If you are looking for a place by the beach, Damai Beach Resort would be your ideal place. Holiday Inn Damai Beach Resort is located at the best beach Sarawak has to offer and it’s a 4-star hotel resort. Damai Beach Resort is an award winning resort complemented by lush tropical forest and the majestic Mount Santubong, which overlooks the South China Sea.

A mere 40-minute drive from Kuching the capital city of Sarawak and 50-minute drive from Kuching International Airport will take you there but the distance is worth the travel as the location is beautiful, close to nature, peaceful and quiet. Located on Teluk Bandung’s sandy beach facing the South China Sea and comprising 90 acres of sea frontage, Damai Beach Resort is majestically nestled within the world’s oldest tropical rainforest,

Damai Beach Resort is also close to the world famous Sarawak Cultural Village which showcases various attributes of major ethnic population in the whole state of Sarawak, namely the Malay, Chinese, Iban, Orang Ulu, Bidayuh, Melanau and Penan all in one village.

Damai Beach Resort is modeled after a traditional fishing village, days are often too short to experience all the activities the Resort has to offer. The Resort is a very popular holiday destination for locals during weekends and public holidays.

Damai Beach Resort has 256 comfortably furnished rooms with magnificent views of the sea or the lush greenery of Mount Santubong. You can have choices of rooms in the main buildings and in chalets on hillsides. All rooms are complete with air-conditioning, private bathrooms, telephone, personal safe, hair dryer, TV with in-house movies and satellites, and in-room mini-bar complimentary coffee/tea making facilities.

The Resort is a window to many experiences – a hilltop retreat, beach paradise and the ultimate rainforest living experience with value for money offerings. You will indeed be spoilt for choices. You can swim in the large swimming pool or spend relaxing time by the beach and the sea.

They promise you a gratifying and unforgettable experience. Be it doing nothing or everything, your time at Damai Beach Resort will be an enriching one, a true celebration of life.

Damai Beach Resort is the place to be in Borneo. It only happens here. Go here to make your booking: bestkuchinghotels@gmail.com

All we need is your check in/check out dates and no of pax staying & of course type of room required.

All we need is your check in/check out dates and no of pax staying & of course type of room required.If you are looking for a 3 days 2 nights kuching tour, come check out Cuti-cuti Kuching Tour with us. Just

Email us: bestkuchinghotels@gmail.com

Pitcher Plant As Food Kuching

You can bargain with them till the cows come home. They are friendly folks but the weather there is really hot. You need to go early to see more things, shop, bargain and look around. It is an exciting place. Sort of like Little Bandung market.

What is Pitcher Plant? Well, it is a Meat Eater Plant , carnivorous plant. It is also called Monkey Cup. Its scientific name is Nepenthes.

Nephantes Pitcher Plant in Bako National Park

Insects that fly or crawl are attracted to the cavity formed by its cupped leaf. The sides of the pitcher plant are slippery and insects that fell in usually cannot comb out. There are some liquid inside the pitcher plants that traps and drowns the insect. The body will gradually dissolve. The body dissolves tue to enzyme secreted by the plant or by bacteria action washed into the pitcher. Some pitcher plants contain mutualistic insect larvae, that feed on the trapped prey whose excreta the plant absorbs. The prey items sre then converted into a solution of amino acids, ammonium, urea, phosphates and peptides. The plant relies on the mineral nutrition for survival. Pitcher plants grow in places where the soil is lacking in minerals or too acidic for the plants to survive.

Coming back to our Pitcher Plant, it can be easily found in jungles of Borneo. The photo is taken from Bako National Park as my friend David went hiking on the Bako Trail.

If you are interested to go to Serikin, you can book the tour with us here:  4D3N Kuching & Serikin Shopping Tour

FOR THE ALBUM: (Standing front row, from right) Walser, Dr Jerip, Masing and Hughes with some of the Logos Hope crew members. — Photo by Chimon Upon

KUCHING: Volunteers of Logos Hope who come from different nations and cultures are “ordinary people with willing hands and hearts”, said Logos Hope director Gian Walser at the launch of the world’s largest floating book fair at Sim Kheng Hong Port in Pending here yesterday.

