Exploring Kuching – Meow

I had a few days to explore Kuching before the port called in to informed that Bluey was ready to be collected. It was touchdown from a local domestic flight in Kuching airport which was so weird since I realized that I had not fly domestic for a very long time.

Cat Monument in Kuching

Kuching Riverside 

Never being to Borneo before, I had no idea what to expect but image and perception still formed in my dreamy state and I tot it was going to be a metropolis like JB or Penang of sort. Kuching was a hidden Gem .... within a few days exploring I decided this was a good place to retire if only there was no weird restriction for Malaysian within Malaysia.

It was also a city like no other in Malaysia. Rustic like Malacca, modern like Putrajaya yet bustling like Selangor with all the big shopping centers scattered around the outskirts of the city center while retaining a charm that was unique such as a wide river cutting the city in half with river still having paddle taxi boats to ferry people across for RM 2.

Kim Joo Sarawak Kolo Mee

Downtown Photography Competition in Kuching

Downtown Kuching Heritage 

Little India - Kuching

By chance I happened to be there during the Kuching Food Festival which showcase all the food in Malaysia in like a big Pasar Malam (Night Market) and while it was still a normal event that we usually see everywhere in Malaysia, the people was definitely different. For once, knowing 3 languages and a few dialects was not enough for me to eavesdrop on people conversation. There was so many new colors of languages being spoken especially those vendors that come from outside Kuching to setup their stalls.

Kuching Riverfront 

Boatman Taxi 

Kuching City

Bridge across Kuching River 

I really came to enjoy Kuching, especially since I was shopping almost all my camping gear and road gear for Bluey. I was worried it would not have some of the niche gears but Kuching while retaining its rustic beauty still has enough people running through that many niche item that would only be seen in large capital cities was also available albeit requiring a bit of hunt.

Traveled on: Jul 2019

The Part Time Gig While on a Break from my Holiday ....

Ended the long loop of nearly 5 months from Thailand -> Cambodia -> Thailand -> Laos -> Thailand -> Cambodia -> Thailand and I was back to KL.

I had some new planning to do but basically had time to burn for a month while waiting for the next adventure to kick start in Borneo. Bluey was en-route shipping to Kuching and I could only wait.

After sitting at home for a week I was bored to death and decided to try driving GRAB for fun to burn time and earn some pocket money. Better than just burning away money everyday on food and entertainment, might as well drive a little and explore my own hometown Kuala Lumpur while getting paid to do it.

Registration with GRAB was quit easy online and once done I had to go to the main HQ in PJ to get the documents verified. First time I went there it was not accepted since the car was under mom’s name and they needed another letter self written and sign by mom like a consent letter to allow me to drive the car since the insurance cover already specified all drivers.

Two days later I got the letter after some messages with Bro in SG since mom was in SG and back to the GRAB HQ I went. The whole procedure was quite fast other than waiting in line for half an hour to get a queue number.

So apparently the rules are changing ... soon all drivers will need a PSV license which is like a taxi license and a medical check up and cars above 3 years of age must undergo Puspakom inspection every year but for now I could drive till July 2019 ... which was just nice since I only plan to drive till July exactly one month.

My hands itch to start right away but I decided to go home first and do some reading up. Tidy the car and remove any unwanted junk and by 2pm I decided to give it a go.

The GRAB driver experience was kinda fun. To be a tourist in my own city and get paid to do it. Most jobs on the first day was just ferrying people from the housing estate to the MRT station then back to the housing estate. I ended up getting jobs to and fro from home and kept going home to chill while waiting for the next job. Small jobs ... RM 5 minimum to around RM 8 for two hours in the afternoon it clocked RM45 which was quite decent.

Then in the evening 5pm I tried again to see how peak hour goes. Got a job to the MRT again and immediately another job came in to another housing estate and another and another and suddenly I was near leisure Mall in Cheras.

Whoa ... It was non stop driving picking up passengers and dropping them off one after another with no breaks in between. I decided to stop the app and it was already 8pm ... 3 hours of driving ...

So first day was a total of 5 hours of driving with RM 100 earning ... minus commissions of RM 20 and minus petrol which was about RM 30 ... left with RM50 .... err .... so that's like a RM10 an hour job to equate.

