A 11 1/2 bus journey to Kuching

We left Mukah first thing this morning and got on a 7:30am bus to Kuching in preparation for our flight to Indonesia in a few days time. It sure was a long journey with us arriving at 7pm but at least it got all the travelling out of the way. When we arrived at the bus station there were only 2 seats available and they were right at the back, but as this was the only bus going directly to Kuching we decided to just get on, ignoring all of our previous experiences travelling right at the back of old bad suspension buses. It was a ‘luxury V.I.P. bus’ though so only had 3 seats across so we had tons of leg room and the chairs were huge so it wasn’t too bad.

A view of the bus

But as soon as we got going, every bump ensured we left our seats so it was not very comfortable, but we could see the funny side as I almost landed in Chris’ lap a few times and he in mine! When we arrived in Sibu, which was about 4 hours into the trip, we had a 20-minute break and as this was a main stop, many passengers got off, so Chris went and used his charm to get our seats changed to 4 seats up the bus, so just behind the middle. We were both so grateful! However, as soon as we set of, we realised that the air-con unit was leaking just above my head, so just like Chinese water torture apparently. So I continuously was dripped on with ice-cold water for the rest of the journey, and as all the seats had once again been sold, I had no choice but to put up with it.

Chris relaxing

Once in Kuching we tried to get a taxi into town, but they refused to give us a decent price so we went and found a local bus stop to take us, although no one told us there were no buses running in the evening! After about 30 minutes waiting during a thunderstorm, a mini bus pulled off dropping some passengers off so we climbed in, not knowing that he had finished his rounds for the night and was only a private bus, but he kindly took us to town anyway. Then we had a short walk, somehow managed to strike lucky, and find our hostel and we were absolutely drenched through! It was a really nice place though and we had booked 2 dorm beds and when he checked us in, there were only bizarrely 3 beds per dorm room, and it was just the two of us, much much cheaper than getting a double room but just the same! Bargain!

A 11 1/2 bus journey to Kuching

Sibu, Malaysia