YESTERDAY evening we took a trip to see the Floating Book Fair on board the MV Doulos, which has made its fourth (and perhaps final) visit to Kuching. It arrived at Sim Kheng Hong Port on Thursday, December 11 and will be berthed there until January 2.
Considering the fact that this was probably going to be the last time we'll get to see the ship here, taking our soon to be three-year-old daughter on board the grand dame was a rare and golden opportunity indeed. I took a photo of her in her papa's arms on deck so she can look back when she's older and say that she's been on the historic MV Doulos.
When we got to where the books were, her eyes grew wide open and demands for this book and that book started spilling from her mouth. She wanted EVERYTHING! Our darling little girl loves books and I dare say she loves them more than toys.
The bookshop was full of people pouring over their choice out of the 6,000 titles available. We slowly made our way from shelf to shelf, eyes darting from one book cover to another. There were so many beautifully illustrated childrens books available. It was obvious our little girl had a blast albeit feeling tired and icky from the humidity.
The prices of books ranged between RM2 and RM80. I felt it was reasonably cheap considering they were of good quality. Price lists were made available everywhere for easy referrence. The books were all tagged in "units" so if a particular book was tagged "100 units" meant it costs RM8 based on the given price list.
We initially grabbed an arm load of books for her but in the end got her two storybooks plus a farm theme sheet of reusable stickers (to be wrapped up for her birthday and Christmas prezzies) a colouring book that came supplied with crayons, a Backyardigans easy Sudoku book (she just wants the 200 stickers in it) and a musical Winnie The Pooh book t
hat cost only RM8. Sola got himself a dog care book (don't know why, we don't even own a dog) and I got myself a coffee table book on MV Doulos herself plus a little notebook with an illustration of an adorable basset hound on the cover. We spent exactly RM98 for all the stuff.
hat cost only RM8. Sola got himself a dog care book (don't know why, we don't even own a dog) and I got myself a coffee table book on MV Doulos herself plus a little notebook with an illustration of an adorable basset hound on the cover. We spent exactly RM98 for all the stuff. There were other things sold there as well including Bible covers, stationery and MV Doulos souvenirs like pens, nylon bags, neck cords, magnets to name a few.
All in all it was a worthwhile trip and was definitely a welcome change from the usual way we spend our weekends.
- Photos by: Carol Ujan 2008
