So far so good. Hopefully the blue skies will continue to prevail in Kuching. 

laters.