Lenaic Viaud

Walser said they wanted to show God’s love by helping and reaching out to the various communities across the globe.

“Acquiring knowledge is the foundation to success, stability and a better life. We want to enhance people’s education, growth and learning by helping them in many ways,” he said.

Walser added that volunteers of 50 different nationalities on board sought to understand and respect one another and to work closely to bring knowledge, help and hope to others.

Minister of Land Development Tan Sri Dr James Masing, who officiated at the launch, commended the crew and staff for bringing hope and education to the underprivileged.

He believed that Kuchingites and Sarawakians at large would appreciate the rich selection of over 5,000 reading materials available on the ship.

“Definitely I’m bringing my kids around as I know Logos Hope will be here for two weeks or so. We do have libraries here but not as big and floating as this,” said the Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president.

Image from file

Masing also appealed to the ship volunteers that hail from over 40 countries to visit some of the tourist attractions in the city.

“There is a longhouse not far from here and I believe you all can get an experience of what it is like to stay here.”

He informed the crew that there were 26 different languages used in the state while calling on volunteers to pick up at least one during their stay here.

“It is nice to learn at least one language here. Maybe English, Bahasa or even Bidayuh, which comes with three to four dialects,” he added.

Captain of Logos Hope Chris Hughes, who has been at sea for over four decades, said he looked forward to visiting places here.

“This is the first time I’m in Kuching and I learn that the food here is very different from that in West Malaysia,” he said, adding that he would try out some local delicacies.

Eileen Chua

Logos Hope has been to Penang and Port Klang and will head to Kota Kinabalu after Kuching.

The ship opens from 10am to 10pm Monday-Saturday, and from 1pm to 10pm on Sundays until Nov 13. It will be closed on Oct 31 and Nov 8 to enable the crew to go on excursion trips around the city.

Logos Hope is operated by GBA Ship e.V, an international charitable organisation registered in Germany.

The organisation, in almost 40 years of service, has welcomed 40 million visitors up the gangways in over 160 countries and territories around the world.

Among those present was Assistant Minister of Public Health Dr Jerip Susil.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/10/29/helping-people-acquire-knowledge-logos%e2%80%99-hope/#ixzz1c8iyIGnR

THERAPEUTIC: Dip in hot (pool) and cold water (river) in turn.

KUCHING: A hot spring kept secret for 250 years by early settlers in Annah Rais longhouse is open to the public.

The early settlers regarded it as a holy place to seek blessings and cures for sickness.

Annah Rais Hot Spring is a natural feature caused by underground water being heated by geothermal forces and brought to the surface, where it empties its hot water into Sungai Semadang, more commonly known as Sungai Sarawak Kiri.

Both hot spring and cool river can be enjoyed at an entrance fee of RM5 per head.

I turned up at this site one bright Sunday afternoon around 3pm.

While I was descending the steps, a scenic river with lush bamboo groves growing on both banks came into view.

Small fishes swam in the pristine clear water, and tiny bubbles of gas were intermittently released from the pebbly riverbed.

Two pools – one bigger than the other – are located on the other side of the river. The poolside is fashioned from cement made to look like granite slabs.

The pools collecting hot water diffusing from underground were constructed on Jan 12 this year, according to the inscription on one of them.

Visitors were seen sitting around the bigger pool, dangling their legs in Nature’s hot tub.

They were mostly locals though a few foreign tourists from Kampung Annah Rais homestay had found their way here.

The proximity of the hot spring to the river allows visitors to gravitate between soaking in hot and cold water.

Alternate dunking in hot and cold water is believed to dilate and constrict blood vessels in turn, stimulating an otherwise sluggish circulation.

For instance, a swollen injured ankle alternately dipped in bearably hot and icy cold water, as per doctor’s recommendation, has been known to be efficacious in reducing the swelling if all else has failed.

