Couchsurfing Saturday: Locked Out of My Own Car with BBQ Stuffs in it?

So if by chance I haven't talk about this group of super awesome people that are the Couchsurfers, I'm talking about them now. And if you haven't heard about them, well you heard about them here first!

At least from what I gathered, every major cities in the world has a group of Couchsurfer hosts that will either hang out with travellers, take them out to local hotspots (that are not limited to the popular touristy ones) or even host you for a night or two.

So if you're planning to travel cheap and immerse yourself in the local culture, what better way than to actually meet the locals and have them take you to places! As for myself, I'm part of the Kuching Couchsurfers. Several things to highlight about this group (and generally about all Couchsurfers out there) are: super-friendly and helpful, well informed, non-judgemental and very much welcoming in just about every single way - within respectful boundaries, of course.

And guess what, while you're reading this, you've just missed one of the best gathering of Couchsurfers ever! Last Saturday began with brunch at the famous Mom's Laksa - Tripadvisor recommends (there are several outlets, we went to the one in Jalan Haji Taha). I'll admit it was one of the plans that I didn't expect to commit fully because I was supposed to meet friends but as they cancelled and I was already out and about, I decided to join them anyways.

We took off from Mom's Laksa to get some groceries for the bbq later that same evening where even more Couchsurfers; hosts and travellers, would join up as well. But lemme tell you about the stupid thing I did.. or didn't do.. I did not pick up my car keys from the dashboard after we stowed away about half of the groceries - chicken, hotdogs and veges mostly - in my car. Yeap.. I locked myself out.

After about an hour, a couple of minutes of Youtube instructions and a bit of nylon ropes, we managed to pull the lock off my car - without damaging it or triggering any alarm - and recovered my keys. It was a general consensus that that was some MacGyver sh*t that we pulled off there! So thanks everyone for the support - Kelvin, Teemo, Dee, Jeff, Brett, everyone ^^. And specifically for putting up with my clumsiness!

Next stop was the host - Matnoor - at his awesome place Matang Wildlife Homestay (booking and enquiry link here). It was the perfect venue for evening bbq, karaoke and get together. No neighbours left or right to annoy, right on top of a hill (kinda hard to miss) and just about everything under one roof.

Before the even fell and the last daylight went out, we managed to grab a rather late lunch at Telaga Air. A small and quaint village, we must've been on an incline because my car definitely struggled uphill, sampled the locally fresh made jellyfish umai (look it up, it's really good I recommend you try it yourself if you have the chance) and had coconut shake for dessert. On a hot (but definitely beautiful) dah such as that day, the smooth cold drink definitely quench your thirst.

Then we headed for the beach. Although the tide was low, a couple of us stayed for a swim and the rest - myself included - headed back to the homestay to prep up for the evening bbq. The view was great at the beach. It was literally untouched! Nobody else but us at the beach, the breeze was good, and the weather fine!

Lemme tell you something else I discovered that night - talents. Talents everywhere! There were no lacking of drum players, guitar players, singer/songwriter, bakers (OMG the scones! To die for!!!), IT people to sort out a couple of kinks with the karaoke system (and impromptu background). Hang on did I mention dessert? Jean OMG the cream caramel! Bye bye waistline, I won't miss you anytime soon! Hahaha! Fact: I woke up a little after noon the next day. Two words: Food coma.

There were so oh so many stories told, customs exchanged, differences understood and respected, languages spoken, knowledge learned! It'l like you're abroad in your own place. A huge thanks to the organisers who made it happen - thanks Dee, Kelvin and Matnoor for letting us have one of the best of many many more experiences to come.

If you're coming to Kuching, look us up on the Couchsurfing website; and welcome to Kuching! If you're planning your next trip, keep an eye on the Couchsurfing community at the place you're going. Who knows, you might end up with an experience that'll definitely last a lifetime. And friends too. Lots and lots of friends.