A colonial city with a history of British White Rajahs befriending Sultans to fight pirates, Kuching has a bunch of epic stories to tell and a number of very friendly locals to tell them. Located as it is on the North West Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo, at the bottom reaches of the South China Sea, the region has a long history of homing immigrants from an array of Asian countries. This means that native Malays from diverse tribes mingle with Chinese and Indian immigrants, mixing culture, language and cuisine. Curried Laksa is served next to Dim Sum at Hawker stands around the corner from western style bars selling everything from local Tuak rice wine to Korean soju.
Eavesdrop on any conversation and you’ll hear first-hand the
intertwining of cultures, as locals change seamlessly from Malay to Chinese to
English in single sentences. A faux-annoyed ‘laa’ serves as a cheeky reminder of
the way locals appropriate and connect through humour in their shared languages.
Kuching is a place where everyone and no one belongs and
it’s this unique identity that shapes the local’s cheery attitudes towards tourists.
So although you might come for the food and the wildlife, you’ll stay for the
charm of the local people and their easy-going attitudes. Many come here
expecting Orangutans but they leave having discovered that Borneo offers so
much more.
Source: BTA |
Sarawak’s Monkey-filled National Parks
While, sadly, large portions of Borneo’s rainforests have
been sold off to make way for sleazy palm oil plantations, the rainforest still
seems as abundant as ever thanks to numerous conservation projects and wildlife
rehabilitation centres in the region, with as many as nine national parks within
a day trip from the city, the most notable being Kubah, Santubong and Bako
National Parks.
If you like primates, you’ll love what these parks have to
offer; in addition to the proliferation of those cheeky, thieving long-tailed
Macaques you’ll have long learnt to avoid if you’ve ever spent any time in
South East Asia, there are a number of other more benign species. Various types
and shades of langur monkey are also out and about across the region, including
in Batang Ai National Park, a wildlife-lover’s paradise so big that it spreads
its reach across the Indonesian border. While slightly further afield, Batang
Ai is truly worthy of an overnight
trip, being one of the few places in the world you might spot wild Orangutans.
In Bako meanwhile, a short bus and boat ride from Kuching, alongside
the langurs, you’ll also find the indigenous proboscis monkey, famed for its
7-inch nose and domed belly. What the proboscis monkey lacks in accepted
standards of beauty, it rather makes up for in charm and intrigue. Thankfully,
they are also shy and wouldn’t dream of stealing your GoPro (unlike those infamous macaques). Some estimates say there may only be
1,000 proboscis monkeys left in the wild but in Bako, stealthy hikers can catch
sight of tens of them during dusk outings, noses quivering in the breeze.
It’s not all monkey business either. Borneo bursts with life
of all kinds, including myriad species of amphibians, reptiles, birds and
mammals. Some harmless; some best kept at a distance. Expect to lock eyes with
bearded pigs, catch glimpses of mouse deer, gaze up at hornbills and curse the
existence of the mosquito.
Breakfast with Orangutans at Semenggoh National Reserve
While wild orangutans still wander the vast forests
solitarily, in Batang Ai mainly, for a more sure sighting, your best bet is to
head to Semenggoh National Reserve, an easy Grab ride from the center, where ‘semi-wild’
orangutans appear almost daily expecting to be served up their regular
smorgasbord of fruits and veg by the friendly rangers who howl hopefully into
the forest at breakfast and dinner each day.
For the tiny entrance fee and the heady anticipation, the
visit is more than worth it. Make sure to arrive early and expect to be kept
waiting, listening to the alien, unknowable noises from deep inside the forest,
before maybe being honoured with the
sight of a peckish orangutan descend into the clearing, scoop up freebies and clamber
off without ceremony. While short, the experience is a humbling one, allowing
you to step into the world of these beautiful, intelligent creatures on the
brink of extinction.
Source: Bamboo Travel |
Iban and proud: Sarawak’s largest ethic group
The Iban tribe are the largest ethnic group in Sarawak. They
travel widely and while most now live modern lifestyles, many still live
without much technology in longhouses under the same roof as up to twenty other
families. While Christianity and other Abrahamic religions have filtered in to
the culture, Ibans come from an animist background. Animism being the belief
that places, objects and all creature possess a distinct essential spirit. This
connection to the world around them allowed them to traverse the rainforest,
sense danger from afar and hunt with skill. In more modern environments it
allows them to connect with each other with deep emotion and understanding.
Judging from their sunny, welcoming demeanour you might
never guess that the Ibans were historically a head-hunting tribe, with the
bloody tradition of chopping off their enemy’s heads. Happily, the tribes have
modernized and are now not much different than the rest of Kuching’s misfit
society. The tribe’s warrior heritage is still noticeable however, most obviously
on the skin of the men who are covered in various tattoos with distinct
meaning. For the Iban tribe, tattooing
is a way for men not only to convey status and experience but also as a way to
be seen and protected by the gods.
When an Iban male comes of age he will receive the ‘Bungai
Terung’ tattoo, one on each shoulder, made using the traditional hand-tapping
method. Known as ‘bejalai’, this tattoo is given before the young man makes his
coming-of-age journey into the woods and symbolises strength to carry,
protection and transformation into adulthood.
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