Friends in Kuching

My primary objective of visiting Kuching was to meet up with friends some of whom I have not seen for over forty years.

My MU Fifth College mate, Nan Ping whom I contacted before the trip managed to get two other friends for a reunion dinner at Kuching Club House on 6 November 2018, Ha Ting Leong and Fong Vui Kiong.

From left: Me, Fong Vui Kiong, Sun Nan Ping, Ha Ting Leong,

Nan Ping's wife, Vui Kiong's wife and my wife.

Taken on 6 Nov 18 at Kuching Club House after the dinner.

Nan Ping is one of the uni friends whom I meet up comparatively more often. The last encounter was on 14 July 2018 at the 70th birthday celebration of another ex-5th collegian, Lai Kui Len, a Sabahan in KK. Nan Ping, one of the active chatters in the 5th Collegian Chat Group has recently been noticeably quiet. From my recent chat with him in Kuching, I discovered the reason why he has been rather quiet - "I just need to spend as much time as possible with my fast growing grandson. That window of opportunity is fast disappearing". What he said is indeed true. This is a "concern" of almost every grandfather!

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7 July 2018 - At the wedding banquet of Paul Ha's son.
From left: Chiam Khoon Swee, a MU Civil engineering
course mate from Sarawak and Ting Leong at right.

Another friend whom I met that night is Ha Ting Leong, a Sarawakian who did electrical engineering in the same engineering faculty in MU in the 70's with me. We last met in KL at the wedding banquet of his nephew. The bridegroom's dad, Paul Ha is a civil engineering course mate of mine and the younger brother of Ting Leong.

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The high point of the dinner in Kuching was meeting up with Fong Vui Kiong whom I have not seen for over forty four years. During my entry year to MU in 1973, he and I were staying in the same block (Block D) in 5th College. Being east Malaysians (somehow east Malaysians tend to be more comfortable with each other), we had spent many occasions together, one of which was visiting Zoo Negara in Selangor.

True to his spirit of adventure, he together with his wife now spends a significant amount of his time in travelling. 

1973 at Zoo Negara.

1973 at a lake side in Zoo Negara.

The next day after the reunion dinner, Fong and his wife offered to spend an afternoon with us. He started off by inviting us for lunch followed by a driving tour around Kuching city. He was particularly proud to show us some of the iconic buildings and old colonial buildings still being used in Kuching.

Another surprise was to discover that Fong's wife in fact grew up in Tawau, Sabahan. She was born in Sarawak but the family moved to settle down in Tawau when she was still very young.

At the lunch, we also met by chance Fong's in-law
(mother of Fong's son-in-law).

Sarawak Museum - unfortunately, the museum has been 
closed since 23 October 2018 and will remain closed for
one and a half  years for repair and conservation work.

Natural History Museum.

Main post office building, built in 1931.

South Kuching City Hall.