Kuching, City of Cats

We chose to stay in Damai, famed for the beach resorts, southwest of the city. From there, we visited the Sarawak Cultural village, a mere five minutes walk from the Holiday Inn resort, tried the Suntabong jungle trek and made a day's trip to Bako National park, home to the 150 rare proboscis monkeys.

No one leaves Kuching without a visit to the world's only Cat museum. It features interesting displays of anything and everything feline. The Sarawak Museum provides visitors with a glimpse of varied rich cultures and heritages.

What really left an indelible impression was the food. The Waterfront has little carts selling local Malay dishes at very affordable prices. Do try the teh tarik ("pulled" milk tea) and the BBQ stingray from the carts in front of the Hilton Hotel.

Quick Tips:

English is spoken widely so communication will not be a problem. There is currently no admission fees levied on museum admissions.

For a panoramic view of the city, go to the civic centre located opposite the Sarawak club. Entry is free and it offers a beautiful 360 degrees view of the city.

Sarawak is the world's third largest exporter of pepper, so be sure to bring some back as souvenirs. Other souvenirs include replicas of sapi (an Iban version of the guitar), weavings of the various ethnic groups, and wood carvings. For those with green fingers, try bringing home a sapling of the carnivorous pitcher plant.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best way to explore the city is by sampan or by foot. Most tourist attractions are within walking distance. Taxis are unmetered and bargaining is required. Good news though -as of 2003, taxis will be required to charge by the meter. Water taxis or sampans are the favored local transportation. A trip across the Sarawak river costs only RM 20 to 30 cents.

The Holiday Inn Damai resort is located at the west mouth of the Sarawak river, some 40 minutes drive from Kuching. It sits at the foot of the Mount Santubong and is a good place to base from to explore the southwest of Sarawak: the sleepy fishing villages, primary rainforests, and of course, the "living" museum, Sarawak Cultural village.

Service at the hotel is laid-back. Guests are also allowed to make use of the facilities at the sister hotel, Holiday Inn resort beach. There are frequent shuttles to and from the city for a small price. Transport can also be arranged to the various attractions nearby although a day's notice would be appreciated.

For further information, you can check out their website here

For time-pressed tourists, the Sarawak Cultural village is a must-visit. This is a living museum that introduces visitors to the rich local cultures and lifestyles. It features replica buildings representing every major ethnic group in Sarawak: Bidayuh, Iban, Orang Ulu, Penan, Melanau, Malay, and Chinese. On admission, we were each given a green "passport" containing information on each ethnic group. The passport will be stamped at each house-visit. In each building, there is a representative who will describe each typical lifestyle and culture. At the Bidayuh, Iban, and Orang Ulu long houses, we were treated to a welcome dance before one of the members guided us through their living quarters.

We tasted local tidbits, learned how to hunt with the normadic Penan tribesmen using the blow-pipes, and observed the locals weaving and beading their traditional handicrafts.

We concluded the visit with an entertaining multi-cultural show put up twice daily at 11:30am and 4:30pm at the village's own theatre.

There is a well-stocked handicraft/souvenir shop just next to the theatre. Avoid buying directly from the "locals" who charged at a slightly higher price than the souvenir shop.

The village hosts theme parties and dinners. You can even arranged to get married in traditional Iban, Bidayuh, Orang Ulu, or Malay style.

The Santubong jungle trail is maintained by the Holiday Inn resorts but open to all. The trail branches out into the mountain trek where a trekker can climb Mount Santubong (810m) in about six hours.

The jungle trail itself is a one to two hours trek, depending on pace. I would recommend applying insect repellent except that it seemed to attract more mosquitoes instead (this observation is verified by a local guide). The jungle is dense but the trail is well-marked (look for the blue markings at the tree barks; red is for mountain trekkers).

I had made my way as far as the waterfall, taking about half an hour to reach it before turning back. It had rained heavily the night before, making the trail wet and slippery. The trail requires one to wade through the pool just afer the waterfall or jump across mossed covered boulders at the top of the waterfall. As I was trekking alone, I did not want to take the risk. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable trek that offered a glimpse of Borneo's lush primary rainforest.

