Yes! You can do it! My friend and I are living proof that you can cover Kuching city (North and South) in 48 hours, or more accurately, 2 days.
My secondary school classmate came for a very short holiday (ok, it was my fault too because I could not get leave on Monday). I am a spontaneous person and I don't really do a lot of planning beforehand, but I must say... both of us were rather pleased with the places we managed to cover within such a short span of time.

Day 1-Reservoir Park, Old Musuem, Padang Merdeka, Riverside Waterfront, Kuching South City Council, Padungan, Cat Statute, Tun Salahuddin Bridge, Wisma Bapa Malaysia, DUN, DBKU, Cat Musuem, Song Kheng Hai hawker centre, main Bazaar, Hock Lee Centre, Little Jade teapot house.

hen my friend (Mey) arrived at Kuching airport on Friday night, she was famished... so I suggested to my dad that we go out for supper at the open-air market near Main Bazaar. For your information the open-air market is one of the places to get good food after 10pm. It is open until 2-3am and therefore you can  be assured that night owls will never go hungry. :) The downside is that parking is an absolute nightmare. There are very limited parking spaces available, and usually most people resort to parking on the roadsides. Food is really nice and the owners of the stall know us pretty well, so yeah... if you do come over, you know who to look for ok? (hint hint)

On Saturday morning, we had "dim sum" in a coffee shop near my house and then proceeded to the Reservoir Park. The park is very popular among tourists as it has a historical monument and the old musuem is just next to it. There is also a gazebo housing one of Kuching's oldest ais kacang and belachan beehoon stall. I remember eating there as a kid. Thats how long it has been :)

Took some pictures of the fountain leading up to the monument as well as the beautifully landscaped gardens. There is also an aquarium nearby if you are interested.

We did not stay long at the park due to bad weather (it was beginning to drizzle). So I drove past the Padang Merdeka (yes we have one too!), past the old courthouse (which is now the office of Sarawak Tourism Board) and turned right into Main Bazaar. This is the oldest part of Kuching city, which has been well preserved. On your left you can see the Sarawak River and the Riverside Waterfront, a pedestrian walk along the river bank complete with restaurants, tropical plants, a music fountain and halfway along the walk, a chinese history museum (previously the office of the chinese chamber of commerce). Directly across the chinese history museum you can see the "Tua Pek Gong" temple which is erected on a small hill. The temple overlooks the Sarawak River and everyday hundreds of devoted deities come and offer their prayers.

Further down the Riverside Waterfront you will see the poshest hotels in town, i.e. Hilton, Holiday Inn, Riverside Majestic etc. There are three major shopping centres along this stretch, i.e. the Sarawak Plaza, Parkson Grand and the Tun Jugah Shopping Centre.

I drove past the three shopping centres into Abell Road and made a right turning into Jalan Padungan. For your information, Padungan is one of the earliest shopping streets in Kuching. Some shops here have been open for at least 50 years. My grandfather used to own a shop here in the early days until he sold it off. The architecture of the buildings are preserved and shopowners are only allowed to renovate the interior of their shops.

You will be greeted by the famous White Cat Statute of Kuching at the entrance to Padungan Road, which is a must see statute for new comers to Kuching. Depending on your luck, the cat will either be dressed according to upcoming festivals/ simply stark naked. Since Chinese New Year is around the corner, the cat was dressed up in red. Very cute.

Right... next stop Kuching South City Council, the administrative centre for city of
Kuching South. The building has a rather distinctive architecture and looks like a bell. The city council is scenic with beautiful "canna" flowers and a man-made lake next to it.

Having seen the sights of Kuching city south, we headed towards Tun Salahuddin bridge, the second link between Kuching City North and City South. This is also the only bridge in Kuching which has a toll system. RM1.50 per entry. And one more thing... my brother designed the toll system... GLOATS

Upon arrival at Kuching City North we saw the building that I work in (yikes). The administrative hub of the State government...NOT going in there when its a non-working Saturday. Anyway, the State Legislative Assembly building is just directly opposite my workplace.

Enough of that already... I took Mey to the Cat Museum in the Kuching City North Council building. For your information, the Cat Musuem was declared the first musuem to house cat artefacts in Malaysia... hence its name was recorded in the Malaysian Book of Records *GLOATS*.

The last time I went to the Museum was in 1998. Thats how long its been. Strangely enough, one does not see the need to visit places of interest in the vicinity... unless some friend/relative comes from overseas and we obligingly take them on a tour. :) Frankly speaking, I was not too impressed with the collection of cat artefacts in the museum... but my friend quite liked it. The best part of course, is that admission is free.

We spent about 1 hour in the museum and thereafter I took Mey to the Song Kheng Hai hawker centre for a drink. Coconut and sugar cane mix. Delicious I tell you. One of its kind. The owner of the stall claims that he can mix any type of drink for you. You only have to ask.

In the afternoon Mey wanted to get some souvenirs. So I brought her to Main Bazaar where all the souvenir shops are located. Very important tip: Dont buy from the first shop. Walk all the way and compare prices before you actually decide to make your purchase. And remember to bargain fearlessly... because the businessmen here want to make profits. High profits. You dont want that, do you?

Ah... by the time we finished attacking all the shops we were both pretty tired... so we had dinner at the Little Jade Teapot house before heading home. Oh... and developed the pictures at Hock Lee centre.

Day 2- Pottery factory, Buntal seafood village, Santubong beach resort, Damai beach resort, Damai lagoon, Camp Permai, Sarawak Cultural Village.

On the second day I took Mey to the pottery factory located about 10 minutes away from my house. For your information, Sarawak is famous for its pottery depicting ethnic patterns. There are 5 main pottery factories in Kuching. If you are really interested in ethnic art and culture, I would recommend visiting one of these factories. It gives you an insight of the rich culture of the ethnic groups in Sarawak.

In the afternoon my father treated all of us to seafood lunch at Buntal Village. Buntal village is about 20km away from town and is home to the best seafood restaurants in Kuching. The dining experience is authentic in that you enjoy the sea view as you dine... simply divine. We had crabs, prawns, fish, "bidim", clams etc... wah! I really enjoyed myself. :P

After that we went for a brief tour of the seafront resorts, i.e. Santubong Beach resort (owned by the timber tycoon Tan Sri Ting Pek Khiing), Damai Beach Resort, Damai Lagoon, Camp Permai and the Sarawak Cultural Village. You usually find a lot of tourists in this area, although locals do come once in a while for a weekend break. Feels like the Batu Ferringhi area in Penang actually.

And of course, I had to treat Mey to our local favourite.. mee kolok! The trick is to go for stalls which sell hand made noodles. Those really taste good. Fortunately for me the best tasting kolok mee in town is quite near my house. =)

And after all that food... it was time for Mey to go home... what a pity she couldnt stay on longer. But she promised to visit me again. Then... we can go for Sarawak Laksa! Yummy...

Postlude: I reckon I could be a part time tour guide and earn some bucks taking people around town... pretty good don't you think? :)