Last week was so satisfying that this week (or four days, to be more accurate, as we leave tomorrow) has been a bit of a rinse-and-repeat.

1. More food

This week's kek lapis came courtesy of the hotel. Not sure why. But when a man at the door is offering you a plate of cake, you don't refuse. There has been the usual round of delicious porridge and kolo mee and laksa. And one day I had a generously proportioned curry mee from the kopi tiam alongside the Hainan Association. Which had a kind of special resonance, given our sojourn in Hainan only a few weeks ago... Noteworthy, too, was the pandan custard cake we tacked on to our nasi lemak during a repeat visit to Lima Tujoh.





We also sampled some more of the traditional food. Lepau was worth a visit on a cool, rainy lunchtime. We shared a leaf package of soft, yummy red rice; fish umai, which is Sarawak's answer to ceviche; mydin cooked in belacan (mydin are the small ferns, whereas paku, which we had at The Dyak, are the large ones -- I think); chicken soup with terung dayak (a local, nicely sour eggplant); and kedondong juice. All excellent to the taste, and not hard on the pocket. We also tried nasi goreng dabai one day at a place at the base of Hills mall. Dabai are the local olive equivalents, and we found this rice very tasty.





2. More cats





3. More walking









New was:

4. Visiting the Heroes' Memorial Park, which commemorates those who died trying to help victims of the Japanese during World War II, and others who fought during Konfrontasi and during the Emergency. What a lot of aggro this island has seen...





5. Tasting the tuak (in a glass on its own, that is, as opposed to in a dessert with lots of other luscious things). It is mellow and genuinely wine-like. Not at all the kind of firewater that masquerades under the name of rice wine in other parts. Sadly, Speak Eazy, the bar where we acquired our tuak, is going to close this week. We literally drank their last bottle... May it bless them and bless us...





So... Kuching... You've lived up to your name. You've truly been as soft and warm and endearing as a pussy cat. It's been an absolute pleasure, and I'm sure we'll meet again.