Kuching is the only place in Borneo with colonial era architecture and most of it is close to the museum, including the old part of the museum itself and nearby Fort Margherita. The colonial era buildings are quite elegant. The museum is small but very well done. It shows lots of the tribal history of Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah and has sections devoted to the various invaders and traders that have operated around here over the last 2000 years - Chinese, Arabs, Dutch traders and British opportunists.
Part of the Sarawak National Museum, Kuching
The Old Courthouse, Kuching
There were sections devoted to Sarawak shipping and watercraft including the 'tambangs' which are the traditional craft (water taxis) that we can see operating from the hotel window.We have done one trip on a tambang. The design of these are unchanged since the 1880s and some 300 of these still operate on the Sungei Sarawak. I have read arguments that the ancestors of Polynesians set out from here into the South Pacific and I find the correlation between many things such as canoes, body art and wood carving to be persuasive.
A tambang (river taxi)
The stuffed birds and animals in the museum looked a bit sad. These were probably the nearest we are going to get to seeing the rhinoceros hornbill which is the symbol of Sarawak. It features prominently in tribal art and is used in the logo of the Sarawak Tourism department. You see it in various forms everywhere.
The aquarium was small but fascinating, mostly devoted to the fresh water fish of Borneo - an amazing range of fish including some huge cat-fish populate the rivers around here. All of these places were free to visit as well.
A large section, sponsored by those eco-warriors Shell Oil, was devoted to the modern oil industry in Sarawak. I would have liked to spend longer at that one, but shopping beckoned.
We read in yesterday's paper that the Interhash was the largest gathering of foreigners ever held in Sarawak. I have seen a number of newspaper articles suggesting that tourism in Sarawak is under-promoted and is a big economic opportunity for Sarawak. Certainly we have barely scratched the surface in two weeks here.
With the trip all but over, the standout highlight is simple - Mulu caves and the rainforest there. Amazing place. We never even saw the Royal Mulu Resort where most people stay. We'd been unable to get a place there so we resorted to the National Park HQ accommodation, and I am very glad we did. It was a very special place right in the forest. With hindsight we should have stayed at least 4 days at Mulu instead of two.
Another highlight was the day trip to Bako National Park. This would also have been a good place to stay in order to see the best of the wildlife, with National park HQ accommodation and a simple cafe available.
The beach resort at Sematan was pleasant enough, but not having a car was a severe limitation. The resort promo could have stated that a car is really necessary. We did get out to the local fishing village on bicycles which was fun and the boat trip to the last village before Indonesia and the turtle sanctuary at Talang Talang Besar was also a highlight.
After travelling in other Asian countries, the standard of driving in Sarawak came as a bit of a shock. It is actually very good - at least the idiots on the road around Kuching seem no crazier than in NZ, except they do not stop for pedestrians. As I said, just like home.
The trip has varied between pleasant and fantastic; Sarawak is a bit of a backwater I think, but in a good way. It is clear here that you need a lot of time to make the most of the place - you could easily spend a month exploring Sarawak. The obvious thing that we did not do was an up-river trip into the interior to visit a long-house settlement or similar. I had thought originally of visiting Sarawak and Sabah, but that would have been too much. Sabah will have to be another time if at all.
Our last bit of Sarawak tourism will be to take a 'tampang' across the river and check out the 'Istana' building and some of the activities that seem to be going on over the other side. And there is a roti joint in the Main Bazaar which I am impelled to investigate. - Harold
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