2nd day was a Saturday and i drove today for 6 hours with more or less the same results but clocking 100km. I could start to see the pattern ... it is very much a crazy driving job non stop really with no breaks unless one turn off the app stopping incoming job.

The fun part was just driving all around KL city seeing all my childhood growing up places passing by so many old buildings that brings back memories which I wont event make the journey if not for GRAB since driving all the way downtown just to see old buildings and finding parking was a pain in the ass.

Some rides were weird as well ... one lady took a grab for less than 500m away. From Sunway Velocity Shopping Mall to MyTown Shopping mall .. both shopping mall is actually connected via a walking linkway and I was driving alongside the linkway ...*facepalm* ... the lady said the ride was free for her since she had a promo code ... I got the minimum sum of RM 5 and when it was time for her to go she still gave me a tip of RM6 .... err ....

One guy I picked up at Balakong MRT wanted to go to a restaurant that was 50m from the MRT ... new kid in the block did not know where it was so he ordered a GRAB ... so I brought him 50m to the restaurant via a 300m road ...(It was a one way street so I had to do a U-turn) .... I was laughing and he was facepalming all the way and at the drop point I told him how to walk back to the MRT to go home later with both of us having a good laugh.

One tourist couple in downtown KL ordered a ride to the famous Tian Hou Gong Temple in brickfields and it has been years since I visited this temple so after dropping them off, I also parked the car and paid my respects to the temple taking a break from driving and just relaxing .... half an hour later when I launch the App again, they were the first order on Job. Oh Hello again !!

Tian Hou Gong Temple - Kuala Lumpur

I have to say, to make a living with GRAB in Malaysia is definitely not an easy task despite what the advert says nor base on the long queue of many drivers signing up hoping to make a killing. Base on some complaints of people trying to make a killing driving GRAB and failing to do so, i would say its really more suitable for a side income booster or a part time hobby than a permanent job however one thing is for certain, its an honest work. Put in the hours on the road for the money.

Traveled on : Jun 2019

Last Stop Phuket

Its funny in a way that the last place for me to visit truly in Thailand before ending the motorcycle loop would be Phuket. I have never been to Phuket truly. I mean yea long time ago I was dragged to Phuket as a driver to deliver a car for my cuz but that trip was so short we barely seen anything of Phuket. Not a true exploration but like a minor tease and go type of stop.

This time I could really soak in the heart of Phuket, not like a tourist in some random Chinatown street in the world but as a more slower lingering passerby that could see beyond the momentary fun of a holiday destination but the cranks behind the wheel that turns and makes a holiday destination alive.

Old Downtown Phuket 

My Cuz in Phuket .... Ice Cream as the first stop before planning where to visit. 

My cute adorable cousin (half Thai / half Malaysian) that also always with a twinkle of mischiefs in her eye picked me up the next day from my hostel in downtown Phuket. Yep, I had a local guide in Phuket, but as much as Phuket was her home for years, I ended up exploring mostly with Bluey during the day as she worked.

A very old traditionally Hokkien Noodle Soup Shop in Downtown Phuket

Hokkien Noodle Soup - Thailand Style 

First stop was as usual food. One that intrigued me when I saw the signboard in English saying best Hokkien Noodle Soup in Phuket. I don't know if it was the best but it was good and totally different from the expectation of a Hokkien Noodle soup from Malaysia or Singapore. 

Ride Along the Scenic Loop of Phuket

Ride Along the Scenic Loop of Phuket 

Ride Along the Scenic Loop of Phuket

I spend most of the time riding around Phuket of course with Bluey. I was running low on the budget for spending and seeing the rental price of scooters to go around make my smile on how cheap it was to explore Phuket this way. 

All the major temples ... the highest point in Phuket for a view, round the coastal road going to the southern most tip of Phuket. The forest road cutting through from the famous Patong Beach to the unvisited west side of Phuket. 

I changed my view of Phuket after a few days exploring. I used to think that it would be a bad retirement getaway with so much tourist and entertainment but in reality, Phuket Island is so huge that most of the hype was only focused on Patong Beach. There was so much more to Phuket to offer as long as one had their own set of wheels 

Mini Tourist Attraction along the Scenic Loop Viewpoint. A Picture with an Eagle.

A View from the Temple on the Hills of Phuket 

The Main Road to Patong City - Phuket 

Traveled on: Apr 2019