Bako National Park is the smallest and oldest national park in Sarawak. No other park offer as much diversity in flora and fauna as Bako in just 2742 hectares of land. It's home to an abundant array of wildlife like the bearded wild pigs, silver-leaf monkeys, and monitor lizards, but particularly the rare and unusual Proboscis monkey.

Arriving at the park was an adventure in itself. After a 40 min drive from Damai to the sleepy jetty at Bako village, we transferred to a 30 min high-speed boat ride after paying for park permits at the jetty office. Permits costs RM 10 (US$3)per person. The boat ride costs RM 60 (US$18) two-way and seats a maximum of seven people.

The boat ride itself was exhilarating as we sped past the fishing village and headed towards the island that is the Bako National park. On arrival, we had to remove our shoes and wade in as the tide was very low and the boat could not dock at the jetty.

All visitors are required to pay for the permits at the headquarters located just off the jetty. Charges on camaras or video camaras are waived.

We chose to trek the most popular trail: Telok Pandan Kecil, a 1.5km easy to moderately difficult trail that ends at a secluded beach (2.5km from the HQ). The trail took us past a mangrove forest where we spotted sky-blue fiddler crabs and mud-skippers at low tide and two proboscis monkeys sitting atop the mangrove trees! The monkeys looked comical with their pendulous noses and their pot-bellies.

The trail begins with an ascent into the dense forest before reaching a plateau covered in scrub vegetation; it continued along a sandy path lined with carnivorous pitcher plants before reaching a cliff top with beautiful views of the famous sea stack and the secluded beach below. From there, I descended down to the beach, where I found that I was not alone after all. I "hitched" a ride with one of the boatman for a nominal fee of RM 25 (US$5) who brought me back to the HQ in less than 10 minutes. I took about two hours to trek the trail with frequent stops to take pictures.

Lunch at the canteen was a simple affair but made most interesting when some fearless long tailed macaques and silver-leaf monkeys arrived to raid for food. We also spotted a bearded pig, the biggest mammal on the island, scavanging for food near the HQ.

The tide had gone even lower after noon, allowing us to walk further out of the beach and towards the sea stack where we were able to admire the "works of art" by Mother nature.

We ended our day-trip with a thirst-quencher coconut drink served at the coffee-house located back at the jetty at the Bako village before heading back to the resort.

We joined a complimentary half-day city tour on our last day in Sarawak. The weather was not cooperative that day and had poured heavily for much of the afternoon. It was the monsoon season, we were told. Our guide, a cheerful young gentleman, gave us an abbreviated version of the history of Sarawak, and of Santubong enroute into the city.

Our first stop was the famous Cat museum, the only museum in the world devoted to all things/exhibits feline. The exhibits are divided into various sections that include a variety of stuffed cats, pictures, and carvings depicting cats in various activities like sleeping, playing, etc. There is a small fee of RM5 (US$1) charged on camaras. The museum offers a beautiful panaromic view of the city - alas, it was raining too heavily for any photos to be taken.

Our guide drove us down towards the city, first bypassing the Astana and the Orchid garden before looping through the Malay Kampungs. There are six Malay villages all together, with a mosque as a boundary dividing each village.

We proceeded next to the most popular meeting place in the city: the Waterfront. This beautiful esplanade offers a variety of shopping, eateries, and of course, excellent views of the Astana, Fort Margherita, and the Malay villages - the former two (Brooke's legacy) were not open to public during our visit there.

Opposite the Waterfront is the Main Bazaar, the oldest street in the city and the heart of old Kuching. Here, we shopped for local arts and crafts as well as souvenirs.

Walking down the main road, we eventually reached the oldest Chinese temple in Kuching: Tua Pek Kong. Built in 1843, it is a small little temple set atop a small hill overlooking the Waterfront.

The national museum was next. Entry is free for all visitors. It houses one of S.E. Asia's best ethnographic collection, traditional wood carvings, and a replica of a longhouse complete with head-hunted skulls.

The rain had stopped by that time and our guide brought us to the Civic center for a truly panoramic view of the city and the surrounding area, including views of Mount Santubong, Mount Serapi, and even Kalimantan.

The tour ended by the Waterfront where we shopped again at leisure and had a wonderfully cheap, delicious dinner before we headed for the airport.