Welcome to Kuching. Now Please Stay Inside
I’ve arrived in Kuching, Malaysia for a month in a city known for its great local food, friendly community, availability of lap swimming and pickleball, and plenty of opportunities to be outside.
The first four days of my stay in Kuching were great. I’d found the local pickleball clubs and signed up for a coaching session, reached out to some people I’d met on Facebook to see about getting together, and used the 20 meter pool at my Airbnb when I didn’t feel like taking a Grab to one of the public swimming pools.
Jingles and I found several food courts within a 5 minute walk that serve Sarawak laksa. Laksa is a Malaysian noodle soup with regional variations. Sarawak’s is a slightly spicy coconut noodle soup served with shredded chicken, shrimp, egg slices, cilantro and lime. The locals eat it for breakfast but for me, it’s a better lunch choice.
I also found an Indian Muslim restaurant offering one of my favorite breakfast foods, roti canai, a flaky, layered flatbread that can be filled with eggs, cheese, onions or sweet fillings. Served with a cup of hot tea with condensed milk, it’s pretty much perfect.
Definitely no shortage of things to eat!
Then the haze arrived.
When the Air Turns Bad
I noticed it the evening of my 4th day walking back to my AirBnB. The sunset had a beautiful orange red glow that was stunning but I soon understood why.
This haze is the result of wildfires and burning to clear forests for palm oil plantations in Indonesia. Seasonal wind and smoke cross national boundaries and put Kuching squarely into the worst of the haze. Think of Canadian wildfire smoke wafting to the U.S.
Air quality issues meant schools were closed for a week, outdoor events, including Sarawak’s National Day celebrations were cancelled and the government issued advisories to stay indoors. In fact, the last time Sarawak experienced haze this severe was in 2019.
And of course, I was literally “in the thick” of it. I started checking the AQI and for the better part of two weeks, Kuching was showing some of the worst air quality in the world.
I could feel it in my lungs walking the 0.5 mile/800 meters to the grocery store. Time to bring out the N95 mask when walking and rethinking what I can do with the haze being so bad.
My Alternate Kuching Itinerary
So for now, my plans to visit the orangutan reserve, hike the national park and go for a cruise on the Sarawak River are on hold. Even eating out at the numerous kopitiams and food courts doesn’t seem so enjoyable so my Google Map searches are “restaurants with indoor seating”
Swimming is probably the biggest casualty. I chose AirBnBs with swimmable lap pools and bookmarked the 50-meter Kuching Aquatic Centre but when the haze is this bad, walking is a hazard let alone getting in a swim. This is one of the biggest disruptions as it’s one of the criteria I have for an extended stay.
Pickleball was also out as the clubs are in converted warehouse spaces with powerful fans but not air conditioned.
Time to make lemonade out of lemons, look for things to do indoors and hope the haze clears.
Borneo Cultures Museum
The Borneo Cultures Museum had been on my list anyway, so the haze gave me a good excuse to spend a morning there. It is a huge modern museum covering the history, cultures and indigenous peoples of Sarawak with lots of multimedia and interactive exhibits.
I was fascinated by the traditional basket and hat weaving as well as the cloth making. All this intricate work must take an enormous amount of time and patience. . Since I wanted indoor activities, I looked for a basket weaving workshop but the only ones were for groups, not individuals.
A few years ago, I probably would have walked past these exhibits without giving it much thought. But after taking up knitting, I’ve become much more interested in traditional crafts and much more appreciative of the patience, skill and sheer amount of time it takes to make something by hand.
Routine Medical / Dental
While it wasn’t exactly on my Kuching sightseeing list, the haze gave me a reason to take care of some vaccinations and dental work I’d been meaning to do.
Malaysia has an incredibly high standard of affordable medical care. My previous experiences have been consistently positive. English is widely spoken by medical and dental staff which makes it easy to navigate.
This time, I needed Japanese encephalitis (another mosquito borne disease) and rabies vaccines. I sent a quick WhatsApp (text) to a clinic to confirm the vaccines were in stock,took a Grab and was in and out in 20 minutes. They spent time icing my arm and then sprayed a topical “freeze” so I didn’t feel anything. I was told that was standard practice here. Definitely be getting my future vaccines in Malaysia! Total cost? About US$100 / €88
Teeth cleaning? Why not? Another indoor activity! I found a dental clinic that offered ultrasonic scaling and an airflow polish. Got an appointment 2 days later, walked in and had a check up and cleaning for about US$40 / €35.
Watching The Odyssey at a Shopping Mall, Haircuts, Jigsaw Puzzles and Knitting
Shopping malls seem to be a Malaysian pastime, probably because it’s an escape from the daytime heat. Now, it’s also an escape from the haze. I haven’t gone to a movie since COVID but while it wasn’t exactly how I imagined spending part of my month in Kuching, I ended up seeing The Odyssey and forgetting about the AQI numbers for a couple of hours. Side note: good movie if you haven’t seen it already.
A nice head massage, shampoo, haircut and a hot cup of tea at a salon was another afternoon activity.
Otherwise, I’ve purchased some jigsaw puzzles and been knitting and watching Netflix. It’s a way to feel like I’m living somewhere rather than just visiting. While I’d rather that it hadn’t been forced due to the haze, I’m making good progress on the socks and I forgot how fun it can be to work on a jigsaw puzzle, that is, until you are left with 300 blue pieces that make up the sky!
Still Able to Get Together with People
The haze hasn’t completely derailed the social side of Kuching. I had already met people through Facebook and some of the local activities, and we continued to get together.
Sometimes that meant meeting for coffee or having people over to my place for coffee. I ended up going over to Kim’s apartment for a couple of hours and I worked on my knitting and she on her beading while we chatted. All this visiting and socializing has made my stay here more about living in a place rather than just passing through.
Unfortunately, sometimes the haze has meant making plans, like planning to go to the Mooncake Festival celebrations with friends Michelle and John, checking the air quality, and deciding we needed to pivot.
That is probably the biggest adjustment. I can’t decide in the morning I want to go for a walk or play pickleball and assume the air would cooperate. Everything is a little more conditional.
I didn’t come to Kuching expecting to spend so much time indoors but that’s part of slow travel. I’m still experiencing a different city, meeting new people and can always come back. I may not get to do everything on my list because of the haze but I’m hoping for some lower AQI numbers to do some outdoor activities before I have to leave for my next destination.
Who knew that FLEXIBILITY was the key?…….Remember when you didn’t knit…..or jigsaw? You’re on an amazing journey
Jeanne – hmmm…. risk management plan? Yeah, all these newly found hobbies in retirement. You couldn’t have caught me knitting or doing jigsaw puzzles ten years ago! Hope all is well with you, Jug and the kiddos. Love, Mimi
The orangutan Park is interesting. Hope you get to go and that food super yum you’re a good traveler Mimi
Yeah, the food is great and I’ve met some really nice people. If only that darn haze would go away…..