Kuching was a pleasant surprise after Pontianak. Not only did this small city have fantastic food, bustling markets and interesting ornate buildings, but it was clean, tidy and not in the least chaotic. It was a wonderful break from the vehicular chaos from whence we had come.
We first noticed the tidy streets and beautiful green gardens as we drove to our hotel. Our taxi driver told us that Kuching has been divided into North and South Kuching. If the mayor in one council does something (e.g. put in a lovely garden), the other mayor, not to be outdone, will then follow suit. So parks, clean streets and up-kept buildings are everywhere!
Kuching’s population is about 600 000 people, which, for a city in South East Asia, is not a lot of people. The lack of congestion makes getting around Kuching in a car easy, and there are clear road rules which are, in part, followed.
We arrived too early to check into our hotel, so we hired a taxi and headed towards Kuching’s waterfront. Ah Nam, our driver, was an amiable and informative guy who told us about Kuching. Kuching, spelt Kucing in Malay and Indonesian Bahasa, means cat. Therefore Kuching is known as Cat City, and cat statues are everywhere!
Ah Nam pointed out some attractions and told us about the history of Kuching. When asked by Dwayne, Ah Nam showed us where the open-air food markets were before dropping us to where we could hire a scooter. We picked up the scooter and headed off to enjoy our four days in Kuching! The first stop was the open-air markets to feed my man. These food markets have two sections; one is for Malay food, and the other is for Chinese food. It is cheap and, mostly, delicious food.
The next stop was Kuching’s waterfront, known as the People’s Place. You can find great local foods, souvenirs, entertainment and the best Laksa Sarawak!
Laksa Sarawak (Sarawak being the Malaysian State in which Kuching is) is the area’s signature dish. In Kuching, this laksa is usually served for breakfast, but some places sell it for lunch or dinner. On a walk along the waterfront, we had the most delicious laksa we have ever had. So yummy! Only MYR6.00 (AUD2.00)… gotta love Asia!
We loved our stay in Kuching and would not hesitate to recommend the place as a holiday destination. Kuching has many temples, mosques, museums and national parks, but we didn’t do any of them this time. This holiday we chose to mostly relax and take it easy, as we’d had some pretty stressful days leading up to our trip to Kuching. So we lazed around our hotel pool, wandered around the markets and ate ourselves silly!
We went for a ride out to Damai Beach. We were a bit disappointed – due to our ignorance about the area – it was not what we expected. Damai Beach Resort wanted RM15 ($5) entry fee to be paid before we could go in to buy a drink. The $5 allowed you access to the beach but not their pool. The tide was out, and the shore did not seem suitable for swimming. But we did enjoy our ride out there.
The Rhinoceros Hornbill is the state icon for the Malaysia State of Sarawak. Hornbills are threatened by habitat loss and hunting. The hornbills are still hunted for traditional medicine. On a walk along Main Bazaar, we saw many people selling hornbills. Shame, shame, shame!
We went for a ride out to Bako National Park with the hope of going for a hike and seeing some animals. You can’t travel all the way to Bako National Park via road. Instead, you must go to Bako Village, where you get on a boat for a 1/2hr boat ride down the river. When we got to Bako Village, we discovered the boats, which supposedly run all day, were not. The first boat would be leaving at 1400. We would have to wait for three hours, and then we would have had very little time before catching the last boat back, so we gave it a miss… Oh well, something to do next time.
Food, Food, Food! It was all about the food! The food in Kuching is delicious, and eating was once again a highlight of our travels. We went to lots of hawkers stalls, small warungs, as well as a bistro and a restaurant called Bla Bla Bla, where we had delicious mango duck and ostrich rolls.
Across the river is a large food court. I think it is called ‘Riverside Hawker Stalls’. To get there, you simply get on one of the river boats to motor you across. Doesn’t cost much (around 17 cents!), and the food court had heaps of food to choose from.
On the riverfront is The Square Tower which was built in 1879 and once guarded the river against marauders. In the following years, it housed the prison and a dance hall, to name but a small part of its colourful history. It is now an art gallery… I don’t remember seeing it open?
We were lucky on our last night to watch a celebration parade. Not sure what it was for, but it started in the afternoon, shut down traffic and ended in fireworks late that night!
More Information
Currency
MYR – Malaysian Ringgit written as RM
Taxi/Entourage Driver – Ah Nam [taxi and day trip]. Very nice guy and cheap. Ph: 016 – 8734449
Food – The food in Kuching was amazing! Click here for more about the culinary delights of Kuching!
Scooter – cost RM40.00 (AUD $14.00) per day.
Accommodation
We typically book our accommodation through booking.com. Indeed we like the convenience of booking online, and we are usually able to pay for our accommodation on arrival at the hotel/resort or room. Additionally, booking.com advertise many different accommodation styles in Kuching, so you are sure to find the perfect place.
Citadines Uplands – apartment-style accommodation. Around AUD 50 night. The small unit included a kitchen with a full-size fridge and a good size bathroom. TV, tea, coffee, safe, ironing board. Included breakfast. Had pool, fitness centre. Small supermarket on the ground floor. Sold beer, wine and spirits. Shopping mall across the road.
Insurance
Do you have insurance organised for your travels? Please take a look at our Travel Insurance page for a quick quote! I just booked travel insurance with World Nomads again, and it always impresses me how quickly I get the quote, and in fact, the entire process, from quote to policy in hand, only takes minutes. Furthermore, you can book when you are already overseas, as I did this time!
iVisa
iVisa makes getting a visa super easy. You can even get passport and visa photos done!
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