We have always wanted a Babymoon the moment Shirleen was confirmed pregnancy. Starting from her first trimester, we have been discussing about various possibility of our babymoon destination, starting from the wonderful retreat at beachfront resort to self-driving in Oceania, and then friendly neighbourhood in Taiwan to bustling market in Vietnam. Nonetheless, never of this came true due to the outbreak of Covid-19. This circumstance somehow turned into a blessing in disguise, as we changed our destination to Kuching, a place with so much surprises to offer for Babymoon.
Day 1 - The Culvert Resort Santubong
We only had 5 days to spend with the first day well spent in The Culvert Resort, Santubong.
The Culvert is an unique resort compared to others. It has a comfortable King sized bed fitted nicely in a size of air-conditioned culvert pipe. Yes, you may feel it sounds so archaic and uncomfortable but the reality is otherwise! Once we snugged into the cozy blanket, we felt like doing nothing else and just spend the whole day lazying in the culvert bed, just like what a mouse did in culvert!
So what did we do in The Culvert? Basically a laid back day - just take photos, eating at in-house restaurant and relax.
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| At one of the infinity pool in The Culvert |
There are many Instagrammable spots in The Culvert. From the culvert pipes that mocks the way how those hobbits in the film The Lord of the Rings live, a private beach, the infinity pool to the big swinging chair.
Sarawak Cultural Village is just 10 minutes away from The Culvert. Since we had been there 10 years ago during our Kuching then, we decided to give it a skip.
Mum-to-be Shirleen not only was happy being a model, she also took this opportunity to take some nice photos of me!
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| Chicken Mushroom Pizza and Grilled Salmon (behind) |
We settled our breakfast, lunch and dinner at The Culvert without going elsewhere. Not a really impressive meal here but it was suffice to cater for our energy intakes.
Day 2 - Sarawak State Library, Kuching Waterfront
We checked out from The Culvert on the second day. We would have run out of idea what to do if another one day stay at The Culvert.
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| Sarawak State Library |
There is a spot worth checking out en route back to Kuching city from the Culvert - Sarawak State Library. It is a picturesque spot as there is a big pond with gazebo behind the library.
Considering Shirleen is pregnant, our places to visit in Kuching has been reduced. Popular attractions such as Wind Cave and Fairy Cave are skipped as it is physically challenging for her to do climbing, and local taboos also mention that pregnant ladies should not be visiting such places.
Hence, we went for cafe hopping instead!
Our destination is Commons Cafe at Old Court House, located near to waterfront Kuching. It is an Instagrammable cafe with nice food. The array of cakes are impressive.
Next to Old Court House is Kuching waterfront, and there spans Darul Hana Bridge, a beautiful S-shaped pedestrian suspension bridge. There was no such bridge in 2011 when we were last there. The bridge was such astonishing, with 2 viewing decks offering excellent 360-panoramic view of Sarawak River. Sarawak Legislative is on the other side of the river, while a new Middle Eastern inspired floating mosque is the new existing landmark added.
Suddenly we heard songs being played out of nowhere while walking on Darul Hana Bridge. It turned out to be dancing fountain show. Never thought such view is available in Kuching now!
There are 2 shows from Monday to Thursday at 8.30pm-8.45pm and 9.30pm-9.45pm, then it will be additional slot from 10.30pm-10.45pm from Fridays to Sundays. Remember to check it out when you are in Kuching!
In the meantime, take a stroll at Kuching waterfront stretching up to 1km long and see what the market has to offer. It is one of the spot you can the signature Sarawak kek lapis or handicrafts, though we opted to buy it at other places. You know la, sometimes things are more pricey at touristy spot like this.
Day 3 - Satok Weekend Market, Topspot Food Court
Kuching has so much nice food that we wanted to eat but time has put a cap on it. So, we had breakfast at 2 different spot on the third day!
First stop is Authentic Heng Hua Pa Mee (正宗兴华打面) at Meng Kui Cafe (茗贵茶餐室). This homemade noodle is not available commonly, and we were lucky to find it here after another stall located at Jalan Ang Cheng Ho has since ceased operation. Served with al-dente noodles along with a generous of quantity of ingredients such as seaweed, minced pork meat, fish and peanuts, it resulted a soup base brimming with a nice natural sweetness.
After that, we went to second round breakfast at Sin Lian Shin, which is deemed to serve one of the best Kolo Mee in Kuching. Indeed, it did not disappoint! It is worth the 30 minutes driving journey here.
We moved to next destination, which aims to give Shirleen a training how to be a perfect mother to execute shopping at fresh market! Well, just kidding but this destination definitely worth checking out - Satok Weekend Market. In fact, we could afford to skip other attractions in Kuching but not this one.
Satok Weekend Market is dubbed as one of the biggest fresh market in Kuching. It is operational from Saturday and Sunday only, though you are advised to come early to prevent selling out. Sarawakian natives, some from the interior part come here and sell a variety of forest produce, fruits, traditional snacks, meats, fishes, handicrafts and etc in an inexpensive manner.
