Leaving Ourselves Behind

Borneo is such a vast island that our journey from the eastern city of Sandakan in Sabah to the western city of Kuching in Sarawak took two flights and a total of two and a half hours. We could have taken the bus but that would have taken over 35 hours on rough single-lane roads, with several connections. Needless to say… not even an option.

What was interesting to us was having to go through immigration, upon arrival in Sabah, then again leaving to Sarawak. Both states in Borneo, while essentially part of Malaysia, are autonomous when it comes to many parts of government, including immigration. When you talk to the people of Borneo they are fiercely Bornean, not Malaysian.

So we were quite keen to visit Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak, which was accurately described as being beautiful and historical. We lucked out with our hotel, situated right on the riverfront and smack in the middle of everything.

This was the view across from our hotel. The Legislative Assembly Building, built in 2009, holds a command post on the Sarawak River and is not without controversy among the locals. It is easily the most dominant and lavish building in Kuching and some feel the money spent on a government building might have been put to better use. Same story everywhere.

The distinctive umbrella-shaped dome must surely have been designed with Kuching’s weather in mind. This city holds the dubious honour of having the country’s heaviest rainfall – 247 days a year, with temperatures in the low -mid 30’s.

It did rain a fair bit while we were there; the kind of thrilling downpour that batters against windows, flows down sidewalks, soaks you to the skin and then after 15 minutes or so, it stops. Humidity is a constant. So that’s the downside. It was hard to plan for too much, as our forecast showed heavy rain every day.

The upside is everything else – Kuching is a gem! We loved it all – the walks along the riverfront.

The shophouse architecture.

The many intriguing side streets.

The gorgeous kapok trees that line the riverside.

The many, many murals that tell stories of the city and its people.

Kuching is called the “City of Cats”, with various theories behind that name. Apparently the Malay word for “cat” is “kucing”, but I suspect there is a marketing ploy at work here. At any rate, “City of Cats” it is, and there are various statues in the city dedicated to this non-endemic creature. And there’s a museum, which we didn’t visit.

We did check out the statue and felt vaguely foolish for making the trek. As much as I like cats, I did find myself wondering why we waited to get our requisite photo while several tourists (young women) posed and pouted and pirouetted in front of this unremarkable concrete statue. Kuching has so much more to offer.

Like food! Kuching is known for its gastronomy, and we ate very well here. We discovered a sweet little restaurant called Roselyn’s, founded by an indigenous female entrepreneur who was also recognized for her beadwork and basketry, among many other achievements.

We tried a few dishes, including some rice bowls with the most flavourful and complex greens; most of them unknown to me.

Roselyn’s restaurant, with examples of her intricate baskets and beadwork.

This woman was typical of the many food stalls found on every corner. She sells fried chicken, which I am quite sure is delicious, but I couldn’t try it. I have an over-developed gag reflex that springs into action every time I eat a piece of gristly meat or gnarly chicken. I am a disgrace to my chef friends, I know.

One thing I found very easy to eat was the Kuching specialty Kek Lapis. This intricate, multi-layered, multi-flavoured cake takes hours to make, and infinite patience, to avoid the layers from sinking into one another. You buy it by the large slice – we tried the tiramisu – a little piece of heaven.

Some curiosities – The Corner Shop, in business since 1937,where the scene remains the same, only the faces have changed.

“There’s the Sneeze Hotel“, Stephen pointed out. “Where?” I asked. After 45 years together, Stephen still has a fresh audience, and I haven’t yet realized that no pun is left undone.

We hired a Perahu Tambang ( traditional old boat) for one hour to go back and forth on the river. The cost? $20!

Our captain spoke very little English, but at one point, when the clouds darkened and the downpour began, he smiled and said, “Rain!” It didn’t matter, we stayed dry and it added to the atmosphere.

We cruised by a stretch of Kuching that felt more traditional and far removed from the busy city.

To get a better glimpse into the history of Sarawak and its people, we visited the very impressive Borneo Cultures Museum.

Spread out over five floors, this museum showcased the earliest history up to present day, through the use of artifacts, photos, interactive exhibits and short videos. We spent almost three hours there, which is getting close to optimum museum attention span for both of us.

A sturdy and intricate baby carrier, as well as being a fabulous example of Sarawak beadwork.

We walked over the Darul Hana Bridge, an S-shaped engineering marvel of a pedestrian bridge that links to the other side of Kuching and close to the Legislative Assembly Building.

The crocodile sculpture is a reminder not to swim in the Sarawak River.

Every night at 8:30 sharp, a lovely Light and Music show plays out in front of the Legislative Assembly Building. It lasts for about 15 minutes, and is a perfect cap to a riverside stroll.

And that is it for our trip to Malaysia. It has been a wonderful, entertaining, engrossing and rewarding trip, in spite of my complaining about the heat and humidity. Malaysian people are so engaging and warm and helpful. We felt welcomed and safe and comfortable here. Perhaps peak tourism has not yet hit Malaysia, but we were able to make connections with people that felt genuine. Hopefully tourism is not yet that double-edged sword.

Tomorrow we fly to Hong Kong for six days, and then… safely home again to Canada. We’ve talked to a number of people, Europeans mainly, whose flights home had been directed through Dubai, and of course are now cancelled. I can’t imagine being in that predicament and dealing with that uncertainty. At this stage of the trip, as much as I am excited to see Hong Kong, I’m also really happy to be going home.