KUCHING: Every year on July 22, Sarawak celebrates its independence. Being a public holiday, many activities will be taking place across the state.
This week alone, Sarawak flags have been distributed and seen hoisted in preparation for the special day. New Sarawak Tribune caught up with three foreign couples for their experience so far.
Tobias and Anna, aged 37 and 33 respectively, said they were on an eight-day trip to Kuching.
Recalling their trip to Bako National Park, the couple from Austria said they were treated to a breath-taking view and had the opportunity to witness a beautiful sunset. “People here are friendly and helpful too.”
Australian couple, Ollie and Gabbie, aged 25 and 22, also expressed their huge love for Sarawak and the whole of Borneo.
The two made headlines in several online portals, including UK’s Daily Mail Video Facebook account, for eating a gigantic ‘pisang tanduk’ that garnered around 1.3 million views. The couple’s Instagram account, o.g.imagery follower count now stands at 14.4 thousand.
Speaking about their experience, the couple said Kuching had offered so much adventure during their trip.
“We absolutely love nature and enjoyed visiting Bako National Park as well as Santubong and the orangutans at Semenggoh.”
The couple added that they had met some amazing locals that were very welcoming.
“We made a new friend, whose name is Budi Ariyadi, who showed us around Kuching and even drove us to the airport to catch our flight.
“Everyone we met in Kuching was extremely friendly and helpful.
“The locals helped us catch the right buses and cooked us amazing food such as ‘mee pok’ and the most delicious ‘ayam goreng’ (fried chicken).”
The couple said they could go on forever about how great their experience was, adding “we are already planning our return to Sarawak and feel like we have only scratched the surface or just experience a small amount of what Sarawak has to offer.”
Both of them expressed their gratitude to locals for making them feel like a part of the community.
“You have a great community in Kuching that everyone should be proud to be a part of and we can’t wait to be back.”
Meanwhile, Tanja and Aris, 29 and 28 from Germany, also shared the same sentiments.
“We love the nature the most, it is stunning! And of course, seeing orangutans in the wild was amazing.”
When asked about coming back to Sarawak for another visit, the duo said they would definitely come back and check out other national parks as their previous visit to Sarawak was just too short.
