Kuching 1

Kuching, capital of Sarawak, is a clean and well-blended between the old and the modern, development and environment, multicultural diversity and unity, busy on the daytime and, the what we like it the most, calm and peaceful after the sunset. We took 110 minutes of flight from KL International to Kuching International Airport, and 15 minutes from the airport to the heart of the city. Our advice, avoid the arrival at rush hours to keep the peace in our mind. The congestion from the airport to the city is growing.

Many attractions in Kuching, as her name "cat" in local Malay language, hidden and awaiting to be discovered. We visited the city together during November 2009, with regular monsoon down pour in the evening. The rain cold down the whole city until the air condition in our hotel only been turned on for one night in our 3 days' stay.

Photo taken in front of one of the Cat Statues, located between Grand Margherita and Riverside Majestic Hotel.

Our first stop was Jong's Crocodile Farm. The farm was big, well maintained, and the number of crocodiles was as big as the creature sounded. The farm has a very large area assigned as and designed as the habitat  for these prehistorical lizards, and we could watch the crocs roaming around their man made habitat from a 400 m long forest walkway. A replica of the legendary croc from Lupar River in Sarawak- "Bujang Senang", with the real skull framed was kept in the farm. We missed the feeding time on 11 am, and again didn't waiting until the next in the afternoon. That's the interesting part that we left behind. The crocodile farm is far away from the city area and can be accessed only by car. Joining a tour with local tourism company might be a good way to visit the farm (around RM60 per person).

Clockwise: Skull of a croc (Bujang Senang's skull was at the back); a scene at a pondside in the farm; small and adult freshwater crocs; and a photo taken with at least 8 feet long crocs, laying beside the forest walkway.

The city really very busy during daytime, where we experienced it on our way back from the crocs farm to the hotel. We stayed in Grand Margherita. Located just beside Sarawak River,  the hotel offered a good river view. The staffs were well trained and very effective (compared to her sister hotel just across the road), and we really enjoy our time very much there.

Upper row: Poolside and river view from our room. Lower left to right: Walk way between the room; the bathroom; and the amenities.

Waterfront during the daytime. You can see a lot of trees there to keep us away from burning sun (left). Well designed landscape at Waterfront, just in front of the Chinese Museum (right).

During the night time, we took a walk along Waterfront. Located parellel with part of Tunku Abdul Rahman Road and Main Bazaar, the esplanade  stretches more than 1 km along Sarawak River, starting from the the hotel to the old Court House, was shrubbed with trees and nicely maintained. There were security guards patrolling around the area as well. The night scene there was good and we could take night view on Building for State Legislative Assembly, Astana, and Fort Margherita from there. The lighting and cold weather made the park really a good place for a night walk. There are several food stalls and a bistro along the esplanade. We tried some of the food from the bistro, and well, the food was average, but the price, a little bit higher.

Astana, palace built by Charles Brooke, second White Rajah of Sarawak in 1870, located at the other side of Sarawak River, lit the Waterfront with romance of the White Rajah towards his wife Margaret. Now, the palace serves as the official residence for Sarawak's Head of State.

 

A view at Sarawak River during daytime. "Water Taxi" helps in transporting passengers across the river. By crossing the river (with 40 cents per trip), we took a 10 minutes walk to take a close up view on State Legislative Assembly and Fort Margherita.

Photo taken at the other side of the river: In front of the State Legislative Building (left) and Fort Margherita (right). The fort was empty during our visit. There was nothing much we can see there except the walls and the roof. However, the fort still gave us a little bit knowledge about the architecture and the old day's military defence of the city.

Our trip continued...

Take a look on our sharing about other places in Sarawak:

[Kuching 2] [A Day Tour Around Sibu] [Sibu- Attractions] [Sibu- Accommodation and Food]
[Tanjung Manis] [Matu-Daro to Dalat] [Mukah] [All Our Destinations]