"We're not in Kuching anymore ToeToe"

"What questions do you have for me about Kuching?" Edward our taxi driver asked. "I am also a tour guide, so you can ask me anything" Tony and I were leaving Borneo for mainland Malaysia and neither of us wanted to go. Everyone was so lovely, the wildlife was life changing and it had stolen a piece of our heart. We knew we'd be back one day.
"No questions really, we just love it!" I answered back, adding: "Everyone is so friendly and kind"
"It's simple really" Edward answered, "Here in Kuching, everyone respects each other. I am Christian, but some people are Muslims, others are Chinese but everyone respects each other. See this traffic? No one is honking their horn, if that person needs to come in, then I let him in. If I need to move lanes, then someone will let me in too. Simple" He was right, there was an air of inclusion here that probably added to our sense of love for this place. He gave a warning as he gave us our bags at the airport. "KL is not like Kuching, everyone is crazy there, so busy, busy"

KL was indeed busy and Tony and I had said numerous times on the flight that we had to snap out of our sleepy Kuching mode as KL was surely going to slap us in the face. Slap us it did. Getting out of the airport we were first hit with touts shouting at us to get taxis or buses, and when our bus did arrive, everyone pushed their way onto it, throwing bags in the luggage compartment with no consideration to those waiting. I found myself elbowing people out of the way to put our bags in, using my body as a physical block to stop people from shoving things in my face. Shocked by the stark contrast, we hopped aboard, knowing that it was taking us to the general vicinity of Chinatown and from there we would have to make our own way. An hour later we arrived in Chinatown the eve of Chinese New Year. Similar to Christmas Eve in Australia, people were madly getting last minute provisions, and the town was heaving. Finding ourselves in the middle of it all by the side of a road with our bags, we paused to check the street address. The traffic was crazy, street food was smoking on charcoals, Chinese homes were busy burning things to start their year afresh and Tony and I started laughing. It was the laughter of absolute resignation and shared understanding that we were now clearly NOT in Kuching anymore and we had to start getting our

bearings quickly. With 98% humidity and a 32 degree day, it didn't take both of us long to decide to pack it in and get a cab. Thank god they were honest as it turned out we had actually been dropped at the beginning of our street so with daypack on our front and big bags behind, we started to cross the 6 lanes with moving traffic in each way. Having lived in Thailand for over two years, I know now that pedestrian crossings mean nothing and if you keep walking, traffic dodges you. And dodge it did. Dragging our bags through potholes, around homeless sleeping men and past hawker stalls we arrived at our little hotel or what we shall now call our oasis. Despite being a windowless room, they had put curtains where windows should be, we had fluffy white towels and a big queen bed with hot water. Luxury! We also were slap bang in the middle of Chinatown where so many interesting places were located. A quick walk around the block gave us perspective to where we were and we both fell into a deep sleep, with neither sunlight nor street noise to disturb us.
The next day was an organising day-finding our way to the train station and then to the bus stations to

book our tickets to Melaka and to Pulau Pangkor. There was a brilliant one: TBS which was new and super efficient with waiting areas for the various bus platforms and a food court with clay pots, which Tony has become somewhat addicted to.
Having swapped nature for car fumes, I was dying to get back into some greenery so we walked to the Botanical gardens , breathing in the space and nature, retreating into a butterfly park for some essential soul care. Relaxing with these wonderful creatures flying gently around, we were beginning to settle into KL and work out where things were, finally transitioned from our beloved Borneo.