The second part of our travels around Borneo began in Sarawak (the largest Malaysian state) and its capital city Kuching (Cat in Malay). From first impressions Kuching is much older and more untouched than Sabah’s capital Kota Kinabalu.
From a recommendation from the guys at ‘The Haven’, we booked into a very nice guesthouse on Carpenter Street (the heart of the city’s Chinatown district) called ‘Carpenter Guesthouse’. The guesthouse has a really nice family feel to it and the owners Joseph and Paula were never short of any advice or information.
As we arrived on a Sunday afternoon we weren’t treated to the full city experience, as many of the shops were closed or closing. It must be said that Kuching couldn’t be described as the most vibrant of cities; instead it maintains a friendlier village like atmosphere, somewhat akin to Chiang Mai in Thailand. The old city is centred round the Sarawak River and most of its sights are within easy walking distance of Main Bazaar (the oldest street in the city). The existence of present day Sarawak and indeed Kuching is largely down to the influence of the Brooke family. James Brooke, a young wealthy Englishman, arrived in Sarawak in 1839 and immediately, at the request of the Sultan of Brunei’s uncle, assisted in the putting down of a violent rebellion with the help of his well armed Yacht ‘The Royalist’. As a reward for his service the Sultan made Brooke the Rajah of Sarawak in 1841. His successor and nephew Charles Brooke, while not the adventurer that his uncle was, proved to be an excellent politician and administrator who established a proper system of government and then set about extending his area of control, until it formed the Sarawak of today. On Charles Brooke’s death in 1917, control was handed to his son, Charles Vyner Brooke; he expanded on his father’s good work and in 1941 established a State Council to oversee the passing of new laws, thus bringing the first taste of democracy to Sarawak.
One of our main aims while in Sarawak was to stay in an Iban Longhouse; the Iban people are the original head hunter tribe of Borneo, who are renowned for their warmth and hospitality. Completely by chance, the opportunity arose as we headed down to breakfast on our first morning. We were lucky enough to bump into a guide who was organising the trip for one of our fellow hotel guests. On learning that it would be a small group (6 people) and that we would be going to a proper longhouse (not one set up for tourists), we quickly signed up for a 3 day trip starting the next day.
With the longhouse trip booked we headed out to have a look around the city, starting with the Sarawak museum. The museum was described by the ‘Rough Guide’ as being one of the finest in SE Asia, so we were expecting big things. After chuckling our way round the moth eaten collection of stuffed animals on the first floor it has to be said that it wasn’t looking good! However, the ethnology collection on the first floor more than made up for the shaky start. We found the museum to be both charming and interesting and would recommend a visit to anyone staying in the city; the fact that it is free only helps its appeal. From the museum we visited the aquarium which again had free entry, but did rather come across as a restaurant’s holding tank instead of an actual aquarium. You could practically see people smacking there lips with anticipation as they looked at the fish! From the aquarium we had a brief look at the national monument and then headed toward one of the main shopping streets for some lunch.
Truth be told, the hot weather rather ended our Kuching tour there, as we elected to spend the rest of the day back at the guesthouse sorting our bags and getting ready for our trip to the longhouse.
Next Lalang Longhouse
From a recommendation from the guys at ‘The Haven’, we booked into a very nice guesthouse on Carpenter Street (the heart of the city’s Chinatown district) called ‘Carpenter Guesthouse’. The guesthouse has a really nice family feel to it and the owners Joseph and Paula were never short of any advice or information.
As we arrived on a Sunday afternoon we weren’t treated to the full city experience, as many of the shops were closed or closing. It must be said that Kuching couldn’t be described as the most vibrant of cities; instead it maintains a friendlier village like atmosphere, somewhat akin to Chiang Mai in Thailand. The old city is centred round the Sarawak River and most of its sights are within easy walking distance of Main Bazaar (the oldest street in the city). The existence of present day Sarawak and indeed Kuching is largely down to the influence of the Brooke family. James Brooke, a young wealthy Englishman, arrived in Sarawak in 1839 and immediately, at the request of the Sultan of Brunei’s uncle, assisted in the putting down of a violent rebellion with the help of his well armed Yacht ‘The Royalist’. As a reward for his service the Sultan made Brooke the Rajah of Sarawak in 1841. His successor and nephew Charles Brooke, while not the adventurer that his uncle was, proved to be an excellent politician and administrator who established a proper system of government and then set about extending his area of control, until it formed the Sarawak of today. On Charles Brooke’s death in 1917, control was handed to his son, Charles Vyner Brooke; he expanded on his father’s good work and in 1941 established a State Council to oversee the passing of new laws, thus bringing the first taste of democracy to Sarawak.
One of our main aims while in Sarawak was to stay in an Iban Longhouse; the Iban people are the original head hunter tribe of Borneo, who are renowned for their warmth and hospitality. Completely by chance, the opportunity arose as we headed down to breakfast on our first morning. We were lucky enough to bump into a guide who was organising the trip for one of our fellow hotel guests. On learning that it would be a small group (6 people) and that we would be going to a proper longhouse (not one set up for tourists), we quickly signed up for a 3 day trip starting the next day.
With the longhouse trip booked we headed out to have a look around the city, starting with the Sarawak museum. The museum was described by the ‘Rough Guide’ as being one of the finest in SE Asia, so we were expecting big things. After chuckling our way round the moth eaten collection of stuffed animals on the first floor it has to be said that it wasn’t looking good! However, the ethnology collection on the first floor more than made up for the shaky start. We found the museum to be both charming and interesting and would recommend a visit to anyone staying in the city; the fact that it is free only helps its appeal. From the museum we visited the aquarium which again had free entry, but did rather come across as a restaurant’s holding tank instead of an actual aquarium. You could practically see people smacking there lips with anticipation as they looked at the fish! From the aquarium we had a brief look at the national monument and then headed toward one of the main shopping streets for some lunch.
Truth be told, the hot weather rather ended our Kuching tour there, as we elected to spend the rest of the day back at the guesthouse sorting our bags and getting ready for our trip to the longhouse.
Next Lalang Longhouse
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