Since ancient times, soaking in a hot mineral spring has been a form of hydrotherapy to treat disease, injuries and improve health.

Doctors acknowledge the therapeutic benefits of moist heat. Soaking in hot water can speed up healing and relieve pain caused by some types of arthritis and short-term injuries.

A warm soak relaxes muscles, soothing the body and reduces stress. It’s good for arthritis, psoriasis and insomnia.

A regular visitor at Annah Rais hot spring said the hot water had softened the hardened fat located below the back of his neck.

A woman claimed it was effective in relieving her muscle spasms and a young man said it helped him de-stress.

According to health experts, pregnant women and people with diabetes, high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease should not soak in hot water in case it provokes health problems for them. And to avoid infection by protozoa that inhabit some hot springs, avoid being submerged so the water does not go up the nose.

Temperatures can be as high as 70C in hot springs and some may reach boiling point. Immersion in extremely hot water can prove fatal very quickly. Therefore, a little dilution with cooler surface water may be needed.

The water in the Annah Rais hot tub felt too hot that day so the channels were cleared of debris by one of the visitors while another poured cold water from the river into the bigger pool to bring down its temperature. This enabled all of us to soak in the still steaming water.

To cool off, we sat on the pebbly riverbed, and felt the warm sand heated by the hot spring below. We could feel tiny jets of hot water moving upwards  before having their heat dispersed by cold currents in the river.

A few outdoor showers and changing rooms complete the basic facilities at the site.

To get there, drive from the 10th Mile Old Penrissen Road – also known as Jalan Puncak Borneo – to Annah Rais longhouse where you cross a Bailey bridge, then a one-km stretch of gravel road before coming to another Bailey bridge.

Cross it and look out on the right for a wooden building with a signboard saying, ‘Welcome to Annah Rais Hot Spring’.

By YU JI
yuji@thestar.com.my

Have you also heard that Firefly Airline will become a full service airline operating from Subang only.

Go check out www.fireflyz.com.my and chances are they require you to call the Call Centre for your booking from Johor Bahru to Kuching. You can no longer book online.

There is a new budget airline that will be replacing Firefly airways soon for flights to East Malaysia? or it could also include certain destinations to neighbouring states. I think Firefly will retain the profitable route still like Kuala Lumpur to Kuching and Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu.

I heard that the budget airline will be called Sapphire Airways, the true blue airline. I went to the website and found it under construction and there is a link there to Expedia Malaysia. Isn’t this a clue already? Who owns Expedia Malaysia right now? Who else but the Red Giant, Air Asia group. so what does that tell you?

so that means that Sapphire Airways will be replacing Firefly coming t his Mid Sept earliest or Nov 2011 latest. We East Malaysians may have no choice but to use Sapphire Airways soon if we want to travel on budget i suppose, else there will always be Malaysia Airlines, the full service airline, the airline with a smile or the Tiger Airways from Singapore.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that whatever the outcome it is out there coming soon, it will not be an Armageddon but a win win situation for us folks here in East Malaysia. We need good connecting flights from West Malaysia to bring in the tourists with their RM/USD to continue to spur our economy. If everyone can afford to fly CHEAP, where is the plane for us ?

If you are holding a ticket after 15 September 2011 with Firefly airline from Johor Bahru to Kuching, you may just want to check with them if your ticket is still valid for travel on the booked flight and if the flight is still flying . If not, what is the alternative that they can provide for you? the customer?

This article is written solely by me  based on  my own ramblings and I shall not be held responsible or liable or subject to any legal suit for any outcome based on reliance on the information provided above. I exclude all liability and responsibility stated herein.

IT’s hard to miss Abell Hotel when you’re in Kuching.

Besides occupying a prime spot in the city centre, the hotel has a warm, earthy exterior that exudes a residential feel, giving would-be guests a small preview of what to expect inside – an inviting and conducive environment amidst a sleek, fresh, chic and contemporary interior.

