When we were back in San Jose, we had friends whose kids were all the same age as ours. In the Bay Area, there are lots of choices for birthday party venues for young kids, like My Gym in Campbell, Pump It Up in Sunnyvale or even Lemos Farm in Half Moon Bay. Those were some really fun experiences.
However, we’ve not really found a lot of birthday venue options for our kids here in Kuching, especially as they approach late childhood-tween years.
Last year, we threw a birthday party for Esther at our place, but catered and organized by McDonald’s. This year, we actually held the party at McDonald’s. (Please don’t hate us!) Our kids are growing a bit older now, and parties at McD’s or KFC are just too boring for them.
Where can 10 year-old kids go for a fun birthday party in Kuching?
Well, we’ve found something that is up to their speed.
Take a walk on the semi-wild side of Sarawak, and come face-to-face with some “men of the forest” – the endangered orangutan of Borneo.
Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve wanted to see orangutans. These graceful, red-haired great apes of the forest captured my imagination. The closest I actually came to seeing one was when we visited the San Diego Zoo. Clyde, the giant grandfather orangutan, sat quietly (and forlornly, I thought) with his back up against the glass enclosure. It was kind of a deflating experience for me.
So I was quite excited to find out from my coworkers that there was a nature preserve quite near to Kuching where you could go see orangutans. The best part about it is, it’s not a zoo where the animals are kept captivity behind bars or cages. These orangutans are free to roam the forest park! It’s actually the humans that are penned in.
We take a walk down some of the most colorful streets in Kuching.
Last year, with Annie and the kids off in KL for a short trip and me all alone, our good friend Mike invited me to join him down to the Kuching waterfront for some breakfast and wandering.
Continuing our visit to the Sarawak Cultural Village at Damai, Kuching. The next act of the Cultural Show was the Penan blowgun hunter dance. He was pretty fierce looking, especially when he pointed it at certain audience members
