Author archive
5 February 2023
The big procession Today is Capgomeh (the fifteenth or last day, but literally night of Chinese New Year), the big day that we have specially come for. I’m two years late for this event, originally due to come here in 2021, but delayed due to the pandemic. We headed to town at 0645 where it […]
4 February 2023
Above: Vihara Tri Dharma Bumi Raya or Tai Pak Kung Temple with the minarets of Masjid Raya Singkawang in the background. Breakfast Today is the eve of Capgomeh. With nothing officially on the published programmed, I didn’t set the alarm and woke around 0700 to find a message from Tim and Elena next door. They […]
3 February 2023
Above: Sambas palace. Departing Kuching We checked out from the OYO Golden Lounge before 0600 for our ride to Singkawang in West Kalimantan, the venue for possibly the most colourful Capgomeh (last day of Chinese New Year) celebration in the world. Our ride would depart from Siang Siang Corner food court across the road. Boo […]
2 February 2023
Above: Orang Ulu mural at the Sarawak Cultural Village. Today, I took my guest to Sarawak Cultural Village for a taste of Borneo culture. It’s a place I always try to take my overseas visitors. Ivan, with peninsular Malaysian origins, would be quite new to most things Borneo as well. We started with a walk […]
1 February 2023
A friend Ivan arrived last night. Due to my upcoming departure to Singkawang, he stayed at a hotel rather than with me. I picked him up for a breakfast of Sarawak Laksa at Lauya Keng, a Teochew temple in old town. He was unsure if his empty stomach would handle the spice, so we tried […]
31 January 2023
The hotel restaurant ran out of all but two breakfast choices this morning. But they had exactly what I wanted, the Vietnamese sandwich. It was light but enough to tide me over till the lounge at the airport. I got to the airport by Ojek this time for a bit less than the ride in […]
30 January 2023
I woke at 0130 after 7h of sleep and continued to doze and sleep till 0600. That’s nearly 12h in bed. I must have needed it after the stress of the last few days. The included hotel breakfast at 0730 was awesome. I chose the Vietnamese style kwayteow with pork steak. I went for a […]
29 January 2023
Arrival Despite the 55 min delay departing Auckland, we arrived into Singapore about 10 mins early. As usual, Changi airport arrival is a breeze and I was in the public area pretty quickly. No wonder it’s often rated as the world’s best airport. Transport to the J8 proved expensive at SGD31 on Grab app. Ojek […]
29 January 2023
Above: Check-in queue for Air New Zealand. Checking-in manually I woke at 0630 and was pleased to see that my 1105 flight had not been cancelled whereas most morning flights had been. It was still no guarantee as flight can be cancelled last-minute. When a 55 min delay notification came through, I felt some relief […]
28 January 2023
Above: Auckland skyline during better times. My flight cancelled I woke at 0600 to learn that my flight 1105 flight to Singapore had been cancelled. Not unsurprising as a result of the flood inside the airport terminal. I quickly shifted my booking to tomorrow before other people could do the same. As I had been […]