The floors of this boutique hotel, which opened its doors last month, are boldly assigned with bright, lively colours while the 80 well-appointed guest rooms are conceptualised with simplicity and functionality in mind for comfort and convenience.

“The vibrant colours, depicting Malaysia’s vibrant culture and culinary heritage, are fused into our cosy guest rooms, funky lobby, multi-purpose function room as well as the Carvery Restaurant & Bar,” said general manager Christopher Tan.

He pointed out that all rooms were well sized with modern amenities such as flat screen televisions, plush 350-thread count bedding, invigorating rain showers in the bathrooms and complimentary wireless Internet with views of either the shopping district of the city or miniature rock garden on all its floors.

“We are also proud to be an entirely non-smoking hotel as we strive to provide our guests with a comfortable stay in a clean, smoke-free environment.”

The hotel’s attraction is none other than the Carvery Restaurant which has relocated from its old premise in Pending.

The restaurant, one of the top dining spots in town for the past decade, continues to live up to its name with its signature Brazilian churrascaria buffet dining concept.

Dining here typically begins with the restaurant’s signature creamy mushroom or vegetable soup, and the self-served hot and cold salad bar which offers wonderfully fresh greens that go beyond the staple iceberg and romaine lettuce.

Expect to find imported crisp arugula leaves, oak leaves, juicy cherry tomatoes among the range of salad mixes available as well as ready-made salads such as potato salad, green pea and corn salad, and coleslaw, to name a few.

Then it’s time for the meat course to commence much like a typical churrascaria, meaning Brazilian steakhouse. Guests are treated like royalty as passadors or meat waiters come out to serve from table to table with knives and skewers of various cuts of specially seasoned and slow-roasted meats, prepared specifically in the Brazilian barbecue churrasco style.

A selection of 14 air-flown premium quality meats and seafood all grilled to perfection will be served one at a time, including roasted lamb leg, lamb chop, rump steak, mussels, smoked beef, beef ribs, fish fillet, turkey ham rolls and an array of plump, juicy sausages.

The best among these delightful selections are the roasted lamb leg bursting with smokey and peppery flavour, beef ribs where the texture remains sufficiently tender and the rump steak, served perfectly at medium rare to create a flavoursome cushion-like bite.

To go with the meats and seafood, a variety of sauces such as black pepper, mushroom and mint are available but even without these condiments, the meats are perfect eaten on their own.

A quirky little feature at Carvery is a chip bearing the words ‘serve me’ on the green side and ‘thank you’ on the red side, given to diners at the start of their meal.

“The carvers will continue to serve guests unless the latter show the red ‘thank you’ side of the chip, signalling to the carvers to stop once the guests are done,” Tan explained.

Every meal is given the five-star treatment in the restaurant’s quest to provide a top-notch dining experience, and given the food and impeccable service, it’s no wonder the restaurant continues to be packed since its opening last month.

Pioneering yet another concept for its diners, Carvery has added a Butcher Counter offering wide choice of premium meats such as chilled USA beef, baby lamb rack, Wagyu beef, foie gras and New Zealand salmon steak, all at reasonable prices.

“Guests can make their choice of meat or seafood from our Butcher Counter and prices will be based on the weight of the meat or seafood they have selected,” Tan said, adding that guests could opt to have their selection grilled to perfection, accompanied by trimmings and salad or as  takeaway to be grilled at home.

“The Carvery dinner buffet, priced at RM56 per person, is also available for lunch with nine selections of delectable meat and seafood at RM38 per person.”

For those who aren’t meat lovers, the Carvery’s Salad Buffet is available at RM28 per person. There is also an ala carte menu with a good range of favourite appetisers and main courses.

The presence of Carvery Restaurant is a big plus for Abell Hotel which itself is fast becoming the choice of business and leisure travellers with its affordable rooms, high quality service and  prime location that allows easy access to shopping malls and sightseeing, tours and activities.

Make reservations to dine at Carvery by calling 082-239449.

