Brief Encounters | What to do in Kuching - Malaysia’s Wild East on the island of Borneo
- Tucked away on the island of Borneo, the capital of Sarawak is well worth the trek
- Not-to-be-missed events in July include the Rainforest World Music Festival and the Kuching Festival
In Kuala Lumpur and other such oh-so-sophisticated cities in Peninsular Malaysia, the state of Sarawak sometimes gets branded the Wild East. It’s a tease, of course, and rather unfair given that the capital, Kuching, is anything but a hick town.
Where to stay
It fits that a small and rather cute out-of-the-way burg such as Kuching should host some accommodation of a similar mien. Heritage-ites will have few problems identifying the attractions of The Ranee Boutique Suites: two dozen keys spread between two restored 19th-century shophouses, each decorated differently. Step out of the front door, turn left or right and you’re in the living museum that is old town.
Batik Boutique is a neat play on words and a playful hotel, with a secluded courtyard and a rooftop that makes for an excellent in-town vantage point. Its 15 rooms are bright and breezy: think iPod dock, accommodating day beds and a colourful mural spread over an entire wall.
What to buy
Whoever called Kuching’s premier shopping street “Main Bazaar” had his/her head screwed on the right way round. There are no plate-glass shopfronts or towering emporia here: simply a long, lackadaisical stretch of two-storeyed arcades, with merchandise spilling out onto the pavement and a fair few bargain-hunters and citizens out and about enjoying the frisson of downtown.