After lunch we decided to have a quick tour of Kuching city. Our faithful blue 4x4 Ford Ranger brought us to Petrajaya which is a very modern township to the north of Kuching city. Here the highways are big and mostly dual carriageways and well planted with huge trees and flowering shrubs.
Within the compound of the State Library where I borrowed 6 books ( maximum) I came across a flock of Chinese egrets. Before these birds were migratory and used to visit Sarawak when winter approaches in China. However for the last two decades they decided to call Sarawak home.
Next we stopped by at the Kuching waterfront area, a popular destination for foreign tourists and local visitors alike. The scale of the about to be completed new State Legislative Assembly Building is immense compared to its surroundings. It looks like a building taken out from the pages of a fairy tale book.
There was a light shower when we were at the waterfront and decided to stay longer by having our afternoon tea by the river. Here we had tea with fritters made of bananas,vegetables and taufu.
Then went shopping for handicrafts at the handicrafts bazaar that ran parallel to the Kuching waterfront area. This bazaar is within walking distance from all the major hotels in the Kuching city tourist belt.
Finally we stopped over at a bonsai show and sale fair on our way back home. Hundreds of bonsai were displayed. I am not really keen on keeping bonsai but I do like to see them for the fact that I love plants.
I understand that bonsais are good for your eyes. This is especially so when you do the pruning everyday in the early morning hours. The cool colours of the leaves and your eyes focussed on the greenery are soothing for both eyes. Do this everyday and I was told your eyesight will improve.
On a more interesting note I recalled why the Japanese like bonsai. It is that their desire to simply and understand the world in a condense form thus making it a lot easier to 'control 'or articulate the world. Like the bonsai the universe is shaped in a form that is compact and tangible , for example- compact cars, smaller notebooks, small handphones, tiny walkman sets or MP3 players etc..They do say 'Small is Beautiful'.
Bonsai, anyone?
Today as I walked along the Kuching Waterfront area I noticed the new DUN building ( Dewan Undangan Rakyat) surroundings are slowly being tidied up and grassing works are underway to control erosion and beautify the river bank . I guess upon completion, this building will be another tourist attraction for Kuching city. The building will house the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly - a law making and local governance body that ensures that the practise of democracy is kept alive and functioning in Sarawak. However the area around the building seemed lacking in any tourism -related facilities and presently is best viewed from a distance.
The tourist buzz is much lacking these days. Is it due to the global slump? River boats are parked by the pontoons but there are very few tourists to join the boat ride. The scenes looked economically eerie for today.
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