I visited Kuching many times in the past 30 years, as I am supplying Electrical High Tension hardware to Sabah Electricity Board through our valued Customer friend, which is still going on.
Kuching is the capital city of Sarawak State, which is part of East Malaysia and is located on the wider island of Borneo. Anyone who has been to Peninsular Malaysia will find that Sarawak has a very different feel, and Kuching in particular, thanks to its strategic location on the snake-like Sarawak River, is one of the prettiest spots in the region.
You may also be surprised to find that Kuching is covered in statues of cats, and the reason for this is said to come from a miscommunication during the colonial period when the local people were asked the name of the city and thought that James Brooke, the first British Rajah of Sarawak, was pointing to a cat. As such they replied ‘kucing’, the Malay word for cat, and the rest is history. Whether or not the story is true, anyone who loves felines should make sure not to miss a trip to all the cat statues that adorn the city as well as the peerless Cat Museum.
Kuching Waterfront
The most iconic part of Kuching, without a doubt, is its scenic waterfront which is where all the main action happens. This part of town would have been used by warehouses in the days of old, but now you will find a pretty walking path that flanks the water and offers you amazing views over the main sights in town such as the Astana and the majestic Fort Margherita.
At night this is the place to see and be seen, and many young couples from Kuching choose this spot for a leisurely romantic stroll.
History at the Sarawak Museum
If you only have time to visit one museum in Kuching then the Sarawak Museum is an excellent pick. The museum also has the claim to fame of being the oldest in Borneo and was founded in 1891 under Charles Brooke. The museum is housed in a huge building that dates from the Victorian period and is, somewhat surprisingly, modeled on a traditional Normandy townhouse.
Semenggoh Nature Reserve
Semenggoh Nature Reserve is around 40 minutes’ drive outside of Kuching, a nature reserves for orang utans and other forms of indigenous wildlife, around an area of 2.6 square miles of land mainly for the conservation of orang utans, birds, mammals, and reptiles roaming all over the forests. The orang utans in the center have been released and are considered to be wild, but there are several feeding sessions a day when the animals may come to one of the main feeding platforms and this is your best chance of seeing them on a trip here.
Dewan Undangan Negeri
The impressive Dewan Undangan Negeri, the Sarawak (state legislative assembly Building) is truly one of a kind, and has become a fixture in the city since its completion in 2009. Serving as the assembly building, this photogenic spot was built for conducting state business but soon became one of the most interesting places in Kuching thanks to its unique architectural style. At only nine stories high it may not seem like much, but when you see it in person it’s incredible how grand it seems. While the site is not currently open for tours, visitors are free to walk around the grounds.
Jong’s Crocodile Farm
Situated at about a 20 minute leisure drive from Kuching Town, the capital of Sarawak, you can see one of the largest and the only crocodile breeding farm in the country.
Set amidst the charming backdrop of tall tropical trees, lush vegetation and local fruit trees lies this unique farm with over a thousand crocodiles bred in captivity. The farm provides a perfect sanctuary for the reptiles, saving the species from extinction. There are huge and deep concrete ponds and natural breeding grounds for the crocodiles to mate and multiply.
Visitors are able to gaze at the snapping jaws, cold menacing eyes, sharp pointed teeth and powerful lashing tails of the crocs within short distance yet safe because of the metal fence.
Apart from crocodiles there are also numerous rare species of birds and animals found only in the Borneo Island. There are also monkeys, leopard-cats, sunbears, bearcats, pheasants, civets, barking deers, sambar deers, turtles, fruit bats, monitor lizards, pythons and even hornbills.
Annah Rais Bidayuh Longhouse
Annah Rais Longhouse is a Bidayuh settlement about 100km south of Kuching, at the foothill of Borneo Highlands near the mountains marking the border to Kalimantan. Other than the authentic longhouse experience, it is also famous for the hot springs nearby.
Kampung Annah Rais is a large Bidayuh village centred around a centuries-old bamboo longhouse, one of the finest still in existence. The Bidayuh make up about 8% of Sarawak’s population and were formerly known as Land Dayaks. They are gracious hosts and village is the perfect place to discover Bidayuh culture and learn about their fascinating way of life.
The massive longhouse is interconnected by a wooden or bamboo walkway, which is the main common area where families would sit around and talk and kids play. Annah Rais is so huge that it seems like one entire village is connected together with home run restaurants, grocery shops and the local homegrown products. Many human skulls are kept in a cylinder wire cage, in Headman’s house, it is assumed that these are the skulls of invaders of these longhouses where the Bidayuh people caught them and beheaded.
Petronas Twin Towers
Petronas Twin Towers were once the tallest buildings in the world. Now the world’s tallest twin structures, the 88-storey buildings were designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates with both towers joined at the 41st and 42nd floors (175m above street level) by a 58 metre-long, double-decker Sky Bridge.
Standing 452 metres tall, the Petronas Twin Towers retained its world-title claim to fame until 2004 when Taipei’s 101 was built, measuring 508 metres tall. Today, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (opened in 2010) retains the spot as the world’s tallest building. Located in the KL city centre, the Petronas Twin Towers’ architecture is Islamic-inspired and the buildings primarily house the corporate headquarters of the Petronas Company and other offices.
