Kuching, Malaysia

Kuching is the capital of Sarawak state in Malaysia. This was my last stop in Borneo.

Kuching means “cat” and the city has several cat statues and a Cat Museum to prove this. Despite a pouring day (it rained non-stop as January is apparently monsoon season), I managed to savor the architectural highlights of the city. Kuching has its share of religious diversity, as demonstrated by its mosques, churches, Hindu temple and Sikh temple. Moreover, there are the ubiquitous Chinese shophouses, with its porches or “covered sidewalks.” My favorite building is the newly built state legislative assembly, perched on the banks of the Sarawak River. The building has an eight-sided golden roof, a typical Islamic design element.

Perhaps most surprising to me was the wealth of British colonial architecture still intact. Many of the columns and white facades were visible in several buildings, such as the Old Court House, the General Post Office, Astana (governor’s residence), Fort Margerita, Square Tower, Sarawak Museum and ironically, the present-day Islamic Museum (with its courtyards).

As for food, Kuching is famous for its Sarawak laksa and kolo mee. The former is soup noodles in a curry broth with shrimp, chicken and eggs. The latter is dried ramen-like noodles with barbequed pork. As usual in Malaysia, I found the food to be scrumptious!

Miri & Niah Caves, Malaysia

I only spent one day in Brunei (I don’t even drink that much and found the place boring). The next day, I crossed back into Malaysia, this time into the state of Sarawak. I headed to the nearest city, Miri.

Miri is a city on the coast of Sarawak. Most people use the city as a base to explore the numerous national parks nearby, such as the UNESCO listed Gunung Mulu National Park with its caves and limestone formations. I originally chose to visit this area in order to see the indigenous people’s longhouses, but decided against that because it was too touristy and fake. Instead, I went to Niah Caves National Park.

It was quite an adventure getting to and from Niah Caves. First, I took a bus from Miri that dropped me off at Niah Junction, by the highway. I stored my bag with the bus ticket office and then attempted to find a ride to Niah Caves. Luckily, a waiter at the food court saw that I was Chinese and helped me in securing a ride.

Niah Caves is a complex of several caverns with prehistoric drawings and graves. Many people used to collect birds’ nest (a Chinese delicacy) and bat droppings (for fertilizer) there. My highlight was walking through the eerie cave in almost-complete darkness. I could hear the bats and water dripping. Another highlight was trekking through rainforest in order to reach the caves. It was then that I understood why these flora constitute the “rainforest” as it was a soaking day!