Finally he arrived!

A few months ago, Berrie, Lars’ brother, called us. He cautiously mentioned thinking about visiting and asked if we would like that. We did not had to think about this; our answer was a clear yes! Flights were booked and plans were made, so we started counting down. Now it was finally time to go to the airport to pick up Berrie and welcome him to Kuching.

📸: Lars and Berrie finally reunite after months

Lars always had a good relationship with his brother and this was the longest period of time they had not seen each other. I (Andrea) noticed he became a bit nervous as we got closer to the airport. True to Lars’ style, we arrived about half an hour early and spent the whole time waiting in front of the arrival hall. Lars did not take his eyes off the arriving passengers until he finally spotted his brother after a long wait. A big smile appeared on his face and he began to wave enthusiastically. It took a moment for his brother to realize it was Lars waving so energetically, but when he did, his smile was just as big. When he finally reached us, we welcomed him with a big group hug and a “welcome to Kuching“.

Showing Berrie around in the city of Kuching

The next morning, we slept in because Berrie arrived around 2:00 am. Then we went to the city for brunch and to show him the city afterwards.

We started in Chinatown and then walked our way towards the waterfront. At the Waterfront, we first visited the Chinese Heritage Museum. That had two reasons: firstly because the museum itself is nice to see. Secondly, the air conditioning inside the museum was a cool bonus. Finally, we walked along the Waterfront and Berrie noticed how many cat statues were on display. That is how he learned that Kuching is also called the Cat city.

📸: Introducing Berrie to Kuching – also known as the Cat city

Along the Waterfront, there are shops selling a local (well to be fair: more of an Indonesian) delicacy: kek lapis. We stepped into a store and had an extensive tasting session. In addition to being very tasty, it is also convenient as you can choose from more than 20 flavors. After some discussion about which flavor was the best, we let Berrie decide and left with tutty fruity kek lapis. To finish the first day, we walked through Carpenter Street, the main street in Kuching, had a bite to eat and then headed back.

📸: All sorts of delicious kek lapis on display

Berrie’s first ever laksa breakfast

Berrie loves good food, just like us, which is something you can definitely enjoy in Malaysia. Besides that, he also a big fan when it comes to playing boardgames. We might even say he is even more competitive than we are. His conditions for visiting were that we eat well and play games while he is here. So, the upcoming days were all about these two activities, although in Kuching, we always eat well.

We started with a Laksa breakfast at King Laksa, the number 6 on our top 7 laksa list in Kuching. The laksa was immediately approved, although Berrie was a bit surprised that this dish is eaten for breakfast. On top of that, I am happy to report that I am not the only one who makes a mess while eating laksa, as Berrie was also splattering everywhere.

In addition to Laksa, we also tried other typical Malaysian dishes like Kolo Mee and Nasi Lemak, which were both well-received. Kolo Mee is Berrie’s favorite so far. Again, we always enjoy the Kuching food and luckily, so does Berrie. If you have any tips on where we should eat or which dish we should try, we would love to hear it.

Showing our competitive side in the arcade hall

With a full stomach, it was time for Berrie’s other requirement: playing games. We have already experienced that there are various options for this, one of which is the arcade hall. We went there on a weekday, which meant we almost had the whole arcade to ourselves.

We started calmly with a game of basketball where Lars and I made it to the third round and Berrie reached the fourth round. We will not mention that Berrie got lucky with the machine that gave him points just for hitting the basketball hoop instead of throwing the ball through the hoop. Next, we moved onto a round of shooting aliens where Lars got the high score in the first round and surprisingly, I got it in the second round. What was pretty cool to this machine, was that the guns had ‘actual’ drawback of firing.

📸: Thumbs up for having a great time at the arcade hall and winning some tickets

After playing a few other games, we finally gathered enough courage to approach a kind of dance machine. On that machine, you had to press the indicated spots in rhythm with the music. It sounds easier than it is. These machines are often occupied by real professionals who come with earphones for better sound quality and wear gloves to slide more smoothly over the screen. The hands of these pro’s move across the screen so quickly that we can hardly follow them with our own eyes. It always looks super cool, which is why we wanted to try it too. Fortunately for us, it was also possible to set the machine to an easier level.

We started at level 2 and managed quite well, so we decided to try level 3. That is when the chaos started. Suddenly, a lot was happening at once and we had to press a lot and very quickly in succession. Though our hands flew over the screen, the scores showed we definitely need more practice. At least for Lars and me because Berrie seemed to be doing fine. People watching us must have enjoyed it due to our frequent panic streams, ‘oh no’s, and ‘oh my gods.’ Still, it was good fun and we might try it again later.

Lots of fun at the boardgame café

We have also taken Berrie to one of our favorite spots in Kuching, the board game café. As expected, he got very enthusiastic and the competitor in him immediately emerged.

We played an ‘easy’ game of Jenga to warm up. It took us almost an hour because none of us wanted to lose. We took our time to pick out that one perfect piece which was always more stuck than expected. In the end, Lars was the one who toppled the tower and you could hear Berrie and me shouting “yes!” a bit too loudly.

In the meantime, we have already played several games and believe it or not, so far, I have won almost everything! You might wonder why this is so special. Since I have been in this family (for over 12 years now), we have played an incredible number of games. I can almost count on two hands how many times I have won. So, I am enjoying this moment while it lasts.

A bit of bad luck with the car

To make things a bit easier for ourselves, we rented a car for the time being. We had driven to the board game café. When we were ready to leave, the car would not start. At that moment, we realized the lights had been on the whole time. Bad luck, the battery was dead. We did a walk of shame back into the café to ask if anyone could help us. Several people immediately offered their assistance, giving us hope. A group of handy men came to our aid. They turned out to be engineers who knew exactly what to do. Just five minutes later, the problem was solved. We thanked them kindly, once again marveling at how friendly and helpful everyone here is. It turned out to be a nice end to the evening after all.

What is coming up in the next week

The first few days have flown by and we still have lots of fun activities planned. We have only been in Kuching, so now it is time to explore the surroundings of the city. We are going to do a mini road trip. More about that in the next week blog. If you want to stay up to date on our adventures, follow us on Instagram or Facebook where we post updates daily.

Hi, it's me Andrea. I've written this blog specially for you!

Photo of author Andrea Bottelier

Do you want to know more about me and how I ended up traveling around the globe together with Lars? Have a look at our about us page.

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