We had fun trying Dabai, an olive alike fruits origin from Borneo island that hardly available in West Malaysia. At the same time, Shirleen also had her craving for durian fixed here even though it is end February (off durian session) with just RM 15 for that big Serian durian.
I feel guilty somehow for not be able to give Shirleen any luxury treatment during her Babymoon. It should be a chance for her to have a relaxation trip but our trip was filled with activities here and there, from taking hawker food to going to local market.
Therefore, we decided to splurge a little bit but not excessively by going for a seafood treat at Top Spot Food Court. It is one of the popular spot for tourists to enjoy seafood but the price here is surprisingly affordable!
Even with a red snapper weighing 900g, all the above dishes cost RM 81. There might be other places offering a relatively lower seafood price elsewhere in Kuching but we were contended with the dinner
I woke up as early as 5.30am today, rushing to Kuching riverfront with a tiny hope to get a perfect "egg yolk" but there was no luck. The sky was gloomy for few days continuously during our visit there. Only a picture of Sarawak Legislative Building with its mirror image on the river as a consolation prize.
I feel guilty somehow for not be able to give Shirleen any luxury treatment during her Babymoon. It should be a chance for her to have a relaxation trip but our trip was filled with activities here and there, from taking hawker food to going to local market.
Even with a red snapper weighing 900g, all the above dishes cost RM 81. There might be other places offering a relatively lower seafood price elsewhere in Kuching but we were contended with the dinner
Day 4 - Eat, Eat Eat and Borneo Highland Resort
We are excited today over the plan today as we are going to Borneo Highland Resort, a resort located about 800m above sea level and bordering Kalimantan.
Hope we can return to Kuching in near future to compensate the shortage in this trip!
So, we had 2 rounds of breakfast again today.
So, we had 2 rounds of breakfast again today.
The first stop is Sarawak Laksa at Poh Lam Laksa, Chong Choon Cafe (泉春茶室). This is probably one of the Sarawak Laksa that we like the most. It has a taste skewed toward the acid side, partly come from the big lime. Perhaps due to the 3 big prawns, this bowl cost us RM 7.
Next we moved to Chai Song Soon Coffee Shop at Padungan. They used to sell good Sio Bee (Kuching way of calling Siew Mai) as supper but we believe the owner has changed hand. Instead, now they sell Sio Bee in the morning, and the taste was far from impressive.
The Char Siew Pau was good though. In Cantonese, we would label it as thin skin thick filling.
After a short rest and packing our luggage, we had our quick lunch at Kopi-O Corner, a popular halal eatery.
You could get the likes such as Sarawak Kolo Mee, Sarawak Laksa and a variety of food here. Shirleen ordered a Ayam Penyet Panggang (RM 12.90), which is one of her favourite food during university time. She seldom had it then due to its "luxury" price tag.
Now at least we are more economically available so we also go "luxury" by having Ayam Penyet Panggang, along with Teh C Gula Terapung and Kopi Tongkat Ali Aromatik. A whole drumstick is being featured in the Ayam Penyet Panggang, then nicely coated with honey and grilled to perfect tenderness. Enjoy it with the sweet and spicy sambal for an elevated taste.
If you realise, we only had 1 dish at each restaurant we visited to make up more space in our stomach to cater for more meals.
So even before we embark our journey to Borneo Highland Resort, we made a quick stop at Kosa Coffee, a rather chic cafe located near to Kuching International Airport.
The modern and cozy settings made the cafe an ideal destination for a laid back afternoon. It appeared the cafe is famous for it Vietnamese coffee blend. Croissant here was nicely made with airy texture but an additional butter scent would have been perfect.
We were in elated mood venturing to Borneo Highland Resort. It has been some time since we last snugged in bed with natural chilling weather. However, our jubilant spirit was dampened by the long traffic jam. A supposedly 45 minutes journey became 75 minutes.
Upon arriving at the foothill gate, we parked our car and had the pre-arranged van from the resort picked us up. It cost RM 53 per pax for the return trip but the 8km journey of sloppy and curvy road condition justified it.
Actually, Borneo Highland Resort is a rather moribund place. We were the only couple residing on that Sunday night. The night got pretty creepy as there were only forests border Kalimantan surrounding us, along with bats and insects inhabiting the resort lobby. Even the receptionist has checked out from her desk and restaurant was closed. Fortunately, the presence of a guard gave us some assurance, and he furthered highlighted there were a few chefs staying at the top floor of the resort, injecting some living aura into the resort. We felt relieved immediately.
We leverage on the fun time taking memorable photos to record Shirleen's pregnancy.
Next we moved to Chai Song Soon Coffee Shop at Padungan. They used to sell good Sio Bee (Kuching way of calling Siew Mai) as supper but we believe the owner has changed hand. Instead, now they sell Sio Bee in the morning, and the taste was far from impressive.
The Char Siew Pau was good though. In Cantonese, we would label it as thin skin thick filling.
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| Teh C Gula Terapung and Kopi Tongkat Ali Aromatik |
You could get the likes such as Sarawak Kolo Mee, Sarawak Laksa and a variety of food here. Shirleen ordered a Ayam Penyet Panggang (RM 12.90), which is one of her favourite food during university time. She seldom had it then due to its "luxury" price tag.
