One more day…

We did not have much information regarding the official business that my daughter had to attend – just the date and she had to be there by 7.30 a.m. There would be another group starting at 1.30 p.m. but there wasn’t anything in black and white stating all the details. As a matter of fact, all those attending did not have the slightest idea what was going on and what to expect – that’s usually how those people up there function so I told my daughter that she might as well just get used to it as this was just the beginning. If I had known that it would take up only half a day, I could have booked our air tickets to come back later that afternoon or evening and save one night on our hotel.

Ah well! It’s not like those people are in the least bothered – as long as it’s not their money you’re spending – they would much rather spend it themselves, thank you very much. Like the forthcoming convocation at national level, word has it that it will be on 28th May – where to register, how much to pay, any rehearsal, where to rent the gown, when to collect, when to return, how much…yadda, yadda, yadda…nobody knows! I’m glad we opted to go for the one in Wellington, New Zealand in December last year…so whether we get to go to this one or not, frankly, I do not give a damn. It would be more of an opportunity for Melissa to meet and get together with her friends, more than anything else. But honestly, I just cannot understand how those people can be so incompetent, so inefficient and all and they are not bothered at all to pull up their socks. Of course, it is nice to occupy those top seats, looking and acting important and throwing their weight around. Ptuiiii!!!!

Anyway, since we had one more day to spend in Kuching, we might as well make the most of it…and that morning, Melissa and I walked to this place called Sin Poh Poh for the carrot cake…

…or what they call koay khak in the northern regions of the peninsula, something that Melissa loves a lot and I hear the ones here are the best in town.

I also ordered this Kuching-style fried noodles for Melissa to try…

– deep fried till crispy like Cantonese fried noodles and drowned in the very nice tomato sauce gravy. She had never had that before nor the kway teow version either, and she liked it very much.

I had the kueh chap…

…but I did not really like it. It had a kind of smell that was not so pleasant. I think, in comparison, the one I had here or here in Sibu would be a whole lot nicer. The belacan dip alone would have won hands down…easily!

That morning, my dear friend, Vivien, was able to join us and also my cousin, Gerrie (the baker) and my aunt (her mum) and another aunt. One thing about these short visits – they’re great for getting together and strengthening ties and catching up with one another’s lives. They ordered the kolo mee…

– the favourite of some cousins of mine, it seems, but I did not think it was all that great – more or less like what I had the previous morning and I, for one, would know for sure that there are a few other places in town that serve really great ones, a whole lot better than these.

It was around 2.00 p.m. that afternoon when we took the hotel shuttle to the airport for our 4.00 p.m. flight home. We were early so we just thought we could stop by some place for some late lunch cum tea and we saw this one…

…to the far left of the departure level, right in between this branded coffee place…

…and the old colonel’s fried chicken outlet that irritated me somewhat as they kept playing this Anuar Zain song over and over and over again at full blast! Sometimes I really wonder whether some people are hard of hearing or deaf or what! Tsk! Tsk!

We ordered the value meal of our choice (RM9.90)…

…which came with a complimentary drink…

Melissa had the spaghetti bolognese…

…while I opted for the chicken chop…

…and both were pretty good – no complaints at all, and definitely not for that kind of price and especially considering that it was at the airport where daylight robbers lie a-waiting to pounce on any victims that come their way, serving not very nice food at cut-throat prices. As a matter of fact, Melissa said that what she had was nicer than what she had here.

Soon, it was time for us to board our flight and head on home…