Matt Munro
Sarawak makes access to Borneo’s natural wonders and cultural riches a breeze. From Kuching, the island’s most dynamic city, pristine rainforests – where you can spot orangutans, proboscis monkeys, crocodiles and the world’s largest flower, the rafflesia – can be visited on day trips, with time in the evening for a tasty meal and a drink by the waterfront. More adventurous travelers can take a ‘flying coffin’ riverboat up the 'Amazon of Borneo', the Batang Rejang, on their way east to hike from longhouse to longhouse in the cool environs of the Kelabit Highlands, or to the spectacular bat caves and extraordinary rock formations of Gunung Mulu National Park. For the best chance of seeing an orangutan in the wild, venture to the Batang Ai region.
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Sarawak.
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Housed in the century-old Chinese Court building, this museum provides an excellent introduction to the nine major Chinese communities – each with its own dialect, cuisine and temples – who began settling in Sarawak around 1830. Highlights include ceramics, musical instruments, historic photographs and some fearsome dragon- and lion-dance costumes. The entrance is on the river side of the building.
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Built by Charles Brooke in 1879 and named after his wife, Ranee Margaret, this hilltop fortress long protected Kuching against surprise attack by pirates. Inside, the Brooke Gallery illustrates the remarkable story of the white rajas of Sarawak with fascinating artefacts and story boards. To get here take a tambang (RM1) from the Waterfront Promenade to Kampung Boyan and then follow the signs up through the derelict school for 500m. A new stairway and tambang wharf west of the fort should open in 2020. You can also explore the ramparts for excellent views of the Kuching waterfront. Combined admission (RM30) is available when visiting both the Brooke Gallery at Fort Margherita and the Ranee Museum; this saves RM10.
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Closed at the time of writing and scheduled to reopen in mid-2020 after extensive conservation work, the Sarawak Museum was established in 1891 by Charles Brooke as a place to exhibit indigenous handicrafts and wildlife specimens, many collected by naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace in the 1850s. A highlight of the historic old building are the two colonial cannons protecting the entrance. Over recent decades the museum has focused more on ethnological displays about Borneo's incredibly rich indigenous cultures – including a full-size Iban longhouse – but it is envisaged that in future the museum will restore many natural-history details and exhibition highlights from its heyday a century ago.
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The Old Court House was built in the late 19th century to serve as the city’s administrative centre. It now houses a cafe and bar, the excellent Ranee Museum and several venues for art and performance. There's usually something happening, but if not, just wander around and enjoy the peaceful verandahs. Kuching's main tourist information centre is also located here. Out front, across the street from the Square Tower, stands the Brooke Memorial, erected in 1924 to honour Charles Brooke.
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Linking the northern and southern parts of Kuching, the city's spectacular pedestrian bridge (335m) is constructed to resemble the letter 'S' (for Sarawak), and the two towers are designed to look like the hornbill-inspired structures of traditional Bidayuh bamboo bridges. Two spacious viewing decks provide the best locations for taking in sprawling riverfront views. From the northern end of the bridge a riverfront esplanade continues east past the Sarawak State Assembly to provide pedestrian access to Fort Margherita and its Brooke Gallery.
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Closed at the time of writing and scheduled to reopen in mid-2020. This museum featured an exhibit called Urang Sarawak, which deftly and succinctly describes the people and culture of the region, especially indigenous lifestyles and traditional mythology, historical periods such as the Brooke era and WWII, as well as contemporary Sarawak. Other exhibits feature prehistoric archaeology, including important finds from the Niah Caves, and Chinese ceramics.
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Built by Charles Brooke in 1869, the Astana (a local word meaning 'palace’) – conveniently labelled in giant white letters – and its manicured gardens still serve as the home of the governor of Sarawak. The best views of the complex are actually from the south (city centre) bank of the river, so it’s not really worth taking a tambang across or using the Darul Hana Bridge.
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A 3km walk through the rainforest takes you to these adjacent caverns. Deer Cave – over 2km long and 174m high – is the world’s largest cave passage open to the public, while Lang Cave – more understated in its proportions – contains interesting stalactites and stalagmites. Be sure to stay on for the 'bat exodus' at dusk. Deer Cave is home to 2 to 3 million bats, belonging to 12 species (more than in any other single cave in the world), who cling to the roof in a seething black mass as they gear up for their evening prowl. Every day between 4pm and 6pm (unless it’s raining), millions of bats exit the cave in spiralling, twirling clouds that look a bit like swarms of cartoon bees. It’s an awe-inspiring sight when viewed from the park's bat observatory, a kind of amphitheatre outside the cave. The bats’ corkscrew trajectory is designed to foil the dinner plans of bat hawks perched on the surrounding cliffs. The record is silent on who did the calculations or how, but it’s said that Deer Cave’s bats devour 30 tons of mosquitoes every night. If it’s raining the bats usually stay home because echolocation (the way they find prey) is not very good at homing in on flying insects amid an onslaught of raindrops. Count on getting back to park HQ at around 7pm; bring a torch for the walk back.
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Built by Charles Brooke in 1880 to take control of the Upper Rejang, this wooden fort – built of belian (ironwood) – was renamed in 1925 to honour Ranee Sylvia, wife of Charles Vyner Brooke. The exhibits inside offer a good introduction to the traditional lifestyles of the indigenous groups of the Batang Rejang and include evocative colonial-era photographs. Also on show is the peace jar presented during the historic 1924 peacemaking ceremony between previously warring Iban, Kayan and Kenyah groups. The museum also devotes space to the story of Domingo 'Mingo' de Rozario, the son of James Brooke's Portuguese Melakan butler and a man described by a contemporary as having 'a burly figure, dark kindly face, utter disregard for personal danger' and the tendency to 'look on life as a huge joke'. Rozario was sent to Kapit and charged with bringing it under the raja's control. He became an authority on Upper Rejang enthnography, describing life in the region in a series of colourful letters and reports.
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