Return to Kuching town

Prior to leaving for Bako we had booked into the Merdeka Palace Hotel, although not much more expensive than the previous hotel, it was far superior.  We had a very comfortable room with lovely views over the grassy square known as Central Padang and to a large mosque

The view from our room at the Merdeka Palace Hotel

Christmas decorations in the foyer of the hotel

Alan at the Merdeka Palace Hotel

Alan slept most of the next 24hrs whilst I spent some time wandering around Kuching, through Chinatown and the old Waterfront.  When he was feeling better we unexpectedly  saw some cruising friends, Marilyn and Ray from Horizon, wander past the coffee shop where we were having at drink and arranged to meet up with them later at the Top Spot for dinner.

We met up with Ray and Marilyn a few times over the next couple of days and enjoyed having their company.

After a week in Kuching we were ready to return to Langkawi.  Unfortunately some of the attractions we would like to have done whilst in the area were either too far away to do in a short time, eg a visit to the Longhouses where the Iban people live up the Rejang River, inland from Sibu, or else not the right time of the year, eg. Semonggoh Orangutan Sanctuary because it was the fruit season and the Orangutans do not come down from the trees to be fed.

Once back on Moonfleet we only had a few days before we had flights to Melbourne to stay with our son Steve and his wife Natasha and our very special grandchildren, Ben and Emily.  A few more jobs were tackled before we left – mainly electronics.