Many took the boat to visit the Fort Margherita opposite the river, now there’s the new Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Parliament Assembly hall) to add to the hot spots.

Mary and I took the boat ride but we didn’t go to the Fort nor the DUN, we’ve stayed on the boat and discovered something else – The life of the boatmen.

Hello Boatmen!

Cruisin’ on the Kuching river.

Overlooking the new DUN and the Kuching City riverside skyline.

Reaching the opposite river bank for dispatch of human cargo.

Curiosity kills the cat.

Muslim prayers. Offering some real sense of security for the boatmen on the river.

The source of life – Water.

The thermo flask to store hot water for his daily meals.

A biscuit tin.

A couple of kerosene lamp to light up the small boat throughout the night.

A brand new motor to power the boat.

Now that’s the kind of life you’ll come to expect if you’re a boatmen on the Kuching river.

How is your life?

But our journey were cut short, or rather, unsuccessful where we had to make a U-turn back to Kuching City due to bad weather, and as darkness closed in, we dare not venture into the unfamiliar territory. There are no lights nor residence for as long as the eyes could see and the terrain is rough. Wrong timing for a trip like this.

But despite not reaching our destination, we’ve came back with a few satisfying shots for our HDR project. The subject this time, The River and the Ferry. (Click for larger view)

The water was green and cold, and there’s a mixture of different rubber texture in the tyres.

The rusty objects were perfect subjects for a photography project of this category, where HDR imaging brings out the sharp details of rusted iron.

Surreal cold seawater, rubbery tyres, iron rusts, dark, haunting clouds over the lush green forests. This is the full package.

We were back in Kuching and we had several good shots at Kuching Waterfront, and this is just one of them.

The new State Parliament Assembly Hall over the Kuching river. I personally love the blue sky and the golden colored roofing of the structure. Magnificent piece of architecture I would say.

Stay tuned for more HDR series from us!

It’s freaking hot and humid here in Kuching, a scorching 38 degree celcius sunshine is burning our skin off. Sitting under the lowly covered zinc roof food court isn’t such a good idea, but the food must be good enough to be able to lure us here! Many thanks to Mary’s brother-in-law, Francis, for bringing us around Kuching to hunt for their best foods.

Kuching Open Air Food Court. Not the orange concrete building.

Another stretch of the food court, which only opens at night.

Inside the food court. The ceiling is made of the old asbestos board and the roof structures made of wood, which is abundant in the timberland of Borneo.

The famous Sin Kwang Heng Kuching open air market Sio Bee (Siu Mai – 烧卖). So famous it’s even being “exported” to Miri! But you gotta try the fresh ones here.

Laksa. Although I’m nursing a sorethroat, but die die I’ve to order laksa, because I’m in Kuching! They said Kuching laksa’s the best in the whole of Sarawak. But, I have other ideas, I would say Miri has the best laksa – and it’s at Jalan Krokop 10 just beside the Krokop Wet Market.

We also went to the place where they serve the best Laksa in Kuching at 3rd Mile, Golden Arch. Also, disappointingly, not as good as Miri’s.

Kolo Mee. This is the best kolo mee I’ve had for years. They “saturate” the noodle with their “Char Siew” (BBQ) oil, which brings about the addictive aromatic fragrance to their kolo mee. Although it’s a bit too oily and certainly not good for the health conscious bunch.

Kuching Rojak. I know this is not the best rojak in Kuching. Nevermind that, cause Bintangor has the best Rojak in Sarawak.

Nothing beats this cool and refreshing 五味汤 (5-flavor syrup) on a hot sunny day. It’s a mixture of 5 (sometimes 6) different Chinese herbs in a sweet syrup with a scoop of blended ice on top. Perfectly cooled me down after a bowl of hot laksa.

Bb had her favorite ABC.

This concludes my first day in Kuching City. Stay tuned for more stories from the Cat City!

So here I am in Suk 11, the place to stay if you wanna experience authentic Thai village culture, budget style.

This is the reception area, filled with vintage and old Thai artwork. It’s Halloween by the way! If you’re observant enough, try to read the notice on the top. ^^

The staircase to the rooms upstairs. The Sleeping Buddha welcomes you.