Source: The Borneo Post 8 May 2011

]]> http://BestKuchingHotels.com/best-kuching-eateries/abell-hotel-with-the-addition-of-carvery-restaurant-bar-is-fast-becoming-the-place-to-stay-and-dine-in-the-city.html/feed http://BestKuchingHotels.com/general/puss-in-boots-in-kuching-sarawak.html http://BestKuchingHotels.com/general/puss-in-boots-in-kuching-sarawak.html#comments Fri, 29 Jul 2011 03:36:50 +0000 Borneo Kid http://BestKuchingHotels.com/?p=2121

Well, it was not exactly the famous feline character of the French literary fairytale, Puss in Boots, but very close to it. I was referring to the mini parade of cats dressed in colourful costumes at the Cat Fun Show held at The Spring Shopping Mall in Kuching, Sarawak. One of the activities of the show was a Cat Fancy Dress Contest, hence the fanciful attires, ranging from a Victorian-era dress to a Japanese-like Kimono, a Pooh bear outfit, a superman costume and so on. My favourite was the purple Victorian dress worn by a lovely white-coloured Persian cat, who incidentally won the first prize.

The Spring Shopping Mall was one of the largest shopping complexes in Kuching, Sarawak, and the spaciousness of the mall had made it a popular venue for companies and businesses to promote their products or services. The Management of The Spring Shopping Mall, Kuching, frequently collaborated with sponsors and interested parties to organize events or activities as a crowd-puller to the mall. The recent Cat Fun Show, called The Spring for the Love of Cats Show, was the third show organized.

I was roped in to assist during the 2-day show, which were held on a Saturday and Sunday… there went my weekend! But being a cat enthusiast, I put my best paw forward. Arriving at The Spring Shopping Mall, Kuching, at 8.30am on the first day, I helped the organizing team to arrange 71 cages on two rows of tables, like a long, narrow island, which was then cordoned off with partition stands, leaving two entry points at both ends for cat owners and officials to enter or exit. This area would be referred to as the show ring. Flat boards were placed in between the cages to minimize any tension or anxieties of the cats placed inside as most were strangers to each other… thus the saying, “out of sight, out of mind”, and it worked as no cat fights ensued.

The stage area was decorated with a huge colourful backdrop. There were plenty of cat food products displayed on a raised platform on the stage. These were actually the prizes for the Cat Fun Show Competition, sponsored by First Choice, a nutrition cat food company from Canada. Other sponsors for various prizes and gifts were from Rhone Ma, which provided cat health and hygiene products, MPH Bookstore, Home & Living, Isuzu and of course The Spring Shopping Mall, Kuching.

After we set up the registration counter, the first batch of cat owners participating in the show began to arrive. Each participating cat received door gifts of cat shampoo and cat food from the sponsors. By noon, The Spring Shopping Mall, Kuching, had become packed with people, all avidly checking out the display of beautiful felines inside the show ring, from longhair to shorthair, local or household and pedigree cats, in a variety of fur colouring and marking.

The pedigree cats at the show included the American Shorthair, American Curl, British Shorthair, Burmese, Exotic, Maine Coon, Persian, Siamese, Scottish Fold and Turkish Angora. I was fascinated by the American Curl breed, which had curled up ears, while the Scottish Fold breed had folded down ears! They were naturally born with these unusual-shaped ears.

In the world, there were 40 popular cat breeds, which encompassed the hairless breed called the Sphynx and the tailless breed called the Manx. In between breaks, I had an enjoyable and interesting time watching the cats. A good number were used to being in shows so were at ease, either resting or even sleeping. Some would stare curiously back at the crowd of people, and a few were a little uneasy and restless.

Horatio from Kuala Lumpur was the guest judge for the Saturday Cat Fun Show Competition at The Spring Shopping Mall, Kuching. Spectators and shoppers began to gather outside the show ring area as the judging process commenced at 2pm. In a fun show, the judge would generally look for the following criteria in the cat: cleanliness, health, alertness, temperament and overall appearance.

