The Sarawak river cruise has been on for quite some time. It is actually an interesting concept, with a mini cruise (scaled down version of The Star Cruise or the defunct Ferry Malaysia) plying up and down the Sarawak river carrying a handful of local and foreign tourists aboard each time.
The cruise takes off every evening at about 5.45pm (I wonder if they do if it rains), berthing at the Kuching Waterfront. Since it was sponsored by the department, I am not sure of the ticket price. However, what you pay includes the sumptuous food on board in buffet style consisting of local fern (midin) fried with belacan (prawn paste), crabs, prawns, ulams (cleansed and raw vegetable eaten with sauce or paste eg the sambal belacan, tempoyak (fermented durian paste) with anchovies, some carbohydrates such as the rice and fried noodles. Fruits as dessert were also served. However sumptuous and elaborate the food was, in my opinion, it lacked the gastronomic presentation that would make you water in your mouth, plus, it was also presented cold. They will probably need to heat it up first or prepare it just about the embarking time. After all, not many are that hungry at about 6pm. Thirsty may be.
Those karaoke enthusiast may proceed to the microphone to display their crooning abilities. But non of the visitors on board were eager enough so it was left to the crew on board to entertain us with their singing prowess.
After dinner, most of us would proceed to the bridge to immerse ourselves in the scenic view of the Sarawak River during sunset. The white washed building of the old customs building, the divisional mosque, the malay villages nestled amonst the palm trees by the riverbank, fishermen raking in their catch for the day in their modern fishing boat, the local waterway taxis (tambangs) being skillfully manoeuvred by the boatsman in order to avoid our boat's way and the slow constant chugging of the boat's engine seems perfectly fallen in place in one lazy evening.
Before long, we were again entertained to a presentation of assorted local traditional dances that represents the main diversified ethnics in Sarawak.
One thing I which I noticed was that the river seems clean enough not to sore the eyes. There were floating plastic bottles which was used as a buoy to support the fishing nets below the river stretching a few hundred metres long. There were no traces of oil slick which may
be apparent in some rivers in other parts of Sarawak. However, kudos to the local authority and the locals for keeping it clean.
The ride ends upriver when we had our beloved chief minister's house (and so we were told) in sight with the boat making a U turn to bring us back to the starting point. Nearing the wharf, there was a mixture of romantic and sombre mood. Romantic, upon seeing the beautifully lit waterfront and a display of light outlining the buildings by the river against the background of
orange and red. Sombreness, when knowing that ride with loved ones would soon end and the departing of an eminent retiring profesor for whom the occasion was planned for was imminent.
Upon disembarkation, we were greeted with a sight of the waterfront buzzing with more activities, mainly targeting the tourists, and some for the locals as well. The number of anglers were more in numbers later in the evening. Not only that, those peddling the local variety of aphrodisiac (Gambir Sarawak) seemed to double and are located evenly apart from each other along the waterfront. This traditional method, after being mixed with minimal water and then apllied locally to the ventral aspect of the penis will cause anaesthesia and pleasure desensitisation from the user causing some delay in reaching the climacteric phase. It was doubtful if the selling of such topical medication was approved by the ministry or not. They were some rhomboid blue coloured pills sold in blister packs on the display board together with the Gambir Sarawak, but surely, this is not recomended at all. All problems of suspected erectile dysfunction should be further investigated before starting any forms of treatment.
The tour along the Sarawak River was a satisfactory affair for me. The only thing that probably needs to be looked into is the food preparation presentability and its freshness. In support for the call to promote Malaysia as a Halal food hub, simple halal certification is necessary here when you get lots of muslim visitors from west Malaysia and locally, not to mention those coming from abroad. Happy merdeka day...!
The cruise takes off every evening at about 5.45pm (I wonder if they do if it rains), berthing at the Kuching Waterfront. Since it was sponsored by the department, I am not sure of the ticket price. However, what you pay includes the sumptuous food on board in buffet style consisting of local fern (midin) fried with belacan (prawn paste), crabs, prawns, ulams (cleansed and raw vegetable eaten with sauce or paste eg the sambal belacan, tempoyak (fermented durian paste) with anchovies, some carbohydrates such as the rice and fried noodles. Fruits as dessert were also served. However sumptuous and elaborate the food was, in my opinion, it lacked the gastronomic presentation that would make you water in your mouth, plus, it was also presented cold. They will probably need to heat it up first or prepare it just about the embarking time. After all, not many are that hungry at about 6pm. Thirsty may be.Those karaoke enthusiast may proceed to the microphone to display their crooning abilities. But non of the visitors on board were eager enough so it was left to the crew on board to entertain us with their singing prowess.
After dinner, most of us would proceed to the bridge to immerse ourselves in the scenic view of the Sarawak River during sunset. The white washed building of the old customs building, the divisional mosque, the malay villages nestled amonst the palm trees by the riverbank, fishermen raking in their catch for the day in their modern fishing boat, the local waterway taxis (tambangs) being skillfully manoeuvred by the boatsman in order to avoid our boat's way and the slow constant chugging of the boat's engine seems perfectly fallen in place in one lazy evening.
Before long, we were again entertained to a presentation of assorted local traditional dances that represents the main diversified ethnics in Sarawak.One thing I which I noticed was that the river seems clean enough not to sore the eyes. There were floating plastic bottles which was used as a buoy to support the fishing nets below the river stretching a few hundred metres long. There were no traces of oil slick which may
be apparent in some rivers in other parts of Sarawak. However, kudos to the local authority and the locals for keeping it clean.The ride ends upriver when we had our beloved chief minister's house (and so we were told) in sight with the boat making a U turn to bring us back to the starting point. Nearing the wharf, there was a mixture of romantic and sombre mood. Romantic, upon seeing the beautifully lit waterfront and a display of light outlining the buildings by the river against the background of
orange and red. Sombreness, when knowing that ride with loved ones would soon end and the departing of an eminent retiring profesor for whom the occasion was planned for was imminent.Upon disembarkation, we were greeted with a sight of the waterfront buzzing with more activities, mainly targeting the tourists, and some for the locals as well. The number of anglers were more in numbers later in the evening. Not only that, those peddling the local variety of aphrodisiac (Gambir Sarawak) seemed to double and are located evenly apart from each other along the waterfront. This traditional method, after being mixed with minimal water and then apllied locally to the ventral aspect of the penis will cause anaesthesia and pleasure desensitisation from the user causing some delay in reaching the climacteric phase. It was doubtful if the selling of such topical medication was approved by the ministry or not. They were some rhomboid blue coloured pills sold in blister packs on the display board together with the Gambir Sarawak, but surely, this is not recomended at all. All problems of suspected erectile dysfunction should be further investigated before starting any forms of treatment.
The tour along the Sarawak River was a satisfactory affair for me. The only thing that probably needs to be looked into is the food preparation presentability and its freshness. In support for the call to promote Malaysia as a Halal food hub, simple halal certification is necessary here when you get lots of muslim visitors from west Malaysia and locally, not to mention those coming from abroad. Happy merdeka day...!
1 comment:
Nice to see some other blogging about the great treats in Kuching.
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