Eventually we found what we were looking for, the secret sanctuary
boutique hotel. Now this name does not at all accurately portray
exactly what this place was like. Essentially it was a converted home
owned by a Chinese buddhist, who continued to buy the properties
around his home and further convert them into rooms in his “hotel”.
As you arrive you must open two doors with big metal hoops, once you
open the doors you are standing on a boardwalk surrounded by
waterfalls with carp fish swimming all around you, and yes this is inside
his home. You are instructed by the strange buddhist man to take off
your shoes and leave them at the “front door”, he then offers you a
chilled drink from the bar (also built into his home along with a
restaurant which shall be mentioned later) and shows you to your room.
Our room was right at the back of the property, and so when we were
lead there via the pool area, which included a fish spa, in which you can
sit and have fish nibble the dead skin cells off you (apparently very
good for your skin) for a price of 9 Malaysian ringgit (about 3 dollars).
When we arrived at our room we were pleasantly surprised. On the
lower level there stood, perhaps the largest jacuzzi I have ever seen,
and from there you had to climb a ladder to reach the sleeping area
upstairs. The sleeping area was made of bamboo and the beds where
mattresses (also made of bamboo) covered with bright purple and
orange bed sheets, not that you use them in the sweltering heat
anyway.
Once we had freshened up, we headed down to the “restaurant” for
dinner. Never have a tried such a weird array of dishes in my life. We
started with a native fern cooked in olive oil and garlic, they looked
exactly like the ferns you might find in your back garden, and I’ll admit
it was extremely hesitant to try them at first, but they were amazing,
and there have been many times since i’ve been back, that I have
pondered picking some ferns from the garden and frying them in garlic
(I resisted though don’t worry). We then moved on to another dish, and
to this day I have absolutely no idea what it was, all I know is that it
some form of uncooked fish, and I wasn’t really the biggest fan.
I could go on about my unusual experiences in kuching for pages, but
what I really wanted emphasis in this article, is the fact that without
taking a chance on something crazy, you could miss some of the
greatest opportunities life has to offer, just like I would of if it hadn't
have been for my mum and her crazy sense of adventure. So I
encourage you, when planning a trip, make the most of a crazy
opportunity.
Jessica Hall
Pg 17