I just watched Jo’s wedding video which has finally arrived in Perth. It was actually a lovely watch except for some embarrassing moments where I was being very bossy and noisy. The video brought back good and funny (Calv doing Gee is classic) memories of the Kuching trip so I decided to blog about the last few days in Kuching.
My second last day in Kuching was my birthday :), and amazingly, also the day that my niece Kaka was born! So now we both share the same birthdays, smart girl, I will never forget her birthday in future and will be a good present buying aunt.
Such a good start to a birthday, pohpiah! I wouldn’t mind having this for all my birthday breakfasts in future. This was the best of pohpiahs too, from my favourite Jing Fu Ling. Ah ma bought loads so I could share around with my friends. Do you prefer original or fried? I’m a sucker for the original myself but deep fried is really good too.
Birthday flowers from R. He cleverly asked HC to get it for him, smart boy.
I’m usually not a religious person. But for some reason I’ve been feeling very troubled since the Dragon Year. So I requested a visit to the Ling Hua Shan temple. It did make me feel better and I prayed for my family, friends and myself. HC taught me how to fold these offerings for the gods, mine were pretty flat and ugly, I hope the gods didn’t mind.
Cheng flew back to Canada that day. This is the last photo I took of Cheng in Kuching. I remember his sister suddenly arrived to pick him up, in his rush he ran around saying goodbye to everyone, climbed into the car and drove off. Then it hit me that he forgot to say goodbye to me! Cheng and I have been pretty lucky to be able to meet again so soon after his Perth visit in 2010. The last gap we had was 12 years! I can’t help but wonder whether it’ll be another decade before we meet again? Either way, I know that when we meet again, the years will melt between us and we’ll be the same Cheng and Di again. I wish he could be in Perth though and I could see his big smile all the time.
Later in the evening Gill flew back to Perth.
This picture to me is the epitome of the type of friend Gill is. She was so happy to be able to attend Jo’s wedding and was the ultimate support and best friend a girl (or a bride!) could have. I remember when Jo and HC made the grand entrance into the banquet hall, I couldn’t take any good photos with my camera because I was too far away. Gill who was sitting next to me had disappeared. I realised she had rushed up to the red carpet and was busy snapping photos of the couple. That’s kinda Gill through and through. I’m so glad she made it to Kuching :).
The house was very quiet that night with Jo staying at the hotel with HC, Gill gone, my brother back in US. It was just me, my parents and dear Jaso. We didn’t have a big birthday bash, instead it was a quiet bowl of birthday noodles topped with the traditional eggs and chicken drumstick cooked by my mum. Jason was still recovering from his serious bout of cough but still had a dnm (deep and meaningful, Jaso’s term!) with me. My mum couldn’t help laughing at him clutching his stomach in pain whenever he coughed, she wasn’t being nasty, she just thought he looked like he was pregnant. My parents really enjoyed having Jaso around and he was the best comfort to have around. I’m glad he is fulfulling his dream and really enjoying life in UK now but I do miss him a lot.
Jaso’s last day in Kuching and also my last full day in Kuching (T____T). Both of us woke up early for a road trip.Where to? To visit the famous temple Chingsan! This is an annual must visit for the devout Buddhists HC and his mum, Jo usually accompanies them and this year they had the tag alongs Jaso and I as well.
This was also the morning that we found out about baby’s birth the night before. My brother in law had texted Jo to let her know, Jo called my mum and apparently they had sent a photo to my phone. So my mum was banging crazily on my door at like 4am in the morning demanding to see the photo!
Jaso in front of the entrance to the temple. I was pleasantly surprised at how grand and nice this temple was.
It was kinda peaceful looking out at the faraway boats.
The newly wedded couple climbing up the many steps to the temple *puff puff puff*
My ah pa brought us out for lunch afterwards of chicken rice at a place near my house. It wasn’t chicken rice of the norms though and had a bit of everything. My father was in such a good mood and high spirits, when he called my mum to ask whether she wanted some takeaway he addressed her as ‘nenek’ (grandmother in Malay).
My last cup of Kuching kopi *sob sob*
We also ordered a tomato kway teow to share and it was really good!
Because it was Jaso’s last day in Kuching, we tried to cram in as much food as possible. Song Kheng Hai was finally open so we went there for ais kachangs. This was Kuching’s popular Matterhorn.
I can’t remember whether this was ABC or Special. But it was refreshing and yummy.
This is a must-eat for Song Keng Hai, Foochow Kong Pias! Piping hot meat buns, I can’t explain how good these were, slightly crunchy, chewy texture of the buns, tasty sweet minced meat, really yums.
Jo and I had been trying to find char kueh for ages, but most of the char kueh stalls were all close for Chinese New Year. This one wasn’t fantastic but still beggars can’t be choosers.
Ok, that’s the end of my Kuching posts, it was one of the most memorable Kuching trips to date and I can’t wait to return!
daitaoha 