The lobby area as viewed from above. The place is always fully booked, so do book in advance if you’re planning to stay here. Some of them are even on waiting list. This is like the first choice for all backpackers to Bangkok so you’ve gotta book early!

This is the view from the table at the lobby. All the classic Thai art pieces you can get!

Visa is accepted here! But if you book online, you’ll need to pay for the first night and it’s non-refundable.

Kite on the wall. You can leave you signatures here, the wall act as a guestbook. If you’re good enough, you can even draw graffiti on it!

Drop your keys here when you’re checking out.

Walkways to the rooms.

Living room. This guy had been watching the TV for 5 straight hours non-stop.

Walkways made of wood, resembling Thai village houses.

Breakfast should be consumed in the lobby area only. The hostel practice strict rules to ensure safety and cleanliness. They won’t tolerate sex tourists, and you can’t eat in your room.

This is what they have for breakfast. Breads, muffins, papaya and pineapples. Tea and coffee is ready at self service. Breakfast is included in the room rate.

If you’re bored staying in the room, get down and take a stroll at night along the Suk 11 Walkway. There are art works on display/sale. There’s British lounge/bar along the same building where you can sit back and watch football. Suk 11 has a health spa and restaurant right beside the hostel, I’m thinking they’re of the same proprietor.

Many leave great feedbacks for this Suk 11 hostel. Honestly, I totally love the experience here but for one thing – the receptionist. To my surprise, the business owners, they tend be friendlier and more helpful to Caucasians than Asians. The employees were fine though. Overall, it was still a great experience at Suk 11. No harm done!

For bookings, please surf to Suk11.com

Country view. Photo taken from a cottage house in Trittenheim, Germany. This is what I call, serene, pretty much in demand right now in my life.

and a love-shaped vineyard on the opposite. Tranquility.

While approaching the Brunei Sultan’s Palace, we spotted these crowds along the stretch of the palace roads. The palace is open for public visitation every year during the Hari Raya season. During the visit, you get to shake hands with the Sultan himself and grab a free goodie pack, along with some hot food served on the spot – if you’re willing to wait on the queue.

A little traffic jam here.

The palace entrance.

Visitation hour is over and the crowd comes out of the palace.

I wonder how he managed to get so many of those goodie packs. I thought there’s only 1 for each person? By the way, those goodie packs are actually filled with food.

And then, there’s more people with goodie packs.

Everyone has it, little ones, old ones.

Goodie packs for the whole family.

Those who didn’t get it were left dejected and sitting by the roadside.

The chick in pink got a goodie pack too!!!!

Alright, enough of those goodie packs, I’ll show you some nice rims in the next post.

The London Eye, one of the biggest ferris wheel in the world, is undoubtedly the must visit tourist spot in London.

These are the strings that pulls the whole structure in place.

Looking up the strings.

A memorial for the late Technical director of the London Eye.

The capsule. It holds up to 25 peoples at a time and it is sealed and air conditioned.

Capsules going up.

Vertical limit. Damn high.

High up in the air. Let’s check what we’re able to see from here.

Charing Cross railway station is a central London railway terminus. It is unusual among London’s railway termini in that its services connect it to two of the others, Waterloo East and London Bridge. It is one of 17 stations managed by Network Rail, and trains serving it are operated by Southeastern and Southern.

The station takes its name from the Charing Cross, the 12th Eleanor cross. The front of the station faces The Strand, while at the other end is the northern end of Hungerford Bridge, which is crossed by all trains serving the station.

- Wikipedia

The Palace of Westminster, and the Clock Tower. The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, in London is where the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (the House of Lords and the House of Commons) meet to conduct their business. The Palace lies on the north bank of the River Thames in the London borough of the City of Westminster, close by other government buildings in Whitehall.

- Wikipedia

He said he wanna be on my blog, so he ask me to take his picture!

What do you need? Super Diesel, Benzin, or Super unleaded?

It only costs Euro 1.179 per litre. How much is it in Malaysia? RM1.91?

We at the ED Fuel station would like to wish you guys a “Good Fart”! and please come back again.

WTF?

Try Google Translate and translate it from German to English.