MADisON_veloCITY: Miao Miao Trip - A Noon In The Museum

Woke up in the early morning on my last day only to find a ticket on my windscreen. It’s just like entering the office after one week posting only to know your colleague is leaving. Shoot. Offence? Parked at a restricted area without displaying parking coupon.

Luckily the penalty was not that pricey as it caused only a few bucks. Well, my girlfriend gave me the Chinese proverbs thingy again, “Just accept the loss of fortune as a sign of evading any body’s harm or injuries”. With basically nothing more to venture around and no more good food hunting, we decided to visit the places which our GPS labeled as “attraction” in the vicinity. It landed us at

Charles Brooke’s Museum.

Textile Museum.

General Post Office Museum

And basically any museums just to make full use of the car we had. From finding the longest roundabout signboard name (driver will get killed if they ever attempt to read the full name of it) to hunting down the renowned Fort Margherita. Yes. Hunt. That’s the correct word. Even with GPS, it won’t pinpoint you to this landmark. So, we decided to take a detour and gave ourselves a try on the boat ride crossing the Sarawak River. Inside the boat we managed to have a quick chat with the locals who told us that the Fort Margherita is just nearby. Soon, after reaching the opposite site of the river, the paddler offered us a ride to Fort Margherita using the dock which the locals normally used.

Sometimes we just need to do like the local to be a local. We reluctantly agreed to his offer. With him powered his engine, he soon navigated against the current to that “dock”. Before that, I must have a special mention on the engine he had modified you see. There is a raffia string attached to his driver seat which can turn the engine on and off. I was amazed with his modification work. You see I was in Indonesia to some pavement testing work using our generator-powered machine. Yet, I still need to get out from my car to start or off the generator. The way this paddler altered was like a smack on the heads for us. Complicated thing can be made looked so straightforward sometimes.

Anyhow, upon reaching the dock, I was flabbergasted to find the route leading to the fort. It was filled with shrub. With me wearing short pants and slippers and no one around, I decided to take a back turn. Instead, we walked to the other side of the fence and went straight to the Sarawak State Parliament Building “illegally”.

My one penny worth advice. When you trespassed into someone’s garden just pretend to be a lost tourist. With camera on one hand, pretend to take some photos to avoid being nabbed by the guard. The last thing you need is to wave to the guard as if you are the relatives of the parliament members.

Feeling cheated and disgruntled, we decided to give our GPS another try. This time it was leading us to an uncharted road. At one junction, it ordered me to turn into a path that was blocked with heavy bushes. If I were to walk, definitely I will make a U-turn. But since I’m at the comfort side inside the car, we decided to give it try. After passing through the towering bushes, the majestic building of Fort Margherita stood right in front of us. The presence of the guard there ensured us that we are on the right track.

When we took a real closer look at this so-called attraction in Kuching, I was taken aback. The picture above says it all.

After all the GPS, boat ride, got cheated into a jungle trail, trespassing the parliament building, bypass the security officer, GPS again, and wading through the bushes, all we got was just a small old structure except that the paint has betrayed the real age of the building. With no proper signboard and car park, how on earth can one person ever get to go there if not of someone with high perseverance like me us. Completed in 1880, Fort Margherita commands a strategic position along the Sarawak River. The position of the fort had been carefully chosen, this being the most advantageous point from which to defend the town from possible attack those days.