However, for the pedigree cats, the judge also had to evaluate how closely the cat conformed to its respective breed characteristics. For example, a British Shorthair should have a round head and round ears, and not a longish head or pointed ears. Wow, being in a cat show was certainly not as simple as I would think.

Other activities at the show included a couple of presentations on cat breeds, cat care, and how to be a responsible cat owner. The lesson learnt was that we have to treat our cats or our pets as part of our family, with love, respect, and provide them with clean water and food on a daily basis. I would agree with that philosophy.

There was also a “Guess the weight of the cat” contest, whereby a participating cat, a local Turkish Angora mix, was chosen to be “it”; and you could try to guess its weight from afar, head to the registration counter, pay a RM1 per guess fee, get a tiny form, fill in the blanks, then drop into the “Guess” box. The winner would be the one who guessed the weight nearest to the cat’s weight.

The first day ended with the anticipated announcements of the winners for the Cat Fun Show Competition. There were 8 different categories with 5 prizes up for grabs in each category: 3 consolation prizes and the 3^rd, 2^nd and 1^st prizes. The winner for the “Guess the weight of the cat” contest was also revealed. It was past 10pm when I reached home, and my feet and back were complaining, not that I blamed them, and I had to be at The Spring Shopping Mall, Kuching, again the next day.

The programme for the second day of the show was quite similar to the previous day; with the exception that the judge on Sunday was Dr. Nicholas, a vet from Kuching, to preside over the Cat Fun Show Competition. There was no Cat Fancy Dress Contest; but the Guess the Weight of the Cat Contest was held again, with a different cat, a pedigree Scottish Fold, being chosen as “it”. Apparently, the contest had gained popularity overnight as a lot more people participated.

The new activity on Sunday was a Kids Cat Colouring Contest for children aged from 7-9 years old organized by The Spring Shopping Mall, Kuching. There were a total of 18 children who participated, with 6 prizes to be won, worth from RM50 to RM200 in cash vouchers and gift hampers. The second day ended once more with the awaited announcements of the winners for the Cat Fun Show Competition for 8 categories as well as the winner for the Guess the Weight of the Cat Contest.

I stayed on after the show to assist with the clearing of the cages and partitions. It had been a tiring 2 days, not only for the organizing team, judges, presenters, cat owners, but also the cats themselves. However, I would gladly lend a helping paw in the next cat show in Kuching, Sarawak, because such events provided a win-win situation for all parties involved, and also created better awareness of our feline friends.

Among those participating at the RWCB, which was held in conjunction with the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) 2011, were four entrepreneurs sponsored by the Women’s Bureau of the Chief Minister’s Department.

The group’s representative Amal Hussain said this was the first time they participated in RWCB and they were thrilled to bits with the response from festival-goers.

“There are always customers at our booths and tourists just love our local handicrafts,” he said.

Amal said that he and his female friends did not want to miss the good business opportunity provided by the Women’s Bureau to promote their goods.

Among items sold at the bazaar were ceramics, traditional costume jewellery from various local ethnic groups and cakes.

“Most of the things we sold were purchased by foreign tourists because they said they wanted something that reflects the beautiful Sarawak culture.”

Local entrepreneurs sponsored by Women’s Bureau yesterday were Kecobong Qurnia Resources (accessories), Noorhajiah Osman (keringkam), Sarawak Indian Women Association (henna art) and Borneo Ceramic (ceramic-based products).

Besides local entreprenuers, RWCB was also participated by entrepreneurs from Africa, Sabah and Indonesia.

At its final day yesterday, exhibition and product booths were packed with visitors. Everyone seemed to be rushing for pottery, airbrush tattoo, food and drinks and even the dance workshops.

Source: http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/07/11/rainforest-world-craft-bazaar-continues-to-shine/

I found this absolutely beautiful song by our Greatest Malaysian singer, Dato Siti Nurhaliza.

Enjoy!!!