Sarawak Day 1 (23 October 2008)

Before I recount my trip, I would like to explain a few things. Caleb and I were originally not supposed to go as this trip was Jinxgirl's educational school trip to Sarawak. However, after Jinxgirl's form teacher, Mrs. Sng, met us, she agreed that we could come along as long as we were checked in with the luggage at the airports.

Secondly, since the night activities were almost as exciting as, if not even more so than the day, I have created separate posts for the 'illegal' night activities. Two hilarious nights of fun and excitement---yay!

On the morning we were to take off, we arrived at the airport early. There was already a whole lot of people there, most of whom are Jinxgirl's classmates. Jinxgirl introduced us to her groupmates: Hope, Ka Ying, Marianne, Athira and Michelle Khoo. Athira was wearing a head dress---part of her religion.

Once on the plane, it was apparent it had NOT been a good idea to fly Silk Air. We encountered a lot of turbulence and there was no in-flight service. In the middle of the flight, there was a sudden 5-second free fall. We started screaming. Then, Ka Ying yelled: "STOP SCREAMING AND SHUT UP!!!!!!"

When we reached the airport in Kuching, Ms. Lim tried to go into the men's toilet!!! Then, at the same time, about 23 of us yelled, "Ms. Lim, that's the MEN'S TOILET!!!" She looked mortified and immediately rushed into the correct toilet. Everybody was staring at her. Oops.

After we left the airport, we went to the Waterfront where we had lunch in a restaurant.

Athira took a picture of Hope, Jinxgirl and Michelle sitting by an enormous iron-cast crocodile by the river after lunch.

In the bus, Jinxgirl pretended to wear a headdress.

Then, we went to the Sarawak Museum where we entered the diverse Kuching history. We learned about the hunting, living, dressing and habits of the people living in Kuching in the past. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos. Sigh.

The next stop was Sara Craft. We learned to make placemats from straw. Jinxgirl did pretty well, considering that she has absolutely no artistic talent.

We had dinner at Top Sport---a small seafood restaurant. Then, we finally left for Merdeka Palace. We had a debrief in the Conference Room and learned to wear the Sarung. Then, we went to the room. To read about our escapade and over-paranoidness that night, read the night post for 23 October 2008.