Sarawak Trip Day Two

We detoured to Gunung Gading National Park, hoping to see Rafflesia on 28.12.2014. By the time we started our hike, the rain was pouring. We were caught in a heavy rain. As a result we all got wet.

One of the best places to spot a Rafflesia is in Gunung Gading National Park. Entrance to the Park costs RM10 for adults, children are RM5 or free if less than 6 years of age.

Lots of climbing up steep,slippery and wet steps to get to the top.  A trip to Gunung Gading may be incomplete without catching the rare sight of the blooming Raffesia.

To trek through the jungle to where the Rafflesia thrives, you need to engage the services of a guide. A guide for the Rafflesia walk costs RM30. We were glad to see the full life cycle of the flowering in its various stages of development.

Our tour guide took us off the plank walk into the forest. We saw the rotten aftermath of these flowers as well as the younger buds. Rain started to shower on us and we felt the journey became more difficult.

We spotted a bud that will become rafflesia. 

Finally we arrived at our final stop. It is especially difficult to locate the flower in forests as the buds take many months to develop into the flower. The flower wasn't as big as dad and mom were expecting either.

You will regret if you do not make your trip to this national park and have a picture with this giant flower before leaving from Kuching. It was only a short visit but well worth it. The photo was a bit blurry due to rain.

Firstly we went to the Serikin Market and afterwards continued on to Gunung Gading. Serikin is a village which located boarder of Malaysia and Indonesia (Kalimantan). 80 km from Kuching city. Serikin is best visited either in the earlier part of the morning or late in the afternoon.

Serikin is not really small. There are a few hundred stalls selling all manners of goods like clothings, trinkets, mattress, curtain, stove, sea shell decorative items, fake designer watches, belts, bags and many exotic tropical fruits. As this is border town, makes this place unique.

It is a popular weekend destinations among locals and tourist. Bargaining skill is very important when you buy goods at this market. Mostly the owner of this shops and stalls come from Indonesia.

Wei Cong and his mother also joined our trip. Since they believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior, they live a happy, Christ-centered life. Dear girls, christians experience real joy and happiness in their life.

Great place for shopping for anything under the sun. Plenty of stalls selling souvenirs, local snacks and delights.

Serikin Weekend Market is synonymous for its cheap handicrafts and also colourful fabric.

A stall selling crafts made from sea shell. Hand crafted giraffes are very unique.

Do not forget to buy one or two souvenirs for someone special or even for yourself as remembrance.

We never forgot to stop by a stall and grabbed a pack of nasi lemak.. After a long walk, we were hungry. We also bought some goreng pisang. Goreng pisang is a filling and tasty snack to have in between meals.

We went woship at Blessed Chapel古晋蒙福教会 at 6.30pm. The 2nd service on Sunday starts at 6:30pm in (Mandarin and English).

Pastor Lim Gee Tiong 林义忠. Full Time Senior Pastor of Blessed Church Kuching 古晋蒙福教会全职主任牧师. He is`also a Chinese Malaysian international composer-singer with albums. 

GT Lim has written close to 500 songs and released 18 personal albums to date, including both Mandarin and Hokkien albums.

We were shivering in the air-conditioning hall. Wet clothing caused us to lose body heat more quickly and felt chilled. We requested some dry clothing to cover our neck. It can protect our lungs from extreme cold.

Pre-recorded Live weekly bulletin.

Yahweh-Jireh: "The Lord Will Provide", – the name memorialized by Abraham when God provided the ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac. Girls, "Yahweh, He is God; there is no other besides Him." Deuteronomy 4:35.

We left the church at around 8.20pm. We were going to have our dinner as our stomach rumbled loudly. Girls, although we were tired and exhausted from the long journey, we all agreed that it was worth it.