Kuching, Sarawak: A must for those who love History, Food, Rainforests & Orangutans

Travel - August 16, 2019

In May 2019 we found ourselves in the Kingdom of Bahrain during the month of ramadan, when most commercial activity is at its lowest and the heats starting to become unbearable. Not wanting to waste this downtime period, we decided to take an overseas trip. Where to go? We decided to explore the island of Borneo, more precisely, East Malaysia’s Sarawak State.

Kuching, Sarawak, East Malaysia, Borneo

I had had experience of Malaysia, having lived for a couple of years in Kuala Lumpur (KL) , the capital, in West Malaysia or Peninsula Malaysia as its colloquially known. East Malaysia was unknown to me, apart from a couple of days business on the tiny island of Labuan. What I did know was that it was different in terms of history, people, flora & fauna and food, from the Malaysia I knew.

The capital of Sarawak is Kuching, aka ‘ Cat City’. A city with a romantic and unique history that commands the lazy Sarawak river. Its founding and development is intertwined with that of James Brooke and his descendants, The White Rajas of Sarawak, who ruled until in 1946, when it was ceded to the British Government. In 1963 it became part of an independent Malaysia.

To put this into context, here’s a brief summary on James Brooke, without which Kuching would not exist; James Brooke was born on April 29, 1803, in Benares, India, son of Thomas Brooke, a judge of the High Court of India. In 1819 he joined the armed forces of the East India Company and was seriously wounded in the First Burmese War of 1824. Upon his return to India in 1829, he resigned from The East India Company and en route home to England he visited China and Malaya.

Impressed with the Malay Archipelago, Brooke invested in a yacht, the Royalist, and a trained crew, and in 1839 he arrived in northern Borneo to carry out scientific research and exploration. In Sarawak he met The Sultan of Brunei, to whom he gave assistance in crushing a rebellion and recaptured Brunei, restoring The Sultan to the throne. His actions won both the allegiance of the Malays and the Dayaks. In return, the Sultan ceded complete sovereignty of Sarawak to Brooke.

The Sarawak River at Dusk

What is unique about Sarawak is that, unlike Peninsula Malaysia, the majority population comprises the indigenous Dyaks, the native peoples of Borneo. The Dyaks, of which there are six main tribes, were renowned headhunters, but those missionaries who survived converted the majority to Christianity, which combined with their original animism, creates a very rich culture.

Dayak Tribes of Sarawak, Borneo

Back to the trip: We booked The Kuching Hilton as our base camp and arranged, for the first day, a city bicycle tour to get our bearings. I thoroughly recommend this as Kuching is a very easy colonial style city to cycle around with minimal traffic. The company we used was Paradesa Borneo and it was so much fun, local food included, that we booked another tour around the Kampongs (villages) & Markets for the following day.

Sarawak Sanpan River Taxi

One of the cycling highlights was having our dedicated Sanpan River Taxi pick us up and drop us back to the city centre.

There is a lot to do in Kuching. We only spent 3 nights, before relocating to the The Village House Hotel in Santubong, 30 minutes away. With hindsight, we recommend staying in Kuching for most of your trip. It’s easier to travel to and from wildlife and cultural sites and the old city centre is full of quaint shops, cafes, food courts (some located in temples) and bars for an evening’s entertainment. If you are looking for colonial style hotels, try The Marian or The Ranee. If contemporary is more to your taste, we recommend the Riverside Majestic, next to the Hilton, which has recently been renovated.

The Sarawak Steamship Company

Kuching Architecture

The Village House Hotel is a 30 minute hideaway close to Mount Santubong, the famous Damai Beach and the Sarawak Cultural Village, which are all worth a visit. If we were to stay there again it would probably be two to three nights, rather than a week, as there is not much in the way of evening entertainment.

The Village House Hotel

The Raja Suite

Be warned! Trekking up Mount Santubong is not for the faint hearted. We made a brave attempt and realised that ‘ trekking” means ”climbing in 32 degree heat” and had to stop after 3 hours when we depleted our water. The other big warning regards swimming, which we we warned about just in time. Do not swim in the sea unless it’s in a designated area, man-eating crocodiles abound!

What you must see are the Orangutans at Semenggoh Nature Reserve, one of the few reserves on Borneo dedicated to Orangutans and the rainforest at Bako National Park. Both are within 40 minutes of Kuching. Bako can only be accessed by boat, so an early start is required and since most forna are best seen at night or early morning, we recommend booking one of the small chalets there. Take lots of mosquito repellent, trousers and long sleeve shirts, as well as loo paper, which seems to be in great shortage. A private boat and guide is recommended. Send me a message if you need a contact. For the Semenggoh’s Orangutan, it’s best to arrive at feeding time, which is usually in the morning from 8am to 10am or from 2pm to 4pm.