Now at least we are more economically available so we also go "luxury" by having Ayam Penyet Panggang, along with Teh C Gula Terapung and Kopi Tongkat Ali Aromatik. A whole drumstick is being featured in the Ayam Penyet Panggang, then nicely coated with honey and grilled to perfect tenderness. Enjoy it with the sweet and spicy sambal for an elevated taste.
If you realise, we only had 1 dish at each restaurant we visited to make up more space in our stomach to cater for more meals.
So even before we embark our journey to Borneo Highland Resort, we made a quick stop at Kosa Coffee, a rather chic cafe located near to Kuching International Airport.
The modern and cozy settings made the cafe an ideal destination for a laid back afternoon. It appeared the cafe is famous for it Vietnamese coffee blend. Croissant here was nicely made with airy texture but an additional butter scent would have been perfect.
We were in elated mood venturing to Borneo Highland Resort. It has been some time since we last snugged in bed with natural chilling weather. However, our jubilant spirit was dampened by the long traffic jam. A supposedly 45 minutes journey became 75 minutes.
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| Borneo Highland Resort at Night |
Upon arriving at the foothill gate, we parked our car and had the pre-arranged van from the resort picked us up. It cost RM 53 per pax for the return trip but the 8km journey of sloppy and curvy road condition justified it.
Actually, Borneo Highland Resort is a rather moribund place. We were the only couple residing on that Sunday night. The night got pretty creepy as there were only forests border Kalimantan surrounding us, along with bats and insects inhabiting the resort lobby. Even the receptionist has checked out from her desk and restaurant was closed. Fortunately, the presence of a guard gave us some assurance, and he furthered highlighted there were a few chefs staying at the top floor of the resort, injecting some living aura into the resort. We felt relieved immediately.
We leverage on the fun time taking memorable photos to record Shirleen's pregnancy.
As a matter of fact, we had quite a nice and relaxing time here. The classic room has Borneo traits embedded with a wood and golf theme. Opening the windows yield a natural green view, while the atmosphere in room is heighten with dimmed yellow light. Warm shower is provided but there is no TV and air-conditioner as ceiling fun does all the work. Wi-Fi access is a luxury item here.
On top of these, the crews manning Borneo Highland Resort exhibit great friendliness and helpfulness, from the receptionist to the guard, restaurant crew and driver.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner is available at the sole in-house restaurant. While breakfast is complimentary, you will have to fork our your money for lunch and dinner. Kindly noted the food here is vegetarian basis.
We have read a number of disparaging comments on the restaurant over the Internet, mainly on the quality on the food and crews' attitude. However the reality was otherwise when we were there for breakfast!
Not only the crews profess good manner but the food is delicious too. We are still missing the taste of Nasi Goreng Kampung there!
Well, Borneo Highland Resort is a gold resort as it hosted a 18-hole golf course. Being an idiot to golf, we engaged in other activities here instead. At night, we went to just outside of the resort for stargazing while hoping to get a glimpse of milkway. Of course, the latter effort has failed miserably.
Day 5 - Going Back to Penang
Meanwhile in the morning, we took the tour provided by the resort for a fee and visited 3 different spots - Kalimantan viewpoint, Horticulture Nursery and Mini Garden. In our humble opinion, only the Kalimantan viewpoint is worth a visit.
That marks the end of our trip at Borneo Highland Resort. A simple and relaxing trip with the primary objective to enjoy the nature.
We descended to the foothill via the pre-arranged van at around 1pm, and only to realize our car battery has drained out! Suddenly, the adrenaline in my blood pumps so fast as we have a flight to catch at 6pm at Kuching International Airport later.
Fortunately, the resort quick action helped us to get out from the woes. The security at the guard house immediately called the resort upon learning about our incident, and the same driver who drove us to the foothill came to our rescue by jump starting our car. Thanks to Johnny and Mac for your wonderful help!
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| Dirty Code and Volcano Chocolate |
The timely rescue enabled us to go into another cafe nearby Kuching International Airport for a quick tea before departure. We searched for a nearby cafe and decided to drop by The Coffee Code, a franchise cafe for a quick caffeine fix. Not very impressive but a nice place to hang out.
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| some souvenirs - Bario rice, Kenyaling rice, Sarawak peppers and Kek Lapis |
This summarizes our whole Babymoon trip! Actually it was not exactly the perfect babymoon as shared by other bloggers or Instagrammers, as theirs involved a luxury trip at a 5 star resort in exotic places. Nevertheless, with the current circumstances and budget constrain, this was what I managed to give.
Hope I can have a different babymoon next time.
Right now, our mood is totally switched to anticipating the arrival of new member to our family. Our Ob-Gyn revealed to us that we will be having a baby girl!
Stay tune for more updates!
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Check out Shirleen & Ee Pin's Instagram for more beautiful photos we have taken.
Check out Shirleen & Ee Pin's Instagram for more beautiful photos we have taken.
~End~
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