This post is part 2 of our family trip yesterday. My little family and I went to have a short boat ride at Kuching Waterfront right after we came back from visiting the Cat Museum.

Kuching Waterfront is a popular tourist spot that lines the south bank of Sarawak River. At daytime it offers view of Fort Margherita, the Astana, the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly building and also the Malay villages along the riverbank. The Waterfront is a favorite place to hang out in the evening because that is the time the various food stalls, restaurants and entertainment facilities open for business.

The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly building

Areas around the Waterfront

One of restaurants at the Waterfront - James Brooke Bistro & Cafe

Since our main intention was to bring the kids for a short boat ride, we didn't really explore the place but went straight to one of the jetties, Pangkalan Haji Omar. Perahu tambang or river cab is use by the locals to cross from one side of the river to the other since it is a faster way to commute than traveling by road. Many of the locals who are staying at the villages along the riverbank use this river cab for work purposes. There are two types of river cab - manually paddled and using outboard engine. Manually paddled boats have cheaper fee - MYR0.30/person.

This trip was the first boat ride for my kids and of course they were super excited.

Getting ready for the boat ride

Two happy faces in the boat

...and off we go!

Views along the riverbank - two 5-star hotels - The Hilton and The Riverside Majestic

It was a very short ride but the happy expression on my kids faces were priceless. Children don't need a lot of fancy things to make them happy and to many of the locals a boat ride like this might be common and ordinary but to us, it was a joyful family time that we wanted the children to remember as long as they live.