Our immediate destination, Kuching, the cat-city, so called because the name means ‘cat’ in the local language.

Dave, Mike and Noa were there to back us up in our escapades and so we struck out.

We arrived from Kuala Lumpur, 9.a.m. a little tired but ready to set out on some adventure.

We spent the first 2 days exploring Kuching and were pleased to find a few gems.

The laid-back river walk, central to the city, was a welcomed change from the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur. By the first night we located The Top Spot Seafood Court as recommended by a few colleagues that had recently visited Kuching.

A line of seafood stalls on top of a central city parking deck proudly displayed prawns, crabs, crayfish, trigger fish, gurame (a popular fish), lobster, a huge array of raw vegetables and the bizarre ‘bamboo clam’. The strange looking, thumb sized bivalve derives its name from the fact that is possesses an elongated green shell that resembles a thin section of bamboo! As soon as I saw those epicurean odysseys, I knew I would have to give ‘em a try!

To get your food you simply wander around and point at what you want and how you want it cooked: fried, steamed, with garlic, with chili sauce or whatever else you can imagine. Soon it’s delivered fresh and steaming hot, a compliment to any cold beer.

The Top Spot served delectable butter prawns and the cheapest beer around. The first night, All five of us stuffed our gullets with prawns, fish, stir-fry vegetables, rice and all the beer we could handle for about US$5 each. The Top Spot turned out to be our nightly ritual, if not for dinner, then for a butter prawn appetizer and more than a few pre-dinner Stella Artois.

After about our 2nd or 3rd visit to The Top Spot I tried the bamboo clams. They weren’t exactly stunning. I was glad to have tried them although I vowed not to do so again.

The Chinese coffee shops, Kopi Tiam, turned out to be one of my favorites. A strong cup of locally grown coffee and a few bits of dim sum steamed fresh to order can’t be beat for breakfast, enough to make me a repeat customer anywhere.

New Years Eve found us in The Royalist and De Tavern, two British style pubs, where we guzzled Tiger beer with the locals and a few expats until the midnight hour struck and sent us stumbling back to our rooms. In the meantime, however, we exploded a few fireworks and slurred a conversation with some Aussies we’d run into